The average age of today’s live theater patron is over 50 years old—at least given the amount of gray hair I see in Sacramento audiences. With baby boomers retiring, the local theater scene enjoys steady patronage. But theater directors need to find ways to engage younger audiences.
With hundreds of TV channels, video games, and multi-million dollar blockbusters on screens everywhere and eyes glued to smartphones, how do theaters stand a chance? How do we spark new interest while maintaining established theatergoers’ support?
One exciting way to do this is fusing multiple artistic forms of media—think radio, visual arts, projection, live theater, music and special effects mashed up with traditional works.
City College arts faculty strive to move forward with increasingly powerful technology and current artistic movements while remaining true to the arts’ traditional roots.
Chris Iwata, dean of humanities and fine arts at City College, said the college is combining forward-thinking trends with classic methods.
“A common thread is that our arts departments are moving with contemporary trends, but not moving away from their traditional foundations,” he said.
With the renovation of the Performing Arts Center, the theater program can bring in mixed media productions to the stage. The department played with this trend by putting twists into shows, sometimes setting them in alternative timeframes—for example, last summer’s production of “Twelfth Night” set in 1975 New York City.
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Placerville’s Imagination Theater garnered interest in its production of “Dracula” by doing a half-live-theater, half-film mash-up.
“The Intergalactic Nemesis” is a “live-action graphic novel” combining a live 1930’s-style science fiction radio show with projected illustrations. The interplay of radio and art excited seasoned theater veterans and younger audience members. This was one of the best shows I have ever seen. Period.
The intermingling of media can bring compelling experiences to art lovers looking for something outside the norm. Orchestral concerts are played with images projected in the background for a more evocative performance.
Intelligent lightshows grow more complex and add excitement to concerts. Film clips are used in theaters as background images or taking the place of complicated scene changes.
All this stirring of media creates exciting new ideas popping up not only in local venues but here at City College. This forward-moving yet grounded approach helps maintain a strong base of established supporters and attracts new audiences to the scene, ensuring a long and enduring place for the arts.
—Meg Masterson
