Today in America, the average person would most likely turn down a day in the theater for a more in-your-face sort of entertainment. “The theater’s a bore,” my sister would say. Modern viewers want surround sound and flashing movies screens. Why? Because today’s spectators want to feel as if they are inside the scenes. That’s why we have IMAX, 3D glasses, and movie Scratch-n-Sniffs. Spectators don’t want to just witness the action they want to hear, feel, and breathe it.
But then couldn’t one argue that a live performance easily beats a front row seat at a 3D movie? What could be more convincing than a person acting out right in front of you? What could be more tangible, more noticeable, more … real?
In a time when practically everyone has the technology necessary to stay in touch (computers, cellphones, etc.), the very devices that are supposed to keep us connected are actual pulling us away from the real world. And a simple thing such as attending the theater is a little step further away from that. It forces us to put down our gadgets and gizmos to pay attention to what is actually in front of us. Crazy right?
The theater is absolutely relevant to the modern audience because it gives us what we are constantly striving for through all our glitzy special effects: a step inside the action. Live performances are necessary not only because they force us to put down our electronics, but the theater also forms a more personal and riveting entertainment experience.
