Higher Ed – The Moral Choice?

Should universities teach you how to be moral? Nope. “The university also makes little effort to provide you with moral guidance. Indeed, it is a remarkably amoral institution. Today, elite universities operate on the belief that there is a clear separation between intellectual and moral purpose, and they pursue the former while largely ignoring the latter.”

In Praise Of Intermission

“Theatre is a social contract between actors and audience, the interval an essential point of meltdown in the stalls, a respite from the artistic effort where those addressed shuffle about among themselves and consider the effect. This process, unconsciously undertaken, surely completes the essential circle of the theatre experience. We get to know each other.”

Culture Clash: When Opera Shares A Home With Ballet

In Toronto, a new hall meant to house the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet has turned up some cultural differences between the two groups and how they’d like to use the building. “A good deal of horse-trading went on as to who would use the 12 less desirable weeks, particular those in the hot summer months. In the end, both companies accepted some of them. But the ballet, being a tenant rather than a partner in the project, had the weaker bargaining position. Its season will now push into July.”

Understanding Music From The Ground Up

“To understand music, we have been taught, that room has to be unlocked, the windows opened and the world fully engaged. But now the emphasis may be changing. The appeal of a more abstract way of thinking about music may be growing. There is a search for timeless laws and principles; it may be that something can be learned from the listener in the locked room.”

Puppet Regime

Puppetry is getting a lot of fresh attention. “For decades puppetry was learned by way of most traditional crafts through master and apprenticeship. Now, there are a handful of university programs offering degrees in puppet arts. Meanwhile, the industry has continued to garner more attention from high-profile productions.”

Art Gallery of Ontario At A Crucial Spot

The Art gallery of Ontario is into crunch time lining up resources to build its $196 million renovation/expansion. “The next five months are decidedly crucial, especially if the 93-year-old art museum in downtown Toronto, variously described as the eighth-, 11th- and 13th-largest art institution in North America, is to meet its objective of breaking ground on Gehry’s design in March, 2005.”