Eengaging theatre audiences before the play: The design of playful interactive storytelling experiences

Abstract

In this paper I present Mobile Stories, a design-led project that explored ways of playfully motivating and engaging theatre audiences in their journey before the premiere of a theatrical play. The project used the art of storytelling and mobile technology to engage the audience in a creative way. The ultimate goal was to investigate innovative ways of connecting theatres with their audiences in meaningful organic relationships that can be sustained. I discuss the design mechanisms that were developed to enable participation, describe issues and opportunities with the specific approach and discuss the value of the project for the audience, the theatre, and the research on designing for audience engagement.