[image title=”dissocia1″ size=”thumbnail” id=”588″ align=”left” linkto=”[site_url]/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/dissocia1.jpg” ]I saw last night a new play here in Sydney, The Wonderful World of Dissocia. The play is funny, pythonesque, tragic, inventive and very well written. Imagine “Alice in Wonderland on Crack”. I was reminded that for those of us in visual effects that we need to spread out and drink in a wide variety of the arts. The same night I had an offer to Wolverine. Now I am sure I will see Wolverine (heck I better we have a vfxshow coming up on it) – but if you only see Hollywood effects films then well you will at best only be able to draw on that style of work. What I love about the theatre is the inventiveness of the staging and the immediacy of watching the actors work.

There is no better place to study creative visual problem solving AND get a lesson in what works or does not work with acting than sitting in a small theatre watching a great small play. Actually now I come to think of it – I would kill right now to be able to see Mary Poppins in the West End – I hear the staging is amazing. If anyone took their kids to see Disney’s stage show of the Lion King you’ll know what I mean about creative staging.

Am I the target audience for Mary Poppins? – well no, but I’d still be interested to see how they solve the problems in mounting that show. I think we have lost some inventiveness in visual effects, we can solved it all now with digital simulations and yet it was the tricks – the ‘magic’ to use that hacked expression of visual trickery that got me into VFX in the first place. Our theatre brothers and sisters can’t just do ‘it digitally’ – they need to still be very inventive and thank the Lord for that.

Be the production a scottish brilliant dark, scottish exploration of loopy brilliance that challenges you – or a slick Disney stage show, – we can learn so much from the theatre, – in an age of uber tech vfx – effective, clever and inventive stage craft can inspire your effects and can add real brilliance to your work. Go check out your local theatre guide, skip past the big budget Andrew Lloyd Webber and Disney Musicals if you like, find some great local theatre and book some tickets, you will be glad you did.