Turn That Thing Off! ─ Collaboration and Technology in 21st Century Actor Training

When ‘turn that %#*@{& thing off!’ isn’t enough…

As personal technology becomes ever-present in the classroom and rehearsal studio, its use and ubiquity is affecting the collaborative behaviors that should underpin actor training. How is the collaborative impulse being distracted, and what kind of solutions can re-establish its connections?

The daily work of theatre practitioner thrives on an ability to connect, empathise and participate with other artists. This is true at every level from performing arts students to established professionals. As smartphones, social media and other forms of digital connectedness become more and more embedded in daily life, they can suppress these collaborative, creative skills. Turn That Thing Off! Collaboration and Technology in 21^st Century Actor Training explores ways of working with technology to foster these essential abilities, paving the way for emerging performers to be more present, available and generous in their work.

Rose Burnett Bonczek is Director of the BFA Acting program and a professor of theatre at Brooklyn College, CUNY.

David Storck is Professor of Performing Arts at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia.

Roger Manix is an adjunct lecturer in the BFA Acting Program at Brooklyn College, CUNY, and also teaches in the BFA Integrated Design program and the MFA Transdisciplinary Design program at The New School, New York.