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Multimedia and Space in Contemporary Theatre

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Multimedia and Space in Contemporary Theatre Weaving Worlds: Multimedia and space in contemporary theatre Pauline Sheldrake Submitted to Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology As a requirement of the Master of Arts (by Research) Degree 2007 ii Keywords multimedia, playwrighting, soundscapes, space, spatiality, theatre, virtual characters. iii Abstract This play, Weaving Worlds, and the accompanying case study of its use of multimedia examine how multimedia can complexify space in theatre. The case study explores the process of writing a play that has multimedia elements scripted into it. Space in theatre can be defined in terms of its function as well as its location, its representational ideas and as an area used to present an argument, otherwise known as the fictional space. This is achieved through the narrative (that is presented traditionally in theatre through movement, gesture, and text). Multimedia has complexified this fictional space by expanding its location and being able to deliver multiple narratives within it. Multimedia has complexified the time and the space continuum of the narrative through its ability to present mediated images from the stage to the audience at the same time as traditional live performance. This challenges the definition of live performance. The multimedia elements in the play are soundscapes, virtual characters composed of multimedia animations captured on pre-recorded digital video, and live video displays of performance. The world of the play exists in an augmented reality of the memories of the two main characters, Bev and Ben. The addition of multimedia assisted me as a playwright to present my idea of augmented reality in the world of the play, as well as a means of presenting the underpinning themes of the play being disassociation and recorded memory, violence as a means of control, and issues on change. Twentieth century theatre theorists, including Erwin Piscator and Bertolt Brecht, pioneered the use of multimedia in the theatre. In some way they contributed to a contemporary theatre that has evolved in tandem with multimedia. Correspondingly, multimedia requires its own skill sets and equipment and brings with it new aesthetic possibilities as well as becoming an agent of narrative. Multimedia creates opportunities for improvisation. This means that despite the pre-recorded nature of multimedia elements each presentation of multimedia that involves live actors can still create a unique performance experience. The exchange of touch is removed between virtual characters created by multimedia technology and live actors. At the same time the idea of live performance is challenged by the inclusion of multimedia elements. New audiences understand the narrative presented by multimedia because their iv world is filled with technologies that contain multimedia applications. Playwrights, who are aware of the spatial implications of multimedia, can utilise these new elements to create narratives to alter the structure of their work, and to create new ways of presenting characters, soundscapes and thematic digital displays to enhance and support the performance of their plays. v Table of Contents Keywords ii Abstract iii Statement of Authorship vi Acknowledgements vii Introduction 1 Contextual Review 4 Methodology 25 Weaving Worlds: A Play Script 28 Case Study: Weaving Worlds 97 Conclusion 107 Appendices 109 Works Cited 111 Works Consulted 115 vi Statement of Authorship: The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree or diploma at any other institution. The thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made. Signed:…………………………… Dated:……………………………. vii Acknowledgements I wish to thank the Queensland University of Technology staff for their assistance with this project particularly my supervisor, Dr Stuart Glover, for his patience and guidance with this exegesis, Dr Errol Bray for co-ordinating the playwright cohorts, and Leanne Blazely for her administrative help. I also thank my fellow candidate Jonathan Hardy for his assistance in theatre practice. viii 1 Weaving Worlds: Multimedia and space in contemporary theatre. Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the drug store, but that's just peanuts to space. Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Interestingly, according to modern astronomers, space is finite. This is a very comforting thought particularly for people who can never remember where they have left things. Woody Allen, ‘The U.F.O. Menace’ Introduction Space can be thought of, among other things, as an infinitely layered complex of augmented reality. Space is not only big, it’s wide and deep. Beyond science, space can be a mystical exploration of dimensions that never reaches its full conclusion. As a writer, I am drawn to explore space through the idea of mixing our reality with the contemplation of other dimensions. My fascination with augmented reality and the mysteries of space, lead me here to experiment with new approaches to expressing narratives by using soundscapes, visual arts, and multimedia. This exegesis explores the spatial implications of the use of multimedia in the theatre and its elemental inclusion in the world of the play. How does multimedia (meaning here the use of a number of media such as text, sound, film devices, animation, and digital technologies) along with traditional theatrical elements of live performance change our understanding of space in the theatrical context? The study considers the nature and complexity of space in the theatre, and some technical, production, performance, and audience implications arising out of the application of multimedia in the theatre space. 2 It proceeds by revisiting definitions of multimedia and space then follows a contextual exploration of theatre practitioner/theorists who utilise multimedia in theatre production. It concludes with an examination of some of the implications for the playwright, which include the development of the script through to production and performance as well as audience implications through the consideration of my own play, Weaving Worlds. The research contributes to an understanding of the relationship between playwrighting and multimedia in theatre space. In particular, the research provides an insight into the implications for playwrights who might consider using multimedia elements as agents for narrative in their prospective theatre projects. I argue that space in the theatre can be defined according to function and when the space becomes multifunctional it also becomes more complex. Space in theatre usually refers to a three dimensional presentational area contained by the stage. This space is complex because it contains the physical components of the play as well as the thematic, narrative, and energetic components of performance. The addition of multimedia components, which here I will call multimedia portals1, creates new functions in that space. These additional functions increase the complexity of theatre space. Multimedia elements may also be placed beyond the perimeters of the theatre stage (presentational space) and change passive space into active space by providing performance content in that location. These changes to the space again deepen its complexity, or change its shape. Multimedia portals may be created for specific functions according to the playwright’s vision. When multimedia elements are used on-stage, they challenge the idea of live performance (Auslander 1999). This idea of redefining what is a live performance helps playwrights to understand the implications of incorporating multimedia elements as live performance elements, which are either previously produced and replayed, or are performed2 in real time during the performance in the theatre space. The new possibilities to shape the performance 1 This is a designated display location used to capture audio visual information projected into that space. The display might be a virtual character, or background images and sounds that are multimedia representations of narrative and characters either pre-recorded or live feeds. 2 Performed here means a multimedia portal displaying live film footage of actors who are either performing in or outside of the theatre space. 3 space affect the process of creating theatre from the writing of the play to its final production and considerations on how it will impact the audience. In this paper, the contextual review revisits the definitions of multimedia and space. It suggests contemporary theatre has evolved in tandem with the development of multimedia including the take up of multimedia. It traces the steady inclusion of multimedia in the theatre space by theatre practitioners and examines examples of multimedia production in contemporary theatre. Multimedia developed over the last century beginning with the incorporation by theatre practitioners the film and slide projections developed by a fledgling film industry. Multimedia elements have been used by innovative theatre theorists and practitioners such as Erwin Piscator and Bertolt Brecht through to current contemporary theatre groups such as Elizabeth LeCompt’s Wooster Group and Robert Lepage’s ex Machina as part of their explorations of space in the theatre. I argue, through the examination of recent examples of contemporary theatre practice and demonstrate (in the case study of my play, Weaving Worlds), that the multimedia technology
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