Friday, April 18, 2008
Modern theatre relies too much on technology
Guardian Unlimited: "Back in the 1980s as new technologies began to make their mark in theatre we still marvelled at West End shows in which sound, lights and even the set was computer-generated to some degree. Computers and other technologies have transformed our every day lives and they have become a crucial part of the way theatre is made, and our theatre-going lives too."
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4 comments:
I don't believe that the theatre relies too much on technology, but audience expectation of technologies in a production have changed. At the same time, minimalism still has its place. I think that theatre technicians have the difficult job of needing to be flexible with technology and man-power. We do deal in the world of "what if" and that makes life difficult during a live performance.
I agree with this article that new technology should not take over our endeavors. I think there needs to be a balance between utilizing new technology and utilizing ourselves as artists.
The problem arises when technology is used for the sake of technology, a novel tool is not necessarily the correct one.
I think this article is really about Broadway. Sure audience expectations have changed because of the technology that is available to us in our homes, but I think because Broadway feeds that, it only makes it worse and disillusions the art of live performances. For exmaple, there are sound systems that can help created a beautiful, pitch-perfect voice of a singer. That's not real, though, yet the audience expects it because Broadway has made it seem real. If anything, theatre's act with technology is just the act of trying to stay fresh when audiences come into regional shows expecting that sometimes phoney quality at a Broadway show
Although I am not the biggest fan of having to master new technology, I certainly see how it brings a very promising future to the theatre. But it is true that you need to be wary of using too much at once, or becoming overly excited or worse reliant on technology. However, I think there can be little debate of the increased use of technology in production as that is simply the way our world is headed.
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