Transcendence of Theater as Communication: Lived Experiences of Practitioners in e-Theater during the Pandemic

Abstract

With the sudden shift of theater to digital, minimum studies were conducted on this in the Philippine setting. Thus, this study focused on unraveling the lived experiences of theater practitioners during the pandemic to answer how theater as communication is accomplished in its new seeing place in the virtual space. The study explored how theater practitioners experience theater as communication in e-theater, basically on their adaption, the challenges encountered, and the unique strategies utilized under the communicative ecology. The research utilized the transcendental phenomenology research method to explore the lived experiences of the participants. An in-depth interview was used as the primary data-gathering tool together with the analysis of qualitative digital materials. The results revealed ten overarching themes: Views on the Performance Space, Theatrical Perspectives, Theater Resurgence, Anticipations for the Theater, Theater Metamorphism, Communication in the e-theater, Pandemic-responsive Theater, e-theater Productions of Stage@Home and Phillippine High School for the Arts, Observed Elements of Theater in the New Seeing Place, and Realizations on e-theater. This metamorphosis offers a glimpse into the essence of the e-theater experience, where the participants' lived encounters underscore how theater's evolution transcends its traditional theatrical confines, embracing the expansive landscapes of the digital world.