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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
a chess board being video recorded
Making Theatre, or Something Else Entirely, in a Pandemic
Essay

Making Theatre, or Something Else Entirely, in a Pandemic

On Protests and Virtual Performance

16 September 2020

Soyica Colbert sits down with playwright Natsu Onoda Power to talk about protesting against the United States military presence in Okinawa, Japan; in-person audiences versus virtual ones, Natsu’s new piece Okiniawa Demo Reel, and more.

blue background with yellow culturecapital:online text
culturecapital:online MARK HOPKINS vs RALPH ESCAMILLAN
Video

culturecapital:online MARK HOPKINS vs RALPH ESCAMILLAN

Two players compete online for sweet art money in culturecapital, the arts economy trading card game

Wednesday 2 September 2020
Canada

The second round of culturecapital:online MARK HOPKINS vs RALPH ESCAMILLAN livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 2 September 2020 at 6 p.m. PDT (Vancouver, UTC-7) / 8 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 9 p.m. EDT (Toronto, UTC-4) / Thursday 21 May 10:00 KST (Seoul, UTC+9) / 13:00 NZST (Auckland, UTC+12).

three actors onstage
Classical Theatre in Another Strange Land
Essay

Classical Theatre in Another Strange Land

3 September 2020

Esther Fernández talks about closing the gap that separates classical and contemporary theatre and discusses the piece En otro reino extraño, a polyphonic work composed of scenes from Lope de Vega’s plays; snippets of informal conversations between the actors in Zoom chats; poems transmogrified into electrocumbia, punk, and pop songs; and video montage.

zoom video chat of several people
Melted Snow on Virtual Stages
Essay

Melted Snow on Virtual Stages

26 August 2020

Seattle-based Jasmine Mahmoud talks to New York–based Autumn Knight about Knight’s recent performance Our Water is Melted Snow, geography and audiences, and staging and presence across screens.

two actors onstage
Intimacy Direction in the Time of Physical Distance
Essay

Intimacy Direction in the Time of Physical Distance

25 August 2020

As artists and companies re-examine the failures of their infrastructures and unconscious biases, Emily C. A. Snyder argues that the lessons learned and challenges faced so far within the field of intimacy direction may be of particular value.

screenshot of a zoom theatre piece
Crowdsourcing Theatre Practice in a Time of COVID
Essay

Crowdsourcing Theatre Practice in a Time of COVID

20 August 2020

Barbara Fuchs and Elena Araoz share information about their new projects that attempt to make sense of the transformations to the theatre field and put a call out for artists to help chart these transformations.

a woman looking up.
A Conversation with Igor Golyak and Wang Chong (ASL-interpreted)
Video

A Conversation with Igor Golyak and Wang Chong (ASL-interpreted)

Discussing the online performance State vs. Natasha Banina and the state of online theatre

Wednesday 19 August 2020
Boston MA, United States

ArtsEmerson presented A Conversation with Igor Golyak and Wang Chong livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 11 August 2020 at 9 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 10 a.m. EDT (Boston, UTC -4) / 15:00 BST (London, UTC +1) / 16:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2).

a clown nose on a laptop
Theatre, Clown, and Physical Comedy… Online?
Essay

Theatre, Clown, and Physical Comedy… Online?

17 August 2020

Charlie Peters, who has spent the early days of the pandemic thinking about and experimenting with how physical comedy can (and can’t) live online, shares what he’s learned.

collage of nine stills of a person in a yellow shirt posing with yellow fruit.
Downtown Variety: Take 13
Video

Downtown Variety: Take 13

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

Friday 14 August 2020
United States

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: Take 13 livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 14 August 2020 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

a face in a circle in a photo of space, with red and blue swirls
Reactor Cluj's EXEUNT
Video

Reactor Cluj's EXEUNT

produced as part of the program "Posthuman. Performative approaches".

Thursday 30 July 2020
Cluj-Napoca, Romania

REACTOR presented EXEUNT livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 30 July 2020 at 20:00 EEST (Cluj-Napoca, UTC +3) / 18:00 BST (London, UTC +1) / 19:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2). / 1 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 10 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7)

an actor onstage with a large projection behind them
Distanced Devotion
Essay

Distanced Devotion

Grumelot’s Game Over Brings Us Closer

30 July 2020

Barbara Fuchs writes about Game Over, a devised piece by the Spanish company Grumelot, which was a profound exploration of storytelling across multiple platforms, including Zoom, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Spotify.

Seven performer headshots.
Café La MaMa Live: July Month
Video

Café La MaMa Live: July Month

Hosted and Curated by Mateo Hurtado, in association with the Brown Theatre Collective

Tuesday 21 July 2020
New York City

La MaMa Experimental Theater Club presented Café La MaMa Live: July Month livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 21 July 2020 at 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 7 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 1 p.m HST (Honoloulu UTC-10) / 3 p.m. AKDT (Anchorage, UTC-8).

screenshot of livelab computer program
LiveLab Meet-Up
Video

LiveLab Meet-Up

An introduction to LiveLab and the creative potentials of working online

Wednesday 15 July 2020
United States

CultureHub presented the first LiveLab Meet-Up livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 15 July 2020 at 11 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 1 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

Event title and details formatted to look like a search engine.
Tech in Performance: The Great Leveller or The Great Unequaliser?
Video

Tech in Performance: The Great Leveller or The Great Unequaliser?

