Virtual Theatres: An Introduction

by Gabriella Giannachi

Overview

The first full-length book of its kind to offer an investigation of the interface between theatre, performance and digital arts, Virtual Theatres presents the theatre of the twenty-first century in which everything - even the viewer - can be simulated.

In this fascinating volume, Gabriella Giannachi analyzes the aesthetic concerns of current computer-arts practices through discussion of a variety of artists and performers including:

* blast Theory
* Merce Cunningham
* Eduardo Kac
* forced entertainment
* Lynn Hershman
* Jodi Orlan
* Guillermo Gómez-Peña
* Marcel-lí Antúnez Roca
* Jeffrey Shaw
* Stelarc.

Virtual Theatres not only allows for a reinterpretation of what is possible in the world of performance practice, but also demonstrates how 'virtuality' has come to represent a major parameter for our understanding and experience of contemporary art and life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415283786
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/11/2004
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Gabriella Giannachi is a lecturer in Theatre Studies at the University of Lancaster, where her specialist areas include new technologies and performance. She is also co-editor of On Directing (1999) and co-author of Staging the Post-Avant-Garde (2002).

Table of Contents

Introduction 1 Hypertextualities 2 Cyborg theatre 3 The (re-)creation of nature 4 Performing through the hypersurface 5 Towards an aesthetic of virtual reality, Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

'A welcome addition to the growing range of works currently available on virtual reality and performance. It is clearly written and offers a useful historical overview of the field to date ... Giannachi has done impressive work in collating a vast and stimulating array of relevant examples ... There is no question that Virtual Theatres is a tremendously useful teaching and research resource. It will be of great use to teachers of new media, as well as post-graduate and under-graduate students of theatre studies.' – Studies in Theatre Performance

From the Publisher