The Blue Glow from the Back Row: Live Theater and the Wireless Teen

Every year the author and his colleagues take their grade 12 English students to see four plays at one of Canada's major theaters. Chatting about the series on the last day of class, his students asked him if he had seen "the blue glow from the back row." Laughing at his bewilderment, they told him that during the performances so many students were texting and surfing the Web on handheld devices, the entire back row had radiated an eerie blue light. The author found his students' comments intriguing. Two questions occurred to him, and a study began to take shape. First, how do students raised in the world of instant access to information, entertainment, and communication experience live, literary theater? Second, what is the best way for an English teacher to prepare these young people for a trip to the theater? This article describes this study and discusses its implications for educators. By teaching students to appreciate live theater on its own terms, the author's goal is to "build bridges" between students' digital mindsets and the stage. He hopes that his students will come to see that theater invites them to watch real people moving in real space, and that more than two thousand years of theatrical tradition await their discovery and enjoyment. (Contains 3 figures.)