The Educators in VR Theatre Team UniVirtual Experience 2022 is their two-day conference exploring the potential and examples of teaching theatre, acting, and performance in VR, October 21-22, 2022.
The free and open-to-the-public conference hosts events in AltspaceVR, ENGAGE XR, Frame VR, and VR Chat. Details on how to attend events on platforms you may be unfamiliar with are in our How to Attend VR Events Guide.
The Educators in VR Theatre Team Project explores theatrical performance, design, and production in VR/XR through a series of workshops, seminars, and experiential development for educators, students, researchers, and those using performance techniques in education and therapy. They meet regularly across the metaverse as they push the boundaries of theatre in the virtual experience.
The UniVirtual Experience conferences are Educators in VR events produced by one of the more than 25 different Educators in VR Team Projects, bringing together like-minded educators, students, professionals, businesses, and passionate users exploring XR immersive education. The goal of Educators in VR is to integrate VR, AR, and Mixed Reality into education to expand the potential for learning in XR.
Please check the link to the event to see the time in your time zone or approximate from the times provided.
Schedule Friday, October 21
UniVirtual Experience Theatre Team Opening in AltspaceVR: Join EDVR’s Theatre Team and meet other VR performance practitioners and enthusiasts to network and discuss the upcoming events at the Theatre UniVirtual conference.
Theatrical Spaces: A Conversation of the Physical and the Virtual in Frame VR (11AM PT / 2PM ET / 7PM UK / 5AM* Sydney): Join us as a physical world theatre performer and set designer and a VR developer try to connect the dots between their worlds. Hosted by Dr. Steve Guynup and Pat Mannion, these long-time professionals push the boundaries of virtual world building with groundbreaking works of virtual theatre, cinema, music, and performance from both past and present.
Dr. Steve Guynup is an award winning VR developer, author, and teacher. He chaired the Web3D/VR Art & Design Retrospective at SIGGRAPH 2010, developed multi-user games with Ars Electronica winner Andy Best, and led VR research for the Serious Play Association, and teaches VR and game design for Southern New Hampshire University. Pat Mannion is a writer, improv comedian, board game designer, theatre performer, set designer, LARPer and puzzle constructor. His enthusiasm for all things VR has led him to ponder the liminal space where all his real-world pursuits can take on life in the virtual world.
Desktop/2D access through Edge and Chrome browsers only. See How to Attend an Educators in VR Event for specifics on attending events in Frame VR.
Intro to Voice Overs in VR in ENGAGE XR (1PM PT / 4PM ET / 9PM UK / 7AM* Sydney): Come learn the ways of voice overs including how to get into the industry, basic techniques and how the industry works. Maxwell McGee is a professional voice actor, multimedia specialist and VR expert. Maxwell has voiced national award winning projects, from commercial to animation and currently owns his own recording studio where he teaches, performs and manages voice over work.
VR Performance: Acting, Movement, Engagement in AltspaceVR: Learn how to move and perform in VR, and how different actions and performance choices look to an audience. The event covers movement, body language, props, miming, voice, and more. Performing in VR has much in common with performing IRL (In-Real-Life), but there are a number of differences as well as some surprising VR-only capabilities.
Tony Lopez has been performing improv since 2008 in Virginia and DC, and has lived in several countries teaching a variety of topics including ESL, language education, physics, writing, improv, rollerblading, and more since the early 1990s. Tony is developing a project management service offering creating immersive digital experiences for self-awareness and mental-emotional health.
Schedule Saturday, October 22
Improvising in VR in AltspaceVR: Explore the different ways VR can affect an improvised performance and how you can adjust to help you “yes, and” your way to a great show! Led by Mandy Canales, a theatre practitioner focused on comedic movement in XR, this workshop will be participatory and will include exercises and techniques for exploration for you to teach your students or your improv group.
Mandy Canales is a writer and performer with over 20 years of experience and has been practicing in XR since 2021. With an interest in how comedy translates in the virtual space, she uses stand alone VR headsets and full body tracking. Her work has been performed in OnBoardXR 4, the Phoenix Improv Festival, Active Replica’s Constellation Project, the upcoming Raindance Immersive Festival, and has been interviewed at SF Design Week. She is a graduate of GIE Improv Academy and a student at the VR Dance Academy, both hosted in the VRChat platform, and is currently in the artist residency program at Open Online Theatre in London.
Using Art, Poetry & Theatre for VR Teaching in Frame VR (11AM PT / 2PM ET / 7PM UK / 5AM* Sydney): Bring art and theatrical practices to your virtual classrooms and presentations to remove your classroom walls and take your students on an immersive, poetic and educational journey. Turn art installations into discussion icebreakers and more. Learn innovative practices for Frame VR, a free webGL multi-user platform.
Dr. Steve Guynup is an award winning VR developer, author, and teacher. He chaired the Web3D/VR Art & Design Retrospective at SIGGRAPH 2010, developed multi-user games with Ars Electronica winner Andy Best, and led VR research for the Serious Play Association, teaching VR and game design for Southern New Hampshire University.
Desktop/2D access through Edge and Chrome browsers only. See How to Attend an Educators in VR Event for specifics on attending events in Frame VR.
Backstage Tour of Welcome to Respite (1PM PT / 4PM ET / 9PM UK / 7AM* Sydney): Register for the backstage tour of Welcome to Respite, the award-winning virtual reality experience by the Ferryman Collective and The Severance Theory. Welcome to Respite is the first chapter of The Severance Theory.
Welcome to Respite has been critically acclaimed and featured as an Official Selection at prestigious festivals, with its World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival, its International Premiere at Venice Film Festival, and its Asian Premiere at Kaohsiung Film Festival. The production won the “Best Narrative Experience” at Raindance Immersive as well as the Audience Choice Award, “Outstanding Achievement in Live Virtual Reality”, through No Proscenium. Space limited to 14 participants and registration is required. See How to Attend an Educators in VR Event for specifics on attending events in VRChat.
UniVirtual Experience Theatre Closing Celebration in AltspaceVR: Join EDVR’s Theatre Team and meet other VR performance practitioners and enthusiasts to discuss the events that happened during the Theatre Team’s UniVirtual Experience conference and what’s coming up in the future!
The Educators in VR Theatre Team meets regularly around the metaverse exploring the potential for education in virtual reality through event production, theatre and stage, performance, voice overs, acting, and staging through virtual world building and programming techniques. To get involved, join our Volunteer program and become a team member. Also check out our Educators in VR Discord to jump right into the team’s activities and events.