Description
AI, AR, and VR in Theatre and Performance offers an in-depth exploration of how emerging digital technologies are reshaping the future of theatre, live performance, and the wider creative industries. Blending artistic practice with technological innovation, this book examines how artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) are transforming the ways stories are created, performed, and experienced by audiences around the world.
Adopting a practice-led perspective, the book draws on the experiences of theatre practitioners, digital artists, producers, technologists, and creative developers who are pioneering the integration of advanced technologies into contemporary performance. Through a rich collection of international case studies, it highlights groundbreaking productions and experimental projects that demonstrate both the current capabilities of AI, AR, and VR and their exciting potential to redefine the future of live entertainment and artistic expression.
Using a rigorous ethnodramatic research methodology, the author examines how these technologies can be effectively incorporated into theatrical productions, immersive performances, and interdisciplinary creative works. Rather than focusing solely on theory, the book provides practical frameworks and adaptable models that artists, educators, and researchers can apply within their own creative practice. Readers gain valuable insights into the technical, artistic, and collaborative processes involved in developing technology-enhanced performances while learning how digital tools can enrich audience engagement and storytelling.
A major contribution of the book is its introduction of innovative concepts for understanding the evolving role of artificial intelligence in the arts. It presents a new classification model known as the “Three Cs of AI,” offering a structured way to evaluate how AI can support creative workflows today and influence artistic production in the future. The book also introduces the concept of Communal Augmented Reality – Live (CARL), a forward-looking framework that envisions how augmented reality can seamlessly merge with live theatre to create shared, immersive experiences for performers and audiences alike.
Featuring detailed examinations of pioneering creative organizations and artists, the book explores the immersive virtual reality productions of Belgium’s CREW, the innovative multimedia works of Singaporean visual artist Ho Tzu Nyen, the experimental performances of AGAM Theatre Lab, Australia’s groundbreaking use of augmented reality holographic performance technology, and the influential algorithmic and AI-driven theatre projects developed by American artist Annie Dorsen. These examples illustrate how technology is expanding the boundaries of performance while raising new artistic, technical, and philosophical questions.
Accessible yet academically rigorous, AI, AR, and VR in Theatre and Performance serves as an essential resource for theatre professionals, digital artists, performers, educators, researchers, students, creative technologists, animators, designers, and anyone interested in the intersection of emerging technologies and live performance. By combining practical guidance, theoretical insight, and inspiring real-world examples, the book provides a comprehensive roadmap for understanding how AI, AR, and VR are redefining creativity, collaboration, and audience engagement in the performing arts of today and tomorrow.
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