A

PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Supervisors: Dr. Nicholas Lambert and Mark Tintner

How can new immersive technologies be

used as a narrative tool in Performing Arts
to enhance storytelling?

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
 ACKNOWLEDMENTS

After two years embarked on this journey, today is

the day: writing this note of thanks is the inishing
touch on my dissertation.
First of all I would like to thank Laura Sanchez, my
best half, whose support is limitless, I wouldn‘t be
at this point without her.
Also, thanks to my parents and family, always there
when I needed them for any kind of support.
I wouldn‘t forget my dear friend, Simona Knuchel,
relentless on her encouragement and advices, not
allowing me to give up. Also, thanks to my dear
friend Andy Dickinson, the best proofreader you
can ind.
My tutor Mark Tintner and the rest of the MA Mo-
ving Image team, whom have shared with me their
wisdom, work and laughs over these two years.
Finally, all my peers, tutors and lecturers at Ravens-
bourne, always helpful when I needed them and
a source of inspiration.

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
1
 INDEX

3 ABSTRACT

4 FIGURE CREDITS

5 INTRODUCTION

6 CONTEXT

6 TECHNOLOGY IN PERFORMING ARTS

8 TECHNOLOGY AS AN ADDED VALUE
9 MULTIMEDIA VS. INTERMEDIA

12 ATMOSPHERE, PRESENCE AND IMMERSION

13 IMMERSION VS PRESENCE IN IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGIES

14 MIXED REALITY

14 PRESENCE VS. PLAUSIBILITY IN MR

15 WHAT MIXED REALITY BRINGS

15 Interaction
15 Alogical discontinuous space
16 Mixed Reality as an empathy tool

17 EFFECTS ON PERFORMANCE TECHNIQUES

18 POSSIBLE ISSUES

18 Limit the imagination

18 FOV and perception

19 DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECT

21 CONCLUSION

22 APPENDIX

22 HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY WITHIN THE PERFORMING ARTS

26 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
2

KEYWORDS (Collins English Dictionary, 2017) :
Immersive: providing information or stimulation
for a number of senses, not only sight and sound.
Technology: refers to methods, systems, and de-
vices which are the result of scientiic knowledge
being used for practical purposes.
Narrative: a story or an account of a series of
events.
Storytelling: activity of telling or writing stories.
Performing Arts: Dance, drama, music, and other
forms of entertainment that are usually perfor-
med live in front of an audience.
Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
ABSTRACT
How can new immersive technologies be used as
a narrative tool in Performing Arts to enhance
storytelling?
Technology has been used in the Performing Arts
for centuries, from a simple tool to make a per-
formance possible (for example, lights when
night time or performed in a dark space) to much
more sophisticated technologies able to trans-
form and replicate the real scenarios where the
story is supposed to take place.
This practice-based research will try to explore
the use of mixed reality technologies (like the
Microsoft Hololens) as a narrative tool within a
live performance, speciically theatre, and how it
will enhance the audience engagement, empathy
with the characters, and immersion in a story.
Starting with traditional and established concepts
within the theatre theory from Michael Chekhov
or Peter Brook this dissertation will discuss the
impact that new technologies can have in the
narrative. Looking if the use of this technologies
serve the purpose of the story or it is just an extra
aesthetic layer (multimedia vs. intermedia).
Also, it will bear in mind what beneits the new
medium brings regarding presence and immersion
(Slater, 2009) and how the narrative can low in
an interactive, immersive environment. (Llobera
et al., 2013)
Language: various means of communication in-
volving recognisable symbols, non-verbal sounds,
or actions.
Virtual reality: an environment which is produced
by a computer and seems very like reality to the
person experiencing it.
Augmented Reality: an artiicial environment cre-
ated through the combination of real-world and
computer-generated data.
Mixed reality: an environment created by adding
computer generated elements to the real world
in a way that allows them to interact in real time.
3
FIGURE CREDITS
01 Fernanda Prata and Jesse Kovarsky in Punchdrunk‘s ”The
Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable”. Photo by Birgit and Ralph.
2013 http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/ahrc/assets/Image/newsevents/fea-
tures/punchdrunk-thedrownedman2.jpg
02 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. National
Theatre. 2012. Brinkhoff Moegenburg. http://plymouththeatre-
royal-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/Image/3644.jpg
03 ”The Tempest”. Royal Shakespeare Company. 2016. https://
iqglobal.intel.com/en-gb/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2016/12/
Intel-The-Tempest-8-edit-980x653.jpg
04 ”Kiss and Cry”, Charleroy Danses, 2014. https://assets.lon-
donist.com/uploads/2014/05/i875/kiss-and-cry-set.jpg
05 ”The Odyssey”, Paper Cut Cinema, 2013. https://regmedia.
co.uk/2015/02/06/the_paper_cinema_odyssey_3.jpg
06. ”887”, Robert Lepage (Ex Machina). 2015. https://i.ytimg.
com/vi/ZEmRAdlIz8/maxresdefault.jpg
07 Robert Lepage‘s ”Playing Cards 1: Spades”. Photograph: David
Levene for the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/gal-
lery/2013/feb/12/robert-lepage-playing-cards-roundhouse#img-2
08 ”Incendies”, Wajdi Mouawad. 2010. http://www.theatre-con-
temporain.net/images/img_tv/1519.jpg
09 ”The Tempest”. Royal Shakespeare Company. 2016. https://
iqglobal.intel.com/en-gb/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2017/07/
Intel_Round2_V11-The-Tempest-Barbican.jpg
10 ”Ugly Lies the Bone”. National Theatre. 2017 https://www.
nationaltheatre.org.uk/sites/default/iles/styles/gallery_mobile/
public/ugly_lies_the_bone_at_the_national_theatre7777.jpg?i-
tok=2-9Y7mE5
11 Andrew Schneider in “YOUARENOWHERE”. (Photo by Maria
Baranova). http ://andrewjs.com/ajs/wp-content/uploads/
Andrew_Schneider_YOUARENOWHERE_byBaranova-8796.jpg
12 Milgram and Kishino´s Mixed Reality Continuum. http://labs.
dash.umn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/8.png
13 The augmented reality of “Elements of Oz” from the Buil-
ders Assocation. (Photo by Gennadi Novash, courtesy of Peak
Performances at Montclair State University). http://www.ameri-
cantheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/at_ja16_OZ3.jpg
14 “Clouds Over Sidra”, by Gabo Arora & Chris Milk. 2015.
360°-ilm showing the life of a Syrian girl living in a refugee
camp. https://player.with.in/21-UN/images/UNCloudsOverSid-
ra_1024x539_Main.jpg
15 Motion Capture technique used in“The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring“. https://i.pinimg.com/origi-
nals/02/49/c4/0249c44be807887b8d8f5c0b3eeaa215.jpg
16 Field of View of the HoloLens. http://static1.businessinsider.
com/image/56b22194dd0895437c8b4801-1440-582/holo-
lens_arrows.jpg
17 “Paraiso”, Enrique Muñoz Jimenez, 2017. Work in progress
digital mock up. 3D assets with textures.
Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
18 “Paraiso”, Enrique Muñoz Jimenez, 2017. Work in progress
digital mock up. 3D assets without textures, showed as wireframe.
19 Periaktoi in the ancient Greek drama. https:
//s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/600x315/82/af/29/82af29a-
c0efc0bec34fb7078ee1fe51c.jpg
20 3D sketch of the scene with the mechanism at the ancient
theater of Phlius. https://www.researchgate.net/proile/TG_
Chondros/publication/235993088/igure/ig8/AS:39334512275
0466@1470792193135/Fig-8-3D-sketch-of-the-skene-with-the-
mechanism-at-the-ancient-theater-of-Phlius.jpg
21 Cloud machine designed by Sabbatini https://upload.wiki-
media.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Cloud-machine-sabbatini.
jpg?download
22 Loïe Fuller, https://fromthebygone.iles.wordpress.
com/2013/04/loie-fuller-51.jpg
23 The Conjuring of a Woman at the House of Robert Houdin.
© Public domain. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000075/me-
diaviewer/rm2698646016. Video: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=f7-x93QagJU
24 Scene from ”Hoppla wir leben”, directed by Erwin Piscator,
Berlin, 1927. http://theredlist.com/media/.cache/database/set-
tings/performing-art/Theatre/1920/1468679918-005_1920_the-
redlist.jpg
25 26 Magic Circus, Lanterna Magika. http://www.svobo-
da-scenograf.cz/photogallery/laterna-magika-concept/slides/6.
jpg
27 ”887”. Robert Lepage. 2015. http://exeuntmagazine.com/
wp-content/uploads/ROBERT_LEPAGE__BER6432-600x400.jpg
28 ”Alladeen”, The Builders Association. 2002. http://www.
thebuildersassociation.org/imgs/prod/alladeen/alladeen_03.jpg
29 ”See Hear & Rare Area”, George Coates. 1985. Jerome
Sirling design. http://www.jeromesirlindesign.com/theatre/see-
hear2-HD.jpg
30 Merce Cunningham‘s ”BIPED”. 1999. http://openendedg-
roup.com/images/biped_1.jpg
31 ”Desert Rain”, Blast Theory. 1999. https://farm3.static.lickr.
com/2196/1810770350_a3256e883f_b.jpg
32 ”Obsolete: Ampiied Body & Third Hand”, Stelarc. Anckar-
ström, 1991. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usAkpjTcVXY
A Maya Brettel, Tim Getman, and Gabriela Fernandez-Coffey in
“The Nether” at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. (Photo by
Scott Suchman)
B Jenny Greer and Anna Oxygen in “Half Life” from Cloud Eye
Control. (Photo by Eugene Ahn)
C “wonder.land” VR experience at The National Theatre, Nation
Theatre, 2016
D Anna Oxygen in “Half Life” from Cloud Eye Control. (Photo
courtesy of Cloud Eye Control)
4

