Devising Interactive Theatre
Andrew Bluff, Andrew Johnston · 2019
This paper presents a case study of a long-term collaboration between a physical performance company and interactive digital artists. The collaboration has resulted in the creation of five major performance works which have toured internationally over several years. We argue that the interactive systems can be considered a 'material' which changes over time, shaping performer actions and being shaped by them in return. Based on detailed interviews with key stakeholders and our own personal reflections, we have identified several 'trajectories' that have evolved over the duration of each individual production and the entire body of work. These trajectories address a number of perspectives including the way performers interact with the system, the relationship between the dramaturgy and the interaction palette and the way the stakeholders conceive of the interactive system. The evolution of the technology itself has also been examined in terms of aesthetic capability, performance robustness, operational cost and complexity across the entire duration of the collaboration.