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theatre minds in immersive design

by Frank P. Ludwig

Published in TD&T, Vol. 4t No. 1 (Winter 2011)

Theatre Design & Technology, the journal for design and production
professionals in the performing arts and entertainment industry, is published
four times a year by United States Institute for Theatre Technology. For
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Copyright 2011 United States Institute for Theatre Technology, Inc.


theatre minds in immersive design

Inside the caldera at the Mysterious Island Attraction.


Photo by Deron Kamisato.

by frank p. ludwig

The level to which entertainment technology has


advance in the last fifty years, by any measure,
is astounding. Corresponding shifts in aesthetic
sensibility and the creative process are perhaps
a little more difficult to quantify yet have just as
real an impact on the success of our endeavors.
Unlike technological developments which produce
tangible artifacts that can be objectively examined,
changes in mindset, taste, and attitude resist clear
presentation in exhibits and panel discussions.
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what is 5D?
5D is self-described as “a group of designers, scientists, artists, and educators who talk about learning about
seeing better stories.” In 5D events and workshops around the world, participants have explored the idea that
digital technology has fundamentally changed the world of entertainment. Essential to the philosophy of 5D
is the notion that design, environment, and storytelling overlap and fuse in a collaborative, immersive, and
interactive experience.
As stated in the 5D Conference website, “5D explores our common goal of shaping immersive experience
through creative, collaborative world-building across all narrative media, virtual or real.” And it defines
itself as “an evolutionary, interactive experience, based on community and a unique network, expanding and
adapting within the shifting landscape of narrative media.”

The fiftieth anniversary of the USITT Conference & Stage Expo, held in Kansas City, MO, in March
2010, provided an occasion to celebrate just how much live entertainment design and technology
has evolved in the last half century. In many sessions and exhibits there was an opportunity to marvel
at our progress while simultaneously appreciating the imagination and quality of work that compris-
es our heritage. It was inspiring to recognize what remains constant: brilliant design is still brilliant,
and brilliant execution is still a thing of beauty. There were also a number of sessions that looked at
the future with a wary eye and an open mind.
Fifty years ago, television was in its early years, no one was online, and there were no video
games. (Pong, the video arcade game was invented in 1972 and three years later released as a home
video game.) The argument can be made that the theatre art form has not kept up with the culture it
aims to serve and that academic institutions are not training students for the variety of entertainment
industry jobs they will encounter in the future. Tom Walsh, president of the Art Directors Guild and
panelist for the USITT conference session, “5D: The Future of Theatre Minds in Immersive Design,”
advanced just such an argument in his recent
editorial, titled “Preparing Narrative Artists and
Practitioners for a New Century,” in Perspective,
the journal of the Art Directors Guild (Febru-
ary–March 2010 issue). Walsh says, “academic
training can no longer be ‘theatre-centric’ to the
exclusion of all other entertainment.” And he
added, “The academic syllabus that was estab-
lished in the twentieth century became sorely in
need of updating as we entered the twenty-first
century and the digital age.”
These sentiments were affirmed by the session’s other panelists: Don Marinelli (Executive Di-
rector of the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University), David Taylor (leader
of Global Theatre Consulting with the firm, Arup, and 5D Conference founder-member), Michael
Devine (film, television, and exhibits designer), and moderator Panela Leung (scenic designer and
scenic artist). Dr. Marinelli commented, “Our current academic programs are designed to prepare
young artists for the challenges and opportunities that made up a career twenty years ago. Our chal-
lenge today as educators though, is to prepare young people for the career opportunities that don’t
yet exist. The only way we can do that is to make education a truly collaborate process between

what is Immersive Design?


“And as designers have adopted the 3D visual design tools more and more, they have actually created commonality
between various forms of media, so what 5D does is identify a new approach to design called ‘immersive design,’
which uses digital tools to design in virtual space, creating a collaborative workspace that effectively pre-envisions and
visualizes the final product for the immersive experience.” – 5D Founder and Co-director Alex McDowell

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teacher and student. This requires a willingness to make those roles interchangeable.” There was
also vinegar and pepper in Michael Devine’s thoughts on established academic practice. “The
2000-pound, tenured Gorilla in the corner [is that] the curriculum needs overhauling/ over-
throwing. Students who thrive in this new dynamic should not be taught as theatre designers have
been taught in this country since Professor Baker’s first class at Yale, but as real time competitors
in the emerging world of 5D. [We need] fewer classrooms, more garages.”
In some respects, the idea of training connects to all the observations and concerns that
prompted the founding of the 5D organization in 2008. 5D and immersive design is about profes-
sional practice, today as well as in the immediate future; it is about actively designing our future
colleagues and collaborators. It is about assuming a leading role in the evolution of culture,
expanding our aesthetic understanding, and enriching the products and process in all traditional
design fields.

