DOCSLIB.ORG

Copyright by Toni Maria Stickler 2018

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Copyright by Toni Maria Stickler 2018 Copyright by Toni Maria Stickler 2018 The Thesis Committee for Toni Maria Stickler Certifies that this is the approved version of the following Thesis: Theater Bootlegs: Discourses on Access and Class in Theater Fandom APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Suzanne Scott, Supervisor Kathryn Fuller-Seeley Theater Bootlegs: Discourses on Access and Class in Theater Fandom by Toni Maria Stickler Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin August 2018 Abstract Theater Bootlegs: Discourses on Access and Class in Theater Fandom Toni Maria Stickler, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2018 Supervisor: Suzanne Scott This thesis contributes to the growing field of theater audience studies by focusing on a particular theater fan practice: recording and watching bootlegs. While scholars have extensively researched bootlegs of music concerts, bootlegs of theater have not been studied even though they are a crucial aspect of the contemporary theater fandom experience. This is a significant gap in understanding how audiences relate to theater, especially because theater as a medium is relatively expensive and inaccessible. This thesis frames bootlegs as filling a demand for greater access to professional theater and considers the political ramifications of their circulation. To this end, I examine the construction of theater as a “high class” medium and how prioritizing the “liveness” of theater contributes to its exclusivity. I examine how these conceptions of theater permeate the discourses of theater producers and performers who condemn the recording of bootlegs. Finally, a survey of the community of theater bootleg traders illuminates the tensions that currently exist for bootleg traders as they attempt to circulate bootlegs while avoiding unwanted attention from theater producers. iv Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Scope of Study ............................................................................................................3 The Big Picture ...........................................................................................................4 Material Limits to Theater Access ..................................................................7 Class and Taste Cultures .................................................................................8 The Ethics of Bootlegs: Major Discourses ...............................................................16 Liveness ........................................................................................................16 Intellectual Property ......................................................................................18 Chapter Overview .....................................................................................................19 Chapter One ..................................................................................................19 Chapter Two..................................................................................................19 Chapter Three................................................................................................20 Chapter 1: History of Bootlegging and Theater as High Culture ......................................22 Chapter 2: Discourses Against Bootlegging ......................................................................49 Case Study: Lin-Manuel Miranda.............................................................................61 Chapter 3: Bootleg Trading Community and Practices .....................................................73 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................100 Further Research .....................................................................................................103 Accessibility ................................................................................................103 Theater Fandom ..........................................................................................103 Piracy as fan practice ..................................................................................105 v Appendices .......................................................................................................................106 Appendix A: Survey Questions ..............................................................................106 Part One ......................................................................................................106 Part Two ......................................................................................................106 Appendix B: Example of Copyright Disclaimer.....................................................107 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................108 vi List of Figures Figure 1: Screencap of part of a bootleg list on a trading website. ..............................78 Figure 2: Example of tabs on a trading website. ..........................................................79 vii Introduction Only days after the hit musical Hamilton (2015) began preview performances at the Richard Rodgers theater on Broadway, an anonymous theater fan posted the following on the blogging site Tumblr: “here I am/patiently waiting for a bootleg of Hamilton/I mean it's been nine whole days what's the holdup?” Unfortunately for them, their query was responded to by the writer and composer of the musical himself—Lin- Manuel Miranda. He wrote: “Here