Is Theatre Under the Influence of New Media?

Abstract

The paper poses questions concerning the extent of direct or indirect impact of new media on the concept of a theatrical production and on the perception of a concret theatrical performance. Using examples of theatrical preoductions, the author divided the impact of media into several areas. One of them is the insertion of film clips into a theatrical performance or simultaneous large screen projections of what is happening on stage. The second area concerns (in)direct effect of new media on the currentness of the testimony of theatre-makers, such as, for instance, the projection of TV news that accentuate the impact of everydayness on the aesthetic perception of an audience. One should not discount the side effects of the media that entered the theatre, such as the effect of TV series on the social media popularity of actors. Therefore, when actors perform on stage, the audiences are inclined to perceive them as TV-series characters rather than dramatic characters.

Keywords

• New media, film, TV series, video art, Slovak theatre, social media popularity of actors