Interactive Theatre Research Articles

Technology Based on Interactive Theatre Performance Production and Performance Platform

Drama refers to a comprehensive art that realizes the purpose of narrative through language, movement, dance, music, puppets, and other forms. From the pre-Qin period⟶the Han and Wei periods⟶the Tang, Song, and Jin periods⟶the Yuan Dynasty⟶the late Yuan Ming and Qing periods⟶modern times, the art of opera has been welcomed and recognized by a vast audience since its birth, but it is difficult to inherit the art of Chinese opera. The fundamental reason is that there is no good platform for performance. It should be said that since the beginning of the performing arts, there has also been academic thinking on the practice of this artistic creation, so in the academic field of drama, there is actually drama performance science. Due to the changes of the times, Chinese drama art cannot keep up with the pace of the Internet. Therefore, this article proposed a technical research based on the interactive drama performance production and performance platform. This article mainly talks about face recognition technology and its algorithm, and applies it to theatrical performances and productions. In the following experiments, this technology is also used to create a network platform, and its user experience evaluation effect is good. The theatrical performances and productions of young people were also scored, and the final experimental results showed that: at the minimum required level, which is at least three (or more) dramatic materials in the class, scores are high at both levels. Among them, 94.4% of the classes in the first-level kindergarten and 86.1% of the classes in the second-level kindergarten meet this standard. Most of the two levels are qualified, that is to say, in the performance area, at least three people can perform at the same time, which is enough to show that theatrical performance has been passed down.

How Can a Community Pursue Equitable Health and Well-Being after a Severe Shock? Ideas from an Exploratory Simulation Model

Local communities sometimes face severe shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or economic recession, which inflict widespread harm, intensify injustice and test the ties that bind people together. A recent “Springboard” theory proposes a way to spring forward toward an equitable, thriving future by altering priorities among four structural drivers of population well-being: the extent of vital conditions, equity, urgent services capacity, and belonging and civic muscle. To explore the strategic implications of the Springboard theory, we developed the Thriving Together Model, a system dynamics simulation model that lets users play out alternative investment priorities and track changes over a decade as they try to maximize the number of people thriving and minimize suffering. The prototype model is exploratory, subject to further refinement and empirical support, but it has already sparked creative conversations among hundreds of changemakers who have interacted with it through an interactive theater. This paper presents the model’s structure, illustrative results, and tentative insights. The Thriving Together Model extends Ostrom’s Nobel Prize-winning work on shared stewardship by offering a general explanation about how stewards of a divided community can heal through a traumatic shock and spring forward toward a future with greater well-being and justice.

From atoms to stars: an interactive theatre play based on ‘The Little Prince’ novella to describe spatial thinking

The implementation of theatre as a didactic tool for teaching science provides a new perspective on the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in the construction of meaningful learning experiences. Gamification and collaborative work are functional strategies to teach scientific concepts in a creative way. However, there are still conceptual issues about spatial thinking that are difficult for students to understand owing to the lack of visualization of objects and their development through a characteristic chronicle. Here we show an innovative way to unifying science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) careers through the development of an interactive theatrical play inspired by The Little Prince novella, to promote a culture of integration of science, theatre and literature. One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that the didactic strategies used are key ingredients in order to design an unique theatre play based on a link between history of atomic models and literature towards full understanding of spatial macroscales and microscales thinking. Due to the successful in the qualitative assessment results, we are devising to continue exploring the use of these didactic strategies to achieve an integrated and greater impact on students’ learning processes.

Responding to Elder Abuse in GERiAtric care (REAGERA) educational intervention for healthcare providers: a non-randomised stepped wedge trial

IntroductionElder abuse is prevalent and associated with different forms of ill health. Despite this, healthcare providers are often unaware of abusive experiences among older patients and many lack training about...

Aesthetics and Dramaturgies of Immersive and Interactive Theatre Since the Turn of the Millennium

Since the turn of the millennium, stage art has seen an increased interest in adopting and developing interactive and immersive aesthetics. Thisarticle offers a comparative study of two Danish groups, SIGNA and Sisters Hope, and one Swedish group, Poste Restante. The visual dimension of theperformances by these three groups is striking, which may be partly attributed to the interconnections between the artists that has allowed a flow of ideasand strategies to occur between one group and the other. Looking at these connections, it appears that there is a line going from SIGNA (established in2001) to Poste Restante (established in 2007) and to Sisters Hope (established in 2014). Whilst there are similarities, there are also great differences in termsof the aesthetics and dramaturgies of these groups, which reflect political, ethical, and ideological differences in the context of Nordic societies. The paperinvestigates these aspects through their relations to the audience: how is the audience included in a performance? And what is the purpose of applying aninteractive and immersive aesthetics?

