Digital Theatre: The Making and Meaning of Live Mediated Performance, US & UK 1990-2020

300 Pages·2020·3.956 MB·English

by  Nadja Masura

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN
PERFORMANCE AND TECHNOLOGY
D igital Theatre
The Making and Meaning of
Live Mediated Performance, US & UK
1990–2020
Nadja Masura
Palgrave Studies in Performance and Technology
Series Editors
Susan Broadhurst
School of Arts
Brunel University
Uxbridge, UK
Josephine Machon
Middlesex University
London, UK
This exciting and timely new series features cutting-edge books which
centre on global and embodied approaches to performance and tech-
nology. As well as focussing on digital performance and art, the series
includes the theoretical and historical context relevant to these practices.
Not only does the series offer fresh artistic and theoretical perspectives
on this exciting and growing area of contemporary performance practice,
butitalsoaimstoincludecontributorsfromawiderangeofinternational
locations working within this varied discipline. The series includes edited
collections and monographs on issues including (but not limited to):
identity and live art; intimacy and engagement with technology; biotech-
nology and artistic practices; technology, architecture and performance;
performance, gender and technology; and space and performance.
Editorial Advisory Board:
Philip Auslander
Carol Brown
Sita Popat
Tracey Warr
We welcome all ideas for new books and have provided guidelines for
submitting proposals in the Authors section of our website. To discuss
projectideasandproposalsforthisseriespleasecontacttheserieseditors:
Susan Broadhurst: [email protected]
Josephine Machon: [email protected]
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14604
Nadja Masura
Digital Theatre
The Making and Meaning of Live Mediated
Performance, US & UK 1990–2020
Nadja Masura
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
Palgrave Studies in Performance and Technology
ISBN 978-3-030-55627-3 ISBN 978-3-030-55628-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55628-0
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Preface
Dear Reader,
The world has changed fundamentally since this work was first conceived
and its praxis implemented. Technology is always changing, always influ-
encing us, but not to the point of loss of humanity. As I write to you,
mostofusareinside,shelteringinplacefromCovid-19.Clearly,whether
we want to or not, we must acknowledge that the rules of society have
changed.Theatre,andotherperformingartswhichonlyexistincommu-
nity and strive to sustain it, are now threatened and potentially erased
by the disbanding of audiences and performers. The gathering of biolog-
ical bodies together as audience is forbidden. Theatre itself is now a truly
dangerous and outlawed art form.
Ironically, in this global rethink and universal moment of pause, it is
thedigitalhalfofDigitalTheatre,whichremains.Technology,likevideo-
conferencing which once seemed so cutting edge and optional, is now
essential in not just creating but also sustaining family and community.
Thesametoolsusedtocreateinnovativedigitalmultisitetheaterbetween
Level2ResearchInstitutions,isnowbeingusedbymyslowtech-adapting
70-somethingmotherandourcommunitychoir(OCC)toconnectwhen
real family gatherings and rehearsal or co-present performance are not
allowed.Ourdesiretoconnectandshareashumansandasartistsismore
potent and observable as a real human need than ever. Presently, we also
madeaware of the globalnature of humansociety andour impact onthe
v
vi PREFACE
environment,hopefullycomingintoapositiontoutilizeourtoolsforthe
greater good.
As you read this book you will notice a shift in tone between the
neutral voice of academic researcher and the more engaged personal
voice of a practitioner. This occasional shift in tone is intentional, as a
book focusing on the creation of recent and emerging history, it was
created in the present through doing. This book is an artifact compos-
ited of both research and praxis. It is an attempt to identify the universal
while engaging in the individual, the particular, the artistic. Readers will
note that the chapters in which the author’s praxis is featured (especially
Chapter 7), show personal insight and character. The book is a hybrid
betweentheacademicandthepersonal/performative.(Thinkofthework
of Brockett on one hand joined with Berringer on the other; the two
polarities mixing to make something new, like marbled rye). Readers can
choosetofocusonthechaptersandapproacheswhichbestsuittheirneeds
as scholars and artists. Because many of us practitioners were writing the
history as we went, there is a bit of me in this book. I hope that causes a
sense of liveliness that the birth of a living artform engenders. It was and
is,ahumanexperimentinwritingwhatwearebecomingandcanbe;just
as making Theatre “of its time” in any time will contain the artifacts of
the moment in which it was made.
Thank you for reading. I hope it inspires your thoughts and creative
ideas. I can’t wait to write about what you do next.
Santa Rosa, USA Nadja Masura
Acknowledgments and Gratitude
There are many people I would like to thank for this book finally seeing
the light of day and giving me an excuse to do future research. Thanks
areduetomyformerpartner,PeterRogersforhissupportonthisproject
and in life until this devastating last year. It is my hope that we will find
eachother in friendship again. Thanks are freely given to Lew Brown for
caringandhelpingmetogoonandcompletetheproject,andforlending
his expert pen to the final edits. Sit bonum vitae.
Next I’d like to thank Dr. Franklin Hildy, Susan Haedicke, Martha
Nell Smith, Dr. John Fuegi, and the Maryland Institute for Technology
intheHumanitiesfortheirsupportofmyacademicresearch;SteveDixon
for the DPA; and my editors Lew Brown and Laura Holiday; readers
Jacquelyn Ellis, and Diane Masura; and my publisher for their interest.
I’d also like to thank my family and friends for their support of
this long-term project. Special thanks to Gloria, Larry, Diane, John and
Shirley.ThanksalsotoLee&Tom,Rachel,Marshall,William,Lyn,Josh,
and Corey Roberts.
Finally, I want to thank all of the wonderful practitioners and collabo-
rators who have contributed time with me and have given and continue
to give so much to the world through this evolving artform: David Saltz,
Mark Reaney, Dawn Stoppiello and Mark Coniglio, Dan Zellner, Cheryl
Faver&GSRT,GeorgePopovich,PaulandMoiraJackson,Jimmy&Beth
Micklavcic, David McNabb, ArtGrid members, The Flying Karamozov
Brothers, Yacov Sharir, John Mitchell, Alex Oliszewski, Marianne Weems
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND GRATITUDE
& the Builders, Lance Gharavi, Apryl Renee, Brian Buck, Janet & rest
of The Talking Birds, Karen Bradley, and Brandon Morse. And if your
nameisn’tonthislist,meaculpa.Contactme,andwecantalkaboutyour
artistic innovation for the next edition. Thank you for all you do.
Praise for DigitalTheatre
“Digging into the Digital Performance Archives, Nadja Masura has
emergedwithapotentdistillationofthelastthreedecadesofdigitaltech-
nology in the theatre. This book elucidates key concepts from the field
through ample examples drawn from a wide variety of artists. This book
is a treasure trove for anyone interested in the very consequential digital
turn in theatre.”
—Kevin Brown, Digital Media and Performance Studies, University of
Missouri, USA
“Brilliantly conceived and executed, Digital Theatre documents and illu-
minates the myriad ways theatre artists are re-imagining the relationship
betweenlivetheatreanddigitaltechnology,aprocessthatisconcurrently
alteringtraditionalrelationshipswithinproductionteams,artistsandaudi-
ences, and, potentially, society writ large. The book’s focus on praxis,
featuringinformeddiscussionofdiversedigitaltheatrepractices,including
the author’s own work, increases its appeal and importance as a resource
for theatre artists, educators, and anyone interested in cultural and social
transformation.”
—Cheryl Black, Curators’ Distinguished Professor Emerita, University of
Missouri, USA
ix