In an era of binge-watching, live-tweeting, and the Oculus Rift, how can theater compete as all-consuming entertainment? Perhaps it’s our desire to be more than spectators-to be sucked headlong into alternative worlds-that has fueled the recent boom in immersive theater, which trades the fourth wall for winding hallways and dance floors, in the hope of giving audiences not a show but an ‘experience.’ – Michael Schulman, The New Yorker 1
“What Is Immersive Theater?” is part of a series of posts. Each section of this book includes an introduction to the specific practice, a conversation with an artist, and a list of artists working in and around the specific practice. For this paper the Think Tank chose five areas on the forefront of this research to explore Contemporary Choreography, Mixed Reality Performance, Performance Cabaret, Immersive Theatre, and Social Engaged Art. This year’s topic is contemporary performing artists and companies redefining relationships with audience and pushing the formal relationships of architecture, artist, and audience. The Contemporary Performance Think Tank focuses on a set of topics concerning the fields of Theater and Contemporary Performance and conducts research and interviews to produce a book as a resource for practitioners.