Virtually Commedia: An interactive online theatre programme for LGBTQ+ youth

Many individuals experienced increased isolation and loneliness due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on social activities, yet the impacts of this isolation can be more pronounced for vulnerable populations such as LGBTQ+ youth. In order to offer a destigmatized space for LGBTQ+ youth to connect during the pandemic, facilitators at the University of Florida modified an LGBTQ+ youth theatre programme (Theatre Connect) to be delivered via an online platform. In the spring of 2021, facilitators developed an eight-week Commedia dell’Arte curriculum that was delivered over Zoom to nine youth. Although modified to fit the needs of the group, the programme provided the opportunity for urban and rural youth to connect with one another and develop theatre skills in a safe environment. These field notes describe curriculum development as well as challenges, successes and feedback. Due to the success of this programme, Theatre Connect will maintain online programming in future seasons.

The Brown Commons in the Time of Pandemic

The Brown Commons in the Time of Pandemic

Where there's smoke: digital storytelling for healing

Columbia University School of the Arts’ Digital Storytelling Lab, in collaboration with Columbia’s Department of Narrative Medicine, developed Where There’s Smoke, a story and grief ritual that mixes interactive documentary, immersive theatre and online collaboration to invite healthcare providers and others into resonant conversations about life, loss and memory, and to imagine how stories can be used to create empathetic healing spaces. When Robert Weiler was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer, the complexity of healthcare and ensuing grief for the family, led his son Lance, a storytelling pioneer, to realize that a straightforward story wasn’t enough to explain and explore the experience, so he created Where There’s Smoke. Where There’s Smoke premiered in 2019 at the Tribeca Film Festival where it was hailed as an “absolute can’t miss” (Backstage). However, when COVID-19 submerged the world in loss, uncertainty, and isolation, Lance reimagined the piece as an online experience. He also combined the piece with protocols of Narrative Medicine as provided by faculty, Deborah Starr. The piece traces a heartbreaking journey through end-of-life care and grief, embracing grief as nonlinear and immersive, grief as an escape room with no escape. Participants sift through artwork, videos, and conversations and are provided with immersive moments for individuals, pairs and groups to have opportunities for self-discovery, unexpected intimacy, and ensuing healing. This is a personal yet universally relevant narrative, which gradually reveals itself to be something more…the possibility of immersive storytelling to create space for empathetic healing, grieving, and connecting.

Intermedia and interculturalism: practitioners’ perspectives on an interactive theatre for young ethnic minority students in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT This paper reports findings from a case study of an interactive theatre for young ethnic minority pupils in Hong Kong. Drawing upon Higgins’s (1966) notion of ‘intermedia’ as a configurational principle, this creative project entails collaboratively-designed performances with elements of drama, music, dance, puppetry, and language learning principles. This study explores – from practitioners’ perspectives – the pedagogical affordances of this intermedia-inspired collaborative project in early childhood settings targeting culturally diverse groups in Hong Kong. Qualitative findings emerging out of autoethnographic reflections of five practitioners, complemented with nonparticipant observation, have pointed to the emergence of an interculturalist gestalt in dialogue with an intermedial configuration. We argue that this opens up spaces for artistic participation and learning beyond language(s) in the early years through tapping into the pedagogical potentials of this creative project. Qualitative data also suggest that practitioners’ abilities to exercise flexibility and openness in response to an intermedial configuration have a mediating effect. Concluding remarks are made of the under-utilisation of intermedia as a boundary-destabilising and configurational principle in arts-based endeavours, and as a pedagogical principle in which multimodal and multisensory learning is embraced as the way forward, with insights drawn from cultural democracy and culturally responsive pedagogy.

