Theatre Collaboration Technology: A Blue Ocean to Explore
Introduction
Theatre production collaboration has long been an analog, face-to-face process. Production teams join together to discuss the script and the director’s concept, share designs and renderings, and exchange notes and questions, ultimately crafting every detail of the story’s world. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, many theaters moved to innovative, online production models. Without the ability to meet in person, the meta processes of production also shifted to an online format, and theaters were forced to contend with a new landscape of production possibilities. But this evolution was rapid and panicked; most organizations did not have the luxury of time or resources to investigate best practices in the moment. Now that theaters have proven that they can produce in digital formats, what would happen if they approached opportunities for digital collaboration with intention and care? How could production processes be improved with technological tools and what other opportunities would that create?
In the early aughts, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne developed the concept of blue ocean strategy while working as researchers in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Their original theory, which formed the basis of their bestselling book, showed the business sector how to create business opportunities and new income from previously untapped markets. They defined crowded and cutthroat competitive markets as red oceans – no-win situations for long-term business success, and encouraged businesses to discover and develop blue oceans instead. It is within these tranquil blue oceans that businesses can differentiate, create new markets (and new profits) where there previously were none, and think expansively about the future. More recently, Kim and Mauborgne have adapted their theories for leadership. In this new context, they illuminate methods for managers to exit stale routines and inspire renewed engagement and commitment from their employees.
Moving production collaboration processes to a thoughtfully curated suite of digital products is a blue ocean for the theatre industry. Oregon Shakespeare Festival has been swimming happily in its blue ocean for many years now. Other institutions were plunged into dark and stormy waters during Covid and may now appreciate an opportunity to reflect and build on what was learned then.
What is the status quo?
In order to determine future opportunities, it is first useful to identify current practices in the field. To do so, article author Sara Bogomolny conducted a small survey targeting six theaters in Cleveland, Ohio and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. These institutions all operate with budgets between $1-10 million and fall within a spectrum of Actors Equity Association contracts spanning LORT B, C, and D, Guest Artist, Special Agreement, and Special Appearance. Companies within these cities and budget ranges were assumed to be representative of a large swath of theaters across the country; approximately 40% of TCG member theaters fall into these budget levels. At this size, organizations have ample funds, but lack the capacity to trailblaze proprietary technologies à la Oregon Shakespeare Festival and would therefore be likely to be using affordable tech, if any.
The survey response rate was 50%, represented by two organizations in Pittsburgh and one in Cleveland. Those who responded hold Director of Production titles and are deeply familiar with the production practices at their respective institutions. Though the survey was small, the results are still useful to pose in conversation with other research in order to establish the current landscape of digital tools and technology used in collaborative production processes.
So, what tech tools and digital platforms are theatre practitioners using to fuel collaborative processes?
Technology currently used by theatre production teams. Infographic and survey findings by author.
What’s wrong with the status quo?
The first article on this topic established four categories for collaboration technologies: document sharing, communication, project management, and brainstorming. These “buckets” encompass the primary collaborative touchpoints ripe for technological augmentation and formed the basis of the survey questions.
In terms of file sharing, survey respondents mentioned Microsoft and Google products, Dropbox, and local drives. Benefits of the web-based products include access to the files anywhere at anytime and capacity for real-time collaborative editing. However, this review warns that, as some of the Microsoft apps can be used locally on individual computers, inertia and low tech literacy within teams may cause colleagues to avoid the cloud. This could create security vulnerabilities and interrupt the intended collaboration.
The communication tools listed in the infographic above are likely familiar and comfortable, but that doesn’t mean that they are efficient, nor do they necessarily facilitate an optimally collaborative or creative process. Every survey respondent reported the use of text and email for communication amongst the production team; one uses Slack in addition. Spreading communication across these disparate channels essentially ensures inefficiency. A 2012 McKinsey report found that interaction workers were spending 28% (or nearly 2.25 hours per day) of their workweek tending to email. Email fatigue is real, and the “responsiveness cycle,” the pressure of keeping up with the firehose of constant notifications, can relegate creative work to stolen moments between messages. While text and email are searchable, those functions are not integrated between the two, leaving users fumbling to remember when and how a particular conversation took place and where critical information may live.
Theatre practitioners have the furthest to go when it comes to implementing technology for project management and brainstorming. None of the survey respondents use specialized technology for project management and only one uses any sort of technology for brainstorming. There is a robust array of project management platforms available at a variety of price points. When teams choose to work without such a tool, it indicates that project management is either not a formal priority within the production process or that project management processes are contained within one of the file-sharing options listed above and are therefore subject to the same flaws. It may also reveal that production managers require further training to cultivate project management as a formal skill.
The one respondent who integrates technology in brainstorming cited a cellphone notes app for personal use and Google Docs at the team level. Neither of these platforms are designed for creative thinking, largely guiding users toward linear, verbal expressions of thoughts and ideas. Furthermore, notes taken on a mobile device can be shared, but such apps typically lack co-editing capabilities and may, therefore, be likely to languish.
What are the opportunities of embracing technology?
The opportunities of embracing technology in theatre production practices are numerous and multifaceted. There are real benefits to shared knowledge spaces that work to foster conversations and move them forward. Companies can offer technologies that engage their talented designers and managers around iterative processes and provide tools and touchpoints that maximize collective creativity.