INTRODUCTION
Storytellers have been using tools to immerse the
audience into the story, to make it more credible,
plausible, since the beginnings of civilisation, to
replicate the real world. Building dedicated places
like theatres, adding costume and masks, The
Deus ex Machina of the ancient Greek or Roman
theatre, the introduction of set designs and lights,
the ilm and television - all were new technologies
that were introduced to try to immerse the audi-
ence more and more into the story they were
being told.
“Precursors to what we think of to-
day as VR go back as far as humans
have had imagination and the abili-
ty to communicate through the spo-
ken word and cave drawings (what
could be called analogue VR)”.
(Jerald, 2015)
The new immersive technologies have a power-
ful effect on whoever experience it for the irst
time. The medium itself has got an impact on the
audience, and it comes in a time when we can
see a shift in visual consciousness. The last decade
saw the explosion of the new immersive media,
through the use of Virtual Reality and Augmen-
ted Reality which is now followed up by Mixed
Reality. This last term includes not only the com-
puter generated medium that we can see via
Head Mounted Displays or mobile phones, but
also projection mapping that has been reined
and pushed forward, being capable now of trans-
forming spaces and giving them life.
Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
Now is the moment to explore this technology
further and see how it can be used in a theatre
environment. Not just as aesthetics or visual trick,
but as a vehicle for the story, as a narrative tool.
As a theatre practitioner, I believe in the impact this
medium can have in society, but this can only be
achieved if Theatre keeps reinventing itself always
to be connected with the current affairs and what
moves the audiences of its time. The best way to
do this is by embracing new technologies, especi-
ally the ones which facilitate immersion in the sto-
ry and potentially serves as an empathy bridge to
better understand different human experiences.
“The term ‘virtual reality’ was irst
coined by Antonin Artaud to descri-
be a value-adding characteristic of
certain types of theatrical performan-
ces.” (Cogburn and Silcox, 2013,
p.561)
As Artaud knew, Theatre has always tried to trans-
port the audience to a different place, to its own
“virtual world”, to make them feel that they are
opening the door to a different reality that was
unfolding in front of their eyes. It has developed
many ways to immerse the audience into the story.
The magic of the theatre, when is done properly,
creates the conditions, so the audience willingly
dives into a suspension of disbelief and engage
with the characters and navigate along them th-
rough the story.
Now that we have a new medium to explore, we
should feel like when the Lumière Brothers brought
us the magic of the moving image. When trying to
devise the rules and the way this new medium
works we should not start from scratch. We need to
look to the essence of the performing arts. How
Theatre transforms a physical space to develop a
story and evoke images on the audience, how the
spectators are free to ix their attention on whatever
captivates them and how the director tries to guide
them to the key focus points of the story.
Studying how a live performance engages, capti-
vates, thrills and move the audience will give us
the clues for developing the new language this
new technology brings. It will facilitate us to tell a
story compellingly.
5
 01
Fernanda Prata and
Jesse Kovarsky in
Punchdrunk‘s “The
Drowned Man: A
Hollywood Fable“.
Photo by Birgit and
Ralph. 2013

