Local Networks and Redefining the Regions

I have been writing a lot about the networked stage recently, an idea originated by Zay Amsbury. I feel this is a valuable conceptual model and one worth further investigation I also feel it generates an incomplete model. While it can serve to tell us how things might work, it does little in terms of content. While I think this is a great asset I feel that discussions of content are of equal or perhaps greater importance.

The New Humanism, brought out in recent discussions, is an important vector of thought regarding the future of theatre. As the world becomes increasingly technologically advanced there might be a tendency away from the human as subject as we get carried away with technology. There is a tendency away from the immediate and towards the Spectactular. Cirque du Soliel, the Broadway Musical, or the West End. These are all examples of Spectactular entertainment.

Where I differ from the Situationists is that I do not feel there is an inherent detriment to humanity in spectactular society. Quite the contrary I feel it has a very important role to play in the social functioning of a culture. As technological life becomes increasingly demanding there is a need for release from that and nothing short of sex offers that release like spectacular entertainment. The ever present danger however is that the seduction of the spectacular will reduce ones impulses towards direct live interaction to zero.

Blogging and social networking technologies can provide one vector of resistance against the totalizing forces of spectacular society. By their very nature they are interactive. The problems with them lie in the virtuality of their existence. Every interaction is mediated through a computer screen. Human touch and human speech are not allowed due to the very nature of the mediums themselves. We do not yet know the full implications of these new technologies on society. Further, technological advances outpace our cultural ability to integrate the technologies into daily use.

Major media outlets, be they film, the recording industry or commercial theatre are too large to maneuver around the changing pace of technological growth. They can integrate technology faster because of their size and wealth, but lack the capacity to come to terms with it on an ontological level. Theatre at the Regional level or smaller, on the other hand, is highly maneuvarable and contains within it the ability to adapt quickly to changing social and cultural forces.

I have seen an interesting trend of late in discussions with people about how to relocate theatre in a more centralized cultural location. Several people, totally independent of one another, have spoken of creating theatre spaces that serve as community centers. This is not community theatre where you politely clap for your next door neighbors poor performance. This is a return to theatre's foundational source of power. The first theatre was around the campfire, telling stories after the hunt, or a shaman telling of spirits to be wary of. The regional theatre movement first started as a means of bringing high quality theatre to communities outside the major theatre centers. The member companies of the League of Regional Theaters do an amazing job at producing work for geographically specific audiences.

There is a movement gaining momentum among younger theatre practitioners to revitalize some of these older LORT theatre's. A resurgence of this movement on the way. As the spectacle grows, so too does the countervailing forces searching for more demanding and engaging works. This is work that understands why we must play together. Work that speaks to a specific locality, a singular time and place, yet brings us out into a larger world when the curtain comes down. Work that asks you to question some of your basic assumptions about life, the universe and everything. Work that leaves an audience demanding more because once awakened, the hunger for truth is insatiable.