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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
brightly colored graphic of person surrounded by objects against a blue background.
Odes for a World in Search of Joy
Video

Odes for a World in Search of Joy

Inspired by Pablo Neruda’s Odes to Common Things

Saturday 1 May 2021
United States

CultureHub presented a performance of Odes for a World in Search of Joy livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 1 May 2021 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

arms covered in paint reaching toward a person looking down.
Downtown Variety: Kenya Edition
Video

Downtown Variety: Kenya Edition

Bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance

Friday 30 April 2021
Kenya

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: Kenya Edition livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 30 April 2021 at 9 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 11 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 12 p.m. PDT (New York, UTC -4) / 7 p.m. EAT (Nairobi, UTC +3).

event poster with text for unrehearsed futures episode four.
Unrehearsed Futures: Theatre Making
Video

Unrehearsed Futures: Theatre Making

Episode 4: Transference and Transposition - Notes from across the boundaries of the original medium

Thursday 29 April 2021
South Africa

Presenting Unrehearsed Futures: Theatre Making livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Thursday 29 April 2021 at 5 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 10 a.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 11 a.m. SAST (Cape Town, UTC +2) / 2:30 p.m. IST (Mumbai, UTC +5:30) / 7 p.m. AEST (Hobart, UTC +10).

person in orange sweater writing in a notebook.
Negotiating Quotidian: Performing the Everyday
Video

Negotiating Quotidian: Performing the Everyday

Investigating how performing the everyday has recently changed our perception of and experience in theatre and performance

Wednesday 28 April and Thursday 29 April 2021
United States

The Ph.D. Program in Theatre and Performance, The Graduate Center, City University of New York presented Negotiating Quotidian: Performing the Everyday livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 28 April and Thursday 29 April 2021.

event poster with text for unrehearsed futures episode 3.
Unrehearsed Futures: The Many Lives of Red Peter
Video

Unrehearsed Futures: The Many Lives of Red Peter

Episode 3: On Theatre Making (it), before and after the pandemic

Thursday 22 April 2021
South Africa

Unrehearsed Futures: The Many Lives of Red Peter livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv Thursday 22 April 2021 at 4 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 9 a.m. BST (London, UTC +1) / 10 a.m. SAST (Cape Town, UTC +2) / 1:30 p.m. IST (Mumbai, UTC +5:30) / 6 p.m. AEST (Hobart, UTC +10).

Footnote 3. An image of a door that opens up and allows a green galaxy of starts to pour through it. The door is on a wall of coding.
A Love Letter to Voyeuristic, Imaginative Acts
Essay

A Love Letter to Voyeuristic, Imaginative Acts

600 Highwaymen’s A Thousand Ways (Part One: A Phone Call)

22 April 2021

Aly Perry shares her experience of transformative public intimacy in 600 Highwaymen’s recent immersive show.

artist headshots on green background with white event text.
Welcome to Our Space
Video

Welcome to Our Space

Audience Experiences in Virtual Spaces

Thursday 15 April 2021
United States

Aurora Theatre presented the conversation Welcome to Our Space: Audience Experiences in Virtual Spaces livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 15 April 2021 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

zoom windows of artists performing in their homes.
Sonic Gathering In Person
Video

Sonic Gathering In Person

Featuring a rotating cast of dancers and musicians presenting new collaborative work of movement and sound

Wednesday 7 April 2021
United States

CultureHub presented Sonic Gathering In Person with Re-Fest livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 7 April 2021 at 3 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 5 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 6 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

black and white photos of artists in zoom window boxes.
Virtual Translation: Bringing Piehole's Disclaimer to Zoom
Video

Virtual Translation: Bringing Piehole's Disclaimer to Zoom

Join Piehole members for a (free) technical skill-share and discussion on adaptation across mediums

Monday 29 March 2021
United States

Piehole presented Virtual Translation: Bringing Piehole's Disclaimer to Zoom livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 29 March 2021 at 3 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 5 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 6 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

Downtown Variety: SeoulArts Edition
Video

Downtown Variety: SeoulArts Edition

Bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance

Friday 26 March 2021
Seoul, Korea

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: SeoulArts Edition livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 26 February 2021 at 6 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 8 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 9 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / Saturday 27 February 2021 at 10 a.m. KST (Seoul, UTC +9).

an actor onstage
Adapting to Pandemic Regulations
Essay

Adapting to Pandemic Regulations

A New Way of Performance Watching for an Old Classic

4 March 2021

Merve Parla shares her experience with Netherlands-based dance company Club Guy & Roni’s recent production of Swan Lake, an interactive experience with both offline and online components.

a colorful illustration
The Technological Theatre Experimenters
Essay

The Technological Theatre Experimenters

18 February 2021

In envisioning of the future, Jared Mezzocchi begins by questioning: “What if theatre’s identity is not lost in the digital, but instead is enhanced in it?”