The Zeitgeist
Don Marinelli frequently refers to what he calls the Zeitgeist when discussing recent paradigmatic
shifts in education, technology, the arts, and global consciousness. He sees conversations about 5D
as a manifestation of a spirit of the times; a growing awareness, bordering on urgency, that what we
have been doing is no longer adequate. And yet, a concrete new way does not yet exist. These chal-
lenges are being addressed in a variety of ways. For instance, the Themed Entertainment Association
is actively advocating a new curriculum comprised of Storytelling, Architecture, Technology, and
Experience (SATE). This initiative will, in all likelihood, be joined by other efforts named with an
eye toward branding possibilities. Although alphabet soup curriculum initiatives are nothing new to
higher education there are significant differences between past efforts and those of the coming wave.
Initiatives like SATE are being generated and guided by the activity and industry of design rather than
being drawn from approved practices in primary or secondary education.
This Zeitgeist is not limited to concerns of the entertainment world. The founders of 5D are
an amazingly diverse group with titles such as production designer, cyborg anthropologist, chief
technology officer, museum director, comic artist, art director, architect, sound designer, and ocean-
ographer. They are united in the belief that the concepts and processes of design supply the points
of connection across disciplines, styles, and historic eras that enable the pursuit of solutions; and
not just for artistic problems but for any problems connected to the human condition. This idealistic
approach gains particular resonance with young professionals and students of design. When Panela
Leung attended the first biennial 5D Conference in Long Beach California in 2008 she was a second-
year graduate student. Motivated to enter the arts by the quintessential youthful desire to change the
world she found herself already disillusioned before her education was complete. She admits, “I was
really feeling lost and unsure of the importance of what I had chosen to do.” One of the highlights of
an obviously inspiring conference for Leung was a session titled, “Bigger Bang: Colliding Science &
Design.” Panelists included John Underkoffler (scientist), Michael Riva (production designer), Da-
vid Kung (creative director), Paola Antonelli (museum curator), and Jerry Schubel (President and
CEO of the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California). In the introduction to presentation Dr.
Schubel said, “I want to use my time to try to convince you that you should use some of your time,
some of your very valuable and creative talents, and your expertise to tackle a world problem… not
instead of what you are being trained to do, but as a part of it… Creating the future of this planet is
a design problem.” This was not the just the message of an isolated session but rather a through-line
for the conference. In the conference program co-director of 5D, Alex McDowell, states, “Together
we are building a new space that will allow storytellers and creators to collaborate in the develop-
ment of innovative ways to perceive and change the world.” Panela Leung came away from the con-
ference committed to this idea and with a new confidence that her work in the theatre was connected
in a practical way to her desire to improve her community.

Commonality in Design
The major themes of Marinelli’s Zeitgeist are fully applicable to the aims and interests of theatrical
designers, technicians, and educators. The points of connection include the activity and process of
design, the value of immersion dynamic, the importance of narrative, and the power of technology in
the creative process. While the eighty-eight co-founders of 5D represent almost every creative activity
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The American Waterfront attraction at
Tokyo DisneySea.

The Mediterranean Harbor of Tokyo DisneySea.


