The What

Lansing Media/Theatre Project seeks to educate, develop, and produce a program that effectively integrates video media with live theatre in the Lansing Area.

The Why

Cultures throughout history have created their own versions of theater, each with its own wide variety of styles and structure. Theatre has proven itself to be uncontrollably fluid and adapts with the times. Consider how early Greek scenery with its periaktoi and use of torches for lighting has progressed into today’s hydraulic set pieces and intelligent LED lighting systems. Even the essence of theatre has progressed from early Greek dramas through the Renaissance, Shakespeare, Expressionism, Absurdist, Realism, musicals, dance, and so many other forms. This uncontainable force for change cannot be repressed, for Theatre is truly a living art form that grows and evolves inseparably from its practitioners. The seamless introduction of theatre and video is only a newer link in the chain that measures the length of history.

This new marriage of theatre and video is an area that has only recently shown growth and potential in the theatrical world, and can be seen in Broadway productions such as 9 to 5, Memphis, and Sondheim on Sondheim, as well as in the recent broadcast of the 2010 Tony awards. The integration of theatre and video is not simply a matter of one art form bending or adjusting to allow the other to exist, but a realization of an entirely new art form, one that challenges any audience to new experiences that must be processed in a non-traditional method. This study will explore new ways of communicating through a combination of media and theatre to enhance spectator response to the narrative.

The How

Project Development Plan

The scope of this project can be broken down into the following: the study of this new art form of media and theatre, apply this study to the training of personnel in this new art form, and present the results of this study. This project plans to accomplish its goals utilizing the following major components:

Community Outreaching Workshops, Training, and Productions

The Lansing Media/Theatre Project plans to utilize a number of the resources and equipment that have been cultivated at Michigan State University, and the strong, vibrant theater community in the Lansing area, as the foundation for this project. We have partnered with Riverwalk Theatre, a reputable local theatre organization, in order to offer a strong community oriented educational program within media technology. Through these programs, we hope to foster exponential growth in skill, knowledge, and artistic insight for the students, allowing them to teach others. Workshops aimed at educating directors, designers, actors, and technicians on the potential and practical application of media in theatre.

Community Theatre Laboratory

The local community at large includes a vibrant cross section of diversity in theatre background, experience, and interests. We hope that this diversity will allow us a more accurate evaluation of the practical real-world integration of theatre and media. This theatre experience as laboratory would consist of the creation of a digital media theatre performance for each of the next two theater seasons with educational workshops leading up to this final production. Evaluative measures will be created and applied during the workshop and performance process.

Evaluative Measures

Film and theatre have established methods of audience testing, critical response and criticism. These methods must be combined and augmented with others to develop an accurate system for measuring technology, design and the direct link to audience understanding and response to the narrative. Part of the focus of this research project will be to develop these new methods.

Outcomes

Educational Outcomes

This project will create a thriving community of theatre creators and audience interested in pursuing further research and exploration of media in theatre. This project will have the following impact on MSU students:

Published Outcomes

The results from this study /will be published to influence the broader theatre and academic community. To reach a broad cross-section, including community theatre, professional theatre and academic theatre, the results will be published as follows:

Summation

The Lansing Area is rich with talented, skilled people who are involved and interested in all aspects of theatre. The Lansing Media/Theatre Project hopes to foster an understanding and mastery of the skills needed to successfully integrate video with theatre in order to make this new art form readily available within the Lansing Area.

In order to gain the support needed in the community, and to accumulate the information needed for publication, we estimate this program to take three years, perhaps into a fourth. During that time period, the Lansing Media/Theatre Project will create a structured educational component that is reputable, self sustaining, and on the technological forefront of theatrical evolution.