Group project
Immersive Telepresence in Theatre
In 2016, Theatre staff at Coventry collaborated with Tampere University in Finland to create a unique ‘immersive space’ in order to explore theatre rehearsal and arts education. This space, created in both cities, uses life sized projection, high-speed internet connections and directional sound, giving the participants the illusion of occupying the same room.
A joint project from
Partners involved:
- Tampere University (Finland)
- Adam Mickiewicz University (Poland)
- University of Gothenburg (Sweden), University of the Arts
- Helsinki (Finland)
- Purdue University (USA)
Counter-part partner lead
- Tiina Syrja (Senior Lecturer in Voice, Tampere University)
- Mikko Kanninen (Senior Lecturer in Acting, Tampere University)
- Matias Palo (Studio Manager, Tampere University)
CU Course & Year
- BA Theatre and Professional Practice 2016-Present
Highlights of the project have been a unique ‘telepresence banquet’ and performance in support of Coventry’s successful bid to be City of Culture for 2021 and a ground-breaking performance at the New World Symphony, Miami, using a blend of live actors working in the USA in real time with motion-captured actors and musicians in Tampere, Finland.
The project has received Gold Awards in Hybrid Learning and Arts and Humanities from Reimagine Education Awards (2016 and 2018), Highly Commended from The Times Higher Education Awards in 2018, the Internationalisation Award in the 2020 Guardian University Awards and the E-Cultura Award from Anilla Cultural Uruguay in 2021.
This ongoing project promotes an environmentally sustainable model, diminishing the need to transport large groups of students across the globe for rehearsals, workshops/performances and aims to explore technical systems and configurations that are affordable, intuitive and accessible to a wide variety of user groups. It also provides interactive opportunities for students to experience and reflect on cultural differences in actor training, rehearsal processes and performance
