Why Musicals SHOULD be VIDEOTAPED

[USTheater.TV]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 10:34am

A great debate was started after my first posting about USTheater.TV - but the replies are so 19th century thinking.

Just in case anyone missed the recent announcements about the future of technology from two of the world's 21st Century market movers, here they are again......

Bill Gates:- NO CD, NO DVD, download films on the Net.

Steve Jobs:- Video IPOD and download films on the Net.

Now. If theatre (or theater for you American dudes), is just going to sit back and let the Film and Music businesses take over the audiences of the world in the next decade, then more fool them.

I personally want my theatre live AND on the Internet AND on my video IPOD.

I'm an actor, and I am PASSIONATE ABOUT THEATRE, both performing on stage, as well as watching others perform. That's why I setup my website 4 years ago - UK Theatre Network - to bring it to the Internet. I have just started to launch PAY-PER-VIEW Theatre in the UK and I have started to get interest from the U.S with reviewers now publishing to the site from New York, Chicago and Philadelpia.

They see the benefit and so do the BBC who made enquiries to my press agents last week. And so does a major west end theatre company who own some of the major musicals on Broadway today. They contacted me last week as well. The British Council are offering their support to market it around the world, and I have had offers from at least 20 theatre productions in the UK in less than a week of announcing it.

Who benefits ?

* Actors will get paid twice for their theatre performances.
* Producers and writers will get significantly more money for their product
* Theatres will get a much needed injection of income to help them with their significant overheads (maintenance of listed buildings, heating, lighting, staff and performers salaries)
* And the public will get to watch their favourite theatrical production in the comfort of their own home. Over and over.
* If you are in London, you can watch a Broadway play that you might never get to see.
* If you are elderly or disabled, you can watch plays from around the world and enjoy your favourite passion
* If you are living in China, Siberia or Outer Mongolia, you can still watch a top West End Play or Broadway Musical at the fraction of a price.
* Most theatre have a maximium capacity in 2,000-3,000 per night. The Net can bring 10,000-100,000 in one night. Every night.


................and so on..............


So if you want to be part of this revolution in theatre, login now and register FREE at UK Theatre Network and together we'll shake it up.

It's happening. It's NOW. I have teams of over 100 in the UK and expanding. We work together professional and passionately to put a first class product onto the net. You can get involved too.

Douglas McFarlane
Founder, Actor and Web-Editor
UK Theatre Network
_______________________________

P.S. I plan to film the stage version of KPAX in 2006 after finalising discussions with the author. I performed in the World Premiere (playing the Jeff Bridge character), in London last year. Look out for it next year.



USTheatre.TV - Coming to a Stage and Screen Near YOU

Updated On: 10/30/05 at 10:34 AM

[442namffug]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 10:41am

Good. Luck.

[USTheater.TV]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 10:45am

Thank you very much. I hope you see the benefit as much as I do. I have changed the thinking of the industry over here over the last few years, I guess I've still got a lot of changing of minds in the US as well. I hope you will support me in that by spreading the word

Thanks again.

Doug

[442namffug]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 10:59am

You and your company are ruining the magic of theatre.

It's nice that you are thinking about the financial aspect of things (i.e. who gets paid for their performance/work), but it's not just all about the money.

Performances that are filmed are called movies. Theatrical events are more artistic and are meant to be viewed LIVE.

Theatre should stay real.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:12am

I don't think it's ruining the experience at all. I have pop concert DVDs as well, but this hasn't stopped people from seeing these concerts live.

Home video won't take the place of live theatre or a rock concert. And it won't be able to, if the video isn't released until AFTER the stage performance is completed. (Or the show has closed.)

The cost and the logistics are the problem in producing shows for video, but not the loss of audience. In many cases, a video release can actually help a show.

People go to the theatre, because they want to experience it live. That base audience will always be there.

Honestly, I can't point to one example where a video release of a show has caused that show to close or never be performed live again. It's an unsubstantiated fear.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:16am

frankly for me, half the fun is going to NYC, London, Vienna, Hamburg, or wherever......

