#### Contents - [[#Notable Innovations|Notable Innovations]] - [[#Don't Worry|Don't Worry]] - [[#What's Going On?|What's Going On?]] --- ## Notable Innovations Below is a small highlight of notable innovations from the last 30 years. - **Digital Imagery, Digital Sound and Music** - **The Internet, Cloud Computing** - **Processing Power and Miniaturisation**[^17] The technology here has revolutionised certain practices in our industry, or at least presented more ways and means to do these things, enabling faster iterations, and for us to work over longer distances. Consider the theatrical production tasks that have been transformed here: - **Measurement and Blueprints** - **Set Design** - **AV Design and Production** - **Costume Design** - **Cueing and Automation** - **Sound Design** - **Music Performance and Playback** - **Live Sound Clarity and Fidelity** - **Meetings and Communication** Not to mention these innovations having comparable effects on other industries. **What is coming in the next decade will be a similar, huge shift in the way we use technology.**** ## Don't Worry All this talk of technology, innovation, transformation and so forth seems to evoke a sceptical Greek Chorus in the mind of the theatre practitioner. **Phrases like:** 'Yes, that's all very well, but I prefer doing things on paper.' 'Yes, but I hate Zoom calls.' 'Yes, but nothing beats a big orchestra.' 'Yes, but I don't want my work being done by a computer.' … Let's just fully emphasize a particular point before we move on. This series of articles is not about espousing the unbounded good that technology can do, if we could 'just accept' that the newest way of doing something is always the best. **Far from it.** As we all know, it can be as much of a hindrance! The case being made here, is that we are **better off with more options**, and we gain those options by *leaning into the piste* of adoption, experimentation and exploration of frontiers. This series of articles is not about criticising respected professionals and the excellent jobs that they perform in our industry. **Far from it.** One may observe that in the list just now, (Set Design, Measurement etc), most of the fundamental job **roles** have not changed. The theatre-making process still needs these points of accountability. But, arguably, our work is done faster and more effectively with the choice of tools, according to the process and budget. And by staying informed, we can maintain better relationships with technology developers and vendors. Only with **options**, **awareness** and a **voice** can we keep a steady hand at the bough of our incredible industry, remain cutting-edge and prescient with our tools, as with our storytelling. And this is more important than ever. If technology trends are correct, a new, scary but exciting wave is almost upon our world, a moment akin to the invention of the Internet, the lightbulb or indeed the discovery of electricity itself. The author foresees a period of 10 years ahead, where we will see this great wave upend and change a great deal, visible and invisible, in our daily lives and in the larger world. [^18] More importantly, it is a wave of development that may affect us, as a part of the Theatre Industry, more than ever before. ## What's Going On? Why would such a great proclamation possibly be made? It stems from one key technological change, driving trends you’ve likely heard of: - **Cryptocurrency** - **AI and Machine Learning** - **Virtual Reality / XR** These phenomena, whatever our opinions of them, are possible because a **steady rise in processing power**[^19]. The computer chips being produced now, have reached a certain threshold: capabilities once only imagined possible in the late 90s or early 2000s, have come to be possible for everyday people. One of these capabilities, let's call **Spatial Computing**[^20]. Realistic, 3D-animated movies like *Shrek* or *Toy Story* were the pinnacle of innovation in their day, requiring rooms full of computing power and millions of dollars to 'calculate' the realistic lighting and materials for each, flat frame. In 2025, comparable visual achievements can be created by a high-spec laptop **in real time**, with the user able to interact dynamically. More than that, we have seen the early development of VR technology that allows users to place themselves directly inside high-fidelity virtual worlds. In short: - **What required pre-rendering…** - **Can now happen in real time.** - **What was computable only in 2D…** - **Is now possible in 3D.** 3D imaging technology revolutionised the film industry as early as 1995[^21]. In 2025, and as theatre makers, we can identify film entertainment, tritely perhaps, as '2D theatrical entertainment'. One can see the development of **pre-rendered images** for the purpose of exhibiting on **2D screens**, and see that specifically the film industry was primed to be impacted by this technology, and great efforts were made by early innovators to do so.[^22] Astute observers at this point would start to consider theatre's place in this development timeline. We exist, indeed, in '3D theatrical entertainment'! And have been very happy doing so, with or without the invention of the computer, or, indeed, the camera. It is apparent that this real-time, 3D spatial computing technology will have a different, yet significant impact on the theatre industry than its predecessor did film. We are not yet, thankfully, at the point of conjuring 3D virtual actors, that interact, play for laughs and compel audiences. But this technology may have an impact in a different way: **in the way our production teams build a show**. Let's consider the tools at the hand of: - **Lighting Designers** - **Set and Costume Designers** - **AV Designers** - **Directors** - **Choreographers** These roles and more, represent experts in **theatre making**, an art form that is fundamentally **spatial** in nature. Audiences, sets and actors exist in 3D. No wonder audience flocked back to live productions after lockdown[^23], where early 'digital theatre' expressions saw theatre makers create, effectively in 2D, for the devices of their homebound audience. Technically speaking, we are a 3D-native medium. Theatre creatives can recall, in and out of lockdown, squinting at streamed SketchUp models through Zoom calls, negotiating to travel early and 'see the space'; being forced through time constraint into big decisions, poring over set blueprints, and the worst case scenario: being disappointed upon seeing the final creation on stage, too late in the process to change course. Can **spatial computing** technology help theatre production teams? [^20] --- [^17]: Please see appendix [New Technology (1985-2025)](New%20Technology%20(1985-2025).md) [^18]: Please see appendix [The Next Technological Wave (2025-2035)](The%20Next%20Technological%20Wave%20(2025-2035).md) or read through [Deloitte Tech Trends 2025, esp. Spatial Computing](https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/tech-trends.html#spatial-computing-takes) [^19]: Further reading: see ['Hardware is eating the world', a part of Deloitte Tech Trends 2025](https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/tech-trends.html#hardware-is-eating) Further concepts: Moore's Law, AGI [^20]: Please refer to appendix [How Spatial Computing Could Help Theatre Makers](How%20Spatial%20Computing%20Could%20Help%20Theatre%20Makers.md) or read through [Deloitte Tech Trends 2025, esp. Spatial Computing](https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/focus/tech-trends.html#spatial-computing-takes) [^21]: Toy Story 1 was released in 1995, for the full story refer to [Creativity Inc by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18077903-creativity-inc), or our appendix summary [Findings from Creativity Inc](Findings%20from%20Creativity%20Inc.md) [^22]: Key figures, Pixar, George Lucas (Star Wars), Stephen Spielberg (Jurassic Park) [^23]: '# Has London's cultural scene recovered from Covid lockdown?' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx20ym48jwlo