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Digital Media and Technology

Digital media and technology are ever-evolving, and so is their relationship to theatre. In this section, you can learn about how theatremakers are incorporating media and tech into their art-making and career-building, as well as read New Crit pieces about work created to be shared online. Two interesting series to explore for a sense of how quickly the conversations change are Gwydion Suilebhan’s Techne—essays written in 2013 and 2014—and Performing the Internet, curated by Kate Bergstrom in January 2021. Check out content from the 2019 Digital + Performance Convening for a multifaceted look at this topic!

The Latest

Theatre By and For Gamers
Podcast
Theatre By and For Gamers
by Tjaša Ferme, Emma Bexell
14 March 2024
Aerial Performance in a Wheelchair 
Podcast
Aerial Performance in a Wheelchair 
by Tjaša Ferme, Laurel Lawson
7 March 2024
Gore and Myth in Theatre Mitu's (holy) BLOOD
Podcast
Gore and Myth in Theatre Mitu's (holy) BLOOD
by Tjaša Ferme, Rubén Polendo
29 February 2024
Acting Out
Essay

Acting Out

The Future of Theatre Majors

7 March 2016

Troy Lambert discusses potential career options for Theatre majors graduating from colleges and universities in the US.

Media Design and the Director
Essay

Media Design and the Director

22 January 2016

In this installment, Dan Fine discusses his background in directing and offers suggestions for directors working with media designers.

The Artists of Change: Conversations with the Ford Fellows
Video

The Artists of Change: Conversations with the Ford Fellows

Friday 15 January 2016.

As a culmination of the Art of Change initiative, the Ford Foundation is hosting The Artists of Change: Conversations with the Ford Fellows livestreamed on the global, commons based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 15 January. On Twitter, use #ArtOfChange and follow @HowlRoundTV. To submit questions to the Fellows, follow @FordFoundation and look out for the prompts.

Livestreaming Ghost Komungobot by Composer Jin Hi Kim
Video

Livestreaming Ghost Komungobot by Composer Jin Hi Kim

Saturday, December 12 2015
New York, NY, United States

Culturehub SeoulArts/La MaMa presents the livestreaming performance of Ghost Komungobot by composer Jin Hi Kim (Composers Now Creative Resident 2015, Guggenheim Fellowship 2010) in collaboration with acclaimed visualist Benton C Bainbridge (Beastie Boys, MOMA, The Whitney Museum), and sound designer Alex Noyes. Livestreaming as part of Culturehub's Refest on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday, December 12 at 5pm PST (Los Angeles) / 7pm CST (Chicago) / 8pm EST (New York).

Steel Hammer
Essay

Steel Hammer

A Living Cubist Portrait of John Henry

1 December 2015

David Dudley reflects on Steel Hammer and the John Henry myth, at the Krannert Center in Urbana, Illinois.

Accounting for Media in the Production Schedule—Part 2
Essay

Accounting for Media in the Production Schedule—Part 2

6 November 2015

In this seventh installment, Daniel Fine continues discussing workflow, highlighting key elements for media design in the production process.

Accounting for Media in the Production Schedule
Essay

Accounting for Media in the Production Schedule

29 October 2015

In the sixth installment, Daniel Fine discusses how to schedule workflow for media design during the production process.

You Have One New Message
Essay

You Have One New Message

Rethinking Our Response to Cell Phones in the Theatre

21 October 2015

Playwright John J King proposes that instead of scolding and shaming audience members who don’t follow cell phone rules in the theatre, we as a community should spend more time orienting new attendees to our world.

Media Design in the Rehearsal Hall Part 3
Essay

Media Design in the Rehearsal Hall Part 3

1 October 2015

In the fifth installment of his series, Daniel Fine wraps up his discussion on how to utilize media design in the rehearsal hall.

Theatre Artists Unite Around Climate Change Action
Essay

Theatre Artists Unite Around Climate Change Action

Moving to Movement

25 September 2015

Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Alison Carey writes about the upcoming Green Room, an online space for theatre artists to come together around climate change action.