I don't want to see musical theater from my own home, I want to go to it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:17am

Elphaba---This is exactly my point. You're definitely not alone.

And this is why a video of a Broadway show will never replace the experience of seeing it live.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:18am

I have no problem with theater being videotaped so it can be enjoyed by future audiences. However, as theater is supposed to be LIVE and IN-PERSON, I am strongly against having these videotapes broadcast before the run of the show is over. Once it's over and done with, fine--let those who missed it get to see it second-hand, and let the theater-freaks like myself be able to relive their fond memories by watching the filmed product. But no, pay-per-view theater is not a good idea, and it is in fact possibly dangerous to the legitimacy of theater.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:20am

SWEENEY TODD was at almost 80% last week. It doesn't look to me like the multiple dvd releases of it are hurting the box office numbers at all.

People will always continue to go to live theatre. Releasing the shows for everyone to see is a great way to keep shows alive and in people's minds. There are so many wonderful productions that have been done and than completely forgotten. It's a shame that all the work that went into them can't be shared and experienced after the shows themselves have closed.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:22am

The Distinctive Baritone---Agreed. A pay-per-view event while a show is still running could hurt ticket sales.

To me, a video of a show (after it's closed) is only a memento of the experience, not a replacement. Just like an OBCR or a souvenir book filled with photos. It's a reflection of theatre, but definitely not a match for it.

[442namffug]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:22am

yyeeesh..way to support your community....

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:25am

Releasing the shows for sale would support the "community" in so many different ways. Actors, stagehands, costumers etc. would all get more money for their work and hey, it *might* even help keep ticket prices down so even MORE people could enjoy live theatre.

[USTheater.TV]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:27am

Interesting replies....and I thank you all for offering sound opinions. Theater needs to reach a wider range of audiences.

Recent UK market studies show that 18-25 market is a non-starter for theatre. We have to take the experience to them and encourage them to go and see the live product. Not everyone can go to Hamburg, Vienna and whichever cities were mentioned. Great if you can afford it - 99 per cent of the people I deal with on a daily basis can't.

The live experience will always be the best but for marketing and growing the audiences, film is essential.

Since my message going up I have been contacted by an outside broadcast company who have offered their assistance. I have also had a Producer who will co-ordinate the 14 film crew and 20 interviewers/reviewers who will give their review to camera.

I will be collating them in a magazine style TV programme over the next few weeks and marketing that to TV companies and online broadcasters.

It's all happening, and it's all for the good of theatre. Think of how much more money productions will get an improve their buildings, their seating, their lighting. The live experience can only get better through a generation of an additional revenue stream. Embrace it. The future of theatre has arrived.

Remember not just to think about MAJOR productions but also Community Theatre and Fringe plays. They can all be fuelled by the additional publicity.




Doug



USTHEATER.TV - Passionate About Theatre

Updated On: 10/30/05 at 11:27 AM

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:29am

You know Doug, there's something very sinister-sounding about your last post.
Updated On: 10/30/05 at 11:29 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:34am

442namffug---If what you mean by "support for the community" is keeping the art form of theatre a PURE experience, I assume you don't have any cast recordings then? They definitely tarnish the memory of a live performance as well. So do any photographs, published librettos/scripts, or other outside memorabilia. You must not have any, if you are honoring live theatre exactly for what it is.

The pure form of theatre exists only from the time an audience enters a venue to the time they leave it.

Everything else is merely an imitation or facsimile of the experience that can only do it harm.

Personally, I disgree with this philosophy. I take each exactly for what it is.

[USTheater.TV]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:38am

I have been working on this for 4 years and managed to convince an industry over here about it. It took a lot of convincing but now they are warming to it and see that it is an additional experience instead of replacing the core experience.
USTHEATER.TV - Passionate About Theatre

[442namffug]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:39am

You are telling me that looking at a photograph (that is specifically posed for the sake of publicity) is the equivalent of watching an ENTIRE piece of LIVE theatre video recorded? You are saying that you lose the same amount of suspense, excitement, and creativity by reading the script of a play or musical and actually watching the ENTIRE piece on video?

