The Impact of Digital Media on the Performing Arts

A new report enti­tled Beyond the Cur­tain: How Dig­i­tal Media is Reshap­ing The­atre was recently released by Ballinran Enter­tain­ment Ltd. in part­ner­ship with Dig­i­tal Wiz­ards Inc., Cana­dian Actors Equity Asso­ci­a­tion, and Strat­ford Shake­speare Fes­ti­val.  It con­tains a study of the chal­lenges fac­ing the per­form­ing arts in the sector’s attempt to embrace and achieve the right bal­ance with new media and dig­i­tal tech­nolo­gies. The research involved inter­views with lead­ing the­atre pro­fes­sion­als and an online sur­vey that received over 400 responses.

Beyond the Cur­tain iden­ti­fies a num­ber of chal­lenges fac­ing the­atres includ­ing chang­ing audi­ences. With cuts to arts edu­ca­tion and the increased expec­ta­tions of young audi­ences for more excit­ing visual effects and behind the scenes access through social media, the­atres need to adapt. The­atres also face stiff com­pe­ti­tion from other forms of enter­tain­ment such as movies, TV, gam­ing and social media which are often less expen­sive and can be enjoyed from the com­fort of home.

When it comes to imple­ment­ing new tech­nol­ogy and media, bud­getary con­straints as well as gaps in train­ing and skills can impede exper­i­men­ta­tion.  Man­ag­ing social media requires acqui­si­tion of new tech­nol­ogy, train­ing and other resources. The report rec­om­mends that more fund­ing be put towards inno­va­tion and re-purposing of con­tent for big and small screens as well as a forum and work­shops for the exchange of ideas and skills in dig­i­tal media. The report also pro­vides many exam­ples of projects that under­taken here and abroad using a vari­ety of new tech­nolo­gies in pro­duc­tions, as well as in the pro­mo­tion and re-purposing of con­tent that could be use­ful to other per­form­ing arts professionals.

One of the major chal­lenges still remain­ing is the con­tracts and agree­ments between all the par­ties involved in a pro­duc­tion. Groups in other coun­tries like the UK have already made progress on this front with agree­ments spe­cific to the re-purposing of con­tent for dig­i­tal plat­forms for exam­ple.  The report rec­om­mends that Cana­dian pro­duc­ers and unions speed up nego­ti­a­tions to remove some of these bar­ri­ers to innovation.