THE FEED: JULY 2ND

What we're reading:

A well-worded rebellion (The Smart Set): Re-reading the Declaration of Independence

Xenophobic ballet (Dance Magazine): "Some of the most dated, troubling stereotypes are often the Muslim guys, usually sporting a turban"

The end of an awfully big adventure (BBC): Dame Beryl Bainbridge dies at 75

Undead diplomacy (Foreign Policy): International relations takes on zombies

Today's quote:

"If you get them laughing, that means they’re listening, not that they’ve stopped listening and are only waiting to laugh again. It’s a bit of a balancing act — you need to land a laugh early, then build, keeping the laughs interspersed so that the entire enterprise stays afloat...you want them listening with delight, and then erupting into laughter all at the same time. Laughter makes the play more serious, rather than less. Because it’s those big laughs—the ones where the whole house suddenly erupts—where the enterprise makes itself clear.

Comedy is about epiphany. It is about humanity, and wisdom. It’s about the potential for communal joy."

~ Teresa Rebeck, playwright, "Theater Talkback: The Perils of Being too Funny" (New York Times)

(Via The Economist)

Picture credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com