PlayOn! Bulletin, Issue Two, May 2023

PlayOn! Bulletin
New Storytelling with 2 Immersive Technologies
issue two May 2023
9 theatres from 9 European
countries in cooperation with
9 universities exploring the artistic
challenges of digital transformation
2019–2024
CONTENTS
page 2
› PlayON! at re:publica, Berlin (DE), 2023
› Workshops
› Cutting Room (Berlin, DE)
› Exploring Microcontrollers (Ålesund, NO)
› Artistic Residence Portugal
page 3
› PlayOn! Budapest
International Theatre Festival for Youth
in the frame of the 10th Theatre Olympics
Budapest (HU) May 2023
page 4/5
› Productions based on
Immersive Technologies
2nd production phase
page 6
› Back to the Future of Theatrical
Storytelling – Connecting Space and Time
3days hackathon on storytelling with
technology in theatres, Krakow (PL)
› Open Lab #7 Theatre meets Digitality
page 7
› Productions based on
Immersive Outreach
3rd production phase
https://play-on.eu
page 8
› To Bind – Youth Encounter Event Linz (AT)
› ChatGPT on German philosopher Ernst Bloch
and Digital Storytelling for Theatres
› Looking to the Future – PlayOn!
in its final year
› Imprint
Co-funded by the
Creative Europe Programme
of the European Union
CREATIVE FORUM,
York (UK), November 2022
In November 2022 the PlayOn! network
met at Pilot Theatre’s offices at The Guildhall
in York, UK. The aim of the meeting was to
bring together digital expertise from University
of York academics to create a ‘sparking
off’ point for the artists attending from each
theatre company.
Over the meeting several projects, technologies
and ideas were presented to the group
with time to come together and discuss
shared interests and potential collaborations.
Themes and technologies covered included
interactive audio, AR walking tours with
geo location technology, photogrammetry,
interactive video and 3D scanning.
In addition to more formal presentations
the group were given access to the XR
Stories lab, located in the building. XR
Stories provides research and development
funding, support and networking to expand
the potential of immersive and interactive
technologies for digital storytelling. They
are based at the University of York. Partners
were able to experience 3D scanning,
experience several VR pieces and try out
augmented reality glasses.
Engaging
audiences
in a dynamic
and collaborative
experience
that has the
potential
to transform our
understanding
of the
world.
ChatGPT on German philosopher Ernst Bloch
and Digital Storytelling for Theatres 2023
XR Stories Research Fellow David Gochfield
said, “The November meeting was a wonderful
opportunity to reconnect with the
PlayOn! partners and discuss their plans for
the third production. The projects presented
by York colleagues and local companies
seemed to provoke a lot of great ideas. It
was fun showing them some of the kit in the
XR Stories lab – especially our attempts to
3D scan the adorable puppet, Fiametta
from Elsinor!”
David Kirman, academic at the University
of York and who curated the talks added,
“The highlight for me was the breakout
meetings between researchers and theatre
makers. The discussions were really vibrant
and productive, exploring how different
technologies and ideas can work together.
You could see the excitement on people's
faces as they explored the creative potential
of different tools, and the excitement was
really infectious!”
Overall the meeting was a creative space
for the partners to explore exciting potential
technologies for their future productions,
the influence we hope to see reflected as the
project moves into its final production phase.
Looking to the
future: PlayOn!
in its final year.
INTERVIEW WITH PLAYON!
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
DIRK NELDNER
As the PlayOn! project approaches
its final phase Lucy Hammond (Pilot
Theatre, UK) catches up with Project
Leader Dirk Neldner.
LH: The project is now reaching its final year
of productions – how do you feel the partners
have embraced the challenges so far?
DN: Of course, the theatres have gone
through very different phases of development.
But in general, I see that the artists
have become more courageous, more
daring and have developed an understanding
of how digital technologies can find a
place in their creative processes. Digital is
no longer simply added at the end – more
or less elegantly. It is now considered right
from the start of the development of themes/subjects.
With greater knowledge about the potential
of digitality in theatre, there has also been a
growing confidence that digital technology
does not mean that live theatre with its
traditions is endangered.
LH: What have you found most useful
through the process of engaging with the
digital experts on the project?
DN: The university partners have made
a major contribution to the process of
knowledge, insight and confidence. Through
contact with academics, the theatres have
been able to learn a lot, build trust and thus
know they have competent partners at their
side. This has enabled artists to become
artistically creative within the framework
of digital technologies.
The two sides art and digital have quite
different starting points. They speak –
almost literally - different languages and
need moderation in order to act as equal
partners in joint working processes. This
essential contribution has been made by
the university partners in many cases –
and thus an exceptional contribution in
the creation of many PlayOn! productions.
LH: What are you most excited about
for the future of digital storytelling?
DN: An area of interest is the use of
artificial intelligence (AI) and machine
learning to create more personalized and
interactive storytelling experiences.
continue on page 8

2 3
ARTISTIC RESIDENCE
VAT Theatre (EE), Theatre OBando (PT)
and the Instituto Politécnico da
Guarda (PT), April 7-10, 2022
As a result of that artistic residence, the
aim of this text is to outline potential bridges
between the theatrical/engineering work
developed. There, a dialogue began between
theatre and engineering took place.
Theatre: We need a stage on a machine.
Engineering: Don’t you mean a machine
on stage?
Theatre: Yes, that as well, possibly many
machines on stage. But we also need the
stage to be inside the machine.
Engineering: We could use the cloud,
that’s a very large machine.
Theatre: We need a machine people can see.
Engineering: But it would need to be a
very big machine. How about a platform?
Theatre: Still too abstract. Also, it only fits
inside very small machines.
Engineering: Yes, that is true. But most
very large machines are made of smaller
machines. We could even make the stage
out of machines.
Theatre: That is a good idea, but we also
need a machine that is not the stage, where the
stage can fit. Preferably there should be some
space between the stage and the machine.
Engineering: A space between the stage
and the machine? Why?
Theatre: That’s the narrative. The
difference between being inside a stage
and being inside the machine.
Engineering: And who is inside?
