New Projects - TV Ratings - Arthouse Cinema Survival - Twitter Exodus
By Abigail Hardin, November 15, 2022
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Happy Tuesday, UTD!
The news outlets were incredibly quiet last week, most likely due to the election and the continued "breaking news" coverage. Look for this to probably hold over into next week as news desks wind down for the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm personally looking forward to the holiday next week. My goal is to make the holiday as stress free as possible and come out of it recharged and ready for one last concentrated push in 2022. I encourage you to do the same.
On a side note, last week I bought a new children's book for my 18-month-old. I love going to the indie book store near my house and discovering new inspiring books to read to him. I stumbled across this book What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada. It tells the story of a child who has an idea and processes what to do with it. I can't tell you how great an effect this book has had on me.
As I've read it to my little one it has caused me to think about the ideas that I have had and my relationship with them. The Up-To-Date Actor started out as an idea, an idea that Annie and I have continued to nurture, play with, and give our attention to, as the book mentions. Life can get hectic and busy, and it's all too easy to lose sight for a moment of the pure seed, joy, and purpose of an idea. I find myself continually thinking about the message of this book and it excites me. Here is a decent read-a-loud version on YouTube. You might enjoy taking a moment and listening to this wonderful story.
Our careers, passions, dreams, etc. are all ideas. Ideas that we need to feed, play with, and give our attention to without fear of criticism or judgment. If we can do that then, as the book suggests, we can change the world.
Create a great week! ☮️
An Actor's Training is Never Complete
If you've ever been to one of our workshops you know we are firm believers at the Up-To-Date Actor that continued training is vital to maintaining a successful career as an actor. Apparently, Emmy winner and four-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams is of the same mindset. Williams revealed during the MoMA Contenders series panel that she takes acting classes to stay fresh between roles and retain the "technical" side of acting.
"I take acting classes. It's not like slating my name. It's all technical," the "Fabelmans" Academy Award contender said. "It's about your body and intentions and super objections. Sometimes I think it's really just a way to calm yourself and feel like when you do show up, you deserve to be there in some way."
Williams continued, "I think there is a technical aspect that you build, and then it stops because the second you start filming and committing things, you can't keep building. Then you have to be in a different kind of state of mind. You build as much as you can and then that goes into another."
Looking to find a new acting class? Check out the Up-To-Date Actor's list of acting schools and coaches (Currently NYC only. Nationwide coming soon).
TV Ratings
Tallying viewership across all platforms
The TV industry's most popular yardstick remains broken — at least for now. Nielsen's long-utilized national TV ratings have yet to regain industry backing, and are not likely to get it for a period of time. The measurement giant asked to cancel a meeting slated to take place Monday where it was supposed to demonstrate its efforts to improve its ability to count TV viewers.
Nielsen was scheduled to outline how it had upgraded its technology that gauges TV audiences. MRC suspended its accreditation for Nielsen's national ratings in September of 2021, citing findings that showed Nielsen had undercounted viewership during the coronavirus pandemic due to lapses in surveillance of its technology.
Why does this matter, you ask? Ratings control advertising dollars which inadvertently controls what content gets produced and/or renewed. 👀 + 💰 = 🎥
Arthouse Cinema Survival
Op-Ed: Five easy steps to surviving the current moviegoing apocalypse
While running the NYC marathon last week, one journalist had an idea dawn while fighting off exhaustion at mile 25: "How do arthouses around the country — those without the luxury of a major streamer behind them — plot out a plan for the future?" The author lays out what he sees as five easy steps:
- Embrace the Nonprofit Model
- Court Younger Audiences
- Outsource Your Program to the Arts Community
- Make Room For Genre Movies that Play Off Commercial Cinema
- Bring TV to the Big Screen
This is certainly food for thought for a business model that seems to also be at mile 25 and running out of steam to cross the finish line. 🏃♂️
Playbill Joins Twitter Exodus
Theatre news stalwart Playbill is the latest to join the Twitter exodus, citing the platform's expanded "tolerance for hate, negativity, and misinformation" in the past three weeks since Elon Musk took the reins of the company. The announcement is one of many similar in the entertainment sector and comes on the heels of major push for companies to pause all advertising on the social media and news platform.
Read Playbill's full statement below:
To our dear friends and valued followers,
This year Playbill celebrated its 138th anniversary. We, as a family-owned company, have always strived to be a constant source of support for the entire theater community, engaging fans and spotlighting the incredible professionals who work tirelessly to keep the lights of Broadway shining brightly across our nation. Our core values have always centered around community, kindness, collaboration, inclusion, and truth.
In recent weeks, Twitter, Inc. has greatly expanded its tolerance for hate, negativity, and misinformation. As a respected news outlet for the Broadway community, we feel we can no longer continue to utilize a platform where the line between actual news and insidious rhetoric has become blurred beyond recognition.
As of today, Friday, November 11, Playbill will no longer be active on Twitter.
The following accounts will no longer be active: @Playbill, @PlaybillTravel, @PLAYBILLder, @PlaybillArts, @PlaybillStore. Regardless of blue or gray checkmarks, if you see a tweet from a Twitter account that contains our name, please understand that it is not us.
Moving forward, we hope you will continue to follow us on Playbill.com. We will also continue to participate in Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Our participation on those three social media platforms are subject to ongoing review.
This decision reflects the standards that we hold dear at Playbill.
Local: NYC Studio Space
The Tank has announced the creation of The Attic @ The Tank, a new studio expansion that consists of five rehearsal spaces on the sixth floor of their current location on 36th Street in Midtown Manhattan (312 W. 36th St.).
"Finding and paying for space can be a major obstacle for emerging artists," said Johnny G. Lloyd, the Tank's director of artistic development, in a statement. "The Attic offers affordable spaces in the heart of Manhattan, forwarding our mission to remove economic barriers from the creation of new work for artists launching their careers or experimenting within their art form, while being inclusive and accessible."
The Attic's largest space is a 1,150-square-foot dance studio with sprung floors, windows, mirrors, a small kitchen, no pillars, and 10-foot-high ceilings. The four other rehearsal spaces (three with windows) range in size from 378 square feet to 234 square feet, with 7-foot-high ceilings. The 6th floor is equipped with restrooms, windows, heating, and air conditioning. The Tank will provide basic sound equipment in all spaces at no additional cost.