'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.