Theatre: The audience.
Engineering: Inside the machine?
Theatre: If they want, they can also
be i nside the stage.
Engineering: So the audience needs
to fit inside the machine as well?
Theatre: Yes.
Engineering: It will need to be a really
big machine.
Theatre: You can use the audience to
make it. You can capture the audience.
Engineering: Ok. We could place cameras
above and screens on the side. The machine
could be made out of images and movements.
Theatre: Yes, we can guide the audience
inside the stage so they make the machine.
Engineering: Who will do that?
Theatre: The actors.
Engineering: Will the audience know?
Theatre: If they look. The actors will help
them locate the machine.
Engineering: Ok …
Theatre: What?
Engineering: Are the actors going to be
machines, as well?
Theatre: That would be very seductive.
Engineering: Why do you want so many
machines on stage?
Theatre: That’s what the play is about.
Engineering: The difference between the
stage and the machine?
Theatre: No, that’s the story we tell, but
it’s not what the play is about. The play is
about being among machines.
Engineering: On stage?
Theatre: Anywhere. Everywhere. Not a
play with machines, not even a play like a
machine, but the machines as the play.
Engineering: That would be very seductive.
They have learnt a lot from each other.
Nuno Atalaia (Radboud University,
Nijmegen; ERC project “Platform Discourses”)
PlayOn! at re:publica Berlin (DE), June 2022
The second major meeting of the project
involving the Artistic Directors of the partner
companies took place in Berlin from
9–11 June 2022. The reason for having the
meeting in the German capital was that
re:publica, the popular annually festival
for the digital society, was taking place.
re:publica focuses on the intersections
between technology, culture and society.
It is a platform for innovators, entrepreneurs,
journalists, activists, artists and academics
to come together and share their ideas and
perspectives on various social, political and
economic issues. Attendees share a common
interest in exploring the ways technology
and digital culture impact society. In 2022,
re:publica took place with the motto
“Anyway the wind blows”. The directors of
the PlayOn! theatres had the opportunity to
move around freely at re:publica and attend
lectures that were relevant to them.
22.re-publica.com/
en.html
PlayOn! was present at re:publica with
two productions:
The opportunity to experience the pro-
duction Berlin@play, was stimulating for
everyone involved, especially with regard
to the planning of the 3rd PlayOn! production,
in which immersive technology will
be used in urban spaces.
Berlin@Play -
an interactive AR theatre game
A joint adventure by Regional Theatre of
Saxony (DE), Platypus Theatre Berlin (DE),
Academy for Theatre and Digitality (DE)
In Berlin@Play, the audience becomes
the protagonist of an interactive story and
experiences an urban space as a stage for
virtual theatre. Using an iPad, a new level of
perception opens up to the participants: virtual
elements, projected into the real urban
space, combine to create an augmented
reality (AR) in which the spectators move
and act. In the process, they themselves
decide what their contribution to the Smart
City will be. It’s a story about our digital life
and the questions: What will the city of the
future look like? Who will live in it and own
it? And what role does one play in shaping
this future?
It is a theatre game that is also suitable for a
youth audience. One participant described
his experience: "I was very excited about
participating, because I hadn’t taken part in
anything like this before. When our teacher
told me about it, I imagined the whole
game to be more like outdoor lessons. Well,
to be honest, I didn't expect it to be so interesting
and such fun. The idea of getting to
know Berlin through a digital world stimulated
my interest. I thought it was great to
be active outdoors, to get to know the city
better and in a new way. So, I can definitely
recommend Berlin@Play."
Watch the trailer.
watch?v=PhYU_e1nPS4
Monoliths
by Pilot Theatre (UK)
In the run up to showcasing the experience
the team were apprehensive on how the
project may be received. With the storytelling
in ‘Monoliths’ centred on the North of
England we were unsure how the project
would be interpreted by audiences in
Germany. Thankfully, we were wrong to be
concerned and we received lots of positive
feedback.
Presented alongside two other VR experiences
in a specially dedicated space, the piece
was one of a handful of creative projects
that conference attendees could experience
during the festival. Nearly 200 people came
to see the project, with several audience
members returning up to four times to see
it again.
Our exhibition space was a dark seating area
housed underneath an old industrial furnace.
We wanted to create a sense of atmosphere
for those coming to experience the VR
and hung lights and other decorations to
‘stage’ the space and give a sense of what
audiences might see in the VR. There was an
interesting mix of delegates coming to view
the piece, many were not in the creative
industries and it felt good to have a spread
of audience members outside of just those
familiar with the technology.
A major highlight in having the experience
at the festival was the opportunity for the
PlayOn! partners to view the work. Unless
a person has experienced VR, it can be difficult
to describe the nature of the project in
detail to audiences and the chance to show
the work to our partners was invaluable
to shared understanding around VR. This
was especially true when during post-show
discussion we were able to receive feedback
on storytelling, visuals and the general experience
from the PlayOn! partners.
PLAYON! BUDAPEST
INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL
FOR YOUTH
In the frame of the 10th Theatre Olympics
16-19 May 2023
Kolibri Theatre for Children and Youth,
Eötvös 10 Culture House Budapest
The festival includes performances seeking new ways of storytelling and immersive technologies, all of
which were created in the framework of the international theatre cooperation PlayOn! In these performances,
spectators become participants. Sometimes it’s because they watch the story through VR goggles, or an
Regional Theatre of Saxony (DE),
Platypus Theatre Berlin (DE) and
Academy for Theatre and Digitality (DE)
Budapest@Play
An interactive Theatre Game with Mixed Realities 1
To make the city even more liveable, the focus is on citizen participation. As surveyors, the audience is released
into the urban space using a measuring device to collect data. The path to the smart city is the goal: What is the city
around me? What role do I play in it? The staging of public space with digital technology reinterprets places, turns
the spectator into a player and puts them in Kafkaesque situations.
interactive tablet guides them through the city. At other times, they can influence the storyline through their
mobile phones or they are wandering in a virtually created soundscape.
