Technologically enhanced theatre experiences can extend beyond the use of cutting edge performance light and sound tech. Today’s technology allows theaters to reach audiences outside of their physical space through livestreaming performances in Virtual Reality (VR). Livestreaming, defined as when a person or organization “transmit[s] or receive live video and audio coverage of (an event) over the Internet”[https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/live_stream ] is becoming a routine part of standard social network experience. Livestreaming through VR,[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/virtual%20reality}  while still a relatively new concept, may allow the virtual audience watching the livestream to feel much more present at the performance than ever before and therefore a theater’s potential audience engagement opportunities.

There are two very different types of VR entertainment. VR has become a “catch-all name” of sorts for things experienced with a headset on, but there are a few key differences that need to be considered between what might be called “true VR” – or 3D VR – and 360-degree video.[https://www.cnet.com/news/virtual-reality-terminology-vr-vs-ar-vs-360-video/ ] The biggest difference between the two is that 3D VR allows the user to interact with the virtual environment, whereas in 360-degree video the user can only consume the content – and most, if not all, interaction in this sphere are limited to the user turning their head in different directions.[https://arvrjourney.com/3d-vr-vs-360-video-vr-key-differences-a7a552a05f5. ] The other major difference is that 3D VR takes place in a completely computer generated world where 360-degree video captures a recording of something in the real world. (Goldman and Falcone) Still in both of these cases a user can feel transported to another place, which is the main goal of a VR experience. Live theater streaming would fall under 360-degree video, since it is recording a real performance.

Currently IRL

VR and other technologies are slowly entering the theater world in new and creative ways. One example of this is MWM Immersive’s Chained: A Victorian Nightmare – a location-based immersive VR theater experience based on the classic novel A Christmas Carol. In Chained, a single audience member at a time is led through the world of the performance while wearing a VR headset. Using motion capture suits, the actors interact with the audience in real-time, though the audience members are seeing virtual renderings of the characters in the play.

Using VR to stream performances is also being explored by the UK-based company, LIVR. Marketed as the “world’s first” on-demand VR theater platform, LIVR hosts professional recordings of theater performances that audiences can experience whenever they want.The main difference between this and livestreaming performances in VR is that LIVR only shows recordings of past theatrical performances – as well as performances that were meant to be viewed in 360-degrees – rather than simulcasts of live performances. However, the philosophy of this platform is the same – aiming to “make theatre ‘more accessible to all’ by giving users a ‘fully immersive 360-degree experience’ of live performances from their homes.”

While the theater world is still relatively new to VR it is no stranger to simulcasts of shows. For example the National Theatre began its National Theatre Live (NTL) initiative in June of 2009. NTL broadcasts theater performances from the UK to cinemas across the world as they’re being performed live, as well as recordings of past performances. This provides a unique experience for audiences to experience professional performances produced in cities that they may have never visited. However, the experience is not the same as a live theater experience as NTL uses multiple camera angles – giving the cinema audiences a more directed view when compared to the live theater attendees.

Although VR streaming and livestreaming have yet to be combined for theater performances, it is already being done with live music concerts. Two companies that host these streams are NextVR and MelodyVR. In 2017, NextVR partnered with LiveNation to livestream the Global Citizen Music Festival, and following that to add a LiveNation channel to the NextVR platform to broadcast recordings of other concerts. MelodyVR functions in much the same way, and has thus far made deals with over 600 artists to stream their concerts on the VR platform. This partnerships demonstrate increasing performance content delivery options.

Overcoming Barriers

One potentially major benefit to livestreaming theater in VR is that it helps to overcome some of the barriers people face that keep them from attending the theater. A 2015 study by the National Endowment for the Arts showed that 33% of interested non-attendees in the performing arts found it difficult getting to the venue, and 11% simply didn’t want to visit the location.[https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/when-going-gets-tough-revised2.pdf ] Livestreaming can help overcome this logistical barrier, but it compromises the live theatre experience. In order to more artfully remove the barrier, audiences would need to still feel like they were attending the show rather than watching a recording. It’s possible that VR would be able to provide that feeling.

Yet, while helping to remove one barrier, offering a VR livestream presents another potentially large barrier to attendance – price. VR headsets vary wildly in price, from the $15 Google Cardboard, used solely for streaming 360-degree video, to the $800 HTC Vive Pro, used primarily for 3D VR gaming.[https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-vr-headset. ] While the Cardboard and a few others are relatively inexpensive, they are also generally made with cheaper materials – such as cheap plastic or cardboard – which make them harder to wear or use for extended periods of time. Some are moderately priced, as detailed in the graphic below, but they still cost more than some theater tickets. As such, VR cannot overcome all barriers to physical attendance, particularly price sensitivity.

Audiences & Communitas

One major aspect of theater attendance that becomes crucial to feeling present at the theater is the feeling of communitas with other audience members. From the Oxford Dictionary of Cultural Anthropology, communitas refers to “[t]he heightened sense of social cohesion and solidarity experienced by individuals during liminal phases in rites of passage and pilgrimage.”(Vicano) It creates a feeling of belonging to the group a heightened sense of community and belonging.(Dolan) In theater performances, communitas can happen at many different times – when a hush falls over the audience as the house lights dim, or when audience members share an audible reaction to something on stage. (Masura) Due to the nature of this feeling, it essentially requires witnessing the performance live.

