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Proquest Dissertations "Theatre-Outside-of-Theatres": Spaces of Digital Performance by Chris Eaket A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Cultural Mediations Carleton University Ottawa, Canada January, 2010 © Copyright 2010, Chris Eaket Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 OttawaON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-63847-7 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-63847-7 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extra its substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada Abstract Title: "Theatre-Outside-of-Theatres": Spaces of Digital Performance Author: Chris Eaket Degree: PhD Year: 2010 Institution: Carleton University Supervisor: Brian Greenspan This work examines theatrical performances that occur outside of traditional spaces or create new spaces through the use of various types of digital technology. While theatre and technology have often had a somewhat adversarial relationship—mainly due to the emergence of film—the deployment of various technologies towards theatrical ends is currently resulting in new forms of intermedial performance. These new works produce unique representational spaces each with their own audience dynamics, semiotic codes, epistemologies and modes of interactivity. The primary focus of my work is to examine the types of spaces and spatial relationships that come into existence when specific technologies are mobilized to create new types of mise-en-scene, noting how each one creates, informs, or critiques specific spaces through a combination of theatrical practice and the tools of technology. Since the works examined here cover a broad range of practices, this thesis builds on previous scholarship by formulating a taxonomy of Digital Performance, which provides a framework for the systematic analysis and classification of these hybrid performances. Each chapter of this thesis examines different facets of this taxonomy, comparing the characteristics and spatial dynamics of Traditional Theatre, Digital Theatre, Locative Media, Interactive Drama and a still-emergent VR Theatre. 11 For Ron and Judy Eaket My first and best teachers. in Acknowledgements I am extraordinarily grateful to my supervisor Brian Greenspan, and my committee members Robert Biddle, Paul Theberge, Miranda Brady and Andy Houston, who shaped my thinking through their insightful discussions and collaboration. Thank you for your guidance, support and your belief that interdisciplinary work is vital and necessary Special thanks go to my many professors and mentors over the years. Roz Kerr, Piet Defraeye, Moira Day and Elena Glazov-Corrigan, this work is as much yours as it is mine. You helped provide the foundations for this achievement through your exceptional teaching and encouragement. This work has been built by standing on the shoulders of giants. Without the trailblazing efforts of people like Brenda Laurel, Janet Murray, Nick Montfort, Mary-Ann Buckles, Nadja Masura, Steve Dixon, Philip Auslander and many others, this work would not have been possible. Thank you for having the audacity to think differently. I would also like to extend my gratitude to those artists and makers who provided me with my objects of study. To the Robert Lepage, the [murmur] group, Radix Theatre, Wil Crowther and Don Woods, Michael Mateus and Andrew Stern—your works are an inspiration. Thank you for doing what you do and never stop creating. A thesis is as much a psychological and emotional project as it is an academic one. Without the support of many colleagues and friends this work may never have been completed. Janne Cleveland, you helped me keep my wits about me and always reminded me what was important. Amy Cadman, you made sure I had heaping doses of laughter and candy as necessary. Robin Whittaker, you were always up for a good theatre discussion, debate and a beer or two as necessary. Michael Thome, you made sure that I didn't fall off the edge of the Earth and made certain that I ate something resembling three square meals a day. I'll always be there for all of you. To members of the HotSoft Lab—Pippen Barr, Rilla Khaled, Mihn Tran and Marty Kauhanen—thanks for the insightful discussions and overlooking my rusty programming skills. To members of the Hypertext and Hypermedia Lab—Jessica Aldred, Jennifer Whitson and Nathalie King—thanks for making me feel that I wasn't some lone voice screaming in the wilderness, and thanks for just being the rocking bunch that you are. To older friends like Mike, Jason, Dai, Marsh, Amanda, Jess, Shaun, Christy, Paul and Fran, thank you for inspiring me, helping me think and always being there. Special appreciation goes out to all of the people I've worked with along the way, whether in the Hyperlab, Hotlab, the GSA or at ImageON. You ignored the days I was too tired to think, supported me through all of this, and gave me a home when there wasn't one. I wish you all the best. Finally I would like to thank my parents, Ron and Judy Eaket, and my brother Craig and sister-in-law Michelle for all of their support and understanding. Throughout it all you stuck by me, overlooked the fact that I routinely forgot birthdays and anniversaries, and always believed in what I was doing. Thank you. IV Table of Contents Chapter One Performing Inside Representations 1 Performance Spaces: A Brief History 7 Traditional Theatre: Disciplinary Concerns 16 Technology: Recent Disciplinary Concerns 28 Performance and Technology: A Taxonomy 35 Thesis Structure 40 Chapter Two Digital Theatre and The Space of Intermediality in Lepage's Blue Dragon 47 Analytical Framework 52 Lepage's Intermedial Experimentation 54 Calligraphy, Dance and Causality 56 Sets and Filmic Perspective 60 Special Effects and the Three-Dimensional Stage 66 Painting, Cell Phone Photography and the Digital Work of Art 70 Resisting Closure: The Interactive Ending 74 Space and Digital Theatre 75 Chapter Three Project [murmur] and the Performativity of Space 84 Locative Media: Place, Information and Context 95 Locative Media and Augmented Reality 97 Site-Specific Art: Framing Place-Identity 100 Site-Specific Art and Conceptualism 104 The Cell Phone and Social Distance 108 [murmur]'s Expansion 114 Signs, Significance and Signification 117 v Memory/City/Politics 122 The Performativity of Space 128 Imaginary Communities (And Their Actualization) 135 Walking and Psychogeography 139 "Where are you right now?" 144 Chapter Four Radix Theatre's Swedish Play and the Acoustic Unconscious 147 Invisible Theatre 149 Happenings 155 Acoustic Anchoring and Production of Meaning 167 Radio Drama 174 The Auditory Unconscious and Spatial Interpellation 170 Spaces of Consumption 186 The Consumption of Space 193 Questioning Theatre 199 Chapter Five Interactive Fiction: Spaces of Exploration 204 Features of IF 209 IF and Exploration 212 IF as Epistemology Engine 216 Space, Narrative and Causal Structure 221 Internalization: Tools, Objects and Code 224 Exploration as Internalization 231 Interactive Fiction Systems 242 Moving IF Forward 257 Chapter Six Interactive Drama: Spaces of Representation and Agency 270 VI Interactive Drama 271 Cyberdrama 274 Situating Interactive Drama Among Media 277 Overcoming the Limitations of IF: Generating Plot in ID 282 ID Storytelling Systems 290 Characters and User Perspective 305 Expressive AI 309 Narrative Intelligence 316 Learning from Facade: Creating a Hybrid ID System 319 Conclusion 347 Bibliography 358 vn List of Illustrations Figure 1.1 Schrum's Taxonomy of Digital Performance 41 Figure 2.1 Pierre painting Chinese calligraphy in The Blue Dragon 57 Figure 2.2 Tai Wei Foo's traditional Chinese dance with digital projections 59 Figure 2.3 Set of The Blue Dragon - Pierre's Apartment 59 Figure 2.4 Set from The Blue Dragon- Storefront Scene 60 Figure 2.5 Use of projected ideograms in The
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