The world of modern drama was plunged into the social media theatre-making. The directors, who are looking for creative play decisions, start to direct their attention to Facebook and Twitter. The tendency was started by Jeremy Gable’s scandalous Twitter play “The 15th Line” which evolved in 2010 as a tweet-communication between four characters (Mandell par. 2). Today, the performance is revived and it is planned to prolong its Twitter-running.
Some critics question the appropriateness of using social media as a theatre platform. Thus, it is often argued that global society is too absorbed into Internet reality. Consequently, many experts claim that the theatre should cancel the tendency and not to encourage excessive web surfing. Surprisingly, the author of the first Twitter play argues that he developed it for the same reasons. Jeremy Gable, who works as a teacher, explains that the world of social media is too powerful and it can not be repressed by the regular theatre plays or any other traditional activities.
Therefore, he concludes that drama should come directly to those who are not willing to enter the theatre and to draw their attention to modern art. Indeed, “instant access to information through tweeting, blogs, and social media spreads the word faster even if “the word” is not true” (Bonczek and Storck 26). Consequently, a social media platform presents an ideal alternative foundation for art advertising. Moreover, it can serve as a primary tool for the further extensions of the drama genre.
Therefore, the creator of Tweeter-drama offers an innovative way in which theatre popularity may be restored. One can start loving performances through tweets and then move to a traditional theatre so that to enjoy a full-value play.
Works Cited
Bonczek, Rose and David Storck. Ensemble Theatre Making: A Practical Guide, London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Mandell, Jonathan. Twitter Plays Aren’t Revived, They’re Retweeted. 2015. Web.