Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1990 - 35

Personal Computer Use in the Performing Arts
PATRICK
s in all areas of technology, the
technology of performing arts
began a revolutionary change
with the introduction of the computer as
a control device. However, once an adequate system of control was developed,
most entertainment lighting and sound
control manufacturers became less interested in development and began ro
refine already exisring sysrems. Also,
wirh few exceprions rhe adaprarion of
rhe personal com purer ro performing
am applicarions has nor kepr pace wirh
rhe rapid expansion of irs use in orher
fields. Thus, rhe performing am indusrry did nor appear ro be a promising area
for compurer manufacturers or sofTware
developers.

Table 1.
Respondent Position Classifications
Job Title
% of Respondents
Technical director
25.5
Designer
22.7
Production/stage manager
13.4
Educator
10.6
Administrator
10.0
Shop supervisor
7.2
Other (includes students)
5.3
Theatre technician
.4.4
Box-office manager
6
Public relations/marketing
.3

M. Barren Cleveland's 1986 survey
on compurers in rhe rhearre showed rhar
more rhan half of rhe respondents' organizarions were receprive ro rhe use of
microcompurers in rhe limired rhearrical
applicarions made possible by rhe sofrware rhen commercially available. I The
survey identified cosr o'f equipment and
resisrance ro new rechnology as rhe
major reasons for nor using microcompurers. Jr also showed rhar a lirrle more
rhan half of rhe microcompurers in use
were IBM machines which had a
formidable and largely unforgiving user
inrerface. Meanwhile, rhe graphic inrer-

GILL

face designed for rhe Apple Macinrosh,
which used symbols ro command program functions, had made the operation
of personal computers easier than that of
a typewriter. Most of the respondents
were aware of this and indicated that,
because of its ease of operation, they
planned ro buy the Macinrosh.
In the four years since Cleveland's
survey, ease of operation in hardware
and software has become the soughtafter norm instead of the exception.
Advances in integrated circuir technology have effected tremendous increases in
efficiency while reducing the size of
many components. These improvements
have made the personal computer capable of high-speed processing of large
amounts of information and of supporring complex operarions rhar earlier needed much larger machines. Also, bener
rechnology has resulred in a reducrion of
rhe cosr of rhese more proficienr
machines.

Table 2.
Respondent Organization Classifications
Organization
% 01 Respondents
Educational theatre
65.0
Other
14.1
Non-profit theatre
8.8
Commercial theatre
4.7
Commercial production support 4.4
Dance production .. .. .. ... .... ... .. 1.3
Music production
9
Video production
.6
Radio/television
3

The increased availability of updared rechnology and ever more sophisricared sofrware mandated a new survey of
the current state of computer use in performing arts producrion and management ro provide information for
charting future growrh. Information of
this type would be useful ro compurer
manufacrurers and sofrware developers
in supplying suppOrt and financial help

for computer activity.

The Survey
A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire was distributed in registrarion
packets at the USITT Milwaukee
Conference in April 1990. The 324
respondents incl uded a wide range of
performing arts production professionals
and students as described in Table I.
The organizations ra which they belong
appear in Table 2.

Table 3.
Obstacles to Personal Computer Use
Obstacle
% of Respondents
Lack of equipment
57
Lack of funding
51
Not enough time to learn
.47
Inappropriate software
27
Not enough time to use
22
No training
19
Resistance of staff
12
Resistance of management
10

The Results
\'V'hen asked rhe amount of personal
compurer use in each respondent'sorganizarion, on a scale of one (none) ro five
(exrensive use) rhe mean response was
3.63. Lack of equipment, lack of funding and inadequare time for learning
were identified as rhe major obsracles ro
personal compurer use, as shown in
Table 3.
This fi nding is comparable ro
Cleveland's 1986 figure of 78% of his
respondents reporting cosr as the major
obstacle ro microcomputer purchase. (It
must be pointed out, however, that a real
difference exisrs berween lack of funding
and cosr of equipment as motivating facrars, since funding is a priority problem
within an organizarion while COSt is controlled by rhe marker.)
Mosr respondents have more than
one brand of personal compurer now in
TD&T

1990 FAll

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