Replicate or Mimic In-Person Theatre

Wayfinding: Spotlights > Preshow Set-Up > Replicate or Mimic In-Person Theatre

One of the simplest reasons for preshow in digital theatre is to indicate that the performance is theatre by replicating the stage and lobby space. , based on a livestreamed production in which the performer held a cloth up to their camera to indicate a curtain: ‘Perhaps, the most apparent reason to use familiar theatrical conventions is that they are reminiscent of the in-person theatre-going experience, and the social connection that it entails’. This small moment, Chen notes, situated the work within the realm of theatre and not other multimedia or multidisciplinary arts that might use liveness or theatricality.

Figure 26: Screengrab of the 'lobby' created in FutureStages Mozilla Hubs fork for OnBoardXR 6. The intention was to replicate a physical space in a virtual setting, and this includes woodgrain on the floor.

might entail adding skeuomorphic preshow elements: ‘other aspects of theatrical production are also marked as constitutive in translation’ including views of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre’s architecture, presentation of the stage space prior to the show, audience members’ proximity to performers, 'and their reactions to the performance’. When viewing these preshow segments in archival works, however, that he struggled to maintain focus:

During the live performance, the length of time would be unremarkable, the audience being within the sphere of darkness and anticipation themselves (rather than excluded from it by the screen) and drawn into a heightened level of attention and expectation. On screen, in contrast, this opening is awkward and feels far longer than it actually is, marking out differences in reception modes and experiences between the two media.

Simply filming the audience and the stage before a performance can translate the direct experience of being in that particular theatre space to a remote viewership, but it is important to consider the distractedness of a distanced audience who are not immersed in the process of settling into the theatre space (I discuss hyper attention versus deep attention related to Cinematic and Televisual theatre in the Companion Screens section).

Cinematically, you should find ways to include the distanced audience in the sensation of arriving and absorbing the surrounds; this might not mean filming the in-person audience but adding components that the in-person audience might not experience, giving the remote audience a unique perspective. Australian Theatre Live’s Platee, for example, interspersed interview snippets with the opera’s director and the Pinchgut’s artistic director alongside sweeping scenes of the orchestra getting into place onstage and the performers, spread out in their post-party ‘’, situated in relation to the audience and the orchestra. Watching this film, I sensed what it would be like to see this panorama, and I also received information about how the show was conceived, which an in-person audience might have access to in program notes that they would read during the preshow.

Another show I watched that considered this contrast was the Manhattan Theatre Club’s livestream of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, written by Jocelyn Bioh. The narrative follows African immigrant women working in an African American hair salon in New York City; the women are from many different places on the continent, and their bright, lavish costumes reflect both their economic status and their home country. Because pride in one’s heritage and personal style are two major themes of the show, the livestream producers included photos and videos during the preshow of African American audience members walking the red carpet to get into the theatre, displaying their beautiful evening outfits. This inclusion not only set the tone for the performance but demonstrated the incredible personal styles of the many attendees; the play’s fictional world comes from personal, real world experiences, connecting the guests and the performers. , there was a pre-recorded conversation between director Whitney White and playwright Jocelyn Bioh. Underscoring the image reel was the murmuring of the audience as they took their seats.

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