CMU School of Drama


Monday, September 26, 2011

Camino - It's like sticking an Anderson Cooper segment in the middle of "Watership Down."

Pittsburgh City Paper: In the near future, people wear wristbands that trace their movements. Police are private contractors, smartphones contain all a citizen's data and convicts are detained in for-profit prisons. The world of Camino is closer to ours than Minority Report. Any day, we could fall headlong into this lifestyle. Just wait.

3 comments:

tspeegle said...

I enjoy the use of media in most performances, but if it does not sync well with the action on stage it becomes too distracting. I have not seen Camino, but I can understand the use of media to tell the story. We live in a digital world and this play is set in that world. Media is a connection to the audience that can bring people back to the theatre. Mixing the elements of film and theatre, but it has to be done well.

Sophie said...

I think there is a time and place for media. As we talked about in design for the stage the other day, there should not be media for media's sake. And that's what it sounds like from this article. Just because you have the technology, it doesn't mean you have to use.

Margaret said...

I think I would have to see Camino myself to make an accurate judgment of it. As others have said, there is a thin line between media being interesting and constructive and being downright distracting. Science fiction type shows walk a similar line. Too many sci-fi aspects can make a show seem cheesy, but it is certainly a good idea to explore the influence of sci-fi ideas on humanity. If theatre is good at one thing, it is good at exposing the human side of a variety of issues. As long as shows focus on the human side of technology, not the gadgety side of it, it can be a success. I would have liked to see Camino and see how successful the show was at incorporating technology.