Page 160 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2014

AC/E digital culture ANNUAL REPORT 2014Conclusions1. New technologies led to the radical transformation of stage design over the last century. The latest advances have sown the ground for the effective integration of the various arts from opera, theatre to dance. Videoart has gone a stage further with video mapping techniques that raise the possibility of not even having real stage props on the set.2. The technologies should not substitute everything that derives from the main source of expression, which is the body, nevertheless, there are works of new creation, such as Robot, which use robots in their choreography. The question, one that belongs almost to the realm of science fiction, is if a robot will be ever to be able to perform with the same wealth of expression and depth as a dancer.3. In the future we shall find ourselves faced with new theatrical works and operas which include audience participation by means of information technology or the use of social networks in real time. It would be yet another step in the integration of the stalls and the stage.4. In the performing arts there is no substitute for being physically present to see a work performed live. It remains to be seen how the second screen will form part of live productions. But changes can already be seen: in theatres it is becoming ever more frequent to see somebody with a smartphone ready to tweet something in the middle of a performance.AC/E5. The challenge will be to reconcile this new audience with the traditional one. Perhaps, therefore, it would not be preposterous to think that in the future mobile phones will have a function called “theatre mode”, similar to “airplane mode” that will completely silence the device, even incoming calls, and only allow Internet access for social networks and for searching for information.6. For creators, this second screen also opens up an opportunity, that of being able to integrate the effect their work is having on the audience in real time, and this is especially so in the case of works of new creation.7. If, in the short term, this second screen does not become a way of communicating with other members of an audience, who may be present in the building or elsewhere outside, it can be used as a support for theatre information that was previously provided on paper.8. Theatres and auditoria have become audiovisual producers of their performances enabling them to generate income additional to that generated by sponsorship and ticket sales. Any theatre- or opera-goer has available, via their computer or a relatively nearby cinema, the entire season of concerts by orchestras of international repute, as well as the most important theatrical, operatic or dance performances.FOCUS 2014: THE USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PERFORMING ARTSCONCLUSIONS CURRENT PAGE...160