Experiential Theatres: Praxis-Based Approaches to Training 21st Century Theatre Artists

Description

Experiential Theatres is a collaboratively edited and curated collection that delivers key insights into the processes of developing experiential performance projects and the pedagogies behind training theatre artists of the twenty-first century. Experiential refers to practices where the audience member becomes a crucial member of the performance world through the inclusion of immersion, participation, and play. As technologies of communication and interactivity have evolved in the postdigital era, so have modes of spectatorship and performance frameworks. This book provides readers with pedagogical tools for experiential theatre making that address these shifts in contemporary performance and audience expectations. Through case studies, interviews, and classroom applications the book offers a synthesis of theory, practical application, pedagogical tools, and practitioner guidance to develop a praxis-based model for university theatre educators training today’s theatre students. Experiential Theatres presents a holistic approach for educators and students in areas of performance, design, technology, dramaturgy, and theory to help guide them through the processes of making experiential performance. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Contents Acknowledgments Author Biographies Editors Section Curators Essay Contributors Experiential Theatres: An Introduction Experiential Theatres: Experience is Everywhere Interactive Technologies and Experiential Practices Mediatized Learning = Experiential Knowledge Making Interdisciplinary Education as Structural Framework Structure of the Volume Note References Section 1: Collaborative Experience Making and Interactive Performance Practice 1. Frameworks for Making and Performing in Experiential Performance Collaboration and Easing Institutional Silos Historical Training Paradigms: Expanding the Form Devising/Collaboration/Interdisciplinarity User Experience/Game Design/Play: Frameworks for Interactivity Survey of the Section Note References 2. Designing Play: Game Techniques in Experiential and Interactive Performance Introduction Defining What Makes a Game a Game Transforming Narrative from Linear Progression into a Landscape of Choice Fostering True Agency and Holding Your Audience in Care Centralization of the Subjective Experience Enhancing Embodiment through Interaction, Immersion, and Roleplay A Final Call to Action References 3. Framework Design: A Curatorial Approach to Teaching Participatory Performance Introduction Curatorial Pedagogy and Larp Design Searching for Methods in Relational Learning Spaces Reflexivity and Rituals in Larp Practice Conclusion Notes References 4. Intimacy in Play: Training Actors for Agentic Symmetry in Unscripted Interactions Introduction Virtue of Reality: Production Context Immersive Acting: A Framework for Facilitating Play Through Unscripted Interactions Dramaturgical Grounding: Worldbuilding, Lore, and Cores The Art of the Invitation: Learning as Actor and Audience Establishing Boundaries: Self-Care Cues and the Sting/Reward System Rehearsing As Audience Conclusion Note References 5. Experiential Theatres and the Value of Rethinking Theatre Education: A Conversation with Performers and Interactive Theatre Makers on Developing Methods for Collaborative Experience Making Panel Participants 6. Facilitating Narrative Agency in Experiential Theatre Facilitating Narrative Agency in Experiential Theatre Conceptualizing Agency Facilitating Agency Practical Implementation Preparation Types of contribution Facilitating levels of agency Participant playing style Exercise Critical Reflection References 7. Training the Actor for Roleplay and Other Improv-Based Interactive Theatre Forms Introduction Exercises 1. Hot Seat 2. Hot Seat Variation: Public/Private 3. Expert/Find Your Lane: Group Hot Seat 4. Hide the Monologue 5. What's My Line? Conclusion 8. Standardized Patient Experience: Reframing Pedagogical Approaches in the Acting Studio The Experience Proficiencies Reframing the Planned Improvisation The Exercise Connecting the Links Conclusion 9. The Significance of "Role-Play" and "Instruction-Based Performance" as Modes of Teaching, Collaborating, and Performing with/for Participating Audiences Introduction Framing Role-Play Game-Play & Instruction-Systems Exhibit A: Speed-Game Making (Stage 1) Exhibit B: Speed Game-Making (Stage 2) Conclusion References 10. Collaborative Development Workshop: Approaching Conceptualization through Audience Affordances and Experiential Trajectories Introduction Foundational Knowledge Building Experiential Theatre Concept Project Assignment Concept Formation Structural Mapping and Implementation Notes References 11. A Postdigital Response: User Experience Design, Interactive, Immersive, and Mixed Reality Performance Postdigtial Response References Section 2: Narrative and Dramaturgy for Experiential Forms 12. Models for Experiential Training in Playwriting and Dramaturgy Introduction Recent Practices in Playwriting Programs Recent Practices in Dramaturgy Programs Alternative Training Models Reference 13. Mapping Narrative in Pig Iron Theatre Company's Pay Up and Franklin's Secret City Introduction Pay Up Franklin's Secret City Notes References 