Process, Roles, Tools, and Team: Understanding the Emerging Medium of Virtual Reality Theatre

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) theatre artists are combining theatre production and game development practices to create live performances in VR. To date, little is known about VR theatre creators' experiences of this process or how staging a play in VR might affect the audience's experience. To capture the experience of developing a VR theatre production we interviewed the production team behind the VR play You Should Have Stayed Home. Members of this team felt the process was a learning experience and shared the lessons they plan to incorporate into their future work. We report on the team's efforts to understand the VR theatre medium, how this team was constructed, and challenges that they encountered. In this paper we present the opportunities that the production team members identified for creating novel experiences for VR audiences, and their own needs as creators.