Michael Philips: “If ABC and the Oscars keep this up, by 2028 we may be watching a 90-minute infomercial with no host, no technical or design awards, no sense of craft or history, and a whole helluva lot of ‘Avengers’ cast members, whoever they are by then.” – Chicago Tribune
Category: AUDIENCE
Abridge Too Far — Is It Ever Okay To Perform An Opera Cut Down By Half Or More?
Taking as a jumping-off point an 80-minute Idomeneo in Pittsburgh last month, Jeremy Reynolds and several opera professionals discuss whether and when cutting an opera to half its length or less is a good way to serve 21st-century audiences. (“Never in Verdi, of course, no one’s that barbaric.”) – San Francisco Classical Voice
How Social Media Got ‘Be More Chill’ To Broadway
“The origin story of Be More Chill is already one of musical theater legend. After a month-long run at the Two River Theater [in New Jersey], the creative team … thought the show’s lifespan had unjustly passed. About two years later, … fan art [began] popping up on Instagram. … By the spring of 2018, the album had been streamed over 100 million times.” – Dance Magazine
Broadway Is Being More Chill About Licensing Shows To High Schools
“‘There is starting to be an understanding and a sensibility that, in certain cases, the high school market does not necessarily cannibalize the commercial run of a show,’ observed Sean Cercone, the president of Broadway Licensing. ‘In fact,’ he said that ‘we have always made the argument that nobody chooses to go to a little league game, and not buy a ticket to see the Yankees.'” – Forbes
How Neuroscience Is Going to Change The Business Of Finding An Audience
Neuroscience, it turns out, can help change how companies think about new opportunities, and specifically, within the emerging field of applied neuroscience. Applied neuroscience is best described as the use of neuroscience tools and insights to measure and understand human behavior. Using applied neuroscience, leaders are able to generate data about critical moments of decision making, and then use this data to make confident choices that help to navigate the future of an initiative. – Harvard Business Review
Why Bodice-Rippers Have Become Big Business
It’s not simply that romance novels are “bubble gum for the mind” — there’s plenty of that available in just about every medium and style around. In fact, romance novels appeal largely to a particular demographic, and that’s for a particular reason. – JSTOR Daily
Country Music, Politics, And The Problem When You Don’t Fit In
A few years ago there was an expectation that stars such as Sturgill Simpson and Margo Price might bring a new sound and sensibility to country music. Instead, they became their own subgenre and today are often classified as “Americana” artists, a subset of roots music aimed largely at liberals. – Washington Post
The Classical Grammys Are Irrelevant Right Now, But That Might Change Quickly
Anne Midgette: As more and more orchestras record their live performances for broadcast and for sale, the Grammys may change. “Since, as we’ve seen, recordings tend to feature different repertoire than standard subscription programs, this trend of recording concerts for release is contributing, slowly but surely, to a perceptible broadening of the orchestral repertoire.” – The Washington Post
‘MoviePass Does Still Exist. They’re Just A Little Harder To Find These Days.’
A reporter finds — after a lot of walking around, and behind a very inconspicuous door — the current offices of “one of the most glorious burnouts in corporate history.” The execs, he finds, are quite aware of their mistakes but determined to keep going, because they proved that “there is a massive group of people — into the millions — who are interested in moviegoing subscriptions.” — The Ringer
What Makes Television About History Succeed?
“Television’s scale and range testify to a remarkable level of public engagement with the past. And this makes it an excellent medium for history. The formats, so different from a textbook or monograph, often leave academic historians uneasy. A lecture-style delivery transferred to the screen is more palatable to many than anything that risks sensationalising or romanticising. … [But] drama and comedy are safety nets for catching those who hated history at school.” — History Today