“[What] could be more oddly contrarian in this rapidly digitizing time than launching a newspaper? How about this? Launching a newspaper devoted to the discussion of ‘contemporary dance practice and theory’.”
Tag: 03.24.11
Too Much Art? Pshaw. We Just Need Better Curation
“In a hypercompetitive environment like this one, we need to look out for the artist with the talent and drive to make great art, but without an income stream that will support her as she makes it. The voices of these artists–the gifted but resourceless–risk getting shut out unfairly because many others have the capital and connections to bring their work to the attention of gatekeepers, even if that work is inferior.”
That Twitterer You’re Talking With – Is S/he Human?
“Over a two-week period, the three “socialbots” were able to integrate themselves into the group, and gained close to 250 followers between them. They received more than 240 responses to the tweets they sent.”
Self-Publishing Success Story Ends With Traditional Publisher
Amanda Hocking, whose self-published novels have sold roughly one million copies, has signed a four-book deal with St. Martin’s Press.
Opera Co. Of Philadelphia Launches Dual Composer-In-Residence Program
“Composers in residence aren’t uncommon in symphony orchestras or unknown in opera companies. Yet the shape and form of a two-composer-in-residence program being announced Thursday by the Opera Company of Philadelphia has enough working parts to be what general director David B. Devan calls a ‘landmark investment in the future of opera’.”
Playwright Lanford Wilson, 73
“Many of Wilson’s highly regarded plays” – Balm in Gilead, The Hot L Baltimore, Burn This – “probed the lives of lost, urban souls. Many of Wilson’s characters were desperate eccentrics whose fears and needs were invariably drawn with sympathy. But Wilson always seemed the most comfortable and revelatory when writing dramas set within a few hours’ drive of the Ozarks, the region of his birth.”
It’s Official: Spider-Man Changes Choreographers
Despite an earlier denial from original choreographer Daniel Ezralow, the producers of the troubled mega-musical have confirmed that, as part of a complete overhaul of the show, they have replaced Ezralow with 27-year-old Chase Brock.
Kander Without Ebb: Theater Composer Takes On New Partner For First Time
“John Kander, who with Fred Ebb spent four decades creating some of musical theater’s most beloved hits, including Cabaret and Chicago, is teaming up with a 32-year-old playwright and fiction writer, Gregory Pierce, on his first full, new theater collaboration with another writer since the passing of Mr. Ebb in 2004.”
What Happens To The Web In A World Of Apps?
Farhad Manjoo: “I’ve been skeptical of the Web-is-dead idea. The Web has one main advantage over apps: It works everywhere, and that’s important in a post-Windows world. Since our computers, phones, and tablets use different operating systems, we need a single platform to unite them all. … [In the end, though,] the fight between apps and the Web will be rendered moot.”
Iraqi Exiles Develop Thriving Cultural Scene In Jordan
“[A]lthough [the refugees] came from all sectors of society and many different economic backgrounds, a particular group – artists, musicians, actors, fashion designers, writers and intellectuals – have achieved a certain prominence in Jordan, participating in art exhibitions or getting parts in films shot here.”