is the knowledge-sharing platform for the 

. Explore the experiments and bold ideas behind the Academy's Fellowship programme, delve into the science behind the projects of our HIDA researchers, and explore the results of international collaborations.

is a platform for discovery and documentation. Each 

showcases a unique artistic-technological research project, with topics as diverse as the use of AI in theatrical design, choreography for and with robotics, and the possibilities for theatre in virtual spaces. Each 

 offers the chance to learn more about the members of our artistic research network. By pooling our knowledge in such a way, creative research into theatre, performance and digital technologies can become more accessible, sustainable, and artistically innovative.

Funded by the Federal Cultural Foundation, the Academy will award a total of 54 fellowships between 2019 and 2022, each lasting for five months. The 

 are designed for people interested in artistic-technical research which explores the possibilities for digital narratives in theatrical spaces, as well as their practical implementation. Fellows have researched a variety of digital methods (motion capture, coding, XR, VR, AR, sensor technologies, robotics, and more) across artistic fields including opera, dance, orchestra and drama. 

Helmholtz Information & Data Science Academy

(HIDA), the Academy for Theatre and Digitality has offered joint research fellowships at the interface of digital art and cutting edge scientific research since 2021. The HIDA fellowships are kindly supported by the 

PlayOn! New Storytelling With Immersive Technologies

 is a larger scale cooperation project, funded by Creative Europe, designed to understand, learn, test and apply immersive technology to theatre, in order to shift classical storytelling to interactive narrative formats.

Artificial Intelligence

VR (Virtual Reality)

Sound Design

Projection/Mapping

AV (Audiovisual Design)

Interactive

XR (Extended Reality)

Networked Objects

Motion Capture/Tracking

Robotics

Sensors

Data Visualisation

Theater Dortmund
Theater Karree 1-3
44137 Dortmund
Germany
Fon: +49 (0) 231 226 14330

Address and location of the Academy for Theater and Digitality:
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44147 Dortmund
Germany

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Management Team:

Executive Director
Tobias Ehinger

Administrative Director
Martin Lizan

Director of the Opera
Heribert Germeshausen

Director of the Ballet
Xin Peng Wang

General Music Director
Gabriel Feltz

Artistic Director of the Schauspiel
Julia Wissert

Director of the Children's and Youth Theater
Andreas Gruhn

Director of the Academy for Theatre and Digitality
Marcus Lobbes

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Fellowship

Cooperation with the Helmholtz Information & Data Science Academy

HIDA

PlayOn!

discover cutting-edge digital research in theatre and performance 
meet our research fellows and collaborators in the 

Portal: Academy for Theatre and Digitality

Sander Põldsaar graduated Estonian Academy of Arts in 2013 and has been working as a scenographer, video artist, composer and a sound artist ever since. He has created multimedia content for numerous museums, installations and exhibitions as well more recently various video designs for theatre performances. He has participated in VAT theatre Play-On/Platform Shift productions such as "Romeo & Juliet", "#kaotamindära" & "Web Demon".

Sander Põldsaar

How to integrate the branching-narrative technique of gaming-field into a theatre production? What kind of participatory elements can be used with an audience of 270 people? 

We never planned to use any special technology in this production – instead wanted to find analogue and theatrical solutions for the participation.

Our technician built out of a speed cooker and a toy car a remote-controlled carrier, what became a vital character in the whole story.

We planned to divide the audience randomly into the two families: Capulets and Montagues. We intended to ask them to weigh in in vital moments of the story. We also envisioned to use them as “bodies”, e.g. at the big party of Lady Montague we would have invited some of the audience (those who “played” Montagues) to join the event at the stage.

How did the collaborators work together on this project?


We contacted Julian Jungel and Marion Jõepera – both experts of participatory theatre forms. They consulted us about the possibilities and challenges, these elements create for the script. We planned for them both to participate at the preparation and rehearsal process, but then the first wave of corona pandemic hit and the world was shut down.

As the corona virus was extremely mysterious in 2020 and no-one had the slightest clue, how the situation can develop and how long the world can be locked up, the director Aare Toikka made a crucial decision: the production has to happen right now! 

The premiere took place 3rd of September 2020, what in retrospective was the only gap between multiple long lock-downs. So the production happened, but sadly without the layers of gamification.

We only got into theoretical discussions about how to implement the branching-narrative elements into the production. The practical part was cut off by the pandemic.

Did you use existing software and/or applications?


The biggest change came with the first corona lock-down in 2020: because actors and audience had to be clearly divided, we decided, that we cant invite them on the stage or interact with them in any theatrical way. And therefore we had to take a step back and use the tools of classical theatre-storytelling.

What were the key milestones in the development of the production?


The decision not to postpone the production for a full year (because of the hall it was the only possibility) cancelled a hope for gaming-experiments.

The production was a big success and ran for 2,5 half years. VAT Teater rarely plays on so big and complex stages. It was a big production for our theatre. It also started important discussion of participatory theatre experiments, that some years later materialized in the production of “Vivarium”

In what ways was the production a success?


The performance - primarily because of its unusual, unique form - received a strong press response. The escape room theatre is also a memorable experience for the student audience. In the last two seasons, the theatre played the show nearly forty times, although the technical preparation of each performance is highly time-consuming.

What elements of the final production would you change?


I would change some of the pre-recorded videos because their forced semi-documentary style is also the reason why they do not always hold the viewers' attention.