01

“Stories are of paramount import-

CONTEXT
TECHNOLOGY IN PERFORMING ARTS
It is quite common to ind resistance to new tech-
nologies in many ields, especially in the arts.
Tradition seems to weigh heavily sometimes, and
many voices claim that theatre would lose its es-
sence if it indulges itself with the new technolo-
gies just for the sake of the novelty. But if we look
to the past, the use of technology has been lin-
ked to the performing arts since its very begin-
ning. (See Appendix for more information.)
Set machinery was introduced as early as the An-
cient Greek theatre, lights and special effects
were commonly used by the 15th century and by
the 17th the scene-shifting technology was ama-
zingly complex. Lights and stage machinery have
become common since then, and they have be-
come more and more complex until today when
they are mainly computer managed.
If we have a look at the last few years, we see
that this exploration of technology now has ad-
ded more mediums, especially Virtual Reality
and projection mapping.
ance in natural communication and
constitute one of the main mecha-
nisms by which humans organise in-
formation.It seems therefore natural
that, historically, as new media – ra-
dio, cinema, television, etc. – appea-
red, new languages, techniques and
conventions were developed to tell
stories within them.”
(Llobera et al, 2013, p.471)
Punchdrunk has been exploring the possibilities
of immersive theatre since 2000 and now is em-
bracing Virtual Reality to create immersive experi-
ences. “Believe Your Eyes“, a Punchdrunk Inter-
national collaboration with Samsung was a visceral
one-to-one theatrical experience mixing images,
performance, movement and touch to tell a story.
Incorporating objects and physical spaces within
VR enables the audience to become active parti-
cipants – a theme Punchdrunk is exploring with
its forthcoming project, “The Oracle“. (Sollit, on-
line article, 2017)

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
6

Punchdrunk’s Fallow Cross village and the National
Theatre’s Immersive Storytelling Studio were both
developed in 2016, while Abandon Normal De-
vices has been researching new production and
distribution models for mixed reality. Funders such
as Arts Council England and BFI are supporting
R&D and new productions. (ibid.)
The National Theatre with shows like “The Curious
Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time“, with a
marvellous mixture of stage machinery and pro-
Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
02 “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-Time“, National Theatre, 2012
03 “The Tempest“, Royal Shakespeare Company
13
02
14
03
jection mapping. Or “Ugly Lies the Bones“, also
with substantial and spectacular projection map-
ping and VR as part of the story.
The Royal Shakespeare Company, usually more
accustomed to traditional stagings, is also
experimenting with the new technologies in “The
Tempest“, a partnership with Intel and The
Imaginarium, with live motion capture on stage
feeding a projected avatar. This is not the irst
time it has been attempted (Merce Cunningham,
for example) but it clearly sets a new level.
7

CONTEXT
TECHNOLOGY AS AND ADDED VALUE
The impact of new technologies is not always
seen as positive. Even before they had been stu-
died and experimented with, voices were being
raised.
“The expression (virtual reality) has
more recently come to refer to a
broad range of incipient digital tech-
nologies that many current philoso-
phers regard as a serious threat to
human autonomy and well-being.”
(Cogburn and Silcox, 2013, p.561)
So, even though technology has always been lin-
ked to the theatre, it does not mean that it has
always been accepted. As early as the 4th cen-
tury BC, Antiphanes, a Greek poet, wrote that
tragic playwrights lifted up a machine as readily
as they lifted a inger when they had nothing else
to say. The Chinese felt that Western dramatic
realism atrophies the imagination. (Barker et al,
2016). And some deeply respected theatre prac-
titioners and theorists like Jerzy Grotowski and
Peter Brook are known to have concerns about
the addition of technology on stage.
“A man walks across this empty spa-
ce whilst someone else is watching
him, and this is all that is needed for
an act of theatre to be engaged”.
(Brook, 1996)
Grotowski based his methods and theories rejec-
ting any borrowed tool or mechanism, calling for
a theatre naked of any element apart from the
actors. Also, Peter Brook talked about a theatre
stripped down to the basics.
Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
“We talk of the cinema killing the
theatre, and in that phrase we refer
to the theatre as it was when the
cinema was born, a theatre of box
ofice, foyer, tip-up seats, footlights,
scene changes, intervals, music, as
though the theatre was by very dei-
nition these and little more”. (Brook,
1996)
The core of the argument should reside in the
question if technology is adding any real value to
the performance. If it is serving the narrative. If it
helps to engage the audience and tell the story
more compellingly. If the technology is introduced
for a good reason, then it should not be seen as
a negative addition.
For example, during the 1920s artists added mo-
ving image in performances fundamentally for
three reasons (Giesekam, 2007, p.24):
– Eisenstein‘s phase ‚theatre of attractions‘: here
ilm‘s ability to introduce other characters and
places helps create moments of fantasy or trans-
formation, where the collision between the ‚real‘
world of the stage and the ‚magic‘ world of ilm
becomes an attraction in its own right.
– Film‘s apparent capacity to show ‚reality‘ to in-
troduce aspects of the outside world into the ‚ar-
tiicial‘ world of the stage, often in a didactic
manner (as Piscator‘s work).
– Use of ilm to suggest something of the subjec-
tive experience of onstage characters, as depic-
tions of characters‘ dreams or fantasies appear or
rhetorical devices such as close-ups or lashbacks
are employed.
Nevertheless, in many cases, technology is used
just for the sake of the novelty itself or to awe the
audience. But sometimes it adds a new dimensi-
on to the performance. It generates the illusion
of a different world or situation, new sensations
in the audience, exploring the limits of the per-
forming language and conventions.
The question is, in which sense does it supports
a narrative, deliver a story?
8
CONTEXT
MULTIMEDIA VS. INTERMEDIA

Two important concepts when trying to answer

this question are Multimedia and Intermedia. The
difference resides on the medium as a vehicle for
the narrative.
In a piece that is primarily multimedial, digital con-
tent, ilm or video often contributes to the staging
or mise-en-scene in a relatively straightforward way
– even if the technology involved is very complex.
When the work is intermedial, neither the live ma-
terial nor the digital material will make much sense
without the other. (ibid., p.9)
Let‘s take some cases as example to explore these
concepts.