Theatre Ludowy (PL)
1984: Ministry of Love
interactive performance
In 1984: Ministry of Love you will become a part of the jury that will pass judgement on the accused. You will get
access to the unique mobile application and court files. Pressing the button changes somebody’s life. Are you ready
to take responsibility for these people? Are you in this game?
Theatre Elsinor (IT)
Frankenstein
Cutting Room
MARIAN URSU (Professor of Interactive Media, School of Arts
and Creative Technologies, University of York, UK)
EXPLORING MICROCONTROLLERS
WORKSHOP IN ÅLESUND, (NO)
Blog Post from Oliver O’Shea (Pilot Theatre, UK)
1
The performance can only be visited individually.
Kolibri Theatre (HU), University of York (UK),
Theatre Ludowy (PL)
A dream trip
A natural science student decides to create a human being. The experiment is an unexpected success. Its creator,
however, despairs. We discover that the author, Mary Shelley, is not entirely comfortable with it either. Throughout
her life, she denies and downplays the literary scope of her work.
Cutting Room is a technology developed in
the Digital Creativity Labs in York which provides
unique and powerful capabilities for the
development of interactive stories. Addressing
the needs of the ‘creative professional’,
it supports the development of complex and
ambitious interactive narratives, whilst requiring
no computer programming expertise. Its
uniqueness resides in its easy to understand
and effective three-dimensional modelling
paradigm.
Traditionally, interactive stories are modelled
as two-dimensional branching structures
(e.g. post-it notes linked by coloured strings).
Cutting Room innovates by adding depth –
a third dimension. You cannot create Cutting
Room structures with pen and paper or in
related software tools such as Twine; you
need Cutting Room. Conversely, structures
devised with pen and paper, or Twine, for
that matter, that take hectares of space (sic!),
can elegantly be expressed with only a few
objects on a few layers in Cutting Room.
Presented at the PlayOn! meeting in November
2022 in York, Cutting Room promised
potential for a number of productions
planned within the project. The top interest
was from Theatre OBando and their next
planned production targeting their 50th
anniversary told through
the ‘lens’ of Ernst Bloch’s ‘concrete utopias’.
A workshop was organised in Berlin in
January 2023 aiming to understand how
Cutting Room could provide the framework
for designing this production. After the team
from York (Marian Ursu and Daniel Slawson)
provided an overview of Cutting Room and
some exemplary interactive stories produced
with it, the creative juices immediately
started to flow. Cutting Room provided a
common frame of reference and a common
vocabulary to everybody around the table.
The skeleton of the production became clear
already in the first day of the workshop.
Details and options were added in the second
day. We are confident that the next workshop
planned for June, in Portugal, will see us with
a detailed plan of the production and with a
working prototype.
In December 2021 Pilot Theatre and Theatre
Vårt met in Ålesund to explore microcontrollers.
The group listened to presentations,
typed code into software, wired-up
development boards, raised dramaturgical
questions, consulted with technologists,
created prototypes, and benefited from
international exchange and collaboration.
As a case study, Peter and Johannes, our
facilitators, shared with the group how they
have been using microcontrollers in their
project Invisible Cities, in Innsbruck, Austria.
They developed an interactive ‘performance
machine’ contained in a pizza box, as a
response to the restrictions of the pandemic.
It is an interactive experience, autonomous
and self-contained, which audiences can
order to their home, as if they were ordering
a takeaway. By interacting with the pizza
box via buttons which trigger the micro-
controller, audiences can share their own
experiences of living in the city.
Each theatre company wanted to explore
the technology in relation to their second
PlayOn! productions. Pilot were interested
to use it for Monoliths, a project which explores
the relationship between women and
the Yorkshire landscape. And, for Theatre
Vårt, this workshop gave them the space to
experiment with how this technology might
be used by performers in their production
Drømmespillet. How can a microcontroller
enhance the interactivity of a prop? By
creating an ‘input’to a microcontroller, a
person can interact with it. For example,
imagine if the object you picked-up suddenly
started playing music – how could this be
achieved? Theoretically, if a microcontroller,
sensor, and audio speaker were embedded
within a prop: a sensor could detect the
object being held by an audience member,
and then the microcontroller could trigger
the ‘output’ of playing audio. In this way, the
interactivity of a prop in a theatre performance
can be enhanced, either for a performer
or, more powerfully, for an audience
member or participant.
Perhaps the most pertinent creative uses
with this technology are for small-scale
interactive experiences and installations.
But the scope of this technology opensup
possibilities in all forms and departments:
unique props within traditional
drama; automated devices for gathering
audience feedback; and co-creation tools
within participatory projects and education
settings. We are truly inspired and excited
to see how we can use microcontrollers as
creative tools, now and in the future.
An interactive detective game
This “detective game” is built on digital interaction is a one-of-a-kind enterprise in the Hungarian theatre scene. The
spectators themselves shape the storyline with the help of a mobile phone application, thus influencing the plot by
way of their votes throughout the entire play. The odds are high: are we to choose security or freedom, control or a
future full of hazards?
Kinder- und Jugendtheater
Dortmund (DE)
The future
An interdisciplinary
developed play
Let’s have a look into the future! But we are
facing a future that seems to be chaotic,
over whelming, and disturbing. What are we
connected to? What does our reality feel like?
Are we lost to the world? Is the world lost to us?
Landestheater Linz (AT)
Do you have time?
Science for kids
Alex must have missed the time. There's no other explanation for why he doesn't show up for the performance
- he's usually so reliable. Without further ado, the props assistant helps pass the time until Alex arrives. A story
unfolds, in which questions about time are answered in a playful and researching manner.
Pilot Theatre (UK)
Monoliths
Virtual Reality Experience 2
Three stories open the world of the English northern landscape in virtual reality, what it means to come from it,
live in it and belong to it. At once imaginative and immersive, this VR experience is an arresting testament to the
inextricable link between person and place.
2
The performance can only be visited individually.
Theatre OBando (PT)
Nomads
Nomads tells the story of a woman (Annuszka) in an urban context, entangled in every day life, who, from the
moment when she meets an indigent homeless woman (Galina), abandons her family and spends the following
months traversing metro lines, travelling non-stop, refusing to go back home.

