Being virtual together: creating connection in dist[Sense]

Abstract

ABSTRACT This co-authored paper is a reflection on our collective and individual experiences creating and performing in dist[Sense], a virtual performance experience for one audience-participant and one performer-participant to be present together in a single Zoom box. dist[Sense] was created as a reaction to global stay-at-home orders and a widely shared sense of isolation and need for human connection during the summer of 2020. Using Zoom Telematics, dist[Sense] created a shared virtual space in which the performer-participant and audience-participant could be co-present. Through writing this performance reflection, we (the creative team) have wrestled with our own definitions of presence. What does it mean to be both materially alone and virtually together? Can we really achieve shared meaning with another? Or is the experience of mutual understanding a projection of our thoughts and desires? Although these questions exist in Face-to-Face interactions, the virtual shared space of dist[Sense] brought their urgency to the forefront. In dist[Sense], the medium became the message: the medium of Zoom became the meaning we learned about – how to connect in virtual space. Through the creation and performance of dist[Sense], we each found our own way to be present and find connection in a time of mass isolation.