“KISS AND CRY“, CHARLEROI DANSES, 2014

& “THE ODYSSEY“, PAPER CUT CINEMA, 2013

In both of these cases, Paper Cut Cinema and

Kiss & Cry, the story is told, and it is developed
via the medium, the technology involved. Wi-
thout the use of the technology and the different
perspective that opens to the audience, the
story wouldn‘t be that compelling, nor would the
performers be able to evoke the atmospheres
and situations for the spectators. The audience
wouldn‘t be immersed in the story on the same
level. The performers are on the stage, we can
see how it is done, we can see the trick, but they
are not ighting for the focus, the focus is on the
story.

04 “Kiss and Cry“, Charleroy Danses, 2014

04 05 “The Odyssey“, Paper Cut Cinema, 2013

05

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
9
 “887“, ROBERT LEPAGE (EX MACHINA) (2015)

In “887“, the set evolves and transforms con-

tinuously, playing with scales and perspective.
In some scenes, we can see the life inside the
building apartments through the windows (video
screens in reality), but the images sometimes
visually complement what is physically on the
stage. Other times the actor seems to interact
with the visuals, like the shadow of his sister.

Again, like the previous case, Lepage plays with

a change of perspective that could not be pos-
sible without the use of the technology. At one
point the audience can see two boots on scene,
they look small and almost ridiculously empty.
Suddenly the big screen feeds the signal from
a camera mounted on a small remote control
vehicle. It starts to move towards the boots and
then stops when on screen the audience can see
the heels of the boots on close up. Suddenly
seen via the point of view of the camera all
06 makes sense and the audience can ill the scene
with their imagination because what they see
creates a whole new situation in their heads.

“PLAYING CARDS: SPADES“, ROBERT LEPAGE

(2012)

In this case, Lepage creates a vortex in the middle

of the set, like a tornado, stalling the smoke of
the stage. The effect is not only visual, but the
noise and sense of movement also create the
atmosphere of the scene where one of the cha-
racters is walking through a desert.

“INCENDIES“, WAJDI MOUAWAD (2010)

This is an excellent example of the use of well

known and not particularly new technologies to
bring a new perception of reality.

07 At one point the set seems to represent a gar-

den during a pleasant summer afternoon. There
is a sprinkler on stage continuously spraying
water onto the scene. The characters start a
conversation that at one point leads to one of
them telling the moment when her mother saw
how soldiers machine-gunned a bus full of refu-
gees. Suddenly the noise, the red lights and the
water on the stage, looking like blood, creates
powerful images on the audience.

06 “887“, Robert Lepage, 2015

07 Robert Lepage‘s “Playing Cards 1: Spades“

08 “Incendies“, Wajdi Mouawad

08

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
10
 “THE TEMPEST“, ROYAL SHAKESPEARE
COMPANY (2017)

On the contrary, in the case of the RSC, the

visuals are impressive, and the technology
involved is cutting edge and never seen on a
stage before.

One of the conlicts here is that they were

showing the trick, showing at the same time the
actor with the motion capture gear and its virtual
avatar, to highlight the use of the technology, as
a value in itself, separate from the story. In one
sense,“breaking the magic“.It is true that the
visuals were stunning, but it is not clear when
they helped the narrative or the immersion in
the story. The focus was placed on both the per-
former and the CGI that resulted from the use of
the technology.

As Michael Billington said in The Guardian:

“While the effects are innovative, for me the
09 kaleidoscopic visual spectacle pales besides the
show’s human values and its moving afirmation
of forgiveness.” (Billington, online article, 2016)

“UGLY LIES THE BONE“, NATIONAL THEATRE

(2017)

Also with heavy and spectacular projection map-

ping and VR as part of the story. Not a key part of
the narrative, more a relection of what is currently
available in society.

As Brian Logan says:

“The VR sequences are eye-catching, but Ugly
Lies the Bone is stronger when fathoming that
even more complex technology, the human
heart.“ (Logan, online article, 2017)

10

09 “The Tempest“, Royal Shakespeare Company, 2016

10 “Ugly Lies the Bone“, National Theatre, 2017

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
11
ATMOSPHERE, PRESENCE AND IMMERSION The level of immersion of an audience is also lin-
ked to their cultural background. The Bunraku and
These are concepts that are present in almost Nö Japanese theatre has got a code completely
every journal, book or article about VR or MR, but different to western theatre, not naturalistic at all.
as we said before, they are not new concepts at all. Arguably, the audience there experiences the
same level of immersion and engagement as
Theatre theories were talking about the concepts
western audiences. They understand the code and
of presence, immersion and atmosphere way be-
are immersed and compelled by the story.
fore they were used in the ields of Virtual Reality
or Mixed Reality. Not only that, we could argue The novelty of the technique also plays a role.
that a good book can be immersive as well. The irst time a set design was introduced the
These are concepts that try to explain when and audience would have experienced a level of im-
how performance can engage the audience and mersion greater than before. As the current audi-
truly evoke in them the places where the story is ence is used to complex audio visual inputs there
set, make them feel the moods and sensations is a need for raising the stakes.
that the director wants to transmit. According to
Theatre has been dealing with the concept of im-
Michael Chekhov, the actors need to work with
mersion and presence since its beginning. It
the concept of atmosphere. The performers by
seems natural then that technologies which are
themselves need to be able to create it, so the
created with the aim of immersing the audience
audience will perceive it and feel more immersed
in new experiences, into new virtual worlds,
in the story.
could be used to enhance storytelling within a
theatrical performance.
“A compelling performance arises
out of reciprocal action between the
actor and the spectator. If the actors,
director, author, set designer and,
often, the musicians have truly cre-
ated the atmosphere for the per-
formance, the spectator will not be
able to remain aloof from it but will
respond with inspiring waves of
love and conidence.
Signiicant also is the fact that the
atmosphere deepens the percepti-
on of the spectator. […] With the
atmosphere reigning on the stage,
your feelings (and not only your in-
tellect) will be stirred and awake-
ned. You will feel the content and 11 Andrew Schneider in “YOUARENOWHERE”. (Photo by Maria
Baranova)
very essence of the scene. The
content of the scene will become
richer and more signiicant to your
perception”. (Checkhov, 1953)

