This working group considers the ways in which new and emergent technologies bear upon contemporary theatre and performance practices. The group’s work inevitably concerns digital technologies, although its focus is not limited to a single technological paradigm.
Members of the group share research into
- Particular technological developments
- Particular applications of new or emergent technologies in theatre and performance
- Ways in which theatre/performance adapts or might adapt existing technologies
- Interactions of body and technology in media-driven performance
- New configurations and extensions of mise en scène and theatrical location made possible by telematic and other technologies
- Ways in which theatre/performance is defined by developments in technology, both in its modes of presentation and reception
- The creative processes and production outputs of practitioners/companies whose work can be seen as ‘technological’
- Relationships between new technologies, cultural production and artistic practices
- Specific problems or challenges that require technological solution
The group facilitates a range of approaches and conducts its work by way of both scholarly and practice-based enquiry. The input of professional practitioners is welcomed and space is given over to explore the needs and findings of those working with new/emergent technologies in contemporary theatre /performance. The group enables the gathering of individuals whose work concerns particular technical challenges and/or usage protocols (for example, in working with digital video or using ICT in performance) and there is opportunity for sub-groups to share their research at an appropriately specialist level. However, it is not expected that members are equally knowledgeable of particular technologies, usage protocols, equipment functions or technical vocabularies, and members will share their work with the group as a whole with this in mind.
The work of the group proceeds by way of email exchange, sharing of ideas, issues and difficulties, and occasional gatherings. The latter may be arranged in order to address and/or workshop a particular challenge, to discuss emergent techniques and/or share information and ideas regarding particular technical interfaces and their potential applications. The group meets at the annual TaPRA conference and may gather (potentially in smaller groupings) at other times depending on interest and availability.
Conference 2008: Call for Papers
Conference 2008: Call for Papers
Please send a proposal (250 words) and a brief biog (50 words) to both convenors by 5 May 2008. Do contact us in advance if you would like to talk anything through.
AREAS FOR CONSIDERATION
Interrelations for contemporary performance
What new interrelations of body, sound and vision are emerging in new theatre and performance? What spaces do they inhabit, how are they shaped, and how are they witnessed or experienced? What specific applications and/or integrations of technologies make these interrelations productive? Are they problematic? What creative processes are in play?
Site Specificity and Networked Performance
Technologies of the Internet make possible networked performances that link remote sites and locations, and individuals in dispersed locations. What new forms and modes of address are emerging in this area? How are current examples of networked performance driving changes to performer-role relations, mise en scène, narration, audience, perceptions of time and space? How important is the site of performance itself? What happens when performances are networked?
Synthesis and Separation
Do multimedia forms depend more upon difference or synthesis (or, simultaneously, both)? What does this mean aesthetically, culturally and politically? Are we moving towards an aesthetic of interdependencies? What is being synthesised? How do we account for difference? Is it possible to suggest an overarching paradigm for new technologically-driven performance?
What does it all mean?
It has been usual to address the impact of new (digital) technologies on theatre and performance by way of changes to creative process, form and spectatorship. Do we observe developments in meaning-making and meaning-circulation? Do technological applications lend themselves more to some sorts of content than others? Do they help us to engage (differently) with histories? What is the relationship between the mode of presentation and what the work means to us? Is this a necessary interrelationship? What does it mean to ask (now) about meaning?
We also welcome participants who do not wish to give a presentation. In this instance we’d be grateful if you could indicate that you’d like to join us, to get an idea of numbers.
With best regards
Jem Kelly Andy Lavender
Co-conveners
| Andy Lavender | Jem Kelly |
| Director of Research | Senior Lecturer in Theatre Performance |
| Central School of Speech and Drama | Department of Performing Arts |
| University of Chichester | |
| This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