Photos by Jon Fiedler.

imaginable, design provides a significant connection. Traditional fields of design are acknowledged
in 5D programs and projects but collective concerns are usually emphasized over field-specific chal-
lenges. Design is the tangible connection, what they all do; the other connective points represent
what they all value. Alex McDowell describes design as the “passkey” that makes cross-disciplinary
collaboration possible. The commonality of the design process is viewed as a means by which each
discipline might integrate elements that are generally identified as strengths in design disciplines other
than their own. For architecture, which is inherently immersive in the experience it provides occupants,
this means rediscovering and strengthening the narrative. For theatre and film, which has always been
very strong in narrative, it is a call to maximize the principles of immersion. Professionals in these ar-
eas, along with those involved in interactive design, game design, animation, reception, and sound, all
have a place at the table. Of the remaining points of connection, immersion or immersive design is
likely to be the least familiar to theatre professionals. Alex McDowell says he coined the term immersive
design in 2007 “in order to frame a new discussion around a design discipline that uniquely addresses
story-based media within the context of digital and virtual technologies.”
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The Nautilus in dock at Mysterious Island.

The Nautilus and Gift Shop at the


Mysterious Island attraction.
Photos by Diana Vick.

The Immersive Product


Just as the term design can be employed as a noun or a verb, immersive design can corre-
spondingly identify a product or a process. Within the framework of 5D product and process
are equal players. An essential characteristic of immersive design as a product is its impact
on both actors and observers. In the first case, immersion is for the benefit of the actor in the
environment. Here the term actor means performer as well as simply one who takes action.
By taking action within an immersive environment, be it virtual or physical, actors are able to
alter their experiences as well as the experiences of other occupants. Whether the space is truly
interactive or only has the illusion of interaction, the experience of the body in that space is
affected.
Michael Devine is one theatre mind who has extensive experience in immersive design. A
veteran of close to 300 theatre productions Mr. Devine’s most widely recognizable work has been
in the realm of themed entertainment, where the immersive dynamic is clearly in play. He was one
of many designers to contribute to the Tokyo DisneySea Theme Park, taking the leading role in
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the development of the “Mediterranean Harbor” and “New York” areas. Describing his work in
immersive terms, Michael Devine says; “When you enter the environment you are in a world totally
separated from the mass and heave of daily life in Tokyo. Every detail is designed to put the partici-
pant in a place not of their world.”
Although the “Mysterious Island” section of the park, based on the writings of Jules Verne,
wasn’t creatively directed by Devine, he feels it is an excellent example of immersive design. The at-
traction takes visitors into the “depths of the earth where the only escape route lies through an active
volcano.” “Our collective intent,” says Devine, “was to wipe away the visitor’s sense of the everyday
and plunge them into worlds never imagined. Sure, we couldn’t isolate the guests from one another
for that ultimate immersive experience but we did create an environment where the visitors joined
in the ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ and could experience the environments individually or col-
lectively.”
Another example of the actor as one who takes action is found in architecture, where each
occupant chooses which door to open, which hallway to travel, and how long the remain in the
foyer. The clearest example of the actor as both active agent and performer is found in multi-play-
er video games. This is at the root of Don Marinelli’s observation that there has been a “democ-
ratization of acting” due to today’s entertainment technology. The aesthetic pleasures once only
available to the stage or screen actor are now made available to the masses; and not just available
but downright convenient. In real and virtual environments which utilize this mode of immersion,
the players occupying the environment are affected by each other’s actions and in both these
examples the occupants retain complete freedom to come and go as suits them. This requires the
narrative to be immediately accessible and relatively open; which is, at least in part, why this mode
of immersion can be problematic for the carefully scripted narratives in theatre and film.
The impact of immersion on observers is a little easier to understand in theatrical presenta-
tions. It keys off of the idea of total experience. The observer is made to feel as much a part of the
environment as possible and this feeling is supported by the full range of sensory perception: sur-
round sound, vibrating seats, wrap-around screens, and 3D glasses all contribute to an immersive
experience. The environment is designed in ways that make passivity impossible. The successful
immersive environment will demand a physical and emotional response. The phrase losing one-
self is often discussed. However, at its best, immersive design is much more than escapist enter-
tainment. There is power in engagement. In the
tradition of theatre, audiences are meant to lose
themselves in the story but remain passive in
…first, concern for the experience of the the environment. Sudden emotional outbursts
by individual audience members are generally
audience is brought to the forefront. Second, discouraged because they can be distracting to
the story is not the end itself but a means by the rest of the audience and to the actors. How-
ever, immersive design claims that it is possible
which the experience is rendered meaningful. and desirable for theatre to provide an oppor-
tunity for the participants to become engaged
in both the story and the environment.