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
12

ATMOSPHERE, PRESENCE AND IMMERSION
IMMERSION VS PRESENCE IN IMMERSIVE
TECHNOLOGIES
It is hard to ind an universally accepted deiniti-
on for immersion within the VR and MR research.
These are two examples from leading resear-
chers in the ield:
“Immersion is the objective degree
to which a VR system and applicati-
on projects stimuli onto the sensory
receptors of users in a way that is ex-
tensive, matching, surrounding, vi-
vid, interactive, and plot informing.“
(Slater and Wilbur, 1997, p. 604)
“Immersion is the objective techno-
logy that has the potential to engage
users in the experience. However,
immersion is only part of the VR ex-
perience as it takes a human to
perceive and interpret the presented
stimuli. Immersion can lead the mind
but cannot control the mind.“
(Jerald, 2016)
Immersion then is measurable from facts, from
the technology that is the medium where we are
enjoying the experience. Presence, on the other
hand, depends on the audience. It is a subjective
perception for someone´s experience.
Presence is how the user subjectively experiences
the immersion. It is a sense of “being there” inside
a space, even when physically located in a different
location. It is an internal psychological state and a
form of visceral communication. It is something
that can only be understood when experienced.
(ibid.) If fully present, the audience shouldn‘t pay
attention or even notice the technology; instead,
they attend to and perceive the objects, events,
and characters the technology is presenting them.
Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
The presence, being a subjective concept, is much
harder to measure. Mel Slater‘s theories try to solve
this issue via two concepts, the Place Illusion and
the Plausibility Illusion.
First, the Place Illusion is when audience percepti-
on is fooled into believing that they are effectively
in another place through an increasingly advanced
technology. (Slater, 2009)
The Plausibility Illusion is when the virtual world is
perceived by the audience as coherent in itself, in
the sense that it accurately meets the expectations
for how it reacts and behaves to the user actions.
(ibid.) Mel Slater describes the Place Illusion as
being governed by the perceptual system, and
that the Plausibility Illusion is more of a cognitive
function.
When it comes to breaks in presence, the Place
Illusion is more resilient to temporary glitches or
technological disruptions. As long as the system
can recover technologically to issues such as la-
tency, framerate, or graphical idelity, then sub-
jects can regain their sense of presence of being
within another world. The Plausibility Illusion, ho-
wever, is a lot more sensitive because it’s a cog-
nitive function. Once there is something that is
not coherent within the rules of the environment
that violate the expectations of the subject, then
it’s a lot harder for the experience to recover from
this type of break in presence. (Bye, podcast,
2015)
These concepts have common ground with the
theatre practice. The aim of the set designer is to
use whatever is possible to recreate the world
where the story is happening. Sometimes just via
exact replicas of the reality, sometimes playing
with illusion and perspective, while other times is
just evoking the real place. The lights, sound and
machinery complement this to try to achieve this
place illusion. When combined coherently by the
director with the performers acting, the magic
happens, and the audience then is immersed in
the plausibility illusion, engaged in the story.
13
 12
Milgram and Kis-
hino´s Mixed Reality
Continuum
MIXED REALITY
PRESENCE VS PLAUSIBILITY IN MR
To understand why Mixed Reality is the medium of
choice for this project, we need to have a look irst
at the current context of immersive technologies.
The Hololens would it into the mixed reality eco-
system as a “See-through” AR display.
“This class of displays is characteri-
sed by the ability to see through
the display medium directly to the
world surrounding the observer,
thereby achieving both the maximal
possible extent of presence and the
ultimate degree of ‘realspace ima-
ging’“. (Milgram et al., 1995, p.284)
Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
If we have a look at the studies on Virtual Body
Ownership, by the “EventLab” led by Mel Slater at
the Universitat de Barcelona, we can point out one
clear difference between the use of VR and MR.
According to Slater and his team, one of the big-
gest issue of VR is inducing in the audience the
illusion that the virtual body belongs to them.
Using Mixed Reality, there is no conlict on the
body ownership as the audience can see their own
body, therefore increasing the plausibility and im-
mersion.
Another factor that affects the plausibility is the
actual headset itself. The tech is not perfect yet;
the headset is still bulkier than the MR ones and
not comfortable enough for a long experience,
and more importantly, is commonly still tethered
and has to be connected to a computer.
In addition to this, it is still quite common for some
people to experience motion sickness when im-
mersed in a fully virtual world, but this is not the
case so much when the physical world reference is
still present in the experience via the Mixed Reality.
14
 13
The augmented
reality of “Elements
of Oz” from the
Builders Assocation.
(Photo by Gennadi
Novash, courtesy of
Peak Performances
at Montclair State
University)

MIXED REALITY
WHAT MIXED REALITY BRINGS

As we have seen, mixed reality is an immersive

platform, so it will facilitate more presence and
immersion in the story. But not only that, it will
bring new ways of interaction, a different appro-
ach to the physical space where the performance
is happening and it potentially will enhance the
empathy with the characters depicted in the story.
INTERACTION
MR could also bring an extra layer of interaction.
Again this is not new in Theatre; Blast Theory has
been experimenting with interactive storytelling
and Punchdrunk are famous due to their specta-
cular immersive theatre performances.
There is a danger about interaction: the tension
between giving free will to the audience to alter
the narrative or to keep the narrative ixed as the
writer and director have decided it should be. To
solve this dilemma we could potentially follow
the theory supported by Mel Slater and Joan Llo-
bera about narratives within immersive virtual
environments. They suggest using two princip-
les: the Providence and the Zelig metaphor.
Guiding a story under the principle of Providence,
it is possible to depict one or even several strongly
directed plots of arbitrary complexity in an inter-
active virtual environment. Also, interaction based
on the Zelig metaphor allows for the depiction of
plausible virtual characters interacting with the
participant in an immersive virtual environment.
(Llobera et al, 2013, pp.473-474)
ALOGICAL DISCONTINUOUS SPACE
Using mixed reality, analogue and digital beco-
ming one. The physical space is transformed on
a different level as it is now with traditional set
designs. Environments and atmospheres can
evolve differently than before; the sets can be
shown as luid and not limited to the spatial
constraints of the venue itself. Traditionally the
theatre medium is a logical, continuous space,
while the cinema is an alogical discontinuous
space.
“If an irreducible distinction between
theatre and cinema does exist, it
may be this: Theatre is conined to a
logical or continuous use of space.
Cinema … has access to an alogical
or discontinuous use of space.“
(Sontag, 1966)
The immersive technologies can bring this cine-
matic quality to live performances, so it could be
a new medium in which theatre techniques and
cinema techniques merge and develop a new
way of storytelling.

