Primrose Road

I'm in the process of collecting my thoughts for a proposed essay on "immersive" new media technologies and Shakespeare studies. I'll most likely post some of these thoughts once I've actually responded to the call for papers with a full abstract. Basically, the essay will consist of my usual shpiel about how when we're talking theater/performance, immersion may be one of the less promising aspects of this decade's computer culture. Brecht believed that audiences couldn't intellectualize if they were forced to identify with the characters on stage; in a role-playing game that takes place in a detailed "world," it seems, audience and actor/character are irreducibly connected.

It may be a while before I have all my thoughts together on this, since I've been ordered to avoid caffeine for the next few months (conveniently, until the last part of my qualifying exams is complete!). So far, I'm not operating at 1000%, as was evidenced when I struggled to spell "verisimilitude" on the blackboard. (My students are probably going to spell that word wrong for the rest of their lives now. Alas.)

Getting back to business (not really), the FAQ for the Arden: The World of William Shakespeare project (part of the Synthetic Worlds Initiative at Indiana University) is an informative and entertaining read -- it has a few not-so-frequently-asked questions thrown in --

"35. Will there be fireballs and levitation?
No. There is no elemental magic in Shakespeare."

For some reason, I feel as though I've had that same exchange with people several times in my both my academic and personal spheres.