“Frontiers Talk: Performing Life: Generating New Realities through Theatre and XR” by Kim and Szilak

  • ©Scarlett Kim and Illya Szilak

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Title:

    Frontiers Talk: Performing Life: Generating New Realities through Theatre and XR

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Abstract:


    “All the world’s a stage”: Shakespeare’s analogy of life-as-performance and performance-as-life becomes evermore resonant in blended realities, where parameters of liveness, immersion, and agency are continually iterated. Scarlett Kim, creative producer at the intersection of theatre and XR, and Illya Szilak, transdisciplinary artist whose practice is informed by her experience as a physician, share findings from their experiences creating theatrical XR.

    This talk dives into how both meatspace and metaverse are participatory forums for performing the self, rehearsing life, and generating realities. We will explore the philosophical, aesthetic, and political underpinnings of the emerging language of XR by examining seminal theatrical practices throughout history and the evolving concepts of liveness and authenticity. We will also delve into case studies of how contemporary artists leverage theatrical strategies in XR.

    This Frontiers Talk is presented in tandem with the Frontiers Workshop “All the World’s a Stage”: Performance and Performativity in the Metaverse.