Moderated by Felipe Cervera with speakers Madeleine Flynn, Elizabeth Kow, and Brandon Tay

Tuesday 14 July 2020
Singapore

ArtsEquator presented Tech in Performance: The Great Leveller or The Great Unequaliser? livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 14 July 2020 at 7:30 p.m. SGT (Singapore, UTC +8) / 8:30 p.m. KST (Seoul, UTC +9) / 12:30 BST (London, UTC +1) / 13:30 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2) / 7:30 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4)

What I Learned from Making an Opera on Zoom
Essay

What I Learned from Making an Opera on Zoom

7 July 2020

Kamala Sankaram talks about the process of developing an opera on Zoom and shares advice based on what she and her team learned.

Close-up of a person's face.
Downtown Variety: Take 12
Video

Downtown Variety: Take 12

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

Friday 3 July 2020
United States

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: Take 12 livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 3 July 2020 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

a person seated at a desk with multiple screens
At Home and in Lockdown with Belarus Free Theatre
Essay

At Home and in Lockdown with Belarus Free Theatre

The Show Goes On

30 June 2020

verity healey examines how Belarus Free Theatre is making work during COVID-19 and dives in to their latest show, A School for Fools.

Floating figure above coral with a stars above.
Experiments in Digital Storytelling | Exegesis
Video

Experiments in Digital Storytelling | Exegesis

Exploring the potential of emerging technologies to create dynamic and engaging live storytelling experiences

Monday 29 June 2020
United States

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Experiments in Digital Storytelling | Exegesis livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Monday 29 June 2020 at 3 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 5 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC- 5) / 6 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).

astronaut and the words Airlock 24.
A performance of Airlock 24
Video

A performance of Airlock 24

with PaduaLab in Los Angeles

Friday 26 June to Sunday 28 June 2020
Los Angeles

PaduaLab presented a performance of Airlock 24 livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 26 June at 8 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles, UTC-7) / 10 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 11 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).

youtube screenshot
End Meeting For All
Essay

End Meeting For All

Zoom Theatre, Launched

25 June 2020

Barbara Fuchs reflects on Forced Entertainment’s three-part Zoom show, End Meeting For All.

Downtown Variety: Juneteenth
Video

Downtown Variety: Juneteenth

An ancestral healing tele-protest to extend the resilience of Detroit and Flint artists to the multiverse of the global Black movement

Friday 19 June 2020
Untied States

La MaMa and CultureHub presented Downtown Variety: Juneteenth livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 19 June 2020 at 2 p.m. HST (Honolulu, UTC -10) / 4 p.m. AKDT (Juneau, UTC -8) / 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 6 p.m. MDT (Denver, UTC -6) 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (Detroit, UTC -4).

Trees and leaves, a 360 degree camera amongst them, with the Toaster Lab logo overlain
The Toasterlab Mixed Reality Performance Hack (tMoRPH) Final Presentations
Video

The Toasterlab Mixed Reality Performance Hack (tMoRPH) Final Presentations

Toasterlab’s Mixed Reality Performance Atelier is a two-year deep dive into the current mixed reality methods used by theatre and performance makers

Friday 19 June 2020
Toronto, Canada

ToasterLab presented a Mixed Reality Performance Hack (tMoRPH) Final Presentations livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 19 June 2020 at 9 a.m. AKDT (Juneau, UTC-8) / 10 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 12 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 1 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 18:00 BST (London, UTC+1) / 19:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC+2).

A person standing on a hill, partly pixelated and blurred.
I.F.: Indigenous Futurities: Dancing Earth in CyberSpace
Video

I.F.: Indigenous Futurities: Dancing Earth in CyberSpace

Collaborating artist visionaries reveal cyberspace as a realm of ritual, to reimagine the future

Thursday 18 / Friday 19 June 2020
Wellington, NZ

Toasterlab presented I.F. : Indigenous Futurities : Dancing Earth in CyberSpace livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 18 June 2020 at 3:30 p.m. HST (Honolulu, UTC-10) / 6:30 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 8:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 9:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-6) / Friday 19 June at 10:30 JST (Tokyo, UTC+9) / 13:30 NZST (Wellington, UTC+12).

a focused portrait of an actor
Finding a Live Audience in Virtual Theatre
Essay

Finding a Live Audience in Virtual Theatre

18 June 2020

Edward Einhorn talks about adapting his play Performance for One into an online experience.

zoom video chat of several people
Creating a Culture of Play via Zoom
Essay

Creating a Culture of Play via Zoom

15 June 2020

Lavina Jadhwani offers artists several techniques to better utilize Zoom, whether as leaders of classrooms, theatremakers part of shows, or attendees of events.