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
15
 14
“Clouds Over
Sidra”, by Gabo
Arora & Chris Milk.
2015. 360°-ilm
showing the life of a
Syrian girl living in a
refugee camp.

Theatre should always be connected with society

MIXED REALITY AS AN EMPATHY TOOL
Immersive experience enhances the message of
the content. The closer to the real experience,
the easier to empathise and relate to other reali-
ties. It raises the impact created, no matter what
the content is. The tool itself has proven to cause
a positive effect. As an example, in an immersive
virtual classroom, in which – via the VR head set
– a teacher can appear to maintain eye contact
not only with one student but with all of them,
without their conscious knowledge, leads stu-
dents to pay more attention to the teacher, learn
more material and as a group get better results
in tests. (Beall et al., 2003)
“The recurring discovery I made in
each virtual world I entered was
that although every one of these
environments was fake, the experi-
ences I had in them were genuine.
The technology forces you to be
present—in a way lat screens do
not—so that you gain authentic
experiences, as authentic as in real
life. People remember VR experi-
ences not as a memory of so-
mething they saw but as something
that happened to them.”
(Kelly, 2016)
and its problems. The refugee crisis, the topic
chosen for this live performance, is one of the
current most dramatic issues. Millions of people
are displaced due to wars and economic reasons,
most of these refugees are taken in by countries
near crisis-hit areas, not by wealthy western
countries. (Aljazeera, 2016)
Immersive technologies can help to deliver the
message compellingly, helping the audience to
truly understand the dramatic situation in a human
level, reaching a higher empathy with the sub-
ject. Figures like Chris Milk (CEO of Within, pre-
viously know as VRSE) with projects like the 360°-
ilm “Clouds over Sidra” (2015) have been trying
to engage audiences to raise awareness about
humanitarian crisis using immersive technologies.
“And that‘s where I think we just start
to scratch the surface of the true po-
wer of virtual reality. […] It connects
humans to other humans in a pro-
found way that I‘ve never seen be-
fore in any other form of media. And
it can change people‘s perception
of each other. And that‘s how I think
virtual reality has the potential to
actually change the world. So, it‘s a
machine, but through this machine
we become more compassionate,
we become more empathetic, and
we become more connected. And
ultimately, we become more hu-
man.” (Milk, 2015)

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
16
 15
Motion Capture
technique used
in“The Lord of
the Rings: The
Fellowship of the
Ring“. (Andy Serkis
as Gollum)

The mixed reality will also open the door to bring

15
Motion Capture
technique used
in“The Lord of
the Rings: The
Fellowship of the
Ring“. (Andy Serkis
as Gollum)
MIXED REALITY
EFFECTS ON PERFORMANCE TECHNIQUES
The performers working in mixed reality environ-
ments will face exciting challenges as they won‘t
see what the audience is seeing. They will be im-
mersed in a digital world that they will not see as
it is only perceived via the head mounted dis-
plays worn by the audience. That means that they
will need to work more with their imagination.
The performers will need to follow marks (spatial
and time) without the chance to repeat a take
like it would be possible in a ilm.
As mentioned before, all of this is common place
for many acting techniques. For example, the im-
plementation of Michael Chekhov´s theory of at-
mospheres or actors working on ilms that rely
heavily on CGI.
digital actors on stage, and that could open a de-
bate. It would not be the irst time that critical
voices rise a warning about the extinction of the
actors, meaning as if a real actor will not be needed
anymore in the digital world. Especially after the
hype created by 2001´s “Final Fantasy: The Spirits
Within”, which is considered the irst ilm to ever
fully use motion capture. At that time, even stars
like Tom Hanks raised their concerns about the
future of real actors (Lyman, 2001).
What is really interesting in this case is the fact
that motion capture was only used for the charac-
ters body, not fully on the faces, leaving the “ac-
ting” down to the animators. Impressive as their
job was, the characters lacked the range of emo-
tional expressions a real actor could provide and
is also a good example of the theory of the Un-
canny Valley (Mori, 1970).
In the same year as “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Wi-
thin”, also “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship
of the Ring“ was released, where the character
“Gollum“ was created fully (body and facial ex-
pressions) by using motion capture. In this case,
we could see the work of an actor, Andy Serkis,
behind the technology, which acted as a facilitator
to transform his acting talent into a digital creature.
This kind of performance proves that a real actor is
still the core of a performance, the real artist be-
hind the technology. This reasoning is behind the
debate about if these artists should get awards as
an actor for motion capture roles. (Robey, 2014)

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
17

16
Field of View of the
HoloLens
MIXED REALITY
POSSIBLE ISSUES
LIMIT THE IMAGINATION
With the introduction of mixed reality, there is a
danger of limiting the imagination of the audience.
The medium overpowering the story.
If, instead of suggesting or evoking like other tech-
nologies in live performance do (sound inputs,
light changes), we show too much we will not al-
low the audience to use their imagination to ill the
gaps and fully immerse in the experience. There
would be an “uncanny-valley” effect when the au-
dience doesn‘t feel like they are in the atmosphere
we want to evoke.
Like any other visual technology introduced on
stage, it has to serve the narrative; it has to guide
the audience focus on where the director wants.
This could prove to be dificult as there will be
more inputs for the audience when immersed,
therefore, it will be harder to focus the attention
on speciics. It requires more attention from the
spectator, sometimes more knowledge or expe-
rience. But it also offers more options.
Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
“While noting the tendency of such
work to exploit visual and perfor-
mative aspects of theatre more
perhaps than much text-based the-
atre and to often include more si-
multaneous material, it has rejec-
ted easy assumptions that this
either disempowers spectators or
understimates their powers of ima-
gination; rather, it suggests that
such work often demands a more
active, lexible spectatorship which
brings to bear strategies for dea-
ling with the material acquired th-
rough exposure to theatre, ilm, te-
levision and computer screens.“
(Giesekam, 2007)
FOV AND PERCEPTION
The Field of View of the mixed reality headsets is
not that great at the moment. It does not help
the immersion experience. Also, it is effectively a
basic hologram, not fully CGI. With the current
holographic headsets, it is not possible to
recreate reality with full textures, there is some
transparency present on the visualisation of the
3D asset. Therefore, there is a need to evoke
more than to show. It works more with audience
imagination.
This could lead to a beneit for the audience. As
the inal aim always should be to provide the me-
ans to the audience, so they complete the environ-
ments via their imagination to achieve a further
18
DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECT

The aim of this project is to try to devise an inter-

media experience, a live performance where the
immersive technology is at the service of the nar-
rative. Live acting will be at the core of the per-
formance, in which we will consider the traditio-
nal concepts of immersion, atmosphere, presence
and engagement in the theatre practice, intert-
wined with the interpretation of these concepts
that come from the immersive technologies rese-
arch and practice.

“PARAISO“, ENRIQUE MUÑOZ JIMENEZ, 2017

Fully textured objects might not work well as they

are viewed as semi transparent due to the nature
of the holographic projection used on the Holo-
lens. The approach will be to use less textured
objects to suggest and evoke the atmospheres
and environments.

17 18 “Paraiso”, Enrique Muñoz Jimenez, 2017

17

18

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
19
The project looks for a less invasive approach. As
we have seen before, to achieve immersion and
presence, a seamless mixture of analogue and
digital is needed. Not showing the trick and in-
corporate the technology without making it the
protagonist. The less the audience is conscious
of it, the better. The audience has to be focused
and engaged in the story and the characters, not
on the technology.
The mixed reality platform chosen is the Holo-
lens (augmented virtuality). Other forms of mi-
xed reality have been studied, but this is a new
technology that hasn‘t had much incorporating
yet, specially within the Performing Arts.
In his study of “virtual art,” Oliver Grau dedicates a
section to mixed reality in which he identiies the
fact that users do not need to wear “oppressively
heavy HMD” and are “not forced into the com-
puter-generated body of an avatar” and identiies
hybridity as a distinctive characteristic of this type
of space. (Grau, 2004)
Unlike virtual reality, mixed reality
offers in fact the possibility of crea-
ting such hybrid performative and
participatory environments in
which real and physical data appe-
ar, but not so much as integrated
into one another but rather juxtapo-
sed on top of or next to each other.
(Benford and Giannachi, 2011)
In this case, the Place Illusion is harder to achieve
as the real actor, and physical space is mixed
with the holographic projections via the headset.
To minimise this issue, the performing area and
the digital assets should be as much integrated
as possible. In our approach, the space where
the actor is performing will be as neutral and
dark as possible, and the lights should be focu-
sed on the actor and the area that she or he is
using, revealing as fewer details as possible of
the physical space. The digital assets will be in
black and white and not perfect shapes or textu-
res, which will it better with the empty and dark
space.
Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
The Plausibility Illusion will rely on the relations-
hip between the actor and the 3D assets. If their
actions and reactions are perfectly synced, the
illusion that both are behaving coherently in the
same space will be stronger.
One interesting factor has come up while de-
veloping the project. As was the case when ilm
was introduced on stage as part of the narrative:
a new way of production needs to be developed.
The mise-en-scene design runs in parallel with text,
inluencing each other in the process. (Giese-
kam, 2007).
The best results in terms of seamlessly integra-
ting the technology into the narrative come when
the text and the digital world evolve and develop
at the same time. Also, the actual technology
used is evolving at the same time, which en-
courages the development of open-ended expe-
rimentation as a creation process.
In terms of the visual style of the project what we
need to bear in mind is that we are working with
what is effectively a hologram technology, fully
textured objects might not work that well. There-
fore, the strategy will be suggestive and evoking
more than showing.
It will rely more on the audience imagination to
complete the image. This is normally what works
best traditionally in theatre. Leaving more room to
the spectators to create their own images based
on their own experiences will lead to more en-
gagement and immersive experience.
What we have observed in terms of the actual live
run of the show is that it is really dificult to synchro-
nise performance with visualisations. The view of
the audience is not only different to the performers
but also to the technicians view. Therefore, the staff
require monitoring not only of the live action but
also the display of the actual view of the audience.
This might represent new skills and resources nee-
ded to setup and live control a show in a venue.
20
CONCLUSION

Content is king. Technology will only produce art

if it is used by artists (directors, light designers,
set designers, video editors, even technicians).
As we have seen technology can be really helpful
in creating compelling and moving pieces of art,
but it is only a tool. It does not have a meaning
by itself. Every few years there will be a new tool,
it might even lead to a new medium, but at least
in the foreseeable future, it will always be led by
an artist.
Jacques Copeau said in response to Grotowski´s
rejection to anything that was borrowed in a the-
atre performance:

“What is borrowed? Theatre evol-

ves. If society evolves but not the-
atre alongside, will it lose its pow-
er? its connection with society?”
Theatre as a medium is most powerful when
connected with society, when it shows human
stories and brings a different reality to the audi-
ence.
Now, when immersive technologies are beco-
ming more accessible, there should not be any
fear of using them as a narrative tool.
Artists are inding new ways of exploring the ex-
pressive and experiential potential of virtual and
augmented reality. Their approaches can help
deine a language for these mediums, as well as
relect on the kinds of experiences we want to
have with the technology. The range of projects
underway, combined with increasingly affordable
technology and the potential reach in creative
and commercial contexts, make this a powerful
medium to be exploring right now. (Sollit, 2017)
Lord David Puttnam dubbed new technology as
“more as a bridge than a destinati-
on”. (Dixon, 2007).
Let‘s use these new bridges to connect the audi-
ences to new worlds, to captivate them and
make them feel immersed in the story.
The conjunction of performance and new media
has and does bring about genuinely new stylistic
and aesthetic modes, and unique and unprece-
dented performance experiences, genres, and
ontologies.(Giesekam, 2007)
As Peter Brook said,
“Theatre is always a self-destructive
art, and it is always written on the
wind.“ (Brook, 1996)
That is the magic of theatre; it is an experience
that cannot be exactly reproduced twice. Every
performance is different. Theatre aspires to stop
time and embark the audience upon a journey
full of fascination and surprise, oblivious to the
world outside during the performance, to come
back transformed and moved by the experience.
Introducing new technologies while keeping the
live human experience at its core will not change
that. It will empower the medium to reach a wi-
der audience more compellingly.