I am. The composer. Actively rooting against you.” This interaction is just one of many instances where performers have called out fans recording bootlegs. Yet, the tone of the original post also suggests that bootlegs are normal and expected—at least in some parts of theater fandom. The desire for access to content that is not easily and legally available often structures how fans are able to relate to theater. Bootlegs exist as an answer to this demand but they are an illicit, underground, and not entirely satisfactory substitute for the actual live theater performance. Theater fandom, comprised of both those fans who seek out and watch bootlegs and those who do not, proliferates online on the same sites as fans of other properties. A quick search of a popular musical on Tumblr will reveal many common fan practices like fan fiction and fan-made gifsets. However, there is a crucial difference between theater fans and fans of, for instance, a television show. The actual content—the live show itself—is not available online, or at least it is not legally available in the way that TV or films are. Instead, theater productions provide some ancillary content like cast recordings and small promotional clips in order to placate the demand for access to the show. However, as the confrontation between this fan and Miranda shows, these promotional clips are not always enough for fans, who seek out bootlegs anyway. This desire for access and the mingling of theater fans and producers on social media then inevitably 1 produces conflict. Theater performers regularly speak out against recording bootlegs and insist that the only way fans can experience theater is by buying a ticket and attending a live performance. This doesn’t stop fans from seeking out bootlegs or from recording them. In fact, there is a longstanding underground online community surrounding the collection and trade of theater bootlegs—both video and audio recordings. This is similar in many ways to the practice of recording and collecting bootlegs of live music concerts—a practice that became relatively common in the 1970s surrounding rock musicians.1 The activities of music bootleggers has been well documented but theater bootlegging has gotten much less attention, and this thesis seeks to address this gap. Audio and video bootlegs of musicals and plays can be found on torrenting sites alongside pirated television and movies, but they are also traded among dedicated groups of theater fans using private emails. Some bootlegs make their way to YouTube before being subjected to takedown notices. The recording and sharing of bootlegs is a particularly controversial practice even within theater fandom itself. In many ways bootlegs serve to democratize the theater experience and allow individuals to see professional theater productions when they never could afford to otherwise. The debate among fans and theater performers on the ethics of bootlegging is inescapably related to how class circumscribes who can experience theater. This project focuses on bootlegs as a way to examine discourses surrounding issues of accessibility in theater and in fandom in the contemporary digital age. Issues of access are inevitably also about issues of class, and thus this thesis examines how theater has come to have a reputation as “highbrow” and how this affects the fan experience. 1 Clinton Heylin, Bootleg: The Secret History of the Other Recording Industry, 1st ed (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995), 60. 2 In this thesis I examine how bootlegs circulate among theater fans. This requires a special focus on those fans who are most invested in bootlegs: those who record and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • PERFORMED IDENTITIES: HEAVY METAL MUSICIANS BETWEEN 1984 and 1991 Bradley C. Klypchak a Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate
    PERFORMED IDENTITIES: HEAVY METAL MUSICIANS BETWEEN 1984 AND 1991 Bradley C. Klypchak A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2007 Committee: Dr. Jeffrey A. Brown, Advisor Dr. John Makay Graduate Faculty Representative Dr. Ron E. Shields Dr. Don McQuarie © 2007 Bradley C. Klypchak All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Dr. Jeffrey A. Brown, Advisor Between 1984 and 1991, heavy metal became one of the most publicly popular and commercially successful rock music subgenres. The focus of this dissertation is to explore the following research questions: How did the subculture of heavy metal music between 1984 and 1991 evolve and what meanings can be derived from this ongoing process? How did the contextual circumstances surrounding heavy metal music during this period impact the performative choices exhibited by artists, and from a position of retrospection, what lasting significance does this particular era of heavy metal merit today? A textual analysis of metal- related materials fostered the development of themes relating to the selective choices made and performances enacted by metal artists. These themes were then considered in terms of gender, sexuality, race, and age constructions as well as the ongoing negotiations of the metal artist within multiple performative realms. Occurring at the juncture of art and commerce, heavy metal music is a purposeful construction. Metal musicians made performative choices for serving particular aims, be it fame, wealth, or art. These same individuals worked within a greater system of influence. Metal bands were the contracted employees of record labels whose own corporate aims needed to be recognized.
