Getting into Character with Virtual Reality
By: Timothy Cubbison
Tags: Theater, Acting, Theatre, Virtual Reality

In 1916, a young man named Willie McNeive stood up with his brothers against the might of the British Empire. As a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, he felt that Ireland should be an independent democratic republic. So, during Easter week of that year, they staged a violent, armed insurgence where thousands of men and women occupied key locations in Dublin and declared a free Irish Republic.

Poster for Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel.

Over 100 years later, actors at London’s National Theater were able to relive McNeive’s memories as they prepared for their roles in The Plough and the Stars. The virtual reality film Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel, which is produced by BBC Learning and VRTOV, chronicles the fateful days of that historic event using McNeive’s eye witness account as its source material.

While conducting intensive research on time periods and historical characters is not uncommon for a professional actor, the use of VR to experience key events is a new method of preparation.

When asked about the use of VR and whether it belongs as a part of stagecraft, Toby Coffey, head of digital development at the National Theatre, stated, “We’re not doing this as a gimmick or just to be the ‘first’ to do something,” he continued. “It’s about having the best work and finding the future.”

Actors that used the technology stated it was one of the best ways to understand the viewpoints of historical figures. VR offers a medium to bring firsthand written accounts to life by immersing the viewer in the world that the words are trying to describe.

Tom Vaughan Lawlor, who played Covey in the show, said: “It was astonishing and actually very moving.” He continued that while getting used to the technology took a few moments, its ability to allow the actor to relive history and ”be inside the GPO and on the streets with the people was actually very emotionally affecting.”

The Plough and the Stars production image. Photo by Johan Persson.

Josie Walker, who plays Mrs. Gogan, agreed and stated that experiencing the Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel VR film “was an excellent way to grasp the gravitas of what it was like from a volunteer’s point of view…[it] gave as much of an impression of the reality as one can have.”

VR’s influence on how an actor prepares begs the question whether Stanislavski would consider the interactive nature of VR as an appropriate application of the Method of Physical Action. The realistic recreation of events certainly allows the actor to gradually obtain mastery of the inner incentives of the character, but does the added layer of technology require a spectator and cause separation from truly feeling a part?

Ugly Lies the Bone production image. Photo Mark Douet.

While it remains to be seen whether VR will find wide spread use in theatres across the world, it is clear that the National Theatre is excited about the technology both as a tool for actors and as a way for audience members to further experience the arts. The theatre recently staged a production of Ugly Lies the Bone that included a VR exhibit after the performance to offer further context to the audience members.

Timothy Cubbison is the General Manager of Horseless Cowboy, a creative consultancy that helps bridge the gap between technology and entertainment. His credits include the casting, writing, performance capture and VO production of over 1 million lines of dialogue on 50+ video game and virtual reality titles.

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