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
21
 APPENDIX
HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY WITHIN
THE PERFORMING ARTS

The Greek author Aeschylus (525 BC - 455 BC)

introduced painted canvases in wooden frames
that were customised for every play. Shortly after
that, scene changes were accomplished utilising
mobile painted screens.

19 Periaktoi: The Periaktoi, used in the ancient

Greek drama, for example, was as a revolving
triangular prism made of wood, where each one
of its sides could have a different painting or set
depicted. While one set was shown to the audi-
ence, the other two could be changed behind
the scenes.

20 Deus ex Machina: During Roman times there

is evidence of the use of the so-called lying
19 machine, the mēchanē (Latin machina). It con-
sisted of a crane with a movable pivoted arm,
used to show an actor, usually in the role of God,
descending from heaven to sort out the situation
developing on stage. This practice became a
convention known as Deus ex machina.

By the 15th century, special effects were pre-

valent and became so complicated that it was
normal to write scenes just to awe the audience.
There were devices equipped with pulleys to
show actors lying, trap-doors to achieve surprise
appearances and sometimes performers were
replaced with dummies in violent scenes.
But the advances were not only in the western
world. Japanese theatre was using trap-doors,
revolving stages or elaborate lighting effects
before Shakespearean times.

21 Cloud machine designed by Sabbatini:

Scene-shifting technology was further developed
during the 17th century by Sabbatini, who
described contemporary theatrical techniques,
20 21 including those used for stage lighting. He
demonstrated, for instance, how a bank of stage
lights could be illuminated or dimmed simulta-
neously and discussed proper light positioning.
(Barker, Bay and Izenour, 2016).

In the nineteenth century, Richard Wagner

introduced the concept of the Gesamtkunst-
werk (Total Artwork) as a creative uniication
of multiple art forms: theatre, music, singing,
dance, dramatic poetry, design, lighting and
visual art. This concept is not that dissimilar
to the current concept of digital performance
where all is edited via tools like the computer,
as “meta-medium” that uniies all media (text,
image, sound, video, and so on) within a single
interface. (Dixon, 2007)

22 Loïe Fuller: The dancer Loïe Fuller experi-

mented with electricity at the end of the 19th
century, playing with lights and their relection
on her body and customised robes (with long
22 internal batons to extend the length)

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
22
 23 The Conjuring of a Woman at the House of
Robert Houdin: Within a decade of the irst ilms
by the Lumière brothers in 1895, some theatre
practitioners started to employ ilm. George
Méliès was a notable example, who began
making ilms while running a theatre of illusions
and spectacle, The Theatre Robert-Houdin.
(Giesekam, 2007)

24 Scene from “Hoppla wir leben”, directed

by Erwin Piscator, Berlin, 1927: In the early
twentieth century movements like the Bauhaus,
Dada, Surrealism and Futurism went even further
in the marriage of art and technology, and artists
like Erwin Piscator developed even further the
use of the moving image in the theatre from the
mid-1920s onwards.

25 26 Magic Circus, Lanterna Magika: Due

to the political and economic situation, there
was not much development in this ield during
the 1940s and early 1950s, but during the late
23
1950s, multimedia theatre practice began to
develop signiicantly once again. Like the com-
pany Laterna Magika, founded in Czechoslovakia
in 1958 (which still operates today reintegra-
ted in the National Theatre at Prague), or the
Happenings that started during the 1950s where
ilm and slides were projected on the walls and
ceilings during the performance.

24 25

26

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
23
 With the further development of the compu-
ters during the 1960s and 1970s, the digital
performance developed even further, when not
only ilm was used, but also artists started to use
computer generated imaginary.

During the last decade of the twentieth century,

computer technologies played a dynamic and
increasingly important role in live theatre, dance
and performance; and new dramatic forms and
performance genres emerged in interactive
installations and on the Internet.

27 28 29 Theatre partitioners such as Robert

Lepage, The Builders Association, and George
Coates Performance Works surrounded their
actors with screens projecting digitally manipula-
ted images. (Dixon, 2007)

27 “887”, Robert Lepage, 2015

27
28 “Alladeen”, The Builders Association, 2002

29 “See Hear & Rare Area”, George Coates, 1985

28

29

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
24
 The Gertrude Stein Repertory Theatre and
Kunstwerk-Blend introduced video conferencing
software to bring performers from remote loca-
tions together, live on stage.

Laurie Anderson and William Forsythe created

pioneering interactive performance CD-ROMs.

30 Merce Cunningham projected images of

virtual dancers on stage, created by combining
motion-capture techniques and advanced ani-
mation software.

Troika Ranch, Company in Space, and Marcel.

li Anthunez Rosa used custom-made motion
sensing software to manipulate images, avatars,
sound and lighting live on stage; and Tony
Dove and Sarah Rubidge turned over those
30 technologies to the audience, to experience
them irsthand in advanced media-performance
installations. (ibid.)

31 Blast Theory fused paradigms from Theatre,

VR, computer games, and “real life” to create
complex audience improvisations; and David
Saltz fed stage directions from the plays of
Samuel Beckett direct into the computer, with
represented them as algorithmic light-shows.

Richard Beacham recreated ancient theatres

using VR, and ieVR harnessed the technology to
create computer-generated, three-dimensional
sets inhabited by live actors. (Ibid.)

32 Performance artist Stelarc wired his body up

to the Internet and was thrown around like a rag
doll by audience members in other countries
who manipulated him using touchscreen compu-
ters, and donned advanced robot prosthetic to
enter a “cyborg reality”. (ibid.)

Station House Opera has been experimenting

31
with all kinds of digital performances since 1980
like simultaneous performances across conti-
nents using live internet streaming.

30 Merce Cunningham‘s “BIPED”, 1999

31 “Desert Rain”, Blast Theory, 1999

32 “Obsolete: Ampiied Body & Third Hand”,

Stelarc. Anckarström, 1991.

32

Enrique Muñoz Jimenez – MA Moving Image – PG05: Practice-based dissertation – Ravensbourne – August 2017
25
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