Have you ever felt like your mind was somewhere else in class? Somewhere it’s never been before, a whole alternative reality? Well, if you’re enrolling as a Theatre Studies student at Rose Bruford College, you very well might. The college recently opened its new, cutting-edge XR stage, designed for training in virtual production and extended reality. The relationship between AI (artificial intelligence) and performance is tangled, with many believing this kind of technology poses a threat to the arts. We are simultaneously concerned and intrigued by AI, but there might be more harmonious opportunities to be had with AI’s less sophisticated but more approachable cousin, VR (virtual reality).
VR has captured the imagination of artists since the 1930s. Stanley G Weinbaum’s 1935 short story Pygmalion’s Spectacles tells the tale of a diminutive professor with a broad vision: a pair of magic spectacles that produce a film ‘of sight and sound… you are in the story,’ it describes. ‘You speak to the shadows, and the shadows reply, and instead of being on a screen, the story is all about you’.
In reality
XR (extended reality) is a combination of AR (alternative reality), MR (mixed reality) and VR (virtual reality or ‘talking to shadows’), and is commonly used in contemporary film production. ‘Shadows’ are more cost effective than real-life dramatis personae and XR also allows filmmakers, with the help of CGI, to go beyond what can be realised on set. XR is now also creeping into live theatre. The National Theatre’s Immersive Storytelling Studio has a glittering portfolio of XR work, with recent productions Draw Me Close and the Museum of Austerity.
Thankfully the kit has progressed since the early days of XR. Rose Bruford’s £1.9 million investment includes the XR kit, as well as upgrades to existing audio, lighting and IT systems. ‘For this project we’ve got half a dozen VR headsets that can be tracked inside a space using Rose Bruford’s new mocap studio,’ explains James Simpson, head of centre for digital production for Rose Bruford College. ‘We’ve got props that can be tracked again and again using the same system, and we can see all this inside the VR headset as an audience member. We are then able to control the entire environment around us using a lighting desk. That means that all the scenery, the visuals, lighting and props are all controlled using the lighting desk.’
Research and Innovation fellow Dr Nick Hunt, principal professor Mary Oliver, White Light ltd managing director Bryan Raven
The new frontier
Leading the way for drama schools of the future, Rose Bruford’s XR stage is the first of its kind here in the UK. Other institutes such as the Guildhall School of Music and Drama offer opportunities to work on projects involving XR. Postgraduate students at Falmouth University are developing their own tech through the Varyon VR project, which aims to create a virtual theatre space for audience and cast to interact in. SCAD Digital Media Center in Atlanta debuted their XR stage last September, and grant programs are also springing up around the US for schools wanting to acquire VR headsets.
It’s said that we only can remember 10 per cent of what we read and 90 per cent of what we experience. As things stand however, teachers in the UK may as well forget 100 per cent of what they read where XR is concerned, as it appears they can retain 0 per cent of funding. Unless they crowdfund with a neighbouring school or seek to partner with companies such as Round Midnight in Birmingham, who tailor-make projects according to an institute’s needs, studies in extended reality are likely to be prolonged until university.
Why is it so important to embed XR into our training schemes now? ‘We can now prepare students for both traditional sector roles and the rapidly expanding mixed reality entertainment world,’ says Dr Nick Hunt, digital research and innovation fellow at Rose Bruford.
With developments such as those at Rose Bruford College, XR could hopefully soon be a reality for all.