ARE SCHOLARS GOING DIGITAL? A GLOBAL STUDY ON THEATRE

Abstract

The introduction of digital technologies into the field of theatre marks a qualitative rupture distinct from previous technical transformations. Digital theatre necessitates not only the adoption of new tools on stage but also a fundamental reconsideration of theatre’s core concepts. Today, texts generated by artificial intelligence, virtual performers, and digital design-based practices have become increasingly common. But how do theatre scholars perceive this evolutionary transformation? This study focuses on the scholar perspective on digitalization in theatre and aims to construct a “map of opinions.” To this end, a field study was conducted with the participation of 114 scholars from 37 countries, using a 20-item questionnaire. In the study, where the dependent variable was defined as “digital orientations” and the independent variable as “theatre scholars,” a five-point Likert scale was employed. The study was structured around four main sections: Beliefs, Expectations, Concerns, and Transformations. All sections were designed to unpack contemporary issues related to digital theatre, including artificial intelligence, liveness, and archiving. In the Beliefs section, the effects of the current digital framework were examined; in Expectations, future possibilities were considered; in Concerns, potential risks were addressed; and in Transformations, the practical changes that digital theatre has produced or is expected to produce were analyzed.