This thesis establishes groundwork for producing an aesthetic language for theatre technology by creating and testing a model for looking at theatre technologies in a critical manner. This model has several functions: Firstly it identifies theatre technology as something which can have a specific or a psycho-plastic scenographic effect. Through processes of re-invigoration and diversification the model allows a device to be regarded in its own context while historiologically allowing for precedent technologies to be acknowledged and compared. Lastly, because the model is ouroboric, self-consuming, it accounts for theatre technologies to be able to interpolate (and be interpolated by) other technologies whilst maintaining its own aesthetic integrity. This allows a critic to treat technology as a text rather than as a medium, and therefore enables it to be closely "read" as a text of the stage affording the technology a content of its own. Through problematising this model against theories of media and remediation, the thesis observes that the common critical position in theatre and performance studies is to treat theatre technology merely as a theatrical technē -- a tool or craft of the art. The arguments presented in the thesis reposition theatre technology from the position of craft to a position of art -- as alētheia, an artistic truth revealed through poiētic means. In the repositioning of attitudes towards technology, and by identifying theatre technologies as separate alētheuein, this thesis is then able to investigate theatre technologies aesthetically. Examining the contexts of technologies through the ouroboric model, and then critically studying their content, usage and meaning textually, this thesis is able to take a theatrical technological effect and begin to identify its affect. It posits that technology as an art in its own right can be aesthetically criticised and awarded meaning of equal weight to other elements of performance and theatre art.

I have seen a trend in the teaching of technical theatre towards a more practical and less theoretical education. This has brought about a change in viewpoint by professional technicians, as well as students, in regards to an academic degree. Due to this change and the rise of student debt, the impulse has been to encourage going directly into the field and learning the craft there instead of spending four years in an academic institution. There has also been increased pressure on theatre departments to produce larger and more involved shows; both to draw in new students and to justify budgets for productions, particularly musicals. This has led to a greater rate of burnout for graduating students who have spent less time in actual classes than in working on productions. In studying and working in the academic environment I have made insights into ways in which these problems may be alleviated and academic training can remain relevant to the demands of the professional world.

Collaboration is at the foundation of modern theatre practices. All of the individuals involved in a production share their contributions with their immediate colleagues for the benefit of the production. Reoccurring or very similar technical challenges often arise in productions no matter where they are produced. Sharing the creative solutions to these problems among graduate technical theatre students will benefit the theatre industry by increasing the possibility for innovation. An information-sharing infrastructure should be developed in a way that will ease the burden for the individuals who wish to share their innovations with the broader community, while including a way to receive acknowledgment for their contributions. This paper looks to the theories of Eric Von Hippel on “innovation communities” and the ideas and motivations for “free revealing”. The theories are related to the specific characteristics and needs of the community of Master of Fine Arts graduate students in theatre technology programs. Six techniques currently used for the sharing of information will be analyzed for their benefits and limitations. Topics such as open source software development, the principles of the organization Public Library of Sciences, and the practice of creating online instructional videos are all explored for successful techniques that can be applied to technical theatre innovation sharing. In addition, the protection of authorship will be discussed including: a broad history of copyright law in America, the cultural property theories of Lawrence Lessig, and the Creative Commons. I plan to compile all of the necessary information to lay the foundation for the development of a new approach to sharing information in theatre technology. Open Theatre Source will be the name for the proposed infrastructure. It will provide an online meeting place among the potential innovators in MFA programs. The infrastructure will employ new sharing techniques and will use innovative technologies to the community. The primary objective of Open Theatre Source will be to facilitate a dialogue among individuals who are studying within the many different programs. The dialogue will transcend institutional boundaries, which will benefit and improve the entire community of academic institutions. Open Theatre Source will create a valuable case study for future research in open sharing infrastructures for theatre technology. Through its successes or failures, the information gathered could then be applied to other areas of the theatre community, including the professional industry. / text

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-08T16:52:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 116023.pdf: 4940416 bytes, checksum: 5650f09af7dfaf4a3086e912d318db64 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-17 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This research aims to present a teaching experience in theatre lighting based upon design principles. The dissertation intertwines/weaves together the universal design principles with stage lighting creation experiences using as a point of departure the experience on teaching, as well as recent studies on performance design. This discussion considers the visual message as a sort of theatrical communication system. It also recognizes the creation, effecting and understanding of the stage lighting as a design process based on its historical functions and spectacular expressivity. The text is structured in two stages: it first presents selected professional experiences and secondly it analyses the teaching practices. The goal is to highlight the relationship between theatre practice and design as a teaching strategy. This study comprehends that theatre designing is about making choices and taking decisions and that can be related to the concept of design thinking . It is also about finding the reasons for those solutions on the other designers creations and the design basis, relating stage and audience, arts and crafts, form and function. / A presente pesquisa se propõe a relatar uma experiência de ensino da iluminação cênica fundamentada nos princípios do design. Para tanto, expõe seus conceitos e apresenta uma análise das relações entre os fundamentos do design e o processo de criação em iluminação cênica a partir da prática pedagógica aplicada em alguns modelos de ensino/aprendizagem da iluminação, bem como algumas outras pesquisas similares recentes. Com base no entendimento do teatro como meio de comunicação e pela análise dos processos de elaboração, compreensão e interpretação das suas linguagens, defende a atuação da iluminação como linguagem do espetáculo e elemento sensorial da cena na exploração de suas funções históricas e potencialidades expressivas. A metodologia empregada foi, além do registro das atividades pedagógicas, a investigação de experiências com processos de criação da luz para alguns espetáculos e das referências bibliográficas relacionadas. Considerando ainda o conceito de design thinking, conclui que a atividade do design no universo cênico se refere a fazer escolhas e tomar decisões, buscando os estímulos para essas soluções no trabalho coletivo da criação e nas fundamentações compositivas, visando a interação entre palco e plateia, aliando artes e ofícios, relacionando forma e função.