“Tech companies have created a “fail-fast” system; a culture in which there is no room for what could be genuinely called failure, but only a series of experiments which lead inevitably and inexorably to the conclusion of success. I find it all exhausting. Failure once allowed you to stop trying – that was, famously, the one good thing it has going for it. Having agonised over a doomed project for years, at least you might have the cathartic relief of finally and permanently throwing it away. You were allowed self-pity. You were allowed, crucially, silence.” – New Statesman
Tag: 11.18.20
“Toy Story” Is 25 Years Old
Toy Story might have been the first fully digital production, but its exhibition depended upon recording those digital images onto analogue film strips. This was a technology that had been in use, largely unchanged, since moving pictures first appeared a century earlier. – The Conversation
Black Theatre Needs More Than Just Different Playwrights
The form must also meet the content, say critics and scholars. They discuss “an under-theorized element of the discussion on Black theatre: its form. Oftentimes, Black theatre is relegated to conversations that focus solely on its content, obscuring the ways that Black artists have revolutionized the way theatre is written, devised and performed.” Artists like Adrienne Kennedy, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Tarell Alvin McCraney show the possibilities and the joy. – HowlRound
In-Person Theatre During Covid-19: Quarantine, Ventilate, And Be Ready To Quit
A recent New Jersey show demonstrates that, if the perfect factors come together, Equity theatre can happen – though it will be more rare in the winter, certainly. “The whole time we were working on it, I would wake up feeling like Icarus and wondering if my wings were going to melt. But it was worth all the hurdles.” – American Theatre
Apple TV Relents And Allows “Charlie Brown Christmas” To Air On TV
On Wednesday, Apple bowed to the backlash, announcing it had teamed up with PBS for ad-free broadcasts of “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” (on Nov. 22) and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (on Dec. 13). – PBS
Baryshnibot: Ballerina Physicist Invents Ideal Dance Partner For Quarantine
A few weeks after the lockdown started back in March, Merritt Moore — who danced with ballet companies in Oslo, London and Boston before getting a Ph.D. in physics from Oxford — hit on the idea of using a robot as a partner for dance training while in isolation. So she ordered an industrial model and started programming it to do 15-second ballets with her for TikTok and Instagram. The pair has since racked up about 15 million views. (And yes, the machine’s name, which was crowdsourced, is Baryshnibot. The runner-up choice was Roboto Bolle.) – Pointe Magazine
Character Dance Used To Be An Integral Part Of Ballet, And Just As Popular. What Happened To It?
“Most full-length classical ballets feature several character dances — troupes of dancing peasants, parades of visiting princesses. Today, those dances are often seen as ‘filler,’ interludes to give the principals a breather between classical variations. But back in the 19th century, … character dances had deep cultural significance. … (Picture a Paris opera house full of cheering crowds, demanding multiple encores after their favorite star performs a knockout mazurka.) How did something that used to be so popular, and once provided critical context, fade from prominence?” Nicole Loeffler-Gladstone gives an overview of the history. – Dance Spirit
Director Of Cantor Museum At Stanford Ousted Over Management Style
“Susan Dackerman, director of Cantor Arts Center, has resigned under pressure after a lengthy investigation revealed a toxic work culture with heavy staff turnover and low morale at the Stanford University museum.” – San Francisco Chronicle
Academy of Ancient Music, Leading Baroque Orchestra, Names New Director
Under its founder, the late Christopher Hogwood, the AAM made many pathbreaking recordings, including the first period-instrument releases of the complete Mozart symphonies, Bach’s Magnificat, and four Handel oratorios, including Messiah; with Hogwood and his successor, Richard Egarr, the orchestra has built up a discography of more than 200 titles. Taking the reins from Egarr in the fall of 2021 will be harpsichordist/conductor Laurence Cummings, currently director of the International Handel Festival Göttingen in Germany and the London Handel Festival as well as the period orchestra in Porto, Portugal. – Pizzicato
What Do You Need To Know To Have An Aesthetic Experience?
“While aesthetic experiences are universal, most people would probably agree that some of us are more aesthetically sensitive than others. But what does that really mean? In casual conversation, we’ll make claims such as This car is beautiful, and we’re prone to thinking that there is something inherent to the car that makes it aesthetically pleasing. From there, a logical deduction is that aesthetic sensitivity describes the ability to detect and appreciate beauty wherever it exists. However, I believe that the ‘beauty’ is not in the car itself, but in the perceptual processes that end with a pleasant or unpleasant visual aesthetic experience.” – Psyche