Tag: 07.21.15

Why The Push To Require Paying Actors In Fringe And Showcase Productions Is A Terrible Idea

“It’s been horrible to watch our otherwise splendid union’s desperate attempt to boost membership by pretending there was enough money to be made in 50-seat fringe venues to convert [unpaid] productions into paying jobs. And so many of us swallowed it, seduced by the absurd idea that closing down voluntary fringe collaborations in tiny makeshift theatres would lead to paid employment.”

Horton Hears A (New Dr. Seuss Book)

Through painstaking work and a meticulous, almost forensic reconstruction of Mr. Geisel’s creative process, those abandoned pages have yielded an unexpected new Dr. Seuss book, now called “What Pet Should I Get?” When Random House publishes it on Tuesday, with a first printing of one million copies, it will add a surprising coda to Dr. Seuss’ sizable canon.

The Biggest American Radio Star Most Americans Never Heard – And Perhaps The US’s Greatest Cultural Ambassador

“For 40 years, … [his broadcasts] constituted one of his country’s most effective instruments of cultural diplomacy.” He once said, “Jazz tells more about America than any American can realize. It bespeaks vitality, strength, social mobility; it’s a free music with its own discipline, but not an imposed, inhibiting discipline.”

How Joan Didion Went From Writer To Literary Celebrity

“Although she started to take on more political subjects in the late ’70s, the interest in her personal life – and her personal belongings – only grew. In the crossover of feminism, fashion, and literary interests, there is a whole swathe of the internet where Didion is a staple reference. Her borscht recipe can be found on the website Brain Pickings.”

Ravinia Considering New Model For Music Director As Conlon Departs

An alternate model? “A musical curator, someone who comes in for one year perhaps. Isn’t there something kind of exciting that someone could come in and talk about pop programming and jazz programming as well as chamber music recitals and what goes on at the CSO? For one summer? [They could] start working three years in advance, and we’d see what comes of it. I think we should explore that model.”