4 5
PlayOn! promises “New storytelling with immersive technologies”. To reach this ambitious aim the partners go
through three production periods. After exploring new models of participative storytelling by including gaming
elements into their first productions, they spent the last year working on a second production. The new approach
to storytelling that was gained from the first productions was integrated with immersive technologies for their
second productions. Supported by the digital departments of the university partners, the theatres produced a
variety of innovative and impressive productions that incorporated their previous learning and experimentation.
OBando’s ‘Nomads’ explores the intersection
of human interaction with that
of technology. Some questions to João
Neca, director of the production:
Tell us where the inspiration for this
project came from?
Nomads is based on the short story of
Olga Tokarczuk (Nobel Prize in 2019) called
Bieguni. In her amazing words and narrative
we found the inspiration to connect it
with a political and artistic reflection about
the relationship we have with technology
alongside the topic of surveillance.
How did you find the process of
creating the project?
We tried to design a process that was really
open at the beginning, organising three
artistic residences during 2022 (5 days in
Oct, Nov and Dec) to allow all the artistic
team to open more avenues within the
initial concept. After that, from mid February
untilApril 2023 we will be in a continuous
creative process with lots of open rehearsals
to test and clarify the relationship with the
audience.
Productions based on
Immersive technologies
2 ND PRODUCTION PHASE
THEATRE OBANDO (PT)
Nomads
What was your biggest challenge when
creating the work?
It's hard to say one of them in the middle of
THE FUTURE is a play that refers
to the current situation of mankind. Young
people are facing a future that seems to be
chaotic, dark, overwhelming, and disturbing.
During the pandemic, we expanded even
more into digital worlds where we find no
structures and ways to connect, and where
we can also get lost and alienated. But what
will the upcoming society be like? What are
we connected to? What does our reality feel
like? Are w e lost to the world? Is the world
lost to us? Have we ever been modern? Who
can we trust? What can we hope for? Is the
bubble we live in going to explode?
The aim is to develop a collage of voice,
body, sound, and setting to depict the simultaneity
of digital environments. How can we
face the current situation and look into the
future with courage and joy?
a big and complex project. I'll say the biggest
challenge is that we don't let the technology
and its amazing possibilities lead the artistic
decisions. We make theatre and we want
to continue to do that using technology to
improve the audience’s experience.
How did audiences respond?
We still haven’t premiered the show (13th
April will be the big day) but in the open rehearsals
we had the audience respond very
well, putting forward a lot of good questions
and enthusiastic expectations.
THEATRE DORTMUND | ACADEMY FOR THEATRE AND DIGITALITY Dortmund, (DE)
THE FUTURE is an interactive play produced
by the KJT (Children and Youth Theatre) in
cooperation with the Academy for Theatre
and Digitality.
theaterdo.de/produktionen/detail/the-future/
VAT THEATRE (EE)
Vivaarium
VAT Theatre’s production ‘Vivaarium’
premiered in January 2023. The show
was interactive and immersive for audiences
as they were split into groups
and used a custom built app to help
experience the story.
Tell us where the inspiration for this
project came from?
The initial push for the topic echo chambers
came from director Helen Rekkor. She felt,
that the corona years had pushed society
even more into private little “holes”, where
extremes can flourish. So the main dramaturgical
mechanics of our production was to
divide audience members into groups and
then feed them their own preferences in an
exponentially extreme way – and then to
observe, if they would react. And oh boy,
how they reacted!
How did you find the process of creating
the project?
We tried to follow the structure, that
PlayOn! suggested us: we took more time
to experiment with different technologies
and really test out various playful ways
to engage audience. Sadly in the end we
couldn´t use motion and movement tracking
for this production, but we really hope to
incor porate it into our next projects. We
had many audience-tests before the official
shows – they were truly vital for getting
every aspect of the show working.
What was your biggest challenge when
creating the work?
There were many unknowns and that made
us quite unsecure. For me the biggest fear
was, that we allowed audience members
to use their personal phones. Would the
app work in every phone? Will people stay
focused on our show, when they have their
phone constantly in their hands? Etc.
Now looking back I have to admit, that most
of my fears never really became reality. I was
amazed, how well in the end all the aspects
of the show worked together and what an
experience they managed to create.
How did audiences respond?
I was pleasantly surprised, that so many
people came. We played 10 official shows for
100 people a night and we had almost every
show full (plus the tests beforehand). We got
a lot of feedback. People wrote us letters, describing
their experience. The show was often
called: birth of a tyrant (an idea, we had from
the beginning, but that we never really spoke
out in the show). It seemed, we hit the right
spot with the timing – the war in Ukraine and
the elections in Estonia really heightened the
sensibilities of the audience, when it came to
echo chambers, manipulation and propaganda.
We often received feedback, that this
kind of engagement of the audience in the
show was really liked, again disproving the
myth, that Estonian audiences only want to
sit in the shadows.
THEATRE ELSINOR (IT)
Frankenstein
The story is cult: a natural science student
decides to create a human being. The
experiment is an unexpected success: The
Creature is born, beautiful and strong. Its
creator, however, despairs. He is afraid. Why?
We discover that the author, Mary Godwin
Shelley, is not entirely comfortable with it
either. Indeed, throughout her life she denies
and downplays her work and her interest in
it. The answer? The Creature is the Book. The
play is an original reversal of the way we look
at Mary Shelley's work. This production tells
of a time when being a woman and an artist
could be a problem, when giving birth to
books instead of children or cohabiting with a
man instead of marrying him could be "monstrous".
The show is a dreamlike journey into
the novel and into the inner life of its author.
It is an immersive journey with holograms,
video components, wireless headphones,
and the Binaural Dummy Head, an innovative
microphone in the shape of a human head
that reproduces sound in 360 degrees.
THEATRE VÅRT (NO)
Dream Game
Join a mysterious journey where adventurous
costumes, lights, music and technology
create exciting surprises. What is
dream and what is reality?