Interactive community-based theatre to address social barriers to accessing reproductive health services in patriarchal societies: the case of Jordan

Interactive community-based theatre is used to engage with audience members and allow for free exchange of ideas relevant to context. It aims to bring about a new understanding of an issue while challenging people’s attitudes and perceptions. Its application within the field of sexual and reproductive health has been limited, particularly in low and middle-income contexts. This paper presents the rationale for a research-arts partnership in Jordan and describes the process and some lessons learned from the development and country-wide performances of a research-informed interactive play. The play, Mish ‘Ayb (Not a Shame) was designed to address social barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive services in a patriarchal society. The sensitive portrayal by Jordanian actors of real-life scenarios pertaining to specific health issues encouraged identification of the audience with the actors, thereby building trust. This process helped to uncover cultural norms that facilitate and impede people’s access to health services and information. Qualitative research designs that incorporate interactive theatre present a strong potential avenue to explore sensitive topics related to sexuality, particularly in patriarchal contexts.

Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed: Dramatic Encounters between Classic and Adaptation, Life and Art, Freedom and Imprisonment

This paper examines Margaret Atwood’s novel Hag-Seed (2016) as a metatextual adaptation of Shakespeare’s literary classic The Tempest. The terms “adaptation” and “classic” are employed to explain the relation of Atwood’s work to its source material. The performance of The Tempest prepared by the characters of the novel that engages convicts is a form of multi-media interactive theater, and the classical text of the Shakespearean play is considered a form of “sacra” (Turner), which has educational and utilitarian purposes. Michel Foucault’s analysis of prison, his concept of “heterotopia”, and Victor Turner’s concept of “liminality” are introduced to discuss the convicts participating in a theatrical workshop as liminal individuals during the ritual of transition while in the heterotopian space of a prison.

A Review of Zoom interactive performance, 'Helping Hands': process, distress, success and who was helped.

Intervention for Russell Anderson’s work-in-progress Interactive Zoom theatre performance conducted on 6th August 2021 at 1:00 pm (U.K time), for a PhD thesis at Oxford Brooke's University was called 'Helping Hands'. Exploration and involvement of socio-digital options in Zoom theatre performativity, invokes questioning the adaptive process, distress and success as well as whom are we helping by being involved? Are we helping the company hosting the Zoom application, digital-theatre experimenters, the characters in the play, real people with similar socio-political problems as depicted in the play, ourselves or Russell Anderson? My personal experience and observations, beginning from receiving the digital mail invitation and background information of the performance, until the discussion about the work, in the end will be narrated with critical observations on each character's role and background, audio-visual spectrum, additional software and applications used, spect-actorship and employment of the break-out room feature of the Zoom application. The referenced theatre genres and probable methodologies employed in structuring the performance will be discussed by referring to Sir Andersons personal notes on the matter. The emotions and doubts, particularly that of whom I was helping, during the performance will be addressed in terms of the nature of the interactive, hyperdrama’s structure and the overall effect that it influenced. Its outcome will be critically compared with observations made by other scholarly reviewers on other Zoom adaptive performances, namely, Karen by The Transit Ensemble, Newspaper Theatre workshop by Seattle Rep, The Belle’s Stratagem by Red Bull Theatre, Time Machine by Creation Theatre and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by CtrlAlt_Repeat, while addressing Interaction, communication, mediatization and liveness in digital theatre.

An Educational Theater- Based Activity to Challenge Cultural Stereotypes about Veterans’ and their Lived Experiences

The media stereotypes military veterans as damaged beings or indestructible heroes, often forming implicit and explicit biases that impact medical and health providers’ capability to connect emotionally with veterans. This educational tool uses interactive theater to challenge veteran stigma, enhance empathy, and increase learners’ ability to talk to veterans about their service. This 90-minute session includes an interactive theater performance where learners recite verbatim veteran interview excerpts. This article contains all the materials necessary to replicate this activity in the appendices. The performance is prefaced with an introduction of the script, how it was developed and directions for engaging in the session. The session is facilitated by faculty knowledgeable in veteran culture and care who led post-performance discussion. Electronic survey data provides quantitative and qualitative assessment of learners’ attitudes, beliefs, and quality of the session. Learner satisfaction revealed satisfaction among all questions asked, which including the following dimensions: instructional format, session content, impact of content. Qualitative results illustrated a newfound awareness of the diversity of military experience, personal bias, and the impact of social stigma on veteran health. Addressing stigma in the vulnerable veteran population is challenging. This one-time intervention called for learners to confront their biases and showed a short-term impact that may improve clinical care of veterans. Future research should address long-term impact on patient care and clinical outcomes.