A Conversation about Smart Phones and Theatre
Video

A Conversation about Smart Phones and Theatre

Monday 21 September 2015
Vancouver, Canada

Playwrights Theatre Centre in Vancouver presented A Conversation about Smart Phones and Theatre—livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 21 September at 7 p.m. PDT (Vancouver) / 8 p.m. MDT (Calgary) / 9 p.m. CDT (Austin) / 10 p.m. EDT (Montreal).

Media Design in the Rehearsal Hall Part 2
Essay

Media Design in the Rehearsal Hall Part 2

How to Integrate Media

16 September 2015

In the fourth installment of his series, Daniel Fine continues discussing how to integrate media into the rehearsal process.

Beyond the Hashtag—a conversation on using art and technology to combat the criminalization of our communities
Video

Beyond the Hashtag—a conversation on using art and technology to combat the criminalization of our communities

Tuesday 15 September 2015
New York, NY, United States

The Ford Foundation hosted Beyond the Hashtag, a conversation on using art and technology to combat the criminalization of our communities livestreamed on the commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 15 September at 7 p.m. EDT (New York) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 23:00 GMT. 

Re-Tweeting Jeremy Gable’s The 15th Line
Essay

Re-Tweeting Jeremy Gable’s The 15th Line

11 September 2015

Professor Erin Mee discusses her decision to re-tweet Jeremy Gable’s The 15th Line and the dramaturgical questions she has for the project.

Media Design in the Rehearsal Hall Part 1
Essay

Media Design in the Rehearsal Hall Part 1

2 September 2015

In the third installment of his media design series, Daniel Fine distinguishes effective ways to utilize media in the rehearsal room.

Media Design and Dramaturgy
Essay

Media Design and Dramaturgy

Creating Meaning

19 August 2015

In the second installment of his media design series, Daniel Fine discusses the important connection between media design and dramaturgy in effective storytelling onstage.

What is Media Design?
Essay

What is Media Design?

5 August 2015

In the first installment of his series on media design, Daniel Fine defines media design and traces the history of design and technology in theatre.

A Playwright’s Learning Curve with Audio Drama
Essay

A Playwright’s Learning Curve with Audio Drama

14 July 2015

Lindsay Harris-Friel works through the process of creating a science fiction serial audio drama and highlights a few of the challenges that come when jumping into new media.

A High Touch Theatrical Experience for a High Tech World
Essay

A High Touch Theatrical Experience for a High Tech World

17 June 2015

Joseph Pindelski describes the “high touch” and “high tech” audience engagement experiences The Goodman created for Regina Taylor’s stop. reset.

Theatre in a Mobile World
Essay

Theatre in a Mobile World

Critiquing Convention and Calling for Innovation

3 June 2015

Kyle Thomas discusses the benefits of incorporating mobile platforms into theatrical performance.

Smartphone Plays
Essay

Smartphone Plays

a New Theatrical Genre

6 May 2015

Erin Mee discusses the emerging genre of smartphone plays.

Developmental Through Lines
Essay

Developmental Through Lines

O’Neill, The Nether, and Bright Half Life

28 April 2015

The author ruminates on two plays that recently concluded Off Broadway runs and their early development at the O’Neill Playwrights Conference. 

A Call for Solidarity: A Real-Time Networked Performance Linking Hawaii, Alaska, and NYC
Video

A Call for Solidarity: A Real-Time Networked Performance Linking Hawaii, Alaska, and NYC

Wednesday 15 April 2015
Alaska, Hawaii, & New York City; United States

A Call for Solidarity—a real-time networked performance linking Hawaii, Alaska, and New York City—livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 15 April at 8 p.m. EDT (New York) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 5 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 4 p.m. AKDT (Alaska) / 2 p.m. HAST (Hawaii).

Stagger Lee and the Digital Storytelling Project
Essay

Stagger Lee and the Digital Storytelling Project

A Conversation with Anne Bothwell

6 April 2015

Commons producer Jonathan Norton chats with Anne Bothwell about Stagger Lee: Making a Musical, a digital storytelling project tracking the development of Will Power’s new musical.

When the Gods Choose a Different Play Each Night
Essay

When the Gods Choose a Different Play Each Night

Designing for Interactive Theatre

5 April 2015

Lighting designer Megan Reilly outlines the process of designing for production with twelve possible iterations.