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Abstract:
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Collaboration is at the foundation of modern theatre practices . All of the individuals involved in a production share their contributions with their immediate colleagues for the benefit of the production . Reoccurring or very similar technical challenges often arise in productions no matter where they are produced . Sharing the creative solutions to these problems among graduate technical theatre students will benefit the theatre industry by increasing the possibility for innovation . An information -sharing infrastructure should be developed in a way that will ease the burden for the individuals who wish to share their innovations with the broader community , while including a way to receive acknowledgment for their contributions .
This paper looks to the theories of Eric Von Hippel on “innovation communities” and the ideas and motivations for “free revealing” . The theories are related to the specific characteristics and needs of the community of Master of Fine Arts graduate students in theatre technology programs . Six techniques currently used for the sharing of information will be analyzed for their benefits and limitations . Topics such as open source software development , the principles of the organization Public Library of Sciences , and the practice of creating online instructional videos are all explored for successful techniques that can be applied to technical theatre innovation sharing . In addition , the protection of authorship will be discussed including : a broad history of copyright law in America , the cultural property theories of Lawrence Lessig , and the Creative Commons .
I plan to compile all of the necessary information to lay the foundation for the development of a new approach to sharing information in theatre technology . Open Theatre Source will be the name for the proposed infrastructure . It will provide an online meeting place among the potential innovators in MFA programs . The infrastructure will employ new sharing techniques and will use innovative technologies to the community . The primary objective of Open Theatre Source will be to facilitate a dialogue among individuals who are studying within the many different programs . The dialogue will transcend institutional boundaries , which will benefit and improve the entire community of academic institutions .
Open Theatre Source will create a valuable case study for future research in open sharing infrastructures for theatre technology . Through its successes or failures , the information gathered could then be applied to other areas of the theatre community , including the professional industry . |