It has finally happened. Our phones are smarter than we are. No question. There is truly an app for everything -more than we would ever need, I am sure. But we can get some very artsy apps, just to make our lives even more techno oriented. And I have to admit, it is kinda fun. Wish I could download a new app into my brain so I wouldn't have to figure out all these apps, tweets and all the rest of it. Make me instantly in tune.

Of course, there are always new apps you can shop for. Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival and Creative B'Stro have partnered to launch an innovative new iPhone app. It is apparently the first of its kind to be created for a Canadian live-theatre company. OK, wow. The customized Bard app will provide iPhone users with a range of practical and entertaining online features and is now available to download from iTunes. It offers everything from basic festival information to an innovative new augmented reality feature called Where's Will?, OMG.

The free app brings show information to Bard audiences using interactive and intuitive design and includes play synopses, schedules, ticket purchase links, cast bios and photos, videos, podcasts, social media connections and special event information. Users can have fun with a Shakespearean insult generator and the Where's Will? search game, which allows patrons to roam the festival grounds, using their iPhone cameras to locate a hidden animated William Shakespeare in various locations, invisible to the naked eye. They can then take a photo with the augmented-reality Shakespeare in the frame, and instantly share it on Facebook. Now my head is hurting. Or maybe this is just making the whole Shakespeare scene more accessible and user friendly.

There you go -- get the latest on your phone -just be sure to turn the thing OFF once you are seated and ready for the live performance. No text, talk, photo or anything else your smart phone can do. Turn it off -- all the way. Those nifty screens are just as distracting as a flashlight. Remember, even though you have interacted with Will on your phone, you are about to see a live performance. Off means off, not just "silent." Thanks.

Bard on the Beach is western Canada's largest professional Shakespeare

company and this annual summer theatre festival has been staged in Kitsilano's Vanier Park, adjacent to Vancouver's downtown core, since 1990. The 2011 season runs from June 2 to Sept. 24, with productions in repertory of As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, Henry VI: The Wars of the Roses and Richard III.

And the new app isn't the only thing that is new; this season you can enjoy a custom-built new Mainstage Theatre tent and reserved seating for all performances. For full details on Bard's 2011 season, visit www.bardonthebeach.org.You might be able to do this on your smart phone,

if you are smart enough. And while you are still tuning in, don't forget that So You Think You Can Dance Canada kicks off its fourth season on Monday, June 20, at 8 p.m. on CTV. It looks like we will be tuned to dance all summer -- with, of course, a break or two for the beach and, perhaps, Bard. This new season of SYTYCD is history making, as "Canada's Favourite Dancer" from season one, Nico Archambault, joins the judging panel. This is the first time a former winner returns to the show as a judge. Nifty. Maybe we will see some of our Surrey stars from last season as well, Danielle, Kirsten, Natalie and Charlene. Ever wonder where they are now and what they are doing with their dance career? Maybe there is an app for that.

melminty@telus.net

Twitter@tomzillich