The Future of American Theatre

So, American Theatre magazine has polled various practitioners to envision what will/might/should happen to the art form of theatre over the next twenty-five years.  Fun!  The resulting essays range from the practical to the imaginative to the vaguely dippy.  Still!  I liked artistic director Diane Paulus’ piece.  Her ideas:

A.R.T. will be the first theatre in the country that has a club venue as its second stage. Club Zero Arrow will be a unique environment that will foster the development of work that encourages a whole new relationship with the audience. Club Zero Arrow will be the venue where cell phones can be turned on. People will be told from the get-go that they are allowed to participate as they would at a rock concert or a sports event—capturing images, making videos and recordings, using Twitter, sending text messages while they are experiencing the event, and then sharing their responses with friends on networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace. Club Zero Arrow will promote an open-source culture in which creative content (such as video footage, audio clips, photographs and other forms of creative commentary) can be generated and shared, making the events more accessible and widely distributed. I believe that if theatre is to remain a vital art form, it must give audiences a voice, a sense of ownership and a feeling of importance in the theatrical event.

I am intrigued by this proposal, so I’d like to play devil’s advocate.  It is indeed all about the “relationship with the audience.”  Yes, I too would love to see a loosening of the restrictions on content as related to theater pieces, some songs and moments should have to the opportunity to “go viral” without being pre-selected by a stodgy marketing department.  But!  The problem with our society in general, our natures that the theater is meant to hold a mirror up to, is that no one can enjoy a goddam moment for what it is intended to be.  At every music venue or political speech or insert your own fervent public gathering place here, those in attendance are so eager to record the moment, on their digital camera or cell phone or what not, they aren’t actually, as the acting term goes, “in the moment.” Do you want audience members Twittering away at a show like our illustrious members of congress do during presidential speeches?  Really do you?  Put the camera down and maybe listen, and feel, and have a reaction, and if you need to record it, do so in the mind’s eye. There is a detachment inherent in inviting that kind of participation into a performance space.  And maybe I’m “old.”  And maybe “the kids” are able to multi-task, and record a moment while experiencing it.  But the thing about theater is that it has never been reliant on technology, even when it acquiesced to fads (though gas lighting was a boon).  Theater at it’s barest requires actors, a story, and an audience.  It is communal, it requires as much if not more of the audience as it does the performers.  It is both secular and religious in its origins.  It is inherently ephemeral.  So, yes, let’s loosen the restrictions, the proprietary constraints, over the product.  But just because the thing is Twittered or YouTube’d, does not imbue the thing with value.  Or meaning.  Or relevance.  And a picture or video may evoke something after the fact, but you really should have been there.

Tasers Set On Stun…and Journey’s Greatest Hits

Uh oh. The Taser, this year’s suburban lady Tupperware, has now made inroads to a younger demographic, or at least to anyone that knows how to download songs off the computer machine. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas a horrifying hybrid called the iTaser was unveiled. It is indeed an mp3 player/Taser combo, as you may have surmised. Goody! According to Beware of the Blog:

The spokesman for the iTaser company says their product is aimed at women who want personal protection but usually choose to take a music player instead of a weapon with them when they go out. Now they can have both! “Personal protection can be both fashionable and functionable.”

Firstly, why are these solely being marketed to women? Like I wouldn’t want to tase some fucker who’s messing with me while listening to “Bossy” by Kelis? But come on, do we really need these Taser hybrids? What’s next, Marc Jacobs rigging all his purses with Tasers? Are our smart phones now all going to come with the satisfying “personal protection” of 50,000 volts? Oh brave new world, where irrational fear and luxury goods go skipping hand in hand into the night.

Earlier: Don’t Tase Me, Bra

The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be

Ugh. I’m tired of bro-ification as a way to make a gesture of affection seem less “girly” or “gay.” Case in point, an Atlanta florist marketing the “broquet“which, reports Dethroner, are “baskets of amply masculine cactus and carnivorous plants that can be given from one man to another.” If you’re a man, and have reached the stage of your friendship where you’d even consider buying another guy friend a plant or some flowers, nut up and go all the way, don’t overcompensate. Because really, if you’re giving your “bro” some flowers, it’s kinda gay.

Unrelated: If you are comfortable with your feelings and fancy yourself cutting edge (and label-whorey), why not rock the new Prada tutu (dudetu?).

Don’t Tase Me, Bra

Remember how at some point sex toys became the new Tupperware? Well now apparently it’s Tasers, according to Newsweek. Get a load of this opening graf:

Every Saturday afternoon in Scottsdale, Ariz., women gather at Dana Shafman’s house to watch demonstrations of her sleek new wares, which come in such enticing colors as “metallic pink” and “electric blue.” It’s like a Tupperware party … only not. Shafman is peddling Tasers. Hers look a lot different from those bulky blasters carried by cops: they resemble something you’d shave your legs with, and at five and a half inches in length, they’re small enough to slip into a purse. But don’t be fooled. These babies deliver the same 50,000 volts of muscle-paralyzing electroshock therapy.

So, um yeah, never mind that Taser International, the company selling these beauties, doesn’t have the best track record of late, and that “Since 2001, 290 people have died after being shocked with Tasers, according to Amnesty International.”

This is so telling of the times we live in, that rather than gathering ’round for a candle party or to giggle at lube and vibrators, the girls on the cul-de-sac are more interested in electroshock weapons.

This sounds like a shindig Sarah Connor would host.

Electroshock Therapy [Newsweek via Americablog]

Revisting a Trend: Mancake

Those bloggy vixens at Jezebel took notice of Salon’s “fakish trend piece” on Zac Efron’s use of bronzer, which posited that his “mancake” and Pete Wentz’s use of “guyliner” could be seen as the sign of a possible sea change in men’s grooming. Wonder where author Kibum Kim got the idea? Guess I’m just one of the unlinked blogs that was “buzzing” about Zac (or mayhaps Kim just got around to looking at Buzzfeed for story ideas).

The Salon writer gave the hypothesis a serious bent, even adding historical context: “Roman men used chalk-based foundation to brighten their complexions, and, in the 18th century, Louis XV and his court made it vogue for men to put on gobs of toxic lead-based makeup and rouge.” (Ya don’t say!)

I chose to eschew any attempt at justifying this inanity in favor of taking a cheap swipe at Mr. Efron (is historical context necessary when dissecting a pseudo-trend?) while Jezebel did due diligence and asked some regular dudes whether or not they dabbled in “instant skin enhancement.”

Can’t wait until Efron’s hairy feet inspire a slew of male toe-waxing pieces. Oh wait, yes I can.

Bronzer Gods [Salon]

Will Man Makeup Catch On? We Asked Some Regular Dudes [Jezebel]

Earlier: Trend Forecasting: Mancake and the Efron Effect