AT25: An Eye on the Future
David Cromer, director, Chicago
The future? Theatre of Magnets (or Magnet Theatre).
My prediction 25 years ago that American theatre in 2009 would rely heavily on Jet-Packs should, like a lot of speculation about what has not yet occurred, be allowed a slight margin for error. That said, I feel with unquestionable certainty that the future of American theatre lies in magnets. A magnet is an exciting and fun metal thing that sticks to other metal things without any glue or residue of any kind (through some process of magnetizing). Curtains that should stay closed most of the show but need to be yanked open at one point without making a Velcro or snap noise should (will) have magnets. Small magnets can be used in quick changes (the Velcro noise will go the way of busy signals and plays about "human relationships").
A good way to stab a guy (theatrically) is to have a piece of metal under the guy's shirt and some kind of magnet on the knife. This way, the knife sticks out of the guy (I know, right!?). I don't know how to make the knife look like it goes in but this can probably be worked out in a meeting. There will still be meetings. My friend Jeremy Beiler thinks that "blocking" can be eliminated by putting metal in the actor's shoes and having them moved around the space in a pre-arranged pattern by giant magnets under the stage. The people moving the giant magnets would not need any advanced degree in acting or need to be particularly attractive. Future generations can decide who determines the patterns of the movement in some kind of meeting.
Naturally, artistic and administrative roles will shift significantly in the Theatre of Magnets (or Magnet Theatre) and will give rise to the Magneturg, particularly in the big regionals. (Issues like programming, marketing, development, diminishing audience, diversity, commercial versus artistic concerns, unions and healthcare, the buffeting of the artistic soul, questions of social relevance, etc. will all be handled by affordable computers and/or robots.)
Puppets. Holograms. Listening. They've all had their moment in the sun as predicted futures of the American theatre. All have come to naught. What is left for us to try? I offer you magnets. How else are you going to stab a guy?