From Clowns to Computers: Performing Theatrical Interactivity and Pervasive Transmedia Fictions

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dc.contributor.advisorRubin, Donald H.
dc.creatorLaviolette, Byron James
dc.date.accessioned2014-07-15T19:58:54Z
dc.date.available2014-07-15T19:58:54Z
dc.date.copyright2014-01-22
dc.date.issued2014-07-09
dc.date.updated2014-07-09T16:46:11Z
dc.degree.disciplineTheatre and Performance Studies
dc.degree.levelDoctoral
dc.degree.namePhD - Doctor of Philosophy
dc.description.abstractThe Collins English Dictionary defines “Interaction” as “a mutual or reciprocal action or influence”, and “Interactivity” as “allowing or relating to continuous two-way transfer of information between a user and the central point of a communication system”. This study will analyze the range of pre-existing interactive theatre types, using the model of interaction theorized by Gary Izzo in The Art of Play. This model will be used to categorize and problematize the various strategies developed and deployed through seven years of practical interactive research in the theatre. The sites of this research include five productions I worked on as a director, from 2008-2012, with Toronto-based U.N.I.T. Productions, featuring clown duo Morro and Jasp, and an eight-month long, massive, trans- media fiction project called ZED.TO, created by The Mission Business, a local event design company where I worked in 2012 as both writer and narrative designer. The central research question steering this dissertation is twofold. First, what strategies of interactivity already exist and how has the pre-existing theory of audience interaction behind these strategies evolved through the production and performance of these two projects? Second, in what ways have these strategies been proven effective, in real-time or during online encounters, to encourage an audience to believe, trust, share, play and ultimately participate inside an interactive theatre production? To prove the efficacy of these strategies, observations and opinions of both the public and the press are examined. The answers to these research questions trace the sources, evolution and distribution of these strategies from within the established theatre practice (including improvisation and clown) as well as interactive approaches sourced from game design and social media. This multidisciplinary research helps to define what strategies work towards achieving interactivity in the theatre and how, or when, it is appropriate to utilize it during a theatrical production. In essence, this study examines, through a survey of the history of immersive and interactive theatre, the strategies realized by the Morro and Jasp clown series and ZED.TO and how these projects have contributed to the evolving theory and practice of interactivity in the theatre. Analyzing such strategies will create a sourcebook for those seeking to bring theatre into the digital world as well as understand (and perhaps even undertake) the performance of pervasive interactive narratives in the future.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/27646
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectTheateren_US
dc.subjectMultimediaen_US
dc.subjectDesignen_US
dc.subject.keywordsPlayeren_US
dc.subject.keywordsTheatreen_US
dc.subject.keywordsImprovisational Comedyen_US
dc.subject.keywordsStreet Theatreen_US
dc.subject.keywordsVariety Theatreen_US
dc.subject.keywordsAudience Participatory Theatreen_US
dc.subject.keywordsIntimate Theatreen_US
dc.subject.keywordsInteractiveen_US
dc.subject.keywordsPervasiveen_US
dc.subject.keywordsTransmediaen_US
dc.subject.keywordsClownen_US
dc.subject.keywordsMorroen_US
dc.subject.keywordsJaspen_US
dc.subject.keywordsU.N.I.T. Productionsen_US
dc.subject.keywordsGamingen_US
dc.subject.keywordsGame Designen_US
dc.subject.keywordsByoLogycen_US
dc.subject.keywordsZED.TOen_US
dc.subject.keywordsMission Businessen_US
dc.subject.keywordsAgencyen_US
dc.subject.keywordsPlayen_US
dc.subject.keywordsTrusten_US
dc.subject.keywordsSharingen_US
dc.subject.keywordsBelieveen_US
dc.subject.keywordsBeliefen_US
dc.subject.keywordsPlayen_US
dc.subject.keywordsStatusen_US
dc.subject.keywordsAlternate Reality Gameen_US
dc.subject.keywordsPervasive Gameen_US
dc.subject.keywordsLARPen_US
dc.subject.keywordsAudienceen_US
dc.subject.keywordsParticipanten_US
dc.titleFrom Clowns to Computers: Performing Theatrical Interactivity and Pervasive Transmedia Fictionsen_US
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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