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Link Roundup! – 7/10/15
Link Roundups feature articles and bits of internet goodness that our dramaturgy team digs up. If you find something you want to send our way, drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter!
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CityLab’s recent report on the Martin Prosperity Institute’s project to map connections between cities, inequality, and creative economies around the world is fascinating and has some great maps of the data:
Capitalism is in transition. It’s pulling away from its previous industrial model to a new one based on creativity and knowledge. In place of the natural resources and large-scale industries that powered the economies of previous centuries, economic growth today turns on knowledge, innovation, and talent. In a new report released Wednesday, my Martin Prosperity Institute colleagues Charlotta Mellander and Karen King and I evaluate 139 nations worldwide on their ability to compete and prosper in this new, creativity-powered knowledge economy.
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Buzzfeed’s post highlighting the work of Dylan Marron and his Tumblr Every Single Word is a stark look at how far the film industry still has to go before POC are represented equally on screen.
The Every Single Word series urges people to question why movies with such universal themes so frequently feature white protagonists. Marron wants the audience to come up with their own conclusions about the lack of diversity in Hollywood after watching the clips. “I present these cuts without comment and without embellishment,” he said. “As the volume of videos keeps getting bigger, a pattern will emerge. When you lay out patterns in front of people, they speak much louder than any megaphone rant.”
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ARC’s recent experiment with Pay What You Decide pricing for all its shows has had some interesting results:
Customers were asked to book tickets in advance – so we still captured their data – but they did not pay until after the show. There was no obligation to pay anything, entirely removing their financial risk. This immediately made our theatre programme more accessible to those who couldn’t afford to come, but we believed it would also encourage people to come who could afford to, but chose not to because the risk seemed too high. Six months on, I’m pleased to say it has been a huge success, with some startling results. Audience numbers are up by 58% on the same period last year and income is up by 82%, increasing our average ticket yield by 15% – all way beyond our expectations.
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Lydia Stryk’s critique of The Kilroy’s list on HowlRound provides an interesting perspective that has led to a lot of conversation, both in the comment section of the article and offline:
If you sense some hesitation on my part when it comes to lists and thus some reluctance on my part to celebrate the Kilroys’ achievement, you would be right. I have trouble with lists, while recognizing their seductiveness and the seemingly inescapable power they exert over us as a culture. And please don’t get me wrong. I truly believe the intentions of the Kilroys are well-meaning and very smart. I am sure that even they are shocked by the resonance of their project. But sometimes the most noble intentions can have unintended consequences. The birth of Frankenstein comes to mind.