    [Show full text]
  • Garage Zine Scionav.Com Vol. 3 Cover Photography: Clayton Hauck
    GARAGE ZINE SCIONAV.COM VOL. 3 COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: CLAYTON HAUCK STAFF Scion Project Manager: Jeri Yoshizu, Sciontist Editor: Eric Ducker Creative Direction: Scion Art Director: malbon Production Director: Anton Schlesinger Contributing Editor: David Bevan Assistant Editor: Maud Deitch Graphic Designers: Nicholas Acemoglu, Cameron Charles, Kate Merritt, Gabriella Spartos Sheriff: Stephen Gisondi CONTRIBUTORS Writer: Jeremy CARGILL Photographers: Derek Beals, William Hacker, Jeremy M. Lang, Bryan Sheffield, REBECCA SMEYNE CONTACT For additional information on Scion, email, write or call. Scion Customer Experience 19001 S. Western Avenue Company references, advertisements and/ Mail Stop WC12 or websites listed in this publication are Torrance, CA 90501 not affiliated with Scion, unless otherwise Phone: 866.70.SCION noted through disclosure. Scion does not Fax: 310.381.5932 warrant these companies and is not liable for Email: Email us through the contact page their performances or the content on their located on scion.com advertisements and/or websites. Hours: M-F, 6am-5pm PST Online Chat: M-F, 6am-6pm PST © 2011 Scion, a marque of Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc. All rights reserved. Scion GARAGE zine is published by malbon Scion and the Scion logo are trademarks of For more information about MALBON, contact Toyota Motor Corporation. [email protected] 00430-ZIN03-GR SCION A/V SCHEDULE JUNE Scion Garage 7”: Cola Freaks/Digital Leather (June 7) Scion Presents: Black Lips North American Tour The Casbah in San Diego, CA (June 9) Velvet Jones
    [Show full text]
  • Illegal P2P File Sharing on College Campuses – What's the Solution? Antionette D
    College of William & Mary Law School William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository Student Award Winning Papers Student Publications and Awards 2008 Illegal P2P File Sharing on College Campuses – What's the Solution? Antionette D. Bishop Repository Citation Bishop, Antionette D., "Illegal P2P File Sharing on College Campuses – What's the Solution?" (2008). Student Award Winning Papers. 4. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/awardwinning/4 Copyright c 2008 by the authors. This article is brought to you by the William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/awardwinning Illegal P2P File Sharing on College Campuses—What’s the Solution? Antionette D. Bishop* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. THE MUSIC INDUSTRY’S RESPONSE TO ILLEGAL P2P FILE SHARING............................................................................. 517 II. COLLEGE–STUDENT RELATIONSHIP .......................................... 518 III. PUBLIC POLICY CONCERNS ........................................................ 519 A. Efficient Use of College Funds ............................................ 519 B. Academic Freedom............................................................... 520 IV. ALTERNATIVE PROPOSED SOLUTION: COLLECTIVE LICENSING .................................................................................. 521 V. CONCLUSION............................................................................... 522 Since the introduction of Napster in 1999, illegal peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing1 has been a continuously growing problem for
    [Show full text]
  • Experiences of Millennials' Usage of the Cassette Tape As Music Media
    Play, Rewind, Play Again: Experiences of Millennials’ Usage of the Cassette Tape as Music Media Waleed Rashidi California State University, Fullerton This paper was presented at the 2018 International Summit of the Music & Entertainment Industry Educators Association March 22-24, 2018 https://doi.org/10.25101/18.23 This project was funded by a MEIEA research grant. Abstract Cassette tape purchases in the United States increased Introduction 35% from 2016 to 2017, with 174,000 units sold in 2017 In 2014, Hollywood Records released one of the most (Caulfield 2018). New titles from contemporary artists and popular cassette-based soundtrack albums within the past reissues of classic albums are currently being released on decade. The tape was a soundtrack for Guardians of the cassette, with teens and young adults as some of the recent Galaxy, a film which grossed approximately $773 million users of the analog technology. worldwide (Box Office Mojo, n.d.). Dubbed Awesome Mix This exploratory qualitative study’s purpose is to de- Vol. 1, the compilation included classic tracks by popular scribe and categorize the experiences of millennials’ recent artists of the 1970s and 1980s, including the Jackson 5, Da- purchases and playing of cassette tapes via a presentation vid Bowie, The Raspberries, The Runaways, and Marvin of themes derived from multiple in-depth interviews. The Gaye. Another cassette compilation from the film, Cosmic study offers insight on how some millennials purchase cas- Mix Vol. 1, was released less than a year later with music settes, where and how they play their cassettes, and the at- from artists of similar eras.
