Interactive performance: Dramatic improvisation in a mixed reality environment for learning

Abstract

A trained interactive performer uses a combination of head-motion capture and a new desktop gesture/posture control system to enact five avatars on a screen, as those avatars interact face-to-face with a participant/trainee. The inter-actor, assisted by a narrator/operator, provides voices for all five on-screen characters and leads the participant through a story-driven improvisational experience. This paper focuses on the processes of scenario development, inter-actor training and production management in the new creative discipline of interactive performance in mixed reality environments. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.