text LEVEL UP
Level Up: The Dramaturgy of Digital Performance and Design
Video

Level Up: The Dramaturgy of Digital Performance and Design

Engaging in meaningful conversations on digital tools in live performance

Monday 18 January - Saturday 13 February 2021
Canada

Associated Designers of Canada and ToasterLab presented the symposium Level Up: The Dramaturgy of Digital Performance and Design livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Monday 18 January to Saturday 13 February 2021.

an actor onstage
Alternate World Design During the Pandemic and Beyond
Essay

Alternate World Design During the Pandemic and Beyond

11 February 2021

Heidi Coleman and Patrick Jagoda discuss alternate reality games (ARG) as a means of motivating audiences to take action, what goes into creating ARGs, game-based improvisation, and more.

episode five claudia alick calling up justice
Claudia Alick and Calling Up Justice
Podcast

Claudia Alick and Calling Up Justice

Building Our Own Tables Episode #5

27 January 2021

During this episode of Building Our Own Tables, podcast host Yura Sapi talks with Claudia Alick, founding executive producer of the transmedia social justice company Calling Up Justice.

zoom screenshot
Whose America and Whose Dreams?
Essay

Whose America and Whose Dreams?

26 January 2021

Zeina Salame sits down for a conversation with Leila Buck and Tamilla Woodard to talk about their most recent creative collaboration, American Dreams, online audience interaction, and more.

Downtown Variety: Take 17
Video

Downtown Variety: Take 17

Bringing La MaMa's 1960s café aesthetic to a virtual platform that links performers and audiences in real time across distance

Friday 22 January 2021
United States

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: Take 17 livestreaming on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 22 January 2020 at 4 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) / 6 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 7 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).

a group onstage
Sometimes the Best Technology is Relationships
Essay

Sometimes the Best Technology is Relationships

A Conversation with Complex Movements

15 January 2021

In the last conversation of the Performing the Internet series, curator Kate Bergstrom sits down with three members of the Detroit-based artist-activist collective Complex Movements—Sage Crump, ill weaver, Wes Taylor—to talk about intentional engagement in a virtual world.

an actor onstage
Write the Software and Let the World Have It
Essay

Write the Software and Let the World Have It

Forty Years of Internet Performance

14 January 2021

In this article for the Performing the Internet series, Miller Puckette and Onyx Ashanti get together for a conversation about the changing landscape of multimedia technology in the arts, how technologically mediated performance practices have taken on new relevance in the post-COVID era, and more.

youtube screenshot
“Model User Behavior”
Essay

“Model User Behavior”

13 January 2021

As part of the Performing the Internet series, Martim Galvão and Todd Anderson have a conversation about the unconscious “performance” and emotional journey of web browsing, internet mixtapes, building websites for performance, and more.

a person seated at a desk with a large projection to their left
Dawn of the Digital Apocalypse
Essay

Dawn of the Digital Apocalypse

Alchemy, Narrative, and Dismantling Borders in the Virtual World

12 January 2021

Anchuli Felicia King and Adam Cooper-Terán talk about how the object of the internet functions in their creative work, the ethics of the internet, digital apocalypse art, and more.

Beyond Wandering
Essay

Beyond Wandering

Critical Engagement in a World-Widening Web

11 January 2021

Kate Bergstrom introduces the Performing the Internet series, which asks big questions, such as: Can unpacking the internet be a bellwether for how we all can unpack and restructure our society and our organizations? Can we reconceptualize our relationship to the internet by dismantling, questioning, and addressing it in our creative work?

Grass growing out of an old laptop computer.
Streaming in the Just Transition
Essay

Streaming in the Just Transition

A Producer’s Guide to Measuring, Budgeting, and Lowering the Carbon Emissions of Livestreams and Video Conferences

7 January 2021

Vijay Mathew asks, and then offers ideas to approach, the question: "How will the performing arts field contribute to climate justice during the sixth mass extinction?"

a desert road leading toward mountains
Seuls en Scène Festival 2020 / Festival Seuls en Scène 2020
Essay

Seuls en Scène Festival 2020 / Festival Seuls en Scène 2020

The Show Must Go On / Le spectacle doit continuer

5 January 2021

Amelia Parenteau explores the most recent Seuls en Scène Festival, which took place in September 2020 on Zoom and had a programmatic mix of video recordings of live performance, “staged” readings, one making-of documentary, and a series of docutheatre work. / Amelia Parenteau explore la dernière édition du festival Seuls en Scène, qui a eu lieu en septembre 2020 sur Zoom et qui a présenté une programmation variée, avec des captations vidéo de performances, des lectures de pièces, un documentaire sur un processus de création et une série de docu-théâtres.

digital theatre screenshot
Reverse-Engineering Zoom with Isadora
Essay

Reverse-Engineering Zoom with Isadora

Site-Specific Performance for the Internet

4 January 2021

Barbara Fuchs chats with director and designer Jared Mezzocchi about his digital theatre production Russian Troll Farm, how to reverse-engineer Zoom, Isadora as the way forward, and more.