CMU School of Drama


Thursday, December 01, 2011

'Stuff Theatre' adds drama to Facebook posts

Post Gazette: Millions of people write the scripts of their lives on a daily basis on their Facebook pages. On Wednesday, some of those postings will be performed live in a 24-hour global Web event called "Stuff Theatre."
Performers and groups will interpret people's Facebook postings in many different ways. They'll include improv actors, Shakespearean actors, opera singers, graffiti and caricature artists, puppeteers, slam poets and more.

4 comments:

cass.osterman said...

I'm excited to view the event on Youtube. I watched a couple of the previews (links in article) and they were pretty cool, albeit, short. I expect that they will use a mix of short and long statuses as material for this performance- and I do hope the use statuses of a longer length. I'm also excited about the mixed media and mixed genre approach- opera, puppets, improv. But will the show be one continuous thought? By that I mean, will the way the next actor delivers the next line/status be a response to the last line delivered, so that it is continuously perpetuating a story. Or will each be exclusive and not reflective of the others? I think there are some hilarious possibilities if the the first option becomes a reality.

K G said...

I know this is probably causing controversy among some groups, but I personally am fascinated by the concept. As someone who does not regularly post Facebook statuses, and on the occasion when I do, do not go about it in the overbearing and all too personal manner in which some seem to think is appropriate, this is not daunting to me at all. I can see how it may be daunting to some, though. I also believe that it is important in terms of people seeing what they sound like online. It is not the same as speaking out loud - and it is important to remind people to think before they type. Nonetheless, I am excited to watch these on YouTube and see what entertainment/insights they have to offer.

Anonymous said...

It seems like these people have a great sense of humor. Why not make fun of ourselves? We all love to update our Facebook friends on both the big and small happenings in our lives. Some people go a bit overboard, though. Nonetheless, there are so many people that can relate to this themed performance event. I wish that they would advertise this better. If it weren't for this blog, I doubt that I would have even heard about this event. This seems like a great way for artists of all types to be creative and share their art on a topic that tons of people can relate to...so why isn't the word about this getting out there? Either way, now that I know about this event, I will definitely catch some of the performances online Wednesday. I'm intrigued to see if they do any serious pieces. Facebook can be a great way for friends to comfort one another in times of crisis, or just when they need a little boost. I hope that these artists use this idea, too, because Facebook doesn't just have to be used for fun and games.

ZoeW said...

I have often thought it would be great to do this. There is so much material to work from also just internet conventions are generally funny and so that would be entertaining to watch people make fun of. Also fitting facebook and peoples ordinary internet lives into conventional theater storytelling methods could be very intriguing. I love that people love to write down every facet of their lives and it is interesting. It's an inside look. Just think about it Facebook could allow someone who is young to keep up with every single person that they had ever met. That's a story right there.