Interactive performance environments and the visualisation of actor movement

Abstract

The recent production of Eugene Ionesco's Macbett at the UCLA Department of Theater was the department's first performance to incorporate 'interactive systems' that allowed lighting and sound to adapt automatically to performer position and movement. Sensing and response technology on the stage is introduced here as a precursor to the smart home and office environments imagined by proponents of 'ubiquitous computing'. This paper presents early two-dimensional visualisations of the performer tracking data and discusses their influence on systems development. A few possible extensions to the visualisation techniques given here are also discussed.