    [Show full text]
  • Stream-Ripping: Its Role in the UK Music Piracy Landscape Three Years On
    Stream-ripping: Its role in the UK music piracy landscape three years on September 2020 PRS for Music Foreword Stream-ripping: its role in the UK music piracy landscape three years on builds on research we published with the Intellectual Property Office three years ago. The initial research, Stream-ripping: How it works and its role in the UK music piracy landscape, came at a time when little work had been done to understand the size of problem posed by stream-ripping. The previous report allowed us to map the landscape of online music piracy and to gain insight into the functioning and the business model of stream-ripping services. We found evidence to support our assumption that stream-ripping was on course to become the dominant mode of online infringement. This second wave of research shows that our expectation is now the reality: stream-ripping services account for more than 80% of the top 50 music specific piracy sites. We can see that the services are becoming more sophisticated, offering better quality downloads, evolving their revenue streams, and becoming more adept at operating beneath the radar, with many using the popular content delivery network Cloudflare to obfuscate the location of their servers. But what we can also see is that concerted efforts by the industry do work: a reduction of more than 50% of BitTorrent sites can be attributed to increased geo-blocking and enforcement efforts over the past three years. Since this research was conducted, the world has changed beyond what anyone could have imagined. Amidst the massive societal changes, the almost global lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has also accelerated the acculturation of digital services.
    [Show full text]
  • You Are Not Welcome Among Us: Pirates and the State
    International Journal of Communication 9(2015), 890–908 1932–8036/20150005 You Are Not Welcome Among Us: Pirates and the State JESSICA L. BEYER University of Washington, USA FENWICK MCKELVEY1 Concordia University, Canada In a historical review focused on digital piracy, we explore the relationship between hacker politics and the state. We distinguish between two core aspects of piracy—the challenge to property rights and the challenge to state power—and argue that digital piracy should be considered more broadly as a challenge to the authority of the state. We trace generations of peer-to-peer networking, showing that digital piracy is a key component in the development of a political platform that advocates for a set of ideals grounded in collaborative culture, nonhierarchical organization, and a reliance on the network. We assert that this politics expresses itself in a philosophy that was formed together with the development of the state-evading forms of communication that perpetuate unmanageable networks. Keywords: pirates, information politics, intellectual property, state networks Introduction Digital piracy is most frequently framed as a challenge to property rights or as theft. This framing is not incorrect, but it overemphasizes intellectual property regimes and, in doing so, underemphasizes the broader political challenge posed by digital pirates. In fact, digital pirates and broader “hacker culture” are part of a political challenge to the state, as well as a challenge to property rights regimes. This challenge is articulated in terms of contributory culture, in contrast to the commodification and enclosures of capitalist culture; as nonhierarchical, in contrast to the strict hierarchies of the modern state; and as faith in the potential of a seemingly uncontrollable communication technology that makes all of this possible, in contrast to a fear of the potential chaos that unsurveilled spaces can bring.
