The Participatory Virtual Theatre project explores the use of distributed 3D virtual spaces for live performance. The goal of the project is to create an infrastructure for the presentation of a theatrical performance in 3D virtual space over the Internet, where actors, crew, and audience share and participate from different physical locations in a single theatrical experience. The proposed approach involves the adaptation of existing 3D virtual reality systems in developing an intuitive interface, enabling interaction using the language of theatre. The project will address technical challenges involving coordination and synchronization of events between the physical world and the virtual stage and explore new models of interaction based on the theatrical paradigm. Comparisons between user experiences in a physical theatre and in the virtual space will be made.
The Virtual Theatre project serves as both a research project and an educational experiment. From a research perspective, it examines theatrical elements, both artistic and technical, and adapts these into processes and systems that enable theatrical control and interaction in a highly distributed virtual space. From an educational standpoint, the project has been incorporated into existing curriculum, allowing for first-hand student involvement in the research aspects of the project, thus creating a rich, co-laboratory experience for students in both technical and artistic disciplines.
The proposed infrastructure will enable a new means for not only experiencing live theatre, but for participating in it. This approach will be valid without the restriction of physical access to the performance space, thus expanding the accessibility of live theatre to all who have a high speed Internet connection. It will allow those who might not otherwise be able to perform in a physical world to experience participation in theatre first-hand in the virtual space. Furthermore, with theatre being such a natural framework for collaborative interaction, the theatrical paradigms defined might be applied to other collaborative applications not involving the stage. Finally, this project will promote further refinement of a curriculum that fosters collaboration between artists and technologists in an academic setting.