14. The Dramaturgy of Tabletop Roleplaying Games Introduction Basic Preparation Identifying and Addressing Structural Problems Identifying and Managing Controversial Game Elements and Content Boundaries Modeling a playful dramaturgy Notes References 15. Rasa in This Is Not a Theatre Company's Experiential Productions References 16. Reconfiguring Narrative and Experiential Dramaturgy: A Conversation with Professional Educators and Dramaturgs on the Future(s) of Storytelling Panel Participants 17. WildWind Performance Lab: New Play Development through Abstraction WildWind Performance Lab Notes 18. It's Okay to NOT be "Right": Incorporating Creative Thinking into Theatrical Partnerships Introduction Using a Creative Approach Exercise #1: Brainstorming and Beyond Exercise #2: Team-Based Analysis Exercise #3: Large-Group Analysis Final Thoughts References 19. Theatrical Immersion within Alternate Reality Games Introduction Alternate Reality Games as Mediated Drama References 20. A Postdigital Response: Experiential Dramaturgies of Online Theatre, Cyberformance, and Digital Texts Postdigital Response Preparing Ourselves Conclusion Notes References Section 3: Performance Technologies and Design Thinking 21. Pedagogies for Design Thinking and Experiential Technologies Design Thinking and Histories of Aesthetics The Twentieth Century and New Perspectives on Aesthetic Experiences Pedagogies for Design Thinking and Technological Implementation Survey of the Section Reference 22. Storyliving: A Creative Process The Call to Create Inspirational Drivers Storyliving Moving From Telling to Living Classic Storytelling Contemporary Storyliving Storyliving: A Creative Process Shark-Train Storyliving Development Workflow and Tooling Finding Inspiration Choreography of the Guest Journey Reflections Reference 23. Theatre Majors and Immersive Technology: An Interview with HP's Joanna Popper References 24. Interaction and Extended Somatechnics Soma and the Extended Choreographic Actor Objects and Entanglements Virtual Immersive Embodiment The Mouth Looking for You Notes References 25. A Design Roundtable: The Creative Process of Experience Panel Participants 26. Playing with the Past: Pirates in the College Classroom Introduction Theoretical Framework: Living History Overall Methodologies: First-Person Composite Characters Pirate Spaces: Designing an Environment "Playing" With Knowledge Hands-on Skills Focusing on Specific Learning Outcomes Public Performance Pedagogical Outcomes Reflections References 27. Unlocking Formal Qualities to Discover the Iconography in Visual Design Introduction Formal Qualities and Relevance The Tempest Iconography and Visual Design 28. Designing an Interactive Production: A Practical Walkthrough First Things First Working Definitions Essential Form and Theatricality Answering Questions of Time and Space Collaborating with the Audience Getting Unstuck Final Thoughts Designing an Interactive Production Project Concept Statement (25%) Production Plan (25%) Prelim Design Presentation (25%) Demo (25%) Note 29. A Postdigital Response: Performance Technologies and Design Thinking The Postdigital? Device Technologies of the Postdigital: Invisibility, Comfortability, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Reality Postdigital Language for Experiential Design: Immersive, Guest Experience, Respond and Responsive, and Social Contracts Education in the Postdigital: Social Conventions, Creative Roles, Academic Departments, and Creative Pitches References 30. An Afterword: Experience and Theatre Education Evolving Viewpoints Primed for Experiential Practices and Products Expanding the Frame/Inviting New Collaborations A Challenge Note References Appendix 1. Glossary of Experiential Terms Affect/Affective Affordance Agency Alternate Reality Game (ARG) Attention Economy Audience-Centered Augmented Reality Game Boundaries Contract Distribution Embodied Encounter Engage/Engagement Environment/Environmental Escape Room Experiential Experience Design (XD) Experience Economy Extended Reality (XR) Facilitator Feedback First-Person Flow Framework Games Gamification Geotagging Geocaching Guest Immersive/Immersion Installation Interactive Interface Invite/Invitation Iterative LARP Locative Media Ludic Ludology Magic Circle Meatspace Mechanics (as "In-Game") Mediatization Mixed Reality Narratology Nordic LARP Open-World Game Orchestrator Paidic Participatory/Participation Performance Conventions Platform Play Postdigital Presence Response Role Play Role-Playing Game (RPG) Sandbox Sensory Site-Specific (Site-Based, Site Responsive) Space/Spatial Storyworld System Table-Top Role-Playing Game (TTRPG) Themed Entertainment Design Throughput Trajectory User Virtual Reality Wearable Appendix 2. Companies, Organizations, and Ensembles The Bezark Company Blast Theory Byerley Experience Studio Candle House Collective Coney Design and Performance Lab Fabula(b) Theatre + New Media Lab Hobo Theatre Intramersive Media Meow Wolf New Paradise Laboratories Nocturnal Fandango Optika Moderna PGAV Destinations Pig Iron Theatre Company PowerPlay Interactive Development Punchdrunk Shunt The Speakeasy Society Spellbound Theatre Swim Pony Tender Claws Thinkwell Group Third Rail Projects This is Not A Theatre Company Vertical City Performance WET Design WildWind Performance Lab ZU-UK Index