“Virtual Theatre: a collaborative curriculum for artists and technologists” by Geigel and Schweppe

Computer graphics research and applications have involved collaborations between professionals in both technical and artistic areas from the beginning. Theatre is a field where collaboration between technicians and artists has been an inherent component for centuries. Virtual Theatre merges these two collaborative arenas with the goal of providing a springboard for learning through interdisciplinary collaboration and teamwork. The project is geared toward those looking to enter the electronic entertainment industries where successful collaboration between artists and technologists is crucial to the success of a project. In the spring of 2004, students in three courses worked together to create a virtual theatre production at the Rochester Institute of Technology. In this paper we describe the collaborative learning approach taken in these courses and discuss our impressions of the results and issues that emerged.