The Movie in My Book

First there were books, then there were e-books, and audiobooks and e-readers. Even though there's lots of new technologies that make reading on the go easier, I don't think that the traditional printed book will ever completely go away. There's something comforting about holding a great book in your hands and turning the pages completely absorbed in the story, watching the scenes play out in your mind. There will always be dreamers. But for those who don't want to design the set themselves (the type that sees the movie before they read the book) there's the "digi-novel."

The first digi-novel came out in October as an iPhone app for a novel called "Level 26." It's basically an e-book, but the story is interspersed with short videos that expand on the story's plot. The videos are called "cyber-bridges" and can be skipped without readers missing out on the central story.

If this catches on it could be great for the arts and for education. First, more videos mean more actors working. Second, this could be a way to make difficult stories easier to understand. Many students find Shakespeare and other classics difficult to understand. Adding video might help to clarify the storyline. If this method is adopted for textbooks, you could have short mini video-lessons that could elaborate on the concepts presented. It also makes it feasible for all students to have access and exposure leading experts in the field with information tailored to their level of knowledge. 

While digi-books may be fun for novels and thrillers, I think it provides a lot of potential for improving education and literacy in our schools.

Off-Stage Communication

What is art?....I won't try to answer that question, but most of us would agree that it involves some level of communication with your audience. Over the years, the theatrical community has developed tools, techniques, and entire disciplines devoted to improving communication on the stage. But what happens when the house lights come on? Why does the conversation need to end? Why does that feeling of interaction disappear when you leave your seat?

The good news is that these organizations are starting to catch on to the "social media thing." Devon Smith, the Theatre Manager at the Yale School of Drama conducted a study of LORT (League of Resident Theaters) theatres' use of Twitter. I was impressed to find out that 78% of LORT theatres tweet. However, 42% of those theatres forgot to mention Twitter on thier website. I was a little hurt to discover a couple of months ago that a theatre I've worked with and continue to support has both a Facebook and Twitter account. I was never invited to join.

While a growing number of theatres are embracing social media, I don't sense that they completely understand thier purpose. As opposed to a website, social media mediums are designed for two-way communication. But many theatres are setting up thier Facebook pages like websites. They use it to tell people things rather than having a dialogue. If we want our audiences to be involved - we need to involve them. We need to listen and respond. Let's take the ideas of action and reaction off the stage and weave it into all our communications with the audience. Wouldn't you prefer an engaged and responsive audience?

Mature Content - Mass Media vs the Theatre

I've always wondered why there is such a double-standard when it comes to "mature content" being presented on the stage vs on the screen. Parents don't seem to have a problem with the excessive sex and violence in movies and on TV shows that their kids watch. Shows like American Teenager and Gossip Girl are filled with displays of teenage sexuality. Even homosexuality isn't as taboo on TV as it is in the theatre. However, last week a group of parents banned together and sought an injunction to stop productions of Rent and The Laramie Project at a local high school. They objected to the plays' "mature content."

Niether of these shows are visually graphic in nature. Rent explores the world of starving artists living in NYC at the turn of the millenium. The show does deal with drug addiction and homosexuality, but only as an aspect of the charecters' lives. It does not promote drug use or glamorize it as many teen-targeted movies do. It's primary message is to live life to the fullest, and to promote love and tolereance. The Laramie Project is based on a true story of a teenager who was beaten and left to die because of his sexual orientation. The play is made up of a series of interviews with the residents of Laramie dicussing the event that took place in their town and how it has affected them.

For some reason we accept glamorized drug use and homosexuality if it is humerous, but when it comes to exploring these issues on the stage people seem to find the topics taboo and inappropriate for teenagers. It's time to hold up the mirror and take a closer look at what we choose to censor and what we choose to promote.

Edutainment

With all the great things people have been doing to engage audiences on the internet, I wonder if we are going too far with Edutainment. Edutainment mixes education and entertainment as a way of teaching. While I think there is great value in this method, are we taking all the work out of learning for our students? Not everything you need to learn will always be presented in a fun and entertaining way. Eventually we need to buckle down and read through some less-than-thrilling texts, and in the workplace most of the real-life research that needs to be done is rarely flashy and entertaining. Are we overlooking the value of hard work, of pouring through volumes of books at the library in exchange for typing out your question into Google and having all the answers come to you sometimes via YouTube? Where do we draw the line between engaging students and making them lazy?