Transmedia Storytelling
In the Theatre Arts Department, we encourage exploration of traditional and new media, and how they converge in today's participatory arts culture. We encourage students to train for leadership roles in the arts as writers, directors, designers and producers, preparing themselves for the exciting new landscape of performing arts in a digital age.
Theatre Arts Department conceived, produced and coordinated a transmedia exploration on the struggles of homelessness. Students and faculty from the Conservatory's Audio Engineering class, Theatre Arts Department, and Visual Artists Department combined their acting, directing, design, writing, photography, cinematography, technical and composition skills to create an original piece expressed across several platforms. The collaborative art project featured student writing inspired by Tennessee Williams' This Property is Condemned. Students wrote collaboratively and improvisationally via Twitter and Blogging, wrote a radio play and a one-act prequel to the Tennessee Williams story that was adapted by Theatre Arts professor Gary Armagnac into a 22-minute short film titled Alva.
Student James Huang and Professor Gary Armagnac filming Alva.
Luke Bolle as Tom and Nicole Cherry as Willie in the live stage play This Property Is Condemned by Tennessee Williams, directed by Lisa Tromovitch, costumes by Kathleen Lowe.
Professor Jeff D. Crawford setting up the mics for the voice actors (Ashley Bonda '13, Luke Bolle '17) of the radio play Where's Willie?
Prof. Henry Jenkins, one of the leading figures in modern transmedia storytelling, defined it on his blog as: "Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story."