The Virtual Rehearsal Suite: Drama and Performance Approaches for Virtual Reality and Human-Computer Interaction
Creators: name: McKendrick, Zachary E. R.
Publisher: name: Graduate Studies
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Drama
subject: Performance
subject: Virtual Reality
subject: Extended Reality
subject: Human Comouter Interaction
subject: Theater
subject: Computer Science

description: This dissertation explores the intersection of Drama, virtual reality (VR), and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), examining their parallels and collective impact on shaping immersive digital experiences. Throughout our research, we ask: how can VR support traditional performance practices? And how can we leverage existing performance practices to support wholistic user engagement? From our interdisciplinary position we identify gaps in existing research and offer novel solutions and innovative frameworks for navigating and structuring experiences within VR. In pursuit of answers to our research questions, we contribute C1) Performance-Based Multimodal Methodological Approaches for HCI, and C2) A Demonstration of Interdisciplinary Possibilities to the landscape of HCI VR research. We propose a symbiotic relationship between the user's cognitive engagement and the digital environment's architectural and interaction design can be enhanced through the application of practices and principles from Drama and performance. The practical application of these theoretical constructs is showcased in C3) Thresholding Protocols for Digital State Change, and C4) The Virtual Rehearsal Suite (VRS), an immersive VR environment that supports solo performance training, demonstrating how Drama and performance methodologies can enhance the user's experience, offering tested perspectives and techniques that promote interaction, presence, and embodiment. Starting with our related works, we identify our interdisciplinary position with a foundation that draws from both the academic and artistic communities interested in VR as a domain, research, and performance tool. We then cast a wide net to understand the dimensions of virtual technologies and their impact on user experience with subsequent chapters investigating the layers of reality, immersion, embodiment, performance rituals, and thresholding concepts. Each chapter contributes to the identification of gaps and parallels across research domains and the discussion of how Drama and performance can elevate the understanding and advancement of VR and HCI systems. The dissertation concludes that the confluence of Drama and performance practice with Interaction Design holds the potential to shape the future aesthetics and experiential facets of virtual environments. The embrace of VR as both a tool and a medium for creative expression is positioned as a transformative leap forward in both HCI and Drama, heralding a new era of digital interaction that needs to embrace the full spectrum of human experience for success and longevity. Our work positions actors as interaction specialists, capable of existing in multiple realities at once and providing insightful reflections on their experiences in iterative processes. The VRS study demonstrates this ability, while emphasizing that virtual environments are not merely technological constructs but complex experiential spaces where the physical and digital converge, challenging traditional perceptions of reality. It highlights the importance of centralizing the user as key to creating compelling virtual experiences that con only be achieved through meticulously designed interactions that resonate with the user's sensory and cognitive faculties. Our study underscores the efficacy of VR in supporting actor training with minimal digital interventions, facilitating a seamless transition into and out of VR, enhancing focus during VR engagement, and addressing issues such as VR sickness. It highlights the centralization of the human element as the pivotal factor in VR creation, emphasizing that VR environments should cater to the nuanced spectrum of human emotions, behaviours, and social interactions.