Agnes is almost a teenager. She’s ended
up in a huge house where there’s a weird
little family. How did she get here? Inside
the house, the strangest things happen, and
Agnes meets strange characters – as in a
dream. She also meets Alfred and Jenny.
Together they discover puzzles and problems
that need to be solved. As the pieces
fall into place, their view of the surroundings
– and themselves – changes forever.
In Dream Game, you are invited on a journey
into a universe of colourful characters. We
get a chance to see reality in completely
new ways. Life’s both small and large, and
questions are answered with children’s
curious views of the world.
With Dream Game we wanted each
character to have their own soundscape
that moved with them. We discussed how
to do this in workshops and with ourselves
in detail, and after considering and testing
microcontrollers we chose to use a system
Landestheater Linz was inspired by PlayOn!
to do three projects instead of one. Each
has its own agenda, technical implications
and challenges. Inspiration came from many
places: With Hast du Zeit? (Do you
have time?), we wanted to find an artistic
way of looking at how science works – as
it has both an impact on and solutions for
the problems of our lives and time. Speaking
of “time”: Time became our main focus. How
does it work? Where does it come from?
And how can we research it? With Putsch
(Coup), the main attraction was probably
to work with Das Planetenparty Prinzip –
of iPod Touches connected to a portable
wireless access point. Then we used OSC to
trigger each iPod. Using iPods also enabled
the actors to control their own sounds,
if required. Portable lighting was also
embedded in some costumes and props
a Graz-based performance group that already
created grand scale theatre games, where
audiences take on assigned roles and perform
themselves. Together, we want to bring
a theatre game to life during the upcoming
SCHÄXPIR Festival in June. Hast du Zeit? and
Putsch (Coup) are both projects with quite a
few collaborations and different artists feeding
into the performances. Naturally, it is a
challenge to bring everyone to the table, but
at the same time the process is gratefully enriching.
Learning e.g. how others approach a
theatre play which borders on being a LARP
(live action role play) will hopefully again
feed in other creative processes.
The first of our new projects is, at the time
THEATRE LUDOWY (PL)
1984. Ministry of Love
No past. No choice. No future.
Year 20?? Before the court at the Ministry
of Love, people describe their relationships
with erased family members, who were
recognized by the System as enemies.
There are two interrogators. During the
performance, the Ludowy Theatre be comes
the Ministry of Love. The viewers and the
using small portable wireless LED controllers.
This also enabled us to integrate the
lighting into a show where each character
carried their own soundscape. Altogether,
the actors created an overall atmosphere
of lighting and sound.
THREE EXPERIMENTAL PLAYS AT LANDESTHEATER LINZ (AT)
of writing this article, already finished.
With Pinocchio A.I., we started with
the question how personality and society
interact: Where does the one clash with
the other? How does society shape our
actors will become active participants of
a dystopia which, thanks to the support of
new technologies, allows them to enter
the plot and influence its course by taking
the role of the Big Brother. The audience's
voting has a real impact on which of the
characters is questioned and in what order.
These choices influence the plot of the play.
personality? To answer this, we tried to
devise a branching narrative, where choice
had an impact. All the decisions made during
the play form a personality, therefore, each
performance forms one specific character
for the A.I., who is the main protagonist, and
through whose eyes we see the story unfold
(the A.I. part is a theatrical trick; all decisions
are made and programmed by humans). The
story was divided into different sections –
some decisions had an impact not only on
the character, but on the overall mood of
the classmates and the story’s progression.
The other challenge was technical:
Pinocchio A.I. would be played on our online
They constitute a sort of attack on human
memory and games that one plays with it.
They show different perspectives from which
we perceive the past. Reality appears here as
a kind of ambiguous, fragmented structure.
The viewers make an effort to integrate this
world in their heads and tell the story to
themselves in the clearest and most orderly
way possible. The recordings and drawings
of children from the past that are appearing
on screen only make the story less clear and
more ambiguous. Thanks to the synergy
between the structure and dramaturgy of
the story with new technologies, the viewer
can experience the rules and mechanisms of
functioning in an oppressive, authoritarian
state in an immersive way. By voting,
viewers take the responsibility that they
would never want to take in real life, which
creates a sense of guilt, and in in the end,
it is subject to manipulation of a typically
authoritarian, oppressive world in which
each seemingly independent and free choice
means being "sucked" into the rules of the
totalitarian system.
KOLIBRI THEATRE (HU),
UNIVERSITY OF YORK (UK)
AND THEATRE LUDOWY (PL)
Traitor
A coproduction from Kolibri Theatre (HU),
University of York (UK) and
Theatre Ludowy (PL).
This “detective game” that is built on digital
interaction is a one-of-a-kind enterprise in
the Hungarian theatre scene. The spectators
themselves shape the storyline with the help
en.kolibriszinhaz.hu/
eloadas/traitor/
of a mobile phone application, thus influencing
the plot by way of their votes throughout
the entire play. The odds are high:
are we to choose security or freedom,
control or a future full of hazards?
The topic of the show is the growth of
surveillance technologies: the girl is in
danger, hiding from both her hotshot
mother and a mysterious human rights
activist. She feels that every step she takes
is monitored. Shall the girl become a
heroine or a traitor?” – the question is raised.
“netstage”. 98 videos had to be shot, cut
and fed into OBS, which then again sent its
output to Zoom. Balancing sound and video
with decent quality was more difficult than
balancing the game mechanics. The live part
was mainly carried by the actor playing the
scientist, during whose research project the
audience takes control over the A.I.. The
short time where e.g. a school class had to
debate whether they lead the character
one way or the other was actually the most
enjoyable part of the whole game. Here
lies the main allure of these formats: If the
audience has an agency, their own performance
becomes the main attraction.

6 7
BACK TO THE FUTURE OF THEATRICAL STORYTELLING
CONNECTING SPACE AND TIME
// 3-days hackathon on storytelling with technology in theatres
// aka "Digital Campus"
// March 30th -- April 1st 2023
// Theatre Ludowy, Kraków, (PL)
"Hold on tight! Wait! I... I've been here
before! ...but something's changed. This
building... it has been here before, but now
it's... it's kind-of new! Is this the new place
to tell our stories? What happened to our
old place? Where is it? Or, more precisely,
when is it?"
