Research Seminar - Upside Down: Adaptation and Digital Affordances in Stranger Things

Upside Down: Adaptation and Digital Affordances in Stranger Things

Presented by: Dr Bernadette Cochrane

Date: Friday 20 September 2024
Time: 12:00-1:00pm
Location: Online via Zoom and in-person at the SCA Writer's Studio (Level 6, Michie Building)

Abstract

Digital integration in theatre gives rise to fascinating transmedial and intermedial theatrical works. One the domain of the avant-garde or subsidized arenas, commercial theatre is pushing adaptational boundaries across genres and media, resulting in a complex and dynamic array of performance forms. The production of Stranger Things: First Shadow exemplifies this shift.

With regards to adaptation, the relationship between First Shadow and Stranger Things in many ways mirrors that between Hawkins and the Upside Down, with each influencing the other through long-form storytelling and canon formation. Apropos technical considerations, First Shadow asks us to consider both theatrical spectacle and questions of presentism or liveness. In short, First Shadow examines both adaptation and digital integration at both macro and micro levels within theatrical settings. As such, this examination prompts a reconsideration of traditional genre boundaries and explores concepts such as collaboration apropos content creation, the "first encounter," canonicity, tribalism, ownership, and reception. (And maybe a bit of Abba Voyage and Romeo and Juliet to highlight the evolving landscape of contemporary theatre.)