Remember last fall and winter? Well, there were plans: “Months ago, in what now feels like another era, publishers planning their 2020 schedules hoped to avoid releasing books in the fall, typically the industry’s biggest season. Editors and writers worried that new releases would be lost in the deluge of political news leading up to the presidential election, so publishers jammed some of their biggest titles into the spring.” – The New York Times
Tag: 03.27.20
Lucia Bosé, Star Of Films By Buñuel And Antonioni, Has Died At 89
Bosé won the Miss Italy beauty pageant in 1947, which eventually led to her acting career. She worked with Italian neorealists, Jean Cocteau, Juan Antonio Bardem, Federico Fellini and many other directors. – The New York Times
Theatres Pivoted To Digital As Fast As They Could Before Shutdowns, So What Will Come Of All That Streaming?
Could some of this be the future of online theatre? “In response to this crisis, Actors Equity Association created a new, temporary streaming agreement available for select producers to record these performances, sell tickets through the theatre’s website, then stream the production online for one-time viewing by ticket buyers. In essence, the idea is to make the patron experience as close to a true theatrical experience as possible.” – American Theatre
All The World’s Living Rooms Can Be Stages, With The Right Plays
Ben Brantley: “Remember that plays — even those lofty classics that show up on college reading lists — are meant to be spoken and heard. And saying their lines aloud, no matter how clumsily, helps you hear the music and cadences in them. This is true not only of Shakespeare, but also of linguistically rich latter-day writers like August Wilson, Caryl Churchill, Edward Albee, [and] Suzan-Lori Parks.” – The New York Times
Despite Attempts To Negotiate Rent Freezes In NY, Landlords Are Trying To Boot Small Galleries
Despite petitions with thousands of signatures and attempts at local legislation, many galleries aren’t eligible for small business loans and other relief. “April 1 is quickly approaching and small storefront gallery owners who spoke with Hyperallergic say they are feeling increasingly anxious and helpless.” – Hyperallergic
The University Of Michigan Finally Fires Opera Singer David Daniels Over Sexual Misconduct
Daniels, once a leading countertenor and now facing a separate criminal charge for sexual assault in Texas, “was deemed not eligible for severance pay. According to the university, Daniels is the first tenured faculty member to be dismissed since it adopted its current bylaws in 1959.” – NPR
For Your Weekend Listening, NYT Music Critics Choose Best Recordings Of Each Of Beethoven’s Symphonies
But with live performances suspended by the coronavirus pandemic, we classical music critics decided to take matters into our own hands and create our dream cycle, featuring our favorite recording of each symphony with just one rule: No conductor or orchestra could appear more than once. – The New York Times
Oregon Shakespeare Festival Lays Off Staff, Cancels Through Labor Day
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, one of the oldest and largest American nonprofit theaters and a popular travel destination, said on Friday that it would lay off 80 percent of its 500 employees, cancel half of this year’s productions and postpone any live performances until after Labor Day. – The New York Times
Of Arts CEOs Who Are Giving Up Their Salaries
“There’s a symbolism and communications problem if you’re starting to inflict loss and suffering on your staff. If Peter Gelb or Deborah Rutter start to, and need to, lay off lots of people and calling the people they have contracts with and saying they going to invoke force majeure . . . it doesn’t look great or feel great if they’re not making a sacrifice themselves.” – Washington Post
Do Cities Work Against Us When The Pandemic Comes?
Michael Kimmelman: “The coronavirus undermines our most basic ideas about community and, in particular, urban life. Historians tell us that cities emerged thousands of years ago for economic and industrial reasons — technological leaps produced a surplus of agricultural goods, which meant not everyone had to keep working the land. Still, cities also grew, less tangibly, out of deeply human social and spiritual needs. The very notion of streets, shared housing and public spaces stemmed from and fostered a kind of collective affirmation, a sense that people are all in this together.” – The New York Times