Wow - obviously I had the exact thought at the exact same time because I posted a thread with that same topic. Didn't see this one when I finally hit "post". I'll just paste that here and delete the other one.
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This technology isn't new, there's already a Japanese anime character who performs live concerts, with a live band and all, but "she" is a 3D light projection. Here's a clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTXO7KGHtjI Now, admittedly, this technology is in its infancy. It's not actual 3D imaging yet, it's an optical illusion accomplished by projecting the image onto a specially treated seemingly-clear screen.
But it's going to get better. There's also increasingly sophisticated animatronics/robotics which could also be used in stage productions. If you had gone to the opening night of "Oklahoma" in 1943 and told the patrons that within 50 years machines would be able to completely replace orchestras, they would say you were nuts. They would say that even if such a thing was possible (remember, this was the era of AM radio and 78-RPM discs) no one would ever use it because it wouldn't be live and isn't that what separates the theatre from film and black-and-white television?
Obviously, those people would have been dead wrong. So I'm saying, how long until holograms or sophisticated animatronics start replacing ensemble members, the way synthesizers and Virtual Orchestras have replaced string sections and even entire orchestras? A producer could do a show with 250 people in the chorus - and they can mostly, if not all, be virtual. Obviously you'll need people to choreograph, and probably dancers to "record" the dances using motion capture devices that transfer the movements to the light projections or the robots. No mistakes, no injuries, no salaries to pay, no performer egos to deal with, it's a win-win-win!
So - how long until the first Virtual Ensemble in a Broadway show? I can already write the articles - half of them will be touting the new technology, and the other half will note that this further erodes the "live" experience.
But I don't say this as a science fiction, what-if scenario. This will happen. The technology already exists, it just needs to improve. I'd bet that within 10 years it will be possible, just prohibitively expensive. Eventually, special events will start using it - I'll bet theme parks and museums will be the first to use them. I'd guess that within 25 years it will be completely possible to seamlessly integrate Virtual Performers with live actors the same way we do with orchestras today.
Thoughts?
