Being and Performance in Virtual Worlds
Ethereal Materials is a research project on the state of the theatrical event in an age of virtuality. The project asks what “being there” means in the context of performance today.
Articles & Reviews
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Shogekijo x VR: Interview with “Meadow” director of the Mashiro Small Theater
In February and March 2025, a group of volunteer actors, directors, designers and crew—members of the “VR Theatre Study Group”—produced Omnibus Performance Vol 1, a collection of four short Japanese VR plays presented at Mashiro Little Theater. In this interview, I spoke with artistic director, Meadow, about the challenges and possibilities of creating shogekijo engeki in VR.
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Omnibus Performance Vol.1
In Omnibus Performance Vol. 1, four VR plays explore the relationship between past and future prediction and memory. Performed at VRChat’s Mashiro Small Theater, the lineup includes “Kimi to Kakeru Mirai,” about a couple’s dilemma over a predictive robot, and “Neko no Shinzo,” depicting a man’s encounter with a spirit from his past.
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Yuriwaka VR
In the spring of 2024, I proposed to third-year students in my research seminar at Konan Women’s University to embark on an odyssey: the translation, adaptation, and digital performance of the folktale Yuriwaka Daijin (百合若大臣).
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Soultopia by Saeborg
In “Soultopia,” artist Saeborg employs VRChat to immerse participants in transformative experiences, exploring identity and social norms through playful yet incisive critiques.
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Ground
One of the most well-known lines in Shakespeare’s plays is Bernardo’s question at the beginning of Hamlet: “Who’s there?” Who is that ‘who’ and where is that ‘there’? It is a doorway onto doubt. But it is also a question that cuts quickly to the ontological core of theatre. “Who’s there?” can be asked of […]
Companies & Groups
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Shogekijo x VR: Interview with “Meadow” director of the Mashiro Small Theater
In February and March 2025, a group of volunteer actors, directors, designers and crew—members of the “VR Theatre Study Group”—produced Omnibus Performance Vol 1, a collection of four short Japanese VR plays presented at Mashiro…
-
Omnibus Performance Vol.1
In Omnibus Performance Vol. 1, four VR plays explore the relationship between past and future prediction and memory. Performed at VRChat’s Mashiro Small Theater, the lineup includes “Kimi to Kakeru Mirai,” about a couple’s dilemma…
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Soultopia by Saeborg
In “Soultopia,” artist Saeborg employs VRChat to immerse participants in transformative experiences, exploring identity and social norms through playful yet incisive critiques.
Field Notes
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Shogekijo x VR: Interview with “Meadow” director of the Mashiro Small Theater
In February and March 2025, a group of volunteer actors, directors, designers and crew—members of the “VR Theatre Study Group”—produced Omnibus Performance Vol 1, a collection of four short Japanese VR plays presented at Mashiro…
-
Omnibus Performance Vol.1
In Omnibus Performance Vol. 1, four VR plays explore the relationship between past and future prediction and memory. Performed at VRChat’s Mashiro Small Theater, the lineup includes “Kimi to Kakeru Mirai,” about a couple’s dilemma…
-
Soultopia by Saeborg
In “Soultopia,” artist Saeborg employs VRChat to immerse participants in transformative experiences, exploring identity and social norms through playful yet incisive critiques.