"Dramatic Betweenness" Creates a New, Readily Accessible Artistic Medium: Extraordinary Theatrical Experience Hiding in Plain Sight
Dec 15, 2020, 13:23 ET
NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- "Dramatic betweenness" is a profound, newly discovered theatrical experience rooted in the primordial wiring through which we understand one another face-to-face, recognizing each other's needs and intentions, experiencing empathy, and developing self-awareness. Dramatic betweenness is the experience of unprecedented intimacy arising from being face-to-face with all players in a drama simultaneously, silently and invisibly seeing them precisely as they see themselves. This has never been possible before in theater. John Stoltenberg, (Editor-in-Chief, DC Metro Theater Arts) says, "I believe this discovery is a breakthrough not only for theater but for human consciousness and interpersonal ethics."
Betweenness is hidden in the commonplace medium of a video call. It's been easy to overlook among the myriad attempts to mount theatrical works on platforms such as Zoom. Betweenness only emerges (for now at least) when a play is written and produced purely as a video call. The play is the call. Nothing more.
Imagine you've tapped into a video call between strangers engaged in an ardent private conversation. When they speak to each other, it feels as if they are speaking to you. When they turn away, they turn away from you. When they scream, they scream at you. You are inside their world as their lives, and the moral dilemmas and ethical debates the playwright has constructed, unfold through you.
Delivering this experience to audiences is something every playwright, producer, director, actor, and student of theater should explore and understand. And it is readily accessible and affordable. No theater to rent. No sets to build. Cell phones, laptops, desk lamps, and a good Internet connection will do just fine.
The landmark article describing dramatic betweenness, "Using Zoom in a new way to create theater that transforms how we see: A practical guide to exploiting the medium's unprecedented "'betweenness,'" by Neal Davidson, was published online Dec. 12, 2020, by DC Metro Theater Arts.
The concept of dramatic betweenness and its impact on audiences was discovered in TheSharedScreen's breakthrough adaptation of TAPE, greenlit by Tony- and Emmy-nominated playwright Stephen Belber. Audiences were captivated. To experience the power of dramatic betweenness, check out the trailer. This extraordinary work is returning for six more live performances, Feb. 5,6,7-12,13,14. Tickets are available online now.
SOURCE TheSharedScreen Co.