What advice would you give to artists taking a similar approach?


Give yourself enough time for testing because even the best preparation is not enough to guess the audience's reactions.

Team

Aare Toikka

The story has been told in every kind of way over the last few hundred years: with emphasis on the good, the bad, the beautiful and the grotesque. But never has the tragedy of Capulets and Montagues been told in the context of VAT Theatre. So, what is Romeo and Juliet like at VAT? 

It’s brief, brisk, passionate, bloody, indecent, virtual and physical, Dionysian and subdued in a very Franciscan-esque manner. Aare Toikka has removed everything excessive from Shakespeare’s legendary tale and added his own colour to ensure the play will remain fresh. 

Regardless of the colour, the message remains that no adjustment to the story will change the timeless truth that the raw flames of passion and love as stubborn as weeds will find a way to break through any social concrete. 
___________________________________________________________
A VAT Teater production as part of the Creative Europe project PlayOn!

Romeo and Juliet

Object Theatre

VAT Teater

How to create a collective artwork about urban landscape in a theatre performance setting?

The audience was given the chance to create the content of the production through interaction with a web application on their portable smart devices.

As a result of the interactions the was compiled into a short movie that the audience saw in the second half, seeing the art they made together and themselves as part of the production.

The web application had tasks and videos in order to make it possible for the audience to create the content of the production

What does a technology that is participatory, playful, and seamlessly integrated into the narrative look like?

How did the collaborators work together on this project?

All four creative members (Francesco Rosso, Sander Poldsaar, Mihkel Seeder, Helena Vainmaa) worked close together throughout the entire development of the production (2 years).

Collaborators and their specific activities are as follows:

- Poldsaar, Seeder, Vainmaa, Rosso - concept and character development

- Poldsaar, Vainmaa - web app development and testing

- Seeder and VAT theatre support staff - coordination of on-location support

In the two months leading up to the premiere we had 10 audience tests, gradually improving the software and the script every time.

- first tests with director and developer,

- smaller tests with the entire team (dev, dir, actors, dramaturg)

- 4 separate smaller tests with 10 participants each

- 4 separate bigger tests with 20 participants each

- full dress rehearsal one week before the premiere

- the pre-premiere was also considered a test

Did you use existing software and/or applications?

The web application was developed exclusively for the production by Helena Vainmaa. Video art was composited using industry standard video editing software.

Did any of your questions or goals change?

Several times. At first the project was envisioned more like an archeological experiment where the research subject wereabandoned wastelands. The central object of the performance would have been an immersive art installation where the audience could traverse freely. At some point it was clear that the actors of VAT theatre must join our team which led us to redesign the experience into a more coherent and linear stage production. Which in turn transformed the final art experience into a documentary short film.

What were the key milestones in the development of the production?

1. Getting the 4 co-authors acquainted with the urban wastelands of Tallinn.

2. Developing the characters that would effectively guide the theatre audience through the journey.

3. Choosing the right locations for the story to unfold, reaching agreements and getting permits for the areas.

4. First physical test in the production environment as proof of concept.

6. Finalizing the dramaturgy for acts I and II.

8. Full dress rehearsal a week before the premiere for final debugging of software.

The final outcome turned out to be quite an exceptional theatre production. The initial fear was that participating in a collective art process would be a hard sell for introverted theatre audience. It was also almost impossible to find the correct target audience as the experience itself was designed inclusively for anyone. Partly out of that fear, the collective decided to strip down the abstract and drift towards more traditional participatory form.

In what ways was the production a success?

The production managed to offer a positive and thoughtful experience to all audiences ranging from children to seasoned theatre professionals. According to feedback it managed to raise thoughts and emotions regarding in-between areas, the hidden secrets in almost all of the participants.

What elements of the final production would you change?

As our audience included many people not acquainted to theatre it became clear that for some the theatrical approach to guiding them through the acts was distracting. Many felt that they would have wanted more control and freedom of pacing to traverse the areas on their own terms. 

Therefore more emphasis should have been made to add functionality to the app in order to give a wider opportunity to fulfil the tasks given on the locations.

What advice would you give to artists taking a similar approach?

If you use immersive or inclusive tech in your productions and give a device to your audience make it so that it is possible to experience the play fully independently of actors or stage or location. If the audience is given an opportunity to play around with their smart phones during play then why not include the option to walk away and experience some parts of the production totally independently.

Is the coding for this project open source? What language was used, what is the function of this code, and where can we find it?

Mihkel Seeder

No, Tallinn is not actually going anywhere. It’s a functional, dazzling and buzzing city. Tallinn grows, rises and expands even as you’re reading this. And yet we find black holes within Tallinn – backyards and dark corners, overgrown pathways and fields that are losing their meaning in our ultra-pricey and über-efficient city. These blurry, undefined places are the ones with the most interesting stories to tell and the most potential… 

Our main character leads a group on an expedition to show them their very own, personal Tallinn. They also want to share their plan with the group. It’s a grand, important plan (maybe even revolutionary!) but they need the help of the group to make it a reality. This is how the group becomes a part of the whole, capturing events, the journey and themselves, if they so wish. From these clips, a short film will be made by our algorithm, which will be screened during the second act of the story at Sakala 3 Teatrimaja. 
___________________________________________________________
A VAT Teater production as part of the Creative Europe project PlayOn!

RESEARCH PLATFORM

Academy for Theatre and Digitality

Sander Põldsaar

Author and multimedia artist

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