The Broadway veteran, perhaps best known as the original Wiz in the musical, won a Tony in June for his portrayal of Mercury in Hadestown, and he gave an “instantly iconic speech in which he gave his three rules for ‘longevity'” in the theatre. – American Theatre
Tag: 11.19.19
Making Theatre (Or Not) During Chile’s Crisis
Chilean playwright and director Guillermo Calderón: “After the curfew was over, a few theatres came back to do shows and a lot of people went to see them. … People were yearning for a sense of community and space to talk and vent and try to find some sort of solidarity … [Even so,] there has been an overwhelming sense here among theatre artists that it’s impossible to do theatre right now. … How can we say anything that’s going to really mean something at this moment? I mean, we’re in the context of a quasi civil war, right?” – HowlRound
In New Orleans, Replacing Removed Confederate Statues With Paper Monuments
“The Paper Monuments project, a participatory imagining of the monuments New Orleanians would like, stepped into that pause [after old statues were removed] to involve New Orleanians in the conversation about what should come next … [and] to challenge the idea that monuments must be in stone or bronze.” – Next City
Chicago Architecture Biennial Examines How Design Shapes Urban Protest
It’s a study of human behavior. And it’s a study of the ways in which the architecture of public spaces is designed to control the ways humans move, perhaps by funneling people towards an exit or preventing mass gatherings. (Think: Hong Kong.) It also reveals the situations in which the human is no longer at the center, but becomes technology-adjacent. – Los Angeles Times
Marciano Foundation: The Museum That Wasn’t
“To put it bluntly, the Marciano Art Foundation was never a real museum. Yes, it had access to a collection—some 1,500 pieces acquired primarily by Maurice Marciano, including L.A.’s trendiest artists as well its most talented. Yes, it organised a big show every six months or so—installations by Jim Shaw, Olafur Eliasson, Ai Weiwei and, most recently, Donna Huanca. But it lacked the staffing and organisational structure that signal an ongoing commitment to core museum missions such as caring for art and sharing it with a broad audience.” – The Art Newspaper
Using Dance As Therapy And Educational Tool For Children With Autism
“As soon as James Griffin gets off the school bus he tells his mom, ‘Go dance, go dance.’ James is 14 and has autism, and his speech is limited. He’s a participant in a program for children on the autism spectrum at the University of Delaware that is studying how dance affects behavior and verbal, social and motor skills.” – The New York Times
French Academy Issues Rules For Swearing In French
The academy, founded in 1634 by Cardinal Richelieu, is the official gatekeeper of the French language whose members are known as ‘the immortals’. Its mission is to keep the French language pure and it frequently coins new French words to cover newly invented technology, not all of which catch on. – The Local
I Like Traditional Opera. But What Does That Really Mean?
“Over the years I’ve had many opportunities to question people gently about their personal identification and tastes in operas and opera productions. And it turns out that traditionalists don’t like only traditional productions. Whatever it is they like, they just call it traditional, and vice versa.” Irish Times
Today’s Portraits “See” Their Subjects In A Non-Traditional Way
Phil Kennicott: “The work done by these contemporary portraits is more fundamental. They are about seeing other people, rather than saving them. We are challenged simply to accept their existence as part of our world, no lesser or greater in importance than our own existence, which is the first and most daunting ethical challenge faced by every human being.” – Washington Post
Police Raids Across Europe Seize 10,000 Antiquities, Make 23 Arrests
“The large number of arrests and objects seized hints at the massive scale and global reach of the international trade in illicit artifacts,” says Tess Davis, executive director of the Antiquities Coalition, an American nonprofit dedicated to fighting cultural theft. “It demonstrates that such cultural racketeering is not limited to conflict zones in Iraq and Syria, but threatens any country with a rich heritage.” – Artnet