The Immersive Process


Immersive design as a process resists a simplistic definition even more vigorously than im-
mersive design as a product. Any attempted definition must include consideration for how the
objective of the process is framed as well as considering the specific tools and activities by
which the objective is pursued. In many cases, especially for traditional entertainment forms,
ventures into the immersive process are driven by necessity. When an attempt is made to create
something far enough outside the bounds of the traditional it requires a departure from tradi-
tional practice. Such was certainly the case for a recent project at MIT.
The title of the project is Death and the Powers; a new opera by Tod Machover, directed
by Diane Paulus, with production design by Alex McDowell. The American Repertory Theatre,
in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab, premièred this unique piece in Monte Carlo, Monaco,
on 24 September 2010. “The conceit of the piece,” says McDowell, “is that the robot chorus
which bookends the opera in prologue and epilogue have been tasked with creating the setting
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and the characters in order to execute a mysterious performance that represents the origin
story of the creators of the System, in some distant past. They no longer know why they are
making this play, nor what it means, but they will create it anyway, by revealing an extruded
series of translucent forms and characters who are transformed.”
Achieving the objective of this opera requires the stage to become the physical and emo-
tional expression of the vocal performance of Simon Powers (baritone James Maddalena). The
Simon Powers character enters the System in the first scene, leaving the view of the audience
for the majority of the remaining performance. The elements of the set become the means of
expressing his gestures and emotion; they become his body in more than a merely metaphoric
sense. This dramatic device requires the design elements to be as responsive as the performers.
The lights and costumes need to be reconciled to the set and to the living actors in ways seldom
demanded in stage performance. Alex McDowell continues his description of the opera:

Essentially the System is the sum of the parts—the Walls and their digital content representing the
skin, the robots the appendages, the Chandelier the head with Nic’s arm as a hybrid of the robotic
and the human, a state between being and the System. All are tied together with light—a matrix
of single point individually addressable white LEDs are distributed across the robots surface, the
chandelier, and in vertical planes upstage and downstage projecting across the fourth wall. 
For the design of the opera we conceived the System to be both the metaphor of a living space
(Simon Powers’ home, centered on his library) and an organic entity. Each set piece represents
a series of cells at different scales that in combination can create a full range of expressive live
performance. Each component is based on a three-sided cellular unit—the OperaBots and
Walls—which are, at vastly different scales, extruded triangular columns, or periaktoi; the
Furniture, a series of robotic hinged pyramidal shapes in motion; and the Chandelier, which starts
as a metaphor for a bird with three identical wings laced with mathematical form, and becomes
an elegant organ, Simon’s head, “or some other juicy part.”

This level of technology was part of the piece from its inception. The composer, Tod Ma-
chover is also a scientist, inventor and professor of music and media at the MIT Media Lab.
The idea of technological artifacts being used to express human emotion in real time in concert
with living artists of incredible skill and artistry is the challenge that is woven into the very fab-
ric of the piece. Solving this challenge required more than casual collaboration. It required the
design team to immerse themselves in the narrative and to see, hear, and feel the production
develop around them. A proven template for this type of process does not exist; it had to be
discovered en route to a carefully defined objective.
In general, the objective of the immersive design process is not to create an environment
that supports the telling of a story, but to design an experience of a story being told. This is
more than a matter of mere semantics. There are several key distinctions; first, concern for the
experience of the audience is brought to the forefront. Second, the story is not the end itself
but a means by which the experience is rendered meaningful. This frames the objective for the
design process in a way that is more likely to free the creativity of the team without inadvertently
encouraging self indulgent impulses. In regard to the pursuit of the objective in the immersive
design process it is a requirement that it be experiential and fully collaborative. This approach
can foster a greater sense of play, a freer exchange of ideas and a higher degree of investment
from individual team members. The means to achieve this is where the technology comes in;
virtual worlds, digital imaging and real time communication tools all expand the possibilities
of what can be explored and effectively communicated. When asked how an immersive design
process differs from a traditional design process Alex McDowell remarked that the immersive
tool set allowed him to “sculpt in space as opposed to drawing on paper.” He further noted
that, “By necessity you must consider the logic of the space in a different way.”
Michael Devine notes that the tools we use in immersive design are “beginning to make
the creative experience intimate and immediate.” What designers everywhere are discovering is
that the same tools that make collaboration possible over great distances are making collabora-
tion more effective and more satisfying even when the entire team is working under the same
roof. Plus it has the added advantage of naturally strengthening the connection between training
and professional practice.
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Simon Powers (baritone James Maddalena) and his adopted son and research assistant
Nicholas (tenor Hal Cazalet), just before Powers downloads himself into the System.