Consider an initial concept meeting, scheduled to happen on Zoom, with collaborators calling in from across the country. The director wants to establish an environment in which collaborators feel comfortable to voice their ideas. The team can start on Google Docs, cursor blinking, and attempt to override blank page syndrome as they brainstorm together. Or the team can dive into a more freeform exercise on a Figjam whiteboard, where a fun, flexible canvas and user-friendly interface inspires team members to exchange ideas fluidly.
How to use FigJam for Brainstorming. Source: YouTube.
Collaborators typically then go their separate ways, sharing progress or renderings sporadically, and maybe not until the next meeting. By unifying the team on digital platforms, “creating threads of conversation and places to exchange information,” these collaborative relationships can sustain and grow between meetings, allowing for greater creative synergy throughout the process. Designers can develop shared visual vocabulary, granting access to individually or collaboratively developed mood boards, inspiration images, and drafts.
Adopting new technology in the production process also benefits departments across the organization. In-progress, behind-the-scenes, sneak peeks of designs, renderings, and brainstorms are excellent fodder for social media marketing or as premium perks shared with high-level donors. Currently, this kind of access requires active communication between the marketing or development staff and the designers. However, a theatre functioning within this blue ocean of collaboration could skip the inbox clutter, share broader access across departments, and leverage these creative midpoints into ticket sales and donor retention.
In pursuit of more ethical and equitable practices
In addition to the practical advantages of adopting collaboration technologies, such progress also creates opportunities for more ethical and equitable teamwork. These considerations are increasingly common priorities for organizations in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and the We See You, White American Theatre demands. Established properly, digital spaces can minimize accessibility issues and facilitate equitable collaboration. However, even with the requisite intentionality, digital spaces can make parsing interpersonal nuances challenging. As theatres explore technological opportunities for production collaboration, it becomes increasingly important to make deliberate and equitable choices.
Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower artists with tools to run their businesses effectively, recently transitioned to a hybrid working model. In a July 2021 blog post, the Associate Director of Communications and Content, Nina Berman, wrote about the process and offered observations applicable to production teams exploring new practices. Namely, Berman emphasized the way that digital work alters how colleagues relate to their work and to each other. Among her recommendations for engineering a smooth transition is the reminder to take things slowly. In the case of theatre production work, many collaborators may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with these new platforms. Implementing them will require care. Collaborators deserve proper onboarding to these new processes and the time to discover how they best engage with the opportunities.
We See You WAT enumerates demands to eradicate white supremacy and racism from all areas of theatre production and business. During the pandemic, some people of color reported that working from home granted them a reprieve from workplace microaggressions and white corporate culture. As theaters adopt digital collaboration, it will be crucial for leaders to see this transition through the lens of racial equity. Any steps that are being taken to reduce white supremacy within the theatre industry must be carried through to the online spaces they occupy as well.
The We See You WAT document also includes the demand to “open channels of contact between marketing consultants and creative teams so that they may more directly communicate around marketing decisions for a project or production.” As mentioned above, digital collaboration platforms not only create new marketing opportunities, they also facilitate transparency far better than analog procedures, by “mak[ing the] work and its history visible to other people within the company.” With a digital platform as a “single source of truth,” teams can unify around a central authoritative depot for information, taking advantage of the opportunity to bolster accountability.
Lastly, it is impossible to discuss ethics and equity without considering them in conversation with best practices for sustainability. A 2013 report from Julie’s Bicycle offers suggestions for “limiting environmental impacts at every stage in the production process and identifies four “main environmental impacts associated with production.” As companies and managers work to prioritize sustainability, it is crucial to embed these philosophies within all levels of production. Switching to digital collaboration processes is undoubtedly a net positive for environmental considerations. Some theatres, like the National Theatre in London, are sailing past the basics, embracing technology in production collaboration that may enable them to dip a toe into sustainable practices by reducing printing and crosstown commutes. A production team focused on reducing their own environmental impacts will undoubtedly set the tone and standards for environmental sustainability throughout the production process.
How to make the leap
Though phrases like “transition to digital” or “hybrid workspaces” may be more familiar to post-Covid ears, they still may trigger anxieties about cost, feasibility, and scope. Eventually, proprietary products designed specifically for theatre will trickle down to small and mid-sized organizations. At that point, digital options built for theatre will become a more standard format for collaboration, and nationally and internationally distributed production teams will thrive. In the meantime, many theaters have still not returned to full production schedules “post-Covid.” It remains to be seen whether and how the pandemic will have shifted these practices. Luckily, many tech options capable of revolutionizing production collaboration are available for free or at low cost; some even offer nonprofit discounts. It is possible to curate a suite of digital tools that is revolutionary in its uses, which, in the end, is a thoughtful constellation of familiar products that team members already know and use.
Blue Ocean Technology for Theatre Production Collaboration. Infographic by author.
It is not a great leap to institute more elegant solutions, to cross into the blue ocean of a technologically supported collaboration process, and reap the benefits. Over the past year and a half, production teams have bravely faced this progress out of necessity. Now, it is up to production teams to seize the same spirits of curiosity, creativity, and vulnerability that fuel their creative processes and drive forward their collaborative practices such that technology becomes a crucial final collaborator with them.
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