My thoughts on theatre becoming diluted is that it will not become diluted if we give people something that they can relate with. I find that if you tell me a story that I can relate to, or what I'm going through in my life; I'm more likely to listen in and become interested in what you are trying to say. Another thought is that you need to entertain the audience to keep them drawn in. We can lose it if we don't encourage theatre in education settings. For example, I didn't have a deep appreciation for theatre until I was introduced to this department and learned there is more to it that actors on a stage. It would be cool if we could make and promote a movie and the staged version of that movie at the same time, and see which one would see the most tickets. It would most likely be the movie, because if I don't see in the movie theatre I can get it later and watch and and live theatre you can't. There would need to be something to draw people in and ways to get people to realize the live work that happens on a stage rather than a screen. I love movies and eventually want to be a part of the business but I appreciated theatre and what it gives.
Media is already a creation of imaginations and stories from memory so there is truth in Andreas Huyssen's "imagined memory." I have memories that I can relate to something that I have seen on TV/Flim which is the happy family sitting at the table sharing what has happened in their day. I really cannot think of a subject matter that has impacted me that I have not personally experienced. I can draw things out from something and relate it to my personal experience that impacted me, but just the subject matter itself. I cannot think of any.
Janessa, I'm interested in your take on keeping theatre interesting for an audience to keep it from going away- how do you propose we do that? What is it about theatre that you appreciate and want to keep? Like we've read in other articles, by trying to appeal to everyone on an individual basis, theatre no longer becomes relatable to anyone. Based on the rest of your prompt, it sounds like you're advocating for a theatre diluting, because media is a medium that is always accessible. I'd encourage you to go back to your original thoughts and see if you can deepen the explanation because I'm curious to hear more of why you feel that way.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that theatre should entertain, but what exactly do you mean by that? Should we only do very appealing/sellable shows and not care as much about the depth of what is being said? Also, what if we started to live stream theatre productions? People would still have to pay ticket price for access to the site to watch it on, and they could only watch it one time. Since they would now have the luxury of being in the comfort of their home, do you think they'd be more likely to watch a play because of that? Would they still be able to really experience what is happening while not being in the same room as the actors? I ask this because of the appeal of movies you bring up. Just curious what it would take to reach a wider selection of people.
ReplyDelete