What are virtual spaces, how can they be used in the theater and how can they be used for research and experimentation in school theater practice?
Oasis vs paperwhite: Use of virtual space in school theater practice
The fact that theater incorporates new techniques and media in order to create expanded narrative occasions, modes of action and spaces of experience for the audience can be seen as part of the tradition of this art form. For some years now, the debate around theater and oasis vs paperwhite has been circulating through the discourse field of theater studies. The connection between games with their virtual spaces and the theater has been discussed a lot. It has recently led to the establishment of the new genre term game theater.
A specific curiosity about the phenomenon of digital theater is also growing in schools and other educational areas. The core interest can possibly be condensed into two basic observations. Since digitalism is essentially anchored in the world of experience of children and young people.
It seems, on the one hand, to be an obvious and attractive new access to the medium of theatre. On the other hand, digitized forms of theatre are often included. This is accompanied by an activation of the audience. The recipients take part in the situation and do not infrequently participate and interact.
You are therefore dealing with a dynamic theatre structure that, in an educational context, can be strongly shaped by the principle of participation on both the producer and recipient side. So it’s about theatrical settings that can sometimes be quite far removed from the classic stage situation. Among other things, this offers the chance to open up new spaces and to inoculate them with cultural processes.
The phenomenon of virtual space: oasis vs paperwhite
Virtual spaces are places of interaction that are characterized by the dissolution of physical co-presence. The interaction modes can vary greatly depending on the nature and technical configuration. While the computer as an interface limits physical interaction to typing letters on the keyboard and clicking the mouse, virtual reality uses the whole body as a control and interaction module by using VR glasses, for example. Several senses are used. In addition to the visual and auditory experience, virtual reality is sometimes even a haptic one. Technological development is always advancing here and increasing immersive immersion in artificial spaces.
