Sunday, March 23, 2014

Worth a Look

Here are a five posts from last week's Greenpage that might be worth your time...

Museum of Endangered Sounds preserves obsolete tech noises

(Wired UK): Do you miss the pleading bleeps of the Tamagotchi? Or the sound of a telephone rotary dial? You can now listen to these and other vintage tech noises at the Museum of Endangered Sounds.
A character called Brendan Chilcutt has created the online "museum" in early 2012 to preserve the sounds made famous by his favourite old devices, such as the "textured rattle and hum of a VHS tape being sucked into the womb of a 1983 JVC HR-7100 VCR" (ah, yes). As new products come to market, these nostalgia-inducing noises become as obsolete as the devices that make them.
 

Sam Mendes’s 25 Rules for Directors

Vanity Fair: After reviewing his career highlights, in depth, the British Academy Award winner said, “One of the things I love about Americans is you do massive ego trips incredibly well. Blimey. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many photographs of myself. I didn’t even know they existed.” Mendes also noted that while tributes are wonderful, they are backward looking, and then decided to share what he’s learned along the way. “If there are any directors out there in the audience, or anyone who’s interested in directing, I’ve written 25 steps towards becoming a happier director.

 


"What is drawing?" And other questions raised at DRAW2014 symposium in Pittsburgh

communityvoices.post-gazette.com: Opening the DRAW2014 symposium back in February, John Carson, head of the Carnegie Mellon School of Art, asserted that “over this weekend we will see how far we can expand the definition of drawing”.
This comment became more weighted throughout the weekend last month as a number of lecturers and panelists admitted that they “didn’t draw” but instead saw themselves as painters or printmakers. This observation caused me to question, “If we expand the definition of drawing to include painting, dancing, printmaking, etc., when do we realize that we are no longer discussing drawing and ignoring those that still practice and identify with the process and product of drawing and illustrating? Does illustration and caricature have a place in fine art when contemporary critics and academics favor and shift focus towards concept and process based art?”
 


Arts Education Won't Save Us from Boring, Inaccessible Theater

Mike Lew - Playwright: I’ve been avidly following coverage of The Summit and there’s a lot of FANTASTIC discussion coming out of that, but one thing that caught my attention that hasn’t been really dissected yet is the false notion that arts education will save the theater.
When confronted with the stark reality that “the youth” won’t buy theater tickets, theaters oftentimes place the blame on the school system. The argument goes that decreased arts funding in schools begets students who aren’t accustomed to coming to theater, and that by not being exposed to theater at a young age we’re losing all our potential patrons. It’s a chestnut that found its way into The Summit, and it’s a position that Isherwood floated in an article about Rocco Landesman’s tenure at the NEA.
It’s also a myth.
 


Stage Managing Humans

Stage Directions: The rehearsal space. At times it’s a repurposed classroom, a basement or a living room, but in a production process it must become an incubator for the play, a place for the team to feel comfortable creating their work. As one of the first people in the room, the stage manager has an opportunity to make it nurturing and productive. The space needs to be safe for the company both practically and interpersonally, and inspire everyone—cast, director, designers and everyone else—toward their best inventive work. To provide that, a stage manager not only has to provide practical support, but they also have to demonstrate a deft touch with people.



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