Hello, world!

For those of you not as geeky as I, the first thing you usually do when learning a new programming language is to make an application that says "Hello, world!" Now, after months of coding and designing in my little hovel( not to mention the strategizing and rhapsodizing), I'm proud to finally launch the new version of the SOSE website. As you've probably noticed by now, the whole site is focused around a blog (several, actually). I have a lot of hopes and ideas about what this might do for the company, for our relationship with our audiences, and for our own artistic development.

And in that vein, I want to talk about the Pope. Yesterday, Jeff Jarvis, who has been ardently following the media's coverage of the Pope's passing, posted about how the different forms of (western) religion affect much more than just belief systems - they affect entire worldviews. He makes the clear distinction between the hierarchical view (Catholicism - the Pope is the leader of the church and the link to God), the fundamentalist view (the Bible is the link to God, or, in the case of Islam, the embodiment of God), and the populist view (that each individual must find his own link to God). Jarvis goes on to point out the emerging parallels in journalism and the media, as blogging and podcasting give the unwashed masses access to an audience bigger than any in history, there is a clear opportunity for a populist media, whereas only a hierarchal one was possible ten years ago. Despite his media bias, Jarvis does not presuppose a religious bias, but rather is arguing that these three distinct worldviews are so pervasive that they extend to many aspects of society. The Pope will continue to be the Pope (in a new person, of course), but outside the Vatican things are changing, and there are other options to the hierarchy.

So, what does this have to do with SOSE's new website? Recently, theater has become a very rigid experience - you are either artist or audience, and never the twain shall meet. It's often hierarchal in nature - a director speaking through actors and designers to an audience. At it's heart, though, theater is a populist art for: it is an arttahn can exist with nothing but people, and the form which existed when all other art was stomped out. As the world's power structure once again tips away from the elite, in favor of the masses, most theater has been slow to adapt. This website is the first step (hopefully one of many) toward crossing the great divide between artist and audience. As mass media is nearing the end of it's life cycle, it's imperative that theater reclaim it's populist roots.

I think it's a fitting time to launch a site which will give each company member (and guest artist) a public voice - the ability to communicate directly with the people who will become a part of their art. It's a populist site, and we're in the midst of a populist production. From what I know of the production, our version of The Mysteries is a populist one: Michael has spoken about the focus being on the people whose lives these stories affect - both those characters watching the crucifixion, as well as the audience themselves - rather than the Bible's A-list. Onstage, the cast and crew of The Mysteries are cracking open a sacred text and claiming it for all of us. Online, we hope the website can reclaim the artistic experience for our audience.

To SOSE members and guest artists: I'm giving the site over to you. While there will be cosmetic changes, additions, and of course I'll be posting, it's now your tool to do with as you will. You are some of the smartest and most talented people I know; I'm certain you'll use it in brilliant and surprising ways.

To our audience: I give the site to you, too. We want your input, your ideas, your help. I've seen how collaborative the internet can be, and we want you to be a part of our process, to understand and support and criticize what we do. Come and play.

|||Update|||
On Boing Boing this morning, a post proposing how the internet might be leveraged to select a new pope. It's never going to happen, of course, but it's a great example of how naturally collaborative new technology can be.