Unknown time traveller at Theatre Ludowy,
in 2023.
has stayed the same is their target audience:
kids and teenagers from the neighbourhood.
They play ballgames or hide-and-seek outside
the Ludowy, have a beer as soon as they're
allowed to (or a bit earlier), and connect
themselves with friends on their smartphones
thanks to the free wifi from the
theatre.
But how do we get these young people inside
the building? Which stories do we want
to tell them? Which media do we use to tell
stories for them? Are these stories told
inside of the building or should we tell them
outside? Do we want the kids and teens
as our audience, or do we want them as
creators on stage?
To explore the answers to these questions
PlayOn! hosted a three-day hackathon
on-site in Kraków. During the hackathon
students from the netword theatres and
their partner universities gathered in small
groups. Their skills ranged from students
of computer science, engineering, theatre
directing to animation, and other disciplines.
They were be provided with projectors,
sound systems, lights, tablets, lasers, fogmachines,
motion tracking cameras and
tons of ideas on software and services.
The framing of the hackathon allowed the
students the space and time to tell stories.
Productions based on
Immersive Outreach
3 RD PRODUCTION PHASE
After working on productions using gaming elements (first production) and immersive technologies (second
production), the third phase will see the theatres leave their safe environment of the stage and look to apply
immersive outreach. In order to exploit all the opportunities offered by the new story-world-building, they
PLAY ON THE FUTURE The outlook of PlayON!
The theatres' third productions also mark
the final stage of development in PlayOn!
So far, the partners have gained experience
with interactive storytelling and the use of
digital immersive technologies. Now they
are asked to use their experiences to discover
the urban space and develop a production
that allows the audience to experience
immer sive, interactive theatre there.
KOLIBRI THEATRE (HU)
Budapest Novel (working title)
With this aim, the theatres will extend
towards the public urban space and their
creative environment with relevant stories
by using new formats. To exploit all the
opportunities offered by the new storyworld
building, we want to explore how
we can engage our audience with points of
intervention and participation in the public
urban space. Immersive technologies offer
us a flexibility which enables theatres to
exceed limits of space and time. This is a
special challenge, especially considering
that theatres must tell the stories with the
audience in an urban space. Our responsibility,
as we see it, is to interrogate the im-
pact of new technologies on people’s real
lives, so our final productions will be developed
for locations specifically identified as
want to experience how they can engage their audience with points of intervention and participation in the
public urban space. The theatres are just starting this process, but even their first concepts promise that something
exciting and unusual will emerge.
being socially and politically relevant now or
in the near future: The Public Urban Space.
This is rapidly becoming digitally occupied
and commercialised: it has already started
to be a crowded virtual world. Theatres must
urgently make plans to take our place as
artistic mediators and provocateurs in this
new digital reality. With our final co-creation
we want to be seen by the young audiences,
LANDESTHEATER LINZ (AT)
A map to love
who have taken immersive technology for
granted as something that always exists all
around them. We will test this with young
people from all nine countries involved in
PlayOn! in autumn 2023 at Ars Electronica.
Young people will explore how urban space
changes in and through the virtual - and
above all, how the digital changes the
realities of young people's lives.
Dirk Neldner (Artistic Director of PlayOn!)
Shiftings in the space-time-continuum of the
theatrical landscape are more common these
days than you might think. Theatres are
facing the challenge of finding new ways to
tell stories to an audience that is continuously
exposed to stories delivered to their tiny
computers through the 5G network. Where
shall we meet this audience? And when?
The Scena Stolarnia building of the Theatre
Ludowy in Kraków, Poland, has been hugely
transformed in recent years and will re-open
this summer as a whole new space. What
The resulting content over two and a half
days was visually beautiful and made the
most of each new space int eh building.
Group 1 created a robot ‘guide’ to the lower
floor, who showed us scenes from his life.
They incorporated projection, sound, AI
generated images and QR codes to reveal
AR renderings of the robot’s history. Group
2 explored projection on the ‘wooden room’
and encouraged audience members to
‘grow’ a plant in the projection by interacting
with their specially modified watering can.
Group 3 in the top floor spoke about using
the ‘third space’ for young people, a place
where they could relax and socialise. The
room had projection, sound sensitive installations,
QR codes and a VR experience. Technology
was a large part fo the process but the
backgrounds of the students also meant the
storytellers and theatre makers work could
be seen in the display in each room.
The results were impressive considering the
timescale and enabled the PlayOn! partners
to leave feeling inspired by the work on
display.
Budapest will be 150 years old in 2024. The
project Budapest Novel elaborates on local
stories and brings oral history, literature
and performing arts into play. The project
aims to find family stories from the past and
recreate them in the same spot. Audience
members can listen and look into the past
as well as imagining future events within the
city. The live performance (actors) combines
binaural sound, AR, and digital puppets.
These locations are not only unique but also
symbolic, where the secrets of the past lie
and the memories of things that happened
in the city are piled on top of each other.
These places also mean a connection with
the future because they will probably look
THEATRE LUDOWY (PL)
Extending stage reality
We are sure that our third production will
use technology to extend stage reality. We
don’t want to use tools like voting or video
recordings to achieve this. We want to create
a narrative structure that is only available
using an app or another special technology.
It must show viewers something more, let
them learn some secrets of the characters or
new facts from the plot. We can imagine that
it’s possible to achieve this using the space
of the theatre and the whole building, not
just the stage and the auditorium, making a
maze and let the viewers explore, get lost,
and then find a path thanks to special technological
tools.
the same in a hundred years.
Planned date of premiere: Spring 2024 (in the
framework of the Budapest Spring Festival)
THEATRE OBANDO (PT)
Interactive, Augmented
Theatre Walk
"Who are we? Where do we come from?
Where are we going? What do we expect?
What awaits us? These introductory questions,
asked by Ernst Bloch in his book The
Principle of Hope, may also have been asked
by the Portuguese theatre makers of Theatre
OBando more than 25 years ago when they
decided to move from the capital Lisbon to
the rural area of Vale de Barris near the small
town of Palmela.