However, what constitutes as “live” has more gray area than one would expect. (Masura, “Digital Theatre) For example, live television broadcasts are technically live, but they don’t feel live in the same way they would if you were sitting in the studio audience. On the other hand, livestreams of concerts are often seen as viewing it live, even if it is being viewed on a laptop computer. As explained by Philip Auslander in a piece on technologically mediated performance, “both our experience of liveness and our understanding of what counts as a live performance change continually over time in response to the development of new media technologies.”(Auslander)

In full 3D VR experiences, it is easy to see where communities and feelings of communtas can develop if different users can interact with each other in the virtual world. However, it is more difficult to understand whether this same feeling would be possible if viewing a 360-degree video livestream. VR experiences, whether 3D VR or 360-degree video, are easy to become absorbed in. But it is exactly that feeling of absorption – of full immersion – that likely dictates whether that communitas truly happens. 

Virtual Presence

The experience of immersion or presence in a VR experience is incredibly complex, but it ultimately breaks down to two overarching categories – physical presence and social presence.(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200772398_Being_There_The_Experience_of_Presence_in_Mediated_Environments.) Physical presence refers to the feeling of being physically located in the virtual space, where social presence describes the feeling of being together – of “social interaction with a virtual or remotely located communication partner.” Physical presence is considered the more crucial aspect in VR experiences, as not all VR experiences include interaction with other users or simulated characters. However, if physical presence and social presence are combined, it can create a feeling of “co-presence,” meaning a sense of “being together in a shared space.” This feeling of co-presence would most easily be achieved in VR through a 3D VR experience with user avatars interacting. Still, it is possible that a form of co-presence could be formed in a livestream VR experience, since, while not able to directly communicate with other audience members, the remote audience will still be able to hear and see other people around them.

As explained by Joshua Goldman and John Falcone in an article discussing the difference between 3D VR and 360-degree video, “Virtual Reality and 360 video both have a common factor: Like a good movie, both of them totally transport your somewhere else, be it computer generated or a real-life remote location.”(Goldman and Falcone) And when users feel completely present in the virtual environment, they typically consider the experience to be a place visited “rather than simply something perceived.” (Jerald) This could mean that, if the experience of remotely attending a performance engages the VR audience well, it can make them feel as though they really visited the theater.

Conclusion

While not the perfect solution, VR can go a long way in overcoming attendance barriers. It can potentially still provide that feeling of communitas that audiences get in live theater attendance, and it is possible that the audiences will feel as if they truly visited the theater. There are some aspects of live attendance that may never be able to be captured through virtual reality. Though as the technology improves, so to shall the virtual audience experience.

RESOURCES

“About us.” National Theatre Live. Accessed May 10, 2019. http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/about-us.

Auslander, Philip. “Live and technologically mediated performance.” In The Cambridge Companion to Performance Studies, edited by Tracy C. Davis. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Bluhme-Kohout, Margaret E., Sara R. Leonard, and Jennifer L. Novak-Leonard. When Going Gets Tough: Barriers and Motivations Affecting Arts Attendance. Washington, DC: National Endowment for the Arts, 2015. Accessed March 21, 2019. https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/when-going-gets-tough-revised2.pdf

Dolan, Jill. Utopia in Performance: Finding Hope at the Theater. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.119520.

Feltham, Jamie. “Chained: A Victorian Nightmare Is VR’s Take On A Christmas Carol.” Upload VR. November 9, 2018. Accessed May 8, 2019. https://uploadvr.com/chained-a-victorian-nightmare-is-vrs-take-on-a-christmas-carol/.

“Get Cardboard.” Google VR. Accessed May 9, 2019. https://vr.google.com/cardboard/get-cardboard/.

Givens, Willard. “From The Soundboard: Virtual Reality Could Transform the Live Music Experience.” Daily Trojan. January 28, 2019. Accessed March 19, 2019. https://dailytrojan.com/2019/01/27/from-the-soundboard-virtual-reality-could-transform-the-live-music-experience/.

Goldman, Joshua and John Falcone. “Virtual Reality Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means.” CNET. March 9, 2016. Accessed May 8, 2019. https://www.cnet.com/news/virtual-reality-terminology-vr-vs-ar-vs-360-video/.

Ijsselsteijn, Wijnand, and Giuseppe Riva. “Being There: The Experience of Presence in Mediated Environments.” Emerging Communication: Studies in New Technologies and Practices in Communication. 5. (2013): 3-16. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200772398_Being_There_The_Experience_of_Presence_in_Mediated_Environments.

Jerald, Jason. The VR Book : Human-Centered Design for Virtual Reality. First edition. New York: Association for Computing Machinery, 2016.

Masso, Giverny. "'World's first virtual reality theatre platform' launches". The Stage. March 14, 2019. Accessed March 19, 2019. https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2019/worlds-first-virtual-reality-theatre/.

Masura, Nadja. “Digital Theatre: A ‘Live’ and Mediated Art Form Expanding Perceptions of Body, Place, and Community,” PhD diss., University of Maryland, 2007. http://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/7430.

N-iX. “3D VR vs. 360 Video VR: Key Differences.” AR/VR Journey: Augmented & Virtual Reality Magazine, September 18, 2018. Accessed May 8, 2019. https://arvrjourney.com/3d-vr-vs-360-video-vr-key-differences-a7a552a05f5.

Porter, Jon and Michelle Fitzsimmons. “The Best VR Headset 2019: Which Headset Offers the Most Immersion for Your Buck?” TechRadar. January 9, 2019. Accessed May 9, 2019. https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-vr-headset.

Vivanco, Luis A. “Communitas.” A Dictionary of Cultural Anthropology. Oxford University Press, September 20, 2018. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191836688.001.0001/acref-9780191836688-e-54.