Cyberformance and the Cyberstage

Abstract

Investigating the historical and cultural emergence of grafting the internet technology into the contemporary theatre practice, this paper discusses the socio-political character of the cyberspace use as a theatrical stage, suggesting the term cyberstage to describe this phenomenon. Drawing on Helen Varley Jamieson's definition of cyberformance, a live performance that utilises internet technologies to bring remote performers together in real time, for remote and/or proximal audiences (Jamieson, 2008, p.34), the use of cyberstage is analyzed in the following three online performance cases: Helen Varley Jamieson's Make-Shift (2010), a networked performance collaboration with Paula Crutchlow, Dries Verhoeven's performance Life Streaming (2010) and the Royal Shakespeare Company's production Such Tweet Sorrow (2010). The substructures of an internet-based theatre have already been set, attracting many contemporary artists to experiment with that tool, foregrounding questions about the future of cyberformance and the theatre presence in cyberspace. The paper discusses the developmental potential of cyberformance as dealt with by Dixon (2004), Jamieson (2008) and Kattenbeld (2010).