The audience is confronted with the essential
thoughts of Ernst Bloch in an interactive
walk through the extensive nature reserve
on the property of Theatre OBando, passing
through some of the most remarkable works
Actors, dancers and opera singers meet on
stage in our adaptation of A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, First Love – Ein Sommernachtstraum.
They will take on their roles as
lovers, fairies and craftsmen, who happen
to meet in the forest, where nothing goes
as it was planned. Deep feelings, flat jokes,
anarchy and chaos evolve.
In addition to our play, we want to send
the audience on their own quest for love,
or at least, on a quest for love stories. Real
love stories which have happened in Linz.
Therefore, we want to put all the knowledge
of the internationally acclaimed theatre.
Through augmented reality, earlier theatre
performances become visible again like
daydreams and the audience will experience
that we gained through our PlayOn! collaboration
to work and create a location-based
app, that will guide its users through the city
to various spots where people fell in love
with each other and reveal their stories. And
maybe, the ones who go on this quest will
find a romance of their own.
that it is important to learn to hope.
The premiere is planned for early October
2024 on the 50th anniversary of Theatre
OBando.
PILOT THEATRE (UK)
The Quest (Working Title)
THEATRE VÅRT (NO)
THE FIRE
By Liv Heløe
The Fire will be an interactive theatre-event
OPEN LAB #7 - THEATRE MEETS DIGITALITY
PlayOn! first met at the Academy in Dortmund
back in 2021 where the fellows there
at the time presented their research. This year
(2023) has seen another set of fellows undertake
exciting research as part of the Academy’s
programme, sure to be inspiring to the
PlayOn! partners and all those curious about
digital innovation in theatre. On January 27,
The Academy for Theatre and Digitality hosted
its 7th Open Lab where fellows presented
the results of their five-month research. As a
collaboration partner of PlayOn! we aim to
expand theatre by creating digital synergies
between dance, robotics, extended reality,
and radio drama. Media artist Fabian Raith
created an interactive AR audio play called
A Bug That Eats Memories which questions
the digital preservation of familiar data. In
another showpiece, robotics took centre
stage. The duo Post-Organic Bauplan, consisting
of Salvador Marino and Josefina Maro,
performed Fase de Cicatrización - a live
dance performance using digital avatars and
robotic prosthetics, exploring the autonomy
we have over our own bodies. Sound artist
Jakob Lorenz and set designer Stella Lennert
hosted Palimpsest – ALL IS TRUE. A reactive
VR-installation where classic texts are staged
as a subtext while space and sound become
the main characters.
Pilot’s third production will be an adventure
through the city of York. We will be delving
into the theme of the climate crisis and
working with young people to understand
their thoughts, concerns and hopes about our city (York) and climate
change. We are still developing how we will use technology but we
are sure we want the experience to be interactive, playful and have
an impact on our city.
in two cities. Both cities have experienced
big fires: Ålesund (1904) and Molde (1916).
The performances are built upon the same
research but are fictive material and will be
adjusted to local conditions.
The Fire is made for an audience aged 12+
but is likely to also be for an adult audience.
The performance consists of three parts.
Part 1 and 3 are located in the theatre, and
in Part 2 the audience leaves the building
and is guided in the neighborhood by a
smartphone-app, making their way to an
exciting discovery.
Our hybrid theatre walk through the cities
will playfully connect sensual experiences with useful information.
Depending on certain answers, different ways to reach the aim will
show up. But all the routes lead to the final event for all participants:
a coming together in the theatre as a real event including the young
rescuers as active participants, not just as spectators.
We are sure that the production will be an unusual experience for
the young people. We will use their close connection to their smartphones
to tell them an emotional story of three girls, whose life was
shaped by a tragic event. An event that lives on in the minds of the
current residents of the cities and still shapes their identity.

two May 2023
issue
Technologies
Immersive
New Storytelling with Nz.2
TO BIND
YOUTH ENCOUNTER EVENT
LINZ 2023
ChatGPT ON GERMAN PHILOSOPHER ERNST BLOCH
AND DIGITAL STORYTELLING FOR THEATRES 2023
We live surrounded by technology. The
The PlayOn! theatres are developing their
technologies to explore concrete utopias is
sive experience, or using projection mapping
The ChatGBT, is an artificial intelligence
most frequent communication is no longer
productions under the thematic headline:
by creating interactive performances that
and other forms of digital media to create
chatbot. After ChatGPT became freely
between humans and humans, but between
Concrete Utopias in the Digital Age. "Con crete
allow audiences to participate in the creation
a dynamic and responsive environment.
available to the public on 30 November
machines and machines. There is no value
Utopias" refers to the book "The Principle
of the narrative. For example, a performance
At the same time, it is important for theatre
2022, over 100 million users had already
judgment about this fact. It is just a consci-
of Hope" by the German philosopher Ernst
might use social media platforms to gather
artists to remain grounded in the realities
signed up by January 2023, making it by far
ousness that activates thought and that
Bloch (1885–1974).
of the present, and
the fastest growing consumer application to
must lead
We are therefore
to ensure that their
date. We asked ChatGPT our question and
to concrete action. In the frame of PlayOn!
delighted that we
works are accessible
printed the answer here.
project, TO BIND is a theatrical event that
were able to interview
and meaningful to
aims to artistically reflect the action of linking
a widely recognised
audiences. This might
Ernst Bloch's concrete utopia corresponds to
the use of technology to 3 fundamental
Bloch expert for this
involve using digital
an attitude of militant optimism, perhaps this
values of life in society - Human Rights,
bulletin. How Bloch
technologies to
is a useful and hopeful attitude in these times.
Democracy, and Law - with about 50 young
would see the pro-
create works that are
people from different European countries.
cesses of realisation,
more inclusive and
We want to challenge young people from
Estonia, Norway, Hungary, Portugal, Italy,
in which the closer
determination of the
diverse, or to address
pressing social and
IMPRINT
Austria, Poland, and the United Kingdom to
future is brought forth
political issues such
open their own Constitution, the General
groping and experi-
as climate change or
Newspaper 2 | PlayOn! New storytelling with
Law of each country. At first, we want that
menting, using Digital
social justice. Overall,
immersive technologies
the young people search for articles that
in theatre.
