The millennium is twenty years old. Television as the absorbing, comfortable theatre of the home is dead. Extreme numbers of channels and choices have satiated audiences, and the continual themes of depravity and debasement have caused people to search elsewhere for uplifting, community-centered entertainment experiences. At the same time, new technologies are now powerful, expressive, and practical enough to be widely accepted by artists and audiences. Sensor-based musical instruments have outgrown their initial image as novelties for inventors and are being widely used in artistic performances. Small production companies have teamed up with the remaining symphony orchestras and opera houses to create new works that will appeal to the public and inspire in them the deepest, most heartfelt emotions.
The new popular form is Immersion Theatre, an all-inclusive, festival-style art form located in huge brick warehouses in urban centers. As people flock to these spaces in the evenings, they stop and participate in the vibrant tech-swapping and improvisational show-and-tell goings on in the front yard of the theatre. Inside, they grab a drink at the bar and pick up some wireless headphones. On any given night there might be two or three musical performances – a folk band downstairs in the bar, a rock opera on the main stage, and an augmented orchestra performance on the sound stage. There are also interactive art exhibits and Internet stations peppered throughout the space for more personal experiences.
Tonight the main stage presents Persephone, a musical theatre piece using holographic video and the latest in surround-sound technology. The woman performing the lead role uses her motions to direct the placement and processing of her voice. On the neighboring sound stage, the visiting St. Paul Chamber Orchestra debuts its new Concerto for conductor and orchestra, which pits its celebrated and energetic leader against the very talented and independent musicians in the orchestra for a lively dialogue. Both the conductor’s and the players’ bodies are wired for sound.