Blog Post #6

Original: Broadway is the cultural hub and center of all theatre. Although Broadway seems like it only concerns people who like “toe-tapping” show tunes, it should concern anyone who enjoys viewing entertainment. Theatre showcases talent, art, music, and lately technology. All things that most people enjoy or know about.

(start strikethrough) There is concern throughout the Broadway community that technology is replacing all the other important aspects of theatre. (end strikethrough)

Revised: Broadway is the cultural hub and center of all theater. Without live theater, film and television would not exist. Broadway still showcases live theater in new ways, but still stays true to the original art form of the ancient Greeks. Although it seems like it only concerns people who like “toe-tapping” show tunes, Broadway should concern anyone who enjoys viewing entertainment. Theater showcases talent, art, music, and lately technology. All things that most people enjoy or know about. However, there has been much speculation and criticism over just how much Broadway is focused on its use of technology. The major concern is that tech is used to draw people in rather than showcasing the story as it is. The argument of whether or not flashy effects and crazy stunts are now more important than the artistically written and carefully orchestrated plot is one that has been on debate for over a decade.

There is concern throughout the Broadway community that technology is replacing all the other important aspects of theatre.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Wicked, Dear Evan Hansen, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child are just a few shows that come to mind when one thinks, “technology on stage”.

So for this revision, I took Dr. Ross’ suggestions into consideration to give this section more brevity. When going through Harris’ book, I liked his section where he did strikethroughs on portions of the paragraph he altered. He says that the map of changes shows the movement from first to second draft, which is exactly what I am doing. I chose this section of my paper because it opens the whole piece so it should be the eye-grabbing, exciting part. Harris says that aim in my writing should be the main focus of the paper. I know my aim in writing this piece is to explore the idea that technology belongs on Broadway just like it does everywhere else. I wanted to focus in on the concern and argument here and then go deeper into the examples I provided as the introduction progressed. I think choosing two plays and two musicals that are all fairly recent (only one is not currently running) helps develop the idea that technology on Broadway is a recent occurrence and causes speculation and worry among some theatre-goers.