Re: RAT In support of in-home, in-class, on-line theater

["Glen-Skip- Newell" <skipworthy@hotmail.com>]

Cat-

To my mind, both of your recent suggestions open up several lines of 
discussion.

First- I am completely with you on the idea of bringing young people into 
theatre, and in simplifying our work so that it remembers it's origin in 
storytelling and community. I am SO there. I also think there is great 
potential for the internet as a communication medium expanding an experience 
and exposure.HOWEVER...I would have to side with Gleason in that I would 
have to view 'internet theatre' ( if such a thing ever really comes into 
it's own as a genre) as a seperate thing- not only does it NOT have what i 
view as being the unique and important properties of live theatre, but the 
process is completely affected by the technology; the minute you start 
introducing the element of 'hardware' you have just abandoned the notion 
that theatre is about people, and you have taken a huge step toward 
Television.


Second- I have to strongly disagree with you about your assessment of the 
quality and resulting effect of Television and Movies. Sadly, good writing 
and acting are the exception, rather than the rule.TV and Movies are all 
about Giant Production Values- something independent and community theatre 
can never live up to realistically. As a result, in addition to having a 
much shorter attention span and tolerance for thought, our audiences have 
come to mistake the lowest common denominator for the highest; And 
Furthermore, Commercial theatre (Broadway, touring shows, BIG local theatre) 
have exacerbated the situation by exchanging the quality of interaction and 
art for spectacle. Your Woman on the street hit the nail on the head- we 
tolerate and even encourage georgie not because he is talented or even 
highly skilled, but because of his sex appeal. We're dealing with an 
audience that believes what they're told; and what they've been told , in so 
many words, is that's all there is. (Don't misunderstand me- I love 
spectacle, and I truly dig sex appeal, really, but I don't regard that or 
mistake it for quality of art or experience.)

And on the subject of presenting theatre on the internet and pretending to 
duplicate the experience of live theatre through interactive networking; As 
someone who has seen this tried, and tried himself, I have to say that we 
are a LOBG way from being able to create anything like theatre via the 
internet. Not only is the technology not nearly pervasive enough, or even 
properly developed (there is no killer app for theatre yet- to borrow a 
phrase from the IT industry) but we just don't know enough about it and 
who's out there to even develop a philosophy or production value or even 
make the communication truly effective.


S
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