Setting the stage for immersion - project framework for research collaboration

From ancient times, the recreation of stories has been part of human culture. Through the development of civilization, the practice was refined and resulted in the theater as we know it today. From Aristotle to Shakespeare and Ibsen, the exchange between stage and auditorium has shaped our society and brought stories through the centuries. In the digital age, the theater has many challenges. While other artistic forms, such as music and film, have been able to digitize, resulting in new production tools, global distribution and new artistic expressions, the theater and other forms of performing arts have been left behind. The recent global crises caused by climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic have confirmed that performers, institutions and entrepreneurs who are providers of live performances and dependent on the presence of the public, have an urgent need for alternative operating models with elements of digital content. New models should be explored and developed not only as a response to widespread need and limited mobility, but also with a bold vision to ensure and strengthen the resilience, sustainability and effectiveness of cultural actors, as well as their future opportunity for artistic evolution and audience development, locally and internationally . Virtual reality is the first medium capable of reproducing the scenic expression volumetrically by placing you virtually in the same room as the performer. The rapid development of hardware for virtual presence and motion tracking together with high-speed internet enables advanced two-way communication between digital avatars through the use of game engines and game servers. The Immersive Stage project's goal is to optimize the systems and quantify the methods so that it becomes easy for stage artists to create rich, exciting and powerful experiences for an external audience in VR using digital avatars, scenography, props, costumes, light, sound and visuals effects. The new models of production will help to lower the costs of producing performances and allow global distribution so that more performers can reach a wider audience and make it necessary for cultural actors to recruit new digital skills. This will bring long-awaited innovation to an industry that is characterized by an excess of artistic power, but a deficit in value creation from an underdeveloped market.