The Adaptation to New Audiences and Digital Narratives in Theater

A Case Study in Campo de Gibraltar, Spain

Bibliographic Data

ID21636927
AuthorsAlvaro Quintana Alvarez (0009-0004-0177-3774, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, corresponding author), Antonia Moreno Cano (0000-0001-5231-785X, Universidad de Deusto), Miren Gutiérrez (0000-0003-1527-3434, Universidad de Deusto)
Year2025
Volume55
Issue2
Pages70-93
Publication date2025-03-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Arts Management Law and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1063-2921 • E-ISSN: 1930-7799
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10632921.2025.2460817
OpenAlexW4407873915
LanguageEN
References cited15

This research explores the six public theaters in the Campo de Gibraltar region, Cádiz. The objective is to analyze their technological adaptation to new publics and digital narratives. A mixed methodology was employed to gather quantitative and qualitative data, including two online surveys conducted between April 24 and May 10, 2023, with 257 participants from the public and 89 scenic professionals and six interviews with artistic directors and culture councilors. The study focuses on the theater’s materiality and the possibility of immateriality through digital technology. It reveals that the analyzed spaces are unequipped to meet the technical demands of artistic companies. Ninety percent of the shows are forced to reduce their technical requirements due to a lack of resources, and only 29% of productions offer multimedia content. This shortage of technical resources discourages the development of new digital narratives, hinders the theaters’ technical renewal, and impedes new policymaking around performing arts. Although municipal theaters continue to provide in-person experiences supported by primarily analog technology, a gradual interest toward new digital narratives is emerging. Exploring the state of playhouses and theatrical productions in Campo de Gibraltar illuminates the broader issue of the theater’s social role today

Art · Literature · Media studies · Narrative · Sociology · Visual arts · Architecture, Art, Education · History · Literature, Culture, and Aesthetics · Psychology

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