Posts – Theatre in the Digital Realm

Theatre is a diverse art. Many people look at contextless scenes or even a monologue and people take it in a variety of ways. Whereas one actor can see a scene as being a relationship in which one partner is cheating, but another sees it as an old couple in which one is a spy and has been for years. However, theatre traditionally has been performed in front of live audiences. When you step into the digital space, some aspects of theatre are lost. Comparing a script that was meant to be performed over zoom, She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms by Qui Nguyen, for example, to a play that was designed with live audience in mind, for example, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, is quite interesting. By analyzing these two plays based on the way the direction is stated, the wording, and the character development, the differences between the two plays will make more sense.

In She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms, the stage directions are quite different compared to Romeo and Juliet. For example, in the first play, it says “(Another window opens. It is of a hooded figure.) (Nguyen 15).” Since this play was written for Zoom, the actors cannot walk on-stage or in this sense, on-screen. In the second play, however, the stage directions are written differently. “They fight. Enter, several of both houses, who join the fray; then enter Citizens, with clubs (Shakespeare 15).” While the playwright does not utilize parentheses like the first play, he also does not use the same wordage, as computers and anything remotely similar was not invented at the time.

The wording between the two plays is also different. In the first play, it says the following:

“Kaliope. Be careful, Tillius. Lilith. If you run into any trouble at all, remember it’s okay to let the dumb one die. Agnes. You’re just lovely, you know that? Lilith. And you would be delicious with a side of baby. Tilly. Come on, Cheerleader, let’s go. (Nguyen 20). “

While it is set up similarly to the second play, the second says the following:

“Montague. Many a morning hath he there been seen,/ With tears augmenting the fresh morning dew./ Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs;/ But all so soon as the all-cheering sun/ Should in the furthest east begin to draw/ The shady curtains from Aurora’s bed,/ Away from the light steals home my heavy son,/ And private in his chamber pens himself,/ Shuts up his windows, locks far daylight out/ And makes himself an artificial night:/ Black and portentous must this humor prove,/ Unless good counsel may the cause remove. Benvolio. My noble uncle, do you know the cause? Montague. I neither know it nor can learn of him. Benvolio. Have you importuned him by any means? (Shakespeare 19-20).”

The difference between the two are not only in the language they use, but how the cadence of the passages flow so differently. In the first play, the characters have a much more natural flow and pace, whereas in the second play, it was almost a rhyme, as Shakespeare writes in iambic pentameter, which gives the movement a unique flow.

The character development between the two plays is also different. In the first play, by the end of story, the main character Agnes learns to accept her sister for who she was and move on, as stated here:

“Agnes. Wait. You’re dead. You’re gone. Tilly. I know. But… this story remains. And isn’t that essentially all that life is–a collection of stories? This was one of mine… (Kaliope appears.) Kaliope. …and not just some story that I experienced like a party or a dance, but something I dreamt — (Lilith appears.) Lilith. Something far more personal and important than happenstance. This story came from my soul and by breathing life into it, who knows? (Orcus appears.) Orcus. Maybe a bit of my soul gets the chance to breathe for a moment once again. Chuck. I love you, my sister. Tilly. I’m sorry I can’t be there. Chuck. I have no idea why you had to experience this adventure alone without me. But I hope it gave you a glimpse into me the way I wanted you to see me — Orcus. Strong… Lilith. Powerful… Kaliope. And magical. (Nguyen 71).”

The ending is powerful, and Agnes begins to understand more about why her sister wanted her to play Dungeons and Dragons with her. In the second play, though, many know the end, however it is stated here:

“Prince. This letter doth make good the friar’s words,/ Their course of love, the tidings of her death:/ And here he writes that he did buy a poison/ Of a poor ‘pothecary, and there-withal/ Came to this vault to die, and lie with Juliet./ Where be these enemies? Capulet! Montague!/ See, what scourge is laid upon your hate,/ That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love./ And I for winking at your discords too/ Have lost a brace of kinsmen: all are punish’d. Capulet. O brother Montague, give me thy hand:/ This is my daughter’s jointure, for no more/ Can I demand. Montague. But I can give thee more:/ For I will raise her statue in pure gold;/ That while Verona by that name is known,/ There shall no figure at such rate be set/ As that of true and faithful Juliet. Capulet. As rich shall Romeo’s by his lady’s lie;/ Poor sacrifices of our enmity! (Shakespeare 249-250).”

This ending is also powerful, as both Romeo and Juliet die, which brings the houses of Montague and Capulet together, and they learn to make amends for the sake of their children. While the idea of death is similar amongst the two, they are different in the way the play portrays that idea.

Overall, live and digital theatre both have emotional value to add to the industry as a whole. However, the differences in how productions are staged, the writings of the live and digital plays, and character development look different compared to one another, one cannot be better than another. They can exist in the same space, if people can come together, like Montague and Capulet, to make room for both.

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