Laterna Magika

Laterna Magika is a very cool and “fresh” concept. I say “fresh” because I know that it has been around for decades but it is a medium that is not commonly used in mainstream performances. Reading this article after reading Kramer’s article on the interweaving aspect of theater and cinema makes Laterna Magika almost look like the baby of Kramer’s thoughts. Imagine if Keaton was able to act out his stunts on stage while simultaneously trying to out do his onscreen character. Obviously Laterna Magika goes further than that though. It’s a great opportunity for theater to use film aspects to further the audience’s experiences, present character depth/insights, and a range of other previously recorded aspects to this performance. What Burian mentions in this article is that this medium needed its own scripted play for itself. With this great opportunity comes a very good chance to mess it up and material needs to be made specifically for it, as directors started to do.

What really stood out to be in this article was one person’s integration of television, that were showing a live actor somewhere else that could react to what people onstage and onscreen where doing. The show is more theater now than film of course, but presents a neat interaction. Also, the audience could start to get involved with the way that these performances play out, for example a screen could show the audience, actors could address them at times, and ask the on screen character (the audience) what to do in a situation, thus making every performance different. Either way, I can’t wait to see one of these Laterna Magika shows.

I keep thinking about if this medium should or could be implemented into mainstream theaters and I keep coming up with no and no. It should be integrated with theater. Film right now from a completely technical and presentation standpoint could not support this format. Theater is far better suited to handle this format because of the acting space and access to stage actors.