“Puppy” versions of the Operabots from Death and the Powers.


Photos by Jonathan Williams.

The Narrative Element


To Michael Divine being a theatre mind has less to do with training and production credits and
more to do with “the love of story, of narrative, of live experience, of creating place from words and
supporting, with environment, the narrative arc of story.”
Some theatre traditionalists with whom I have discussed immersive design are unsettled by the
term narrative. They seem to see this as a demotion of the script and as a self-interested attempt to
elevate the significance of the design elements. The truth, as I understand it, is closer to the opposite.
Every level of 5D discourse provides evidence of a great respect for the power of narrative and for
the universality of storytelling. There is a clear call for the strengthening of narrative in the design of
all environments. It is acknowledged as the best available mechanism for building consensus on the
societal scale. And in small collaborative groups, securing commitment to the narrative is an effective
way to prevent self interest from infecting the process. As a term, narrative is more inclusive of the
wide variety of stimuli that contribute to experience than are the terms story or script.
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In the “Touch Me” scene, the Musical Chandelier en-
gages in a sensuous duet with Evvy (mezzo-soprano
Patricia Risley). Photo by Jill Steinberg.

The Miseries surrounding and swirling Miranda,


Simon Powers daughter (soprano Joélle Harvey).
Photo by Jonathan Williams.

Evvy in sensual communication with her husband,


It is useful to note that most popular entertainments are narrative in form but the story is often not Simon Powers, who is now embodied in the Musical
primary; the story is in balance with the visual imagery, the sound, and the interactivity. It is impractical Chandelier. Photo by Jonathan Williams.
at best for the narrative to be adequately conveyed by the story alone; or the script to put it in theatrical
terms. In traditional theatre the script is the thing; it is assumed that it is what the audience has come to
hear. As a result theatre tends to be very actor centered, director driven, and attended mostly by people
over fifty. People under forty, so I’m told, tend to value experience over story. I have heard many times
a friend or student remark about some movie that was terrible, referring to the story, but they loved it,
referring to the experience. Then they admit that they have already seen it six times and are planning to
go again this Friday. I don’t ever recall hearing similar remarks about a theatrical performance, unless
it was from someone who had a child in the chorus. As we lose more and more of our rapidly graying
audience to natural causes who will replace them? What will induce the current generation to choose the
high-investment evening in the theatre over the low-investment evening of DVDs or video games? It is not
just a way to enhance the popularity of theatre; it is perhaps a way to improve its chances for survival.
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An Invitation

All of these efforts are intimately connected to There is a lot more to be said about the possi-
bilities of immersive design and the philosophy
technology, for what it makes possible in the that guides the work of 5D. This article is pri-
marily intended as an invitation to participate
present and also for what might be just around in the discussion. The prospect of a modified
the corner. The Scene Design Commission of or even totally new approach to make better
use of the skill sets and interests of young de-
USITT has committed to partnering with 5D… signers is the focus of much of 5D’s activities.
Happily, this an effort to which USITT can con-
tribute. Programming, projects, seminars, and
databases are being planned and executed all around the world to explore the possibilities of the
immersive process. All of these efforts are intimately connected to technology, for what it makes
possible in the present and also for what might be just around the corner. The Scene Design Com-
mission of USITT has committed to partnering with 5D in presenting conference and preconfer-
ence programming for the next several years. Given the cross-discipline nature of the 5D mission
it is hoped that these events are not viewed as scene design centered but rather as an attempt to
engage everyone in discovering what the 5D website, www.5dconference.com, boldly describes as
“the worlds that are at the core of new cross-media and transmedia entertainment.” We invite the
participation of all interested parties. v

Frank P. Ludwig is an Associate Professor and Head of Design and Production for Viterbo
University in La Crosse Wisconsin. Mr. Ludwig is also a USA 829 Scenic Designer and is
currently serving as USITT Co-Commissioner of Scenic Design and Technology.

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