    [Show full text]
  • Broadway Buzz- Spring Awakening
    Broadway Buzz- Spring Awakening THEATER MAY NEVER BE THE SAME “If you have just one night to spend in the theater,” the New York Post says, “awake yourself with SPRING AWAKENING” as the Key Bank Broadway Series continues at PlayhouseSquare March 3-15, 2009. Awards Winner of 8 Tony Awards, 4 Drama Desk Awards, a Grammy Award, New York Times Drama Critics Award, a Drama League Award and 3 Outer Critics Circle Awards, SPRING AWAKENING has won best musical, best book of a musical, best choreography, best score, best orchestration, best director, best lighting and best featured actor. “Everything combines for a show that bursts off the stage with heart and Photo: Blake Bashoff Read More... Should sex education be a mandatory part of high school curriculum? Buzz Extra is a publication of the Arts Yes Education Department at PlayhouseSquare No Vice President of Theatricals: Gina Vernaci Director of Arts Education: Colleen Porter Director of Ticket Sales & Marketing: Spring Awakening Videos, Photos, Music Autumn Kiser Spring Awakening on Facebook Editors: Spring Awakening Parents Guide Linda Jackson, Cindi Szymanski Writer: Robin Pease Photos: Paul Kolnik http://www.playhousesquare.org/bbuzz/springawakening/index.html[2/24/2009 12:49:26 PM] Broadway Buzz- Spring Awakening Home Theater May Never Be the Same Talking with Christy Altomare Download and read the printable version of the Buzz (535Kb in PDF format) here Banned! The Gospel According to Spring Awakening A Chorus Line Legally Blonde The Musical Ripped from the Headlines Radio City Christmas Spectacular Frost/ Nixon Enrich Your Experience: Broadway Buzz Events Spring Awakening Teen Night We welcome your feedback and suggestions for the Buzz Extra.
    [Show full text]
  • Found Footage Experience. Pratictices of Cinematic Re-Use and Forms of Contemporary Film
    Found Footage Experience. Pratictices of cinematic re-use and forms of contemporary film edited by Rossella Catanese (University of Udine) and Giacomo Ravesi (Roma Tre University) In contemporary visual culture, the polysemy of cinematographic language finds its emblematic manifestation in the various paradigms of image re-use, which contextualises and relocates their functions in new interpretative formulas. The practice of found footage consists of the cinematographic, videographic and artistic practice of appropriation, re-elaboration and re- assembly of pre-existing images retrieved from heterogeneous media archives: from photography to stock footage and from home-movies to TV documentation and the web. One of the attractions of postmodern culture as a form of recycling, re-use and combination of different materials recovered from a past interpreted as a vast reservoir of imagery, found footage keeps its interest alive even in the epistemological trajectories of the so-called “new realism,” where a “society of recording” emerges (Ferraris 2011) in which everything must leave a trace and be archived. Moreover, deconstructionist thought has shown how inheritance should be understood not as a datum but always as a task, since archiving also responds to the need for regulation: preserving documents means imposing an order and establishing control through safeguarding and cataloguing devices. At the same time, audiovisual consumption practices have today become complex and composite forms of reception which rewrite the spectatorial experience and the uses and habits of accessibility, availability and relationship with films and audiovisual materials. The history of cinema is configured as a “visual deposit” (Bertozzi 2012) at the origin of the development of new formal writings and metaphorical processes.
