'All the world's a stage' - what Theatre can teach VR (en)

Marcel Karnapke, Leonie Pichler, Maren Demant, Björn Lengers,
Friedrich Kirschner 'All the world’s a stage, and all the men and
women merely players...' Let's take our clue from Shakespeare: is
reality real, is it virtual? Does it matter? Virtual Reality is
still all the buzz, but the discussion about it focuses mainly on
the technological aspects: how to enhance head mounted displays,
how to seamlessly interface and move, how to build the 'ulitmate
display'. The discussion is focused on the 'how?'. But every story,
every situation gets real once people willingly 'suspend their
disbelief', and that doesn't only work because of perfect optical
illusions, but it's a deliberate decision of the participant, the
auditorium. Artists and theatre makers are needed to infuse the
technology with sense and soul. The discussion has to turn to the
'why?'. This panel brings together 4 artists, theatre makers,
creators in VR that are pushing the boundaries of what is possible
in the new medium and who can explain why theatre's traditions can
teach VR narrators so much.