Best of This Week’s Theatre Blogs – 30 Oct 2009
The impact of technology on theatre was a reccurring subject for Bloggers this week. David Jays reacted to the launch of Digital Theatre and questioned how (or if) the ability to download productions will effect theatregoing. Meanwhile Mark Shenton was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the relentless progress of technology but considered the implications technology is having for arts critics.
On View From The Stalls the results of the opportunity for the internet to create a conversation between audience and production were obvious. Bloggers, actors and then the Director of the production held a debate in the comments box of Statler’s review of Memory Cells as to what actually happened at the end of the play.
Technology was also reflected in the role of Writer in Residence at Bristol Jam as Stephen Brown blogged his way through the festival, reflecting on both improvisation and his position as a writer at a festival which ostensibly removes the writer from the creative process.
Finally, Travis Bedard used his blog to share a list of things he wished he’d been told when he was at College…
Guardian Theatre Blog, David Jays – Hamlet on your hard drive: theatre enters the download age
“There remain big questions. Will regular theatregoers be happy to get their fix via their laptop? Will this venture attract a new audience for theatre, or simply eat into its existing fanbase? And what exactly will be watched?”
Shenton’s Stage – Staying ahead of the game…
“And yet the internet means that the world shrinking in some ways, bringing it within our reach as never before: you now know just how much you are missing. But some of it is being delivered to our laptops, so we don’t have to leave our desks (or WiFi hotspots).”
View From The Stalls – “Memory Cells” – October 2009
“If there is a degree of fantasy involved, whose fantasy is it and where does it end/begin? As someone who has watched Cora’s fate rewind, what do you want for her? For me there is a clear idea at the core of the ending, though other interpretations are perfectly valid.”
Bristol Jam Blog, Stephen Brown – No. 14: Fragmentary Reflections on the Philosophy of Improvisation
“Will raises a question I’ve already touched upon in these blogs: surely all live performance has such an element of change and unpredictability in it. How different is that from improvisation?”
Cambiare Productions Blog, Travis Bedard – 10 Things I Wish I’d Been Told in College (and one I was)
“You are not a Romantic Poet. You will not die of consumption in a garret, starving for your art, unless you’re stupid enough to not (y’know) go get a job and pay rent. Those Romantic ideals NEVER work out for the hero. Dead isn’t a career move unless you’ve already got a few films in the can.”
