Theatre as Technology
Theatre as Technology
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USDTheatre does not merely use technology – it is a technology. In this paradigm-shifting study, W. B. Worthen shows how the dynamics of obsolescence and affective nostalgia that shape the passing of technologies into history also shape and reshape theatrical practice. Locating theatre within rather than outside the orbit of media studies, Theatre as Technology traces the theatre's absorption of, and absorption by, digital culture. Treating subjects as wide-ranging as pandemic-era Zoom theatre, on-stage video and sound technologies, and artificial intelligence, Worthen locates a moment of transformational change in the idea of the theatre, change prompted by the theatre's always-changing, and so always obsolescing, material technologies.
- Situates theatre studies at the heart of media studies and media archaeology, as a distinctive technology that represents technology as an interface of the human
- Convincingly incorporates topics as diverse as pandemic-era Zoom theatre, on-stage video and sound technologies, the proscenium, the technically-administered black box, and artificial intelligence into its paradigm-shifting argument
- Features incisive theoretical discussion grounded in contemporary and familiar plays, theatre structures, playwrights, and productions
Reviews & endorsements
‘William Worthen sets out to explore the future of theatre by taking a provocative point of departure: the concept of obsolescence. Inspired by contemporary experiences (especially the rapid digitization caused by the Corona-pandemic) and with profound historical expertise, Theatre as Technology opens a new discussion about theatre in the twenty-first century.' Peter W. Marx, Professor of Theater Studies, University of Cologne
‘Traveling from Aeschylus to Zoom theatre, from Beckett to Burbage, and from the papyrus scroll – via Captain Kirk's communicator – to the iPhone, Worthen's journey through theatre and technology offers a unique and compelling vision of the past, present and future of performance.' Robert Shaughnessy, Professor of Theatre, University of Surrey
Product details
January 2026Hardback
9781009647359
290 pages
229 × 152 mm
Not yet published - available from January 2026
Table of Contents
- 1. Theatre as technology
- 2. Zoom(ing) Theatre
- or, Theatreness
- 3. The whirligig of tech: theatricalizing technology at the Wooster group
- 4. Proscenium subjects
- 5. Theatre and the artifice of the human
- Works cited.