Bloch's concept of
Publisher Dirk Neldner
reflect on the use of technology. In a second
concrete utopia offers
Editor Odette Bereska, Lucy Hammond
phase, we ask them to write, in their own
PlayOn! bulletin:
a powerful framework
Layout & Design sign.Berlin
words, articles that they believe are import-
How can we use
for theatre artists who
Communications GmbH | www.sign-berlin.de
ant to regulate our relationship with techno-
Bloch's understan-
are exploring new
Printed by X-PRESS Grafik & Druck GmbH
logy and robots, for example.
ding of concrete uto-
forms of storytelling
Picture Index Jeremi Astaszow (PL),
During the Ars Electronica Festival we will
pias in theatre with
and experimentation
Jörg Metzner (DE), Birgit Hupfeld (DE),
promote a Young Lab to build a digital-robo-
digital technologies?
through digital tech ­
Lucy Hammond (UK), Klaudina Schubert (PL),
tic object that will have music and an associa-
Bloch's concept of
nologies. By em-
Anja Furthmann (DE), Florian Dürkopp (DE),
ted voice. This digital-robotic object will be
concrete utopia can
bracing the idea of
Marius Zschocke (DE), Luca Del Pia (IT),
the scenography of a final event where these
be a valuable tool for
a better future that
Gergő Bárdi (HU), Anne Marthe Vestre Berge(NO),
words can be written and perhaps printed
theatre practitioners who are exploring new
input and feedback from audiences, creating
is grounded in the realities of the present,
Diana Martins (PT), Rebeca Parbus (EE)
as a Constitution for Humans and Robots
forms of storytelling and experimentation
a collaborative storytelling experience that
theatre artists can create works that are both
© PlayOn! New storytelling with immersive
that will guide our future life in society.
through digital technologies. By embracing
is responsive to the needs and concerns of
inspiring and meaningful, engaging audien-
technologies is a European Theatre Network
TO BIND is artistically coordinated by
the idea of concrete utopia, theatre artists
the community. Another approach might be
ces in a dynamic and collaborative experien-
supported by the European Commission. The
Johannes May (Robot), Marius Zoschke
can create works that engage with pressing
to use digital technologies to create immer-
ce that has the potential to transform our
views expressed in this publication are only the
(Audio) and João Neca - Theatre OBando
social and political issues, while remaining
sive and multi-sensory environments that
understanding of the world around us.
views of the authors. The Commission cannot be
(theatre) inside PlayOn! - New Storytelling
grounded in the possibilities and limitations
transport audiences to a different world.
held responsible for any use, which may be made
with Immersive Technologies and will be
of digital media.
This could involve using virtual reality or
PlayOn! bulletin: Dear ChatGPT we thank
of the information contained therein.
presented in the frame of the Ars Electronica
One way that theatre artists can use digital
augmented reality to create a fully immer­
you for the interview.
Contact Odette Bereska | odette@play-on.eu
festival in September 2023.
Project Coordinator VAT Theatre | vatteater.ee
continued from page 1
Looking to the future:
PlayOn! in its final year.
INTERVIEW WITH PLAYON! ARTISTIC
DIRECTOR DIRK NELDNER
streaming platforms to create interactive
performances that engage with viewers in
real time.
Overall, the future of digital storytelling is
full of possibilities, and I am excited to see
how artists and creators continue to explore
real spark of inspirations, sensations, practical
exercises and irritations. This was actually
an overload for all of us, which caused that
pleasant tiredness when you realise that you
are going through a development process.
over time and expect theatre to change with
them. But young people in particular have
developed a completely new communication
behavior that demands much more from
them as co-creators than ever before. Accordingly,
their expectations towards theatre
LH: What are your hopes for this final
year of the project?
DN: That the theatres become even more
courageous, that they get involved in the
digital challenges. To recognise the creative
This might involve using algorithms to
and experiment with new technologies and
Especially compared to our first meeting in
are different than in the past; participation
potential in it. But – as I said before – I see
generate unique storylines for each audience
forms of storytelling to create more dyna-
Tallinn in 2019, it was clearly visible in York
will play an even greater role in the future
PlayOn! on a really good path.
member based on their individual prefe-
mic and engaging narrative experiences for
that the PlayOn! artists were now talking
if theatres are to formulate their reasons
rences and interests, or using chatbots and
audiences.
(almost) at eye level with the experts. In any
for existence.
I am looking forward to a new HOPE! hybrid
other forms of AI to create more dynamic
case, they were now able to ask concrete
format that we will try out in October 2023.
and responsive characters.
LH: Can you tell us about a moment in
questions, to put what they had experienced
Overall, digital storytelling has the potential
I'm really looking forward to the 9 producti-
this last year (perhaps a meeting) that felt
into a working context.
to reach new and diverse audiences, helping
ons and finding out what went wrong in the
DN: But also, the use of social media to
particularly significant for the partner’s
to expand the reach and impact of theatre
production processes, what was unexpected
create collaborative storytelling experiences,
learning?
LH: How do you feel Digital storytelling
as an art form. By embracing digital techno-
and how it led to a – hopefully – great result.
with audiences participating in the creation
for theatres can help reach new audiences
logies and experimenting with new forms of
Because only when we go through - often
of the narrative in real time. For example to
DN: Definitely the meeting in York, experts
storytelling, theatre companies can continue
painful - error processes we will reach the
involve using hashtags and other forms of
from the University of York shared their
DN: My first impulse to answer this question
to connect with audiences in meaningful and
limits where it becomes exciting for theatre,
social media engagement to gather input
knowledge in numerous workshops with
is to ask in return: Why do you mean new
innovative ways.
where it starts to surprise our audience, to
and feedback from audiences, or using live
the artists of our 9 PlayOn! Theatres. It was a
audiences? Existing audiences also change
expose them to the unexpected.