Utilising Technology

We are knee deep in a technological age...what are you going to do about it? Sit there and watch it fly by, or utilise it to its best ability? It is truly amazing the kind of technology we have at our hands to use, and the performing industry is clearly one that is always finding new technology or using old technology in a new way (by old technology I mean something created last year...you know how quick 'new' bits and bobs are on the market!) I recently read about a play where the audience gets to create their 'prototype' of a child before coming to the show, and then watch their child being born. (Or something like that, details aren't exact, and I'm not sure of the play title, but it sounds ingenious). This adds a whole new element of interaction to this play, incorporating the audience by new technology. On another note the internet is always creating new ways to benefit performers, whether it be to link like minded artists and groups through social networking sites or for companies to have their own websites. Tickets can be bought online, costumes/props/sets/lighting etc can all be bought or rented online (although you will have to use them in the real world). We can advertise our performances or create performances online for our friends to watch. Recently 'The Lazy Creations Group' launched a vlog where we can 'show' rather than tell about all our new pieces of work. The idea is to get inside the performance we will put on, show people how we do it, show them the fun we are having- reading is one this, viewing another! And we're not limited to having to have a computer by our side to update our vlog either- technology once again prevails and we can send footage directly from our mobile phones to our vlog...the opportunities are virtually endless! That brings me to another thought, how I'd like to stream a show (either theatrical or not) live across the globe, so that our groups international friends can come to our show without spending thousands of dollars to get out here. How we'd do this I'm not exactly sure. We'd need to find a live streaming website or something of the like that multiple people could log on to. If you have any ideas feel free to post a comment below. Growing from that thought you could combine performers together to perform live...yet have them in different rooms, in different houses, in different towns even in different parts of the globe! Imagine a show being performed with no one actually seeing each other. (No garuntees of how good it would be, but if handled correctly it could work). If we do follow these ideas and anything comes of them, I'm sure we'll be utilising technology to tell you all, either here, on our vlog or elsewhere. Who knows it might even work! The Lazy Creations Group is all for experimenting with technology and it's different uses, so what have you used technolody for in the performing arts industry? It's such a diverse tool.