I. Story then technology - theme
What is the theme of Oudeis? What do you want to say? Right now I'm not
clear on the theme of the piece and this may be because it is being
developed. My thought is that perhaps it would be best to develop the theme
then implement the technology. Similar to staging a conventional play. When
you know what the theme is or the point that you want to put across then all
the elements fall into place. If a certain part of the story takes place on
a certain stage then that may already carry some meaning. The Odyssey on one
level is simply about a journey but beyond the parallel with travelling the
Web what is there?
2. Live Audience perspective and combination of the Internet
Right now, as I see it, what would an live audience member see?
An actor on a stage (a grid) reacting to lights and sound. Is the Internet
necessary for this? An audience member does not know that the lights are
being controlled remotely from Australia and if they did know this would it
really matter? The Internet has proven itself to be very useful as a
communication tool for collaboration but when it comes to performance its
use is problematic. Electrical lighting is a very simple example of an
effective tool for the theatre. It has changed the way theatre is presented.
IF you took away the electrical lighting from a show you'd see the
difference. My question, if you did this show without the Internet (that is,
develop it via e-mail then simply present it without any sort of Internet
element) would there be any detectable difference to the audience or to the
performance?
FInally I would like to say that the discussion regarding this project has
been terrific and I hope to understand and learn from this process. This is
definitely not an easy project.
Dan