The internet and the thermodynamics of adapting fe/male’s online chats as dramatic texts

Abstract

Nigeria is one of the leading African countries with a robust playwriting tradition. This is evident in the size of drama that the country has produced. However, with the advancement in cyber-technology qua the internet, it has become imperative to re-conceptualize playwriting and to re/imag[in]e the nucleus of dramatic literature/play-text. The social media is one of the aspects of cyber-technology that questions the extant theorization on playwriting and dramatic literature. This is so because the conversation threads in various instant messaging applications, group chats and/or social networking groups can be argued to be performative and can be adapted into play-texts for theatrical purposes. This study used the principles of thermodynamics in adaptation to argue that online conversations in various chat-threads can pass for a de facto, well-plotted drama script. It is a research in interdisciplinary studies which imposes the principles of thermodynamics, a subject in pure science, on theatre adaptation. The study analyzed the online conversations of some group members of the Society of Nigerian Theatre Artists (SONTA) Facebook page and explains how the principles of thermodynamics apply to dramatic art. The study discovered that coordinated online chats can expand the frontiers of playwriting; how people conceive drama or play-text, and most importantly, can lead to the birth of interactive dramas or eplays.

Keywords: Internet, Facebook, Fe/male, Dramatic/Play-text, Thermodynamics, Adaptation, E-plays