Interactive Performance and Simulation Learning

Over the course of 2018 - 2019, interactive experience design company, (ix)plore Lab, created three simulation-based learning programs for the Travis County Reentry Employment Services (RES) training in Austin, Texas. Participants, most of whom were from organizations that assist formerly incarcerated individuals during the reentry process, attended workshops focused on client-based practices. Specifically, they learned techniques for better conducting informal assessments and motivational interviewing methods they could utilize in their work. Each workshop culminated in an interview with a fictional client, played by an actor. The team wished to improve upon existing live simulation models in several ways. First, by creating a method to provide immediate feedback to learners. Second, by increasing the simulations adaptability so it could adjust to each individual learner. Lastly, the simulation needed to have a high degree of emotional fidelity. To achieve these, (ix)plore Lab designed the programs by integrating techniques from interactive theater performance with existing simulation practices to effectively target specific skills for development. This article provides an overview of the techniques involved and adjustments made to focus on soft skill development, and documents three simulation-based learning programs that took place over the course of 2018 - 2019, highlighting developments made with each iteration. The training program documented in this paper was created without monetary compensation. In lieu of payment, the organizers of RES allowed (ix)plore Lab to collect feedback from learners and to use the training as a laboratory for workshopping this simulation-based learning model.

Faculty development workshop on gender-associated incivility in nursing education.

Men comprise the minority of entry-level baccalaureate nursing students and are at increased risk of experiencing gender-associated incivility. Uncivil peer-to-peer behavior can negatively affect students' mental and physical well-being, and learning experience. Nursing faculty must be able to identify and address gender-associated incivility among students. The purpose of this quality improvement program was to train nursing faculty to prevent, identify, and manage gender-associated incivility in the educational environment. A day-long interactive workshop utilizing trigger films, small group discussions, and interactive theater was developed to train nursing faculty to implement proactive and reactive techniques to address uncivil behavior which will enhance the learning environment for all students. Utilizing Kirkpatrick's Model of Evaluation, participants were surveyed at the conclusion of the workshop and four months postworkshop to evaluate their learning and its implementation. Participants gained greater understanding of the impact of gender-associated incivility and felt both empowered and better prepared to manage gender-associated conflict. Similar approaches may be useful for schools of nursing that wish to empower their nursing faculty to support an equitable nursing education environment free of gender-associated incivility.

Increasing the Sense of Belonging by Students in a Department of Biochemistry

Virginia Tech's Department of Biochemistry has ~500 undergraduate majors and 42 graduate students. During the past two years we have sought ways to increase student success and professional development for both undergraduate and graduate students. An undergraduate and graduate student intern were engaged in implementation of the activities described. Starting in 2018 the department engaged in a project centered on developing inclusive pedagogy for undergraduates. The long-term goal was to address ways the department could change, as opposed to focusing on student change, which is an important concept in implementing lasting institutional change. This project began with a small group of dedicated faculty who met monthly or bimonthly to discuss literature centered around diversity and pedagogy, which culminated in the development of project to increase the sense of belonging of students within the department. In both 2019 and 2020 an undergraduate research showcase “Engelpalooza”, named after our department's founder and building, was held. Students presented their work in a “festival environment” which supported community development and increased awareness of undergraduate research opportunities. A second activity, called “Cultivation” focused on graduate students and faculty, and was led by the Theater Delta professional facilitation group. This consisted of a virtual interactive theater performance designed to increase awareness, promote dialogue and implement strategic solutions around communication and conflicts within the mentor-mentee relationship, specifically exploring the negative impact of implicit bias and strategies for addressing microaggressive behaviors. Both events were well attended and participant feedback was obtained. The feedback indicated ways to leverage these activities in the future to foster an inclusive community of students and faculty.

