Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2004 - 12

Theatre Embracing Technology
"Design is an activity of environmental transformation by which something is created that was not there before" (Blais 2000, 247).
The tools for theatrical design and production have changed radically since 1975. Today there is virtually no aspect of designing and executing scenery, lighting, costumes, and/or sound for a theatrical
production that does not involve some application of microcomputer
technology. Those of us in higher education now engaged in training
young undergraduate designers and technologists find that we are faced
with the challenge that we can no longer rely upon many of the fundamental tools for mounting theatrical productions with which we were
trained. Some technology transfers are quite simple-fastening scenery
with a pneumatic staple gun instead of a hammer, or using sound effects
CDs rather than records or tapes. Other changes, however, are far more
complex.
Throughout history theatre practitioners have always been quick to
embrace and transfer new technologies to enhance the visual and aural
spectacle of their productions. The Greeks in the fifth century B.C.E. used
a machina to fly the gods down to earth, the latest in sailing technology
was applied to rig the new indoor theatres of the seventeenth century,
and the first fully electrified theatre opened in 1881 just two years after
Edison first successfully demonstrated the incandescent lamp.
A radical shift of the paradigm began evolving in 1975 with the introduction of a personal computer linked to a cassette tape drive for data
storage to control the lighting for the new Broadway musical, A Chorus
Line, replacing lighting control technology developed at the end of the
nineteenth century. Fundamentally, all lighting control today is executed
by some form of microcomputer system. Microchips are cheaper than

moving parts, so rather than being an exotic solution, microcomputer
technology is now more cost effective, efficient, and allows for more sophisticated results than traditional manual methods.
"Multimedia technology has changed opportunities for expression
in a very fundamental way" (Ray 2000, 351). Microcomputers have continued to impact, and in many cases, replace, the tools we use for designing and mounting theatrical productions. A few of these new digital tools,
include:
* Intelligent (microcomputer controlled) lighting fixtures-late 1970s
* Computer-aided drafting (CAD)-mid 1980s
* Digital audio recording and editing-early 1990s
* Computer aided modeling and rendering-early 1990s
* Digital video recording and editing-mid 1990s

Why Create Paper Portfolios in a Digital Age?
Theatre designers and educators trained before 1985 likely never saw or
used computer-controlled systems or design tools during their training.
Professors in theatre design and production are not only faced with using
more and more computer-based technologies in their own work, but
also must transfer these new technologies and associated methodologies
to their classes and their students. Simply learning how to apply new
technologies to a production is not the ultimate objective of educators.
Accurately documenting and coherently presenting the breadth and
depth of a student's work is imperative if they are to successfully access
either employment or advanced graduate training where knowledge and
use of current technologies and methods is expected.
Sending a clean, crisp, "professional" résumé in 1975 required access to an IBM Selectric typewriter. Today one would never send a

Development Portfolio - Costume Research
(used with permission Candace Green)

Development Portfolio - Costume Design
(used with permission Candace Green)

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2004