The Builders Association

This week I have been looking at The Builders Association, this is a company which use's mixed multi media using text, sound, arcitechture and performances. They create pieces of theatre which explore the impact on technology on human presence. Their project titled Invisible Cities focuses on the 'digital divide' and questions what is a city and how different classe's of the community see the city in a different light. I personally found this company interesting as they use media within their pieces as the focus and as the visual. They have worked at the Barbican Theatre in the past so watch out for them in the future!

Homage to the internet!

So, Thea and myself are creating a piece of theatre which comments on the way that the internet can be used, I never knew how much bad material was out there on the internet and how easy it is to get hold of negative videos. We aim to expose the internet for what it can be and the dangers of it. I now think twice before adding on facebook and signing up to new accounts as who knows who could end up with my details and image? scary isn't it? I want every one to think about this more and regain some privacy in thiers lifes instead of announcing it on facebook.

But then again, the fact that your announcing something on facebook is sort of a performance as you are showing yourself off to be recognised, for someone to become involved in your life and for them to comment on it. A bit like a soap opera, you know who everyone is, their history and you can become caught up in thier everyday lives checking to see what happens next. The more I progress in this lesson I begin to have a love/hate relationship with the internet and the way you can perform. It is another form of Reality TV which could destroy Drama, as our entertainment shifts from gifted actors to eccentric every day characters who just want to be famous!

Is theatre past it?

Theatre- a picnic?

You have two kinds of shows on Broadway - revivals and the same kinds of musicals over and over again - all spectacles. You get your tickets for the Lion King a year in advance, and essentially a family comes as if to a picnic, and they pass on to their children the idea that that's what theatre is - a spectacular musical you see once a year, a stage version of a movie. It has nothing to do with theatre at all. It has to do with seeing what is familiar. We live in a recycled culture...I don't think the theatre will die per se, but it's never going to be what it was. You can't bring it back. It's gone. It's a tourist attraction.

Stephen Sondheim

To me this quote has an extremly valid point, when will there be a completely new broadway show? can there ever be one? why does the industry insist on re-creating something that has been done to death!

Although, the best thing about theatre is its diversity. There are hundreds of types of theatre, virtual becoming one of them. You get to choose what you want to see, there is enough theatre out there!

understanding the virtual

I am finding it increasingly hard to undeerstand and justify performance in the virtual. why is it better for things to be recorded on internet or film? what is the fascination with you tube? is it not just another level of you've been framed?

15 signs you're addicted to facebook (female version)
1. You’ve become a Facebook pusher. “Try it once, you’ll love it…” you say to networking virgins.
2. The last time you had any intimate contact was when you were ‘poked’ by some guy you haven’t seen for two years. Actual sex is so last century.
3. You realise you’ve spent the last hour looking at photos of someone you don’t even know.
4. You obsessively check your friends’/ex-boyfriends’/total strangers’ list of friends to see if they have more than you. And if they do…
5. …you become a friend thief. Who cares if you don’t know them? All’s fair in love and Facebook war…
6. When it comes to meeting people, if they’re not ‘on’ they’re not worth bothering with. Who needs real friends when you’re trying to reach the elusive 150 mark with your virtual ones?
7. You forget your best friend’s birthday but you figure she’ll be perfectly happy if you ‘gift’ her a cocktail and a Happy Birthday balloon.
8. You’ve had three group invites this morning but seem to be having another quiet night in tonight.
9. You turn down a night out at the pub quiz to play Scrabulous. It’s a game; you’re playing it with a friend and having a drink while you do it. What’s the difference?
10. When it comes to solving real-life problems, your Magic 8 Ball application has made decision-making easy. So what if you were in love with the guy it told you to dump? Plenty more fish in the Facebook sea.
11. You haven’t had a food fight for ten years but now your day isn’t complete until you’ve thrown something at a friend. It’s a sign of affection, you know.
12. You’re dreading your holiday because you can’t face going cold turkey.
13. Work has become a nice break from Facebook, rather than the other way around.
14. When you’re not on Facebook, you’re trawling the internet for a new job as you’re convinced you’ll be sacked for Facebooking very soon.
15. The first thing you think when you are fired for excessive Facebooking is, ‘Great, now I can spend more time on Facebook.’
From Glamour magazine

What Is COOL?

the definition of cool is something to question as every single person has a different opinion of 'what is cool'.
myself, i believe there are many things that are cool, for example the website for Atlantis hotel in the bahamas is cool as where else can you find a water slide which would take you under shark infested waters? like i said it's not for every one! You can find this link on the side of my page! enjoy!

Theatre in the Virtual

Theatre and Drama are becoming more and more accessible by the day, as Tv and Internet become dominant forms in our lives. If you haven't checked your emails or (god forbid) Facebook for a few days then you can miss out on all things important, or if you didn't watch this week must see program (eastenders or corrie: the weddings) then what will you have to talk about with people you see everyday?

Tv and Internet have begun to take over our lives and if we allow this to happen does this make us virtual too???

Week 1 of Virtuality and performance!

This is the first week I am aware of being Virtual! somewhere on the internet is everything about me, on facebook (stalkbook), on genes reunited is my whole family history. It is strange to think that so many people I do not know can read this and find out about parts of my life without me even knowing! spooky!