Why write a play about a world infiltrated by social media and technology???
Tony Bolante asked me this question during an early brainstorming session about a possible guest residency in my class. Although we were ultimately unable to make this residency work out, this was a question that I tried to keep in mind throughout the creative process. I came to understand that I am interested in exploring the ways that technology enriches, connects, excites, and ultimately fractures us. I decided to try and embrace technology as a way of breaking the boundaries of the stage / theatre / live performance as well as to examine the ways that it challenges all of us in real life to collaborate when we are working with different sets of exposition and information.
The BalPals
Struck by the ways that social media has brought together fans of television shows, movies, and other forms of popular entertainment, we were interested in playing around with the various attachments people make with the popular entertainment they consume and what these attachments reveal about our psyche. Because we had consciously embarked on a project of writing a diverse and inclusive reboot of an original series mired in the dominant culture of the US in the 70s (white / heterosexual/masculinist), we were intrigued by the way that social media could allow us to create alternative narratives about a fictional series. We created a fan page to imagine favorite episodes and the varied audience responses they might inspire. Instead of me writing about it, why don’t you go check it out?
The Ballantine Days reboot YouTube channel
The HWS Theatre production team, our imagined The Ballantine Days production team, and our character who made it on the show due to being a YouTube sensation want to use YouTube to reach our audiences. How successful are we? You can be the judge of that.