I think you are sorely mistaken. They are completely different things.

[442namffug]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:42am

I could possibly understand the concept of archiving a portion of a performance for the purpose of having it as a reference. But recording a performance and puting it on the internet for all to see is a "junk food version" of its former self.

The difference between live theatre and recorded theatre is so extreme that you might as well just adapt the play/musical and create an actual feature film. It's absolutely impossible to feel the same sentiment of live theatre by watching it on Window's Media Player or Quick Time.

Come on.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:42am

Personally, Doug, I like your enthusiasm. I agree that in order to reach new audiences in our modern times, new approaches in marketing theatre are needed.

Disney knew that. They brought in their best marketing people for their theatrical shows, and turned Broadway advertising on its ear. The brought new life and blood into Times Square and it benefited all of Broadway, not just their shows.

We can't market plays and musicals to the world today as if it were still 1952. It doesn't work. We need to show people visuals and audio and tantalize them... and say "but there's NOTHIING like seeing this live."

I wish you the best of luck with your project, and I hope it works.

[MackieManiac]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:42am

Live performances should NOT be videotaped.

Legally.. you are giving permision to every lazy actor, director, designer, oreographer to steal and copy the work created by an individual without the individual being credited or compensated.

Artistically... live theatre is just that... LIVE. It is meant to be enjoyed live, close up and with a crowd of people there to share the experience. People who want shows taped so they can enjoy them in their own homes are twirts who are wither too lazy to travel to NYC to see them... or lack the brain power to retain what they have seen on stage to enjoy it forever in their memory.

[WriteInNYC]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:43am

As long as everyone involved can be fairly compensated I think it's a great idea. I love that "Sunday in the Park with George," "Sweeney Todd," "Passion" and "Into the Woods" were taped with, in most cases, their original companies. Wouldn't it be great to have a library of Broadway and Off-Broadway productions to pass on to future generations? I think it's essential to preserve the history of this medium. And I don't believe this takes anything away from the experience of attending a live performance. The audience that could be reached worldwide is remarkable and would, I believe, only enhance Broadway's appeal. Let's face it, there are people who have never even heard of Broadway (as a theatrical district in New York) let alone a show like "Sweeney Todd." True, making the physical trip to New York or London and into a great theater IS part of the thrill, but what about people unable to physically make that journey? Bringing the excitement and the magic of theater to people via DVD or videotape in their homes who otherwise can't get out to have this experience is a major accomplishment. It also preserves the legendary performances of the great artists of our time, something otherwise lost. Ultimately I see more positive than negative in the proposition. Good luck!

[SirLiir]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:44am

Personally I think it is a great idea. There is a huge population that can reached by it. And if you dont like it, DONT watch it. Simple as that. I'd sign up but I would by no means not go to see shows live anymore. Something is definetly lost by not seeing it live no doubt. But the avenues it can open to increase theatre enjoyment seems expotential.

[442namffug]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:45am

Whew! Mackie you came just in time. I was getting worried that there was NO ONE on these boards who had any common or artistic sense. Then you came...

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:55am

442namffug---So glad to see that you are resorting to personal attacks to state your case. How nice.

MackieManiac---As for actors, directors, etc. stealing from taped shows... how is this different from a singer listening to an interpretation of a song (or a tempo) on an OBCR and lifting that? Costumes sets and lighting design can be "lifted" from a single photograph, if others are desperate or lacking in their own creative vision.

You can also "lift" a performance's interpretation and staging from your memory of it.

EDIT: When did it become wrong to study original productions and artists and use what they have given us? People have been doing this since the dawn of time. And this is the primary reason for the existence of the Lincoln Center archives.

Updated On: 10/30/05 at 11:55 AM

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 10/30/05 at 11:55am

442--

I'm with you too. But I think that videotapes should be done only as a memento to the original production, aired AFTER the theatrical run (a la the Sondheim shows on PBS).