    [Show full text]
  • Mactheatre Theatre Departme
    Think You Need A BFA? ................................................................................................................... 3 Is a BFA Degree Part of the Recipe for Musical Theater Success? ................................................. 7 A Little Quiz ................................................................................................................................... 12 Broadway's Big 10: Top Colleges Currently Represented on Currently Running Shows .............. 14 Monthly College Planning Guide For Visual & Performing Arts Students. ................................... 18 Theatre and Musical Theatre College Audition Timeline in a Nutshell ........................................ 48 Gain An Edge Over The Summer ................................................................................................... 50 6 Keys To Choosing The Perfect College For The Arts. ................................................................. 53 The National Association for College Admission Counseling Performing and Visual Arts Fairs in Houston & Dallas. ......................................................................................................................... 55 Unifieds ......................................................................................................................................... 58 TX Thespian Festival College Auditions......................................................................................... 68 Theatre College-Bound Resource Index. .....................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Piracy Landscape Study
    Piracy Landscape Study: Analysis of Existing and Emerging Research Relevant to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Enforcement of Commercial-Scale Piracy Prepared for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Solicitation Number: 1333BJ19Q00142004 Brett Danaher Michael D. Smith Rahul Telang Chapman University Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University This Version: March 20, 2020 Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 3 1. The Piracy Ecosystem........................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Piracy of Physical Goods................................................................................................ 6 1.1.1 Manufacturing......................................................................................................... 7 1.1.2 Discovery ................................................................................................................ 7 1.1.3 Distribution ............................................................................................................. 8 1.1.4 Communication, Payment Processing and Fulfillment ......................................... 11 1.2 Piracy of Digital Goods ................................................................................................ 11 1.2.1 Sources.................................................................................................................. 12 1.2.2
    [Show full text]
  • Danger Mouse's Grey Album, Mash-Ups, and the Age of Composition
    Danger Mouse's Grey Album, Mash-Ups, and the Age of Composition Philip A. Gunderson © 2004 Post-Modern Culture 15.1 Review of: Danger Mouse (Brian Burton), The Grey Album, Bootleg Recording 1. Depending on one's perspective, Danger Mouse's (Brian Burton's) Grey Album represents a highpoint or a nadir in the state of the recording arts in 2004. From the perspective of music fans and critics, Burton's creation--a daring "mash-up" of Jay-Z's The Black Album and the Beatles' eponymous 1969 work (popularly known as The White Album)--shows that, despite the continued corporatization of music, the DIY ethos of 1970s punk remains alive and well, manifesting in sampling and low-budget, "bedroom studio" production values. From the perspective of the recording industry, Danger Mouse's album represents the illegal plundering of some of the most valuable property in the history of pop music (the Beatles' sound recordings), the sacrilegious re-mixing of said recordings with a capella tracks of an African American rapper, and the electronic distribution of the entire album to hundreds of thousands of listeners who appear vexingly oblivious to current copyright law. That there would be a schism between the interests of consumers and the recording industry is hardly surprising; tension and antagonism characterize virtually all forms of exchange in capitalist economies. What is perhaps of note is that these tensions have escalated to the point of the abandonment of the exchange relationship itself. Music fans, fed up with the high prices (and outright price-fixing) of commercially available music, have opted to share music files via peer-to-peer file sharing networks, and record labels are attempting in response to coerce music fans back into the exchange relationship.
    [Show full text]
  • Trash Bowl Alabama “Has Anyone Really Been Far Even As Decided to Use Even Go Want to ‘A Question About This’ Look More Like?”
    Trash Bowl Alabama “Has Anyone Really Been Far Even as Decided to Use Even Go Want to ‘a question about this’ Look More Like?” Written and Edited by: Brandon Jones, Brody Marshall, Mark Simmons, Jeremy Cummings, Morgan Potts, and Liz Turner. NOTE TO MODERATOR: ALL TOSSUPS AND BONUSES ARE PAIRED AND, IF ANY TOSSUP GOES DEAD, ITS BONUS SHOULD ALSO BE SKIPPED. Packet 4 1. The first six installments in this series got their collective name from Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark. That beginning to this series was as a radio program on BBC 4, in which each episode featured Earth being destroyed in a different way. This series has been adapted into various media, most of which were directly managed by the series’ creator, who also wrote the (*) Dirk Gently novels. In one book in this series, the protagonists travel to the planet Magrathea, where they meet Slartibartfast, who is notable for having created most of the fjords in the Norwegian coastline. Other novels in this series include And Another Thing..., as well as The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. For 10 points, what absurdist sci-fi series featuring Trillian, Ford Perfect, and Arthur Dent was created by Douglas Adams? ANSWER: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy <Literature> [JC] 1. Remember that Math Limerick bonus from the last packet? If you don’t remember, don’t worry, we made another! For 10 points each: a. Who once was the Frenchman of fame / Whose proof made a mighty hard game / That only the squares / Could be summed up in pairs / And the sum be a power, the same? ANSWER: Pierre de Fermat b.
    [Show full text]