Inner sound or forum theater to resolve communicational problems

Background: Internship is the most important process that prepares a person for his profession. However, this process can also bring some problems in the context of human relations. Inner sound and forum are techniques that have been using in psycho-educational group works. Purpose: To manifest what man want to accomplish and how he perceives the recognition of the problematic situations. The general purpose of the study is whether the students of the Faculty of Education who attend the internship solve the difficult situations they encounter within themselves or try to resolve it through a group discussion. Materials and Methods: This study is conducted in Sinop University Education Faculty’ Elementary School education students. In this study, all data analysis is conducted using interviewing – a qualitative information gathering technique. A study group consisting of 50 university students from different age groups was formed. Two general divisions of personal and group is gathered into categories of obedience to authority and obeying the rules. The qualitative interview conducted. Results: The two general distinctions, personal and group, are divided into two categories: obedience to authority and obedience to rules. Among the qualitative data collection techniques performed, the interview can be grouped as “I cannot do it”, “they do not allow it”, “my friend did not want it”, “I was scared”. Conclusions: Playing to complain and to find solutions instead of muttering is done through interactive forum theater method. For this, it should be suggested that students who attend internship at faculties create a forum to share their experiences, conflicts and problems that they could not find solutions to.

Does Forum Theater Help Reduce Gender Inequalities and Violence? Findings From Nepal.

Gender inequality and violence against women are present in every society and culture around the world. The intensities vary, however, based on the local guiding norms and established belief systems. The society of Nepal is centered on traditional belief systems of gender roles and responsibilities, providing greater male supremacy and subordination for the females. This has led to the development and extensive practices of social gender hierarchal systems, producing several inequalities and violence toward women. This study has utilized Forum Theater interventions as a method of raising awareness in 10 villages in eastern Nepal. The study aimed to understand the perception and changes in the community and individuals from the interactive Forum Theater performances on pertinent local gender issues. We conducted 6 focus group discussions and 30 individual interviews with male and female participants exposed to the interventions. The data analysis utilized the constructivist grounded theory methodology. The study finds that exposure and interactive participation in the Forum Theater provide the audience with knowledge, develop empathy toward the victim, and motivate them to change the situation of inequality, abuse, and violence using dialogues and negotiations. The study describes how participation in Forum Theater has increased individual’s ability for negotiating changes. The engagement by the audience in community discussions and replication of efforts in one of the intervention sites show the level of preparedness and ownership among the targeted communities. The study shows the methodological aspects of the planning and performance of the Forum Theater and recommends further exploration of the use of Forum Theater in raising awareness.

INDEPENDENT ENSEMBLES AND NEW DIRECTIONS IN THEATRICAL ART OF BELARUS OFTHE 2010S

The paper briefly describes creative activity of Belarusian independent theatre ensembles in experimental genres of stage art in the 2010s. Range of creative quest of Belarusian theatre of the second decade of the 21st century embraces various genres and directions: social, documentary, inclusive theatre, interactive baby theatre, puppet show, etc. The author points out on creative approach of Belarusian independent theatre figures to understanding and adaptation of conceptual and artistic achievement of directors' and actors' experiences f the world theatre, that exclude its blind taking.

Social Theater in the Crisis Time in Ukraine: A Sociological Perspective (on the Basis of Data from Kharkiv)

A variety of interactive theater techniques is widely used in work with marginalized groups, in social work, social pedagogy, and psychotherapy. The crisis in Ukraine, spawned by the abuse of power that led to the Euromaidan protests, the annexation of the Crimea, and military operations in Donbas, contributed to the growing popularity of social theater as a form of social activism. Social theater is characterized by the direct connection between a creative product and real-life events, the involvement of amateur performers, creation of plays based on the testimonies of real people, encouragement of the audience participation in the performance, financial independence, and the nonprofit status. Social theater is conceptualized through the distinction with traditional theater and identified with documentary drama. Unlike political theater, which focuses on criticizing the political system, social theater focuses on social contradictions and inequalities. This also distinguishes social theater from art therapy, where an individual is the object of influence. In sociology social theater is viewed from the perspective of social transformations. To analyze such processes of social transformation at the micro level, the article uses the concepts of emancipation and empowerment. The empirical basis of the article consists of interviews with participants of the forum theater and playback theater, conducted in Kharkiv in 2018. Kharkiv’s borders with both the Russian Federation and the territories that are not controlled by the Ukrainian government make it unique compared to other Ukrainian cities where social theater groups operate. In 2014 Kharkiv managed to avoid the fate of Donetsk and Luhans’k, which were occupied by separatists. In contrast to the complex structure of the local frontier identity, Kharkiv authorities traditionally attempt to impose strict control on public space, suppressing alternative views. The data presented in this article addresses the following questions: what topics performances of social theater in Kharkiv covered during the period under study, how individual transformations of participants take place in the emancipatory space of social theater, and how the distinctive features of social theater turn it into a place of empowerment. Article in English