Ethereal Materials: Being and Performance in Virtual Worlds is a research project on the state of the theatrical event in the age of virtuality. The project asks what being there means in the context of performance today. It is conducted by Andrew Eglinton, a researcher in contemporary performance based in Kobe, Japan, and is funded by a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science grant (#24K03458).

The four keywords in the project’s subtitle, being and performance in virtual worlds, open up the following set of questions:

• What is a virtual world and what are its capacities?
• What does it mean to perform in a virtual world?
• What does it mean to “be there” in a performance in a virtual world?
• What is the material status of being in performances in virtual worlds?
• How are virtual practices changing the state of theatrical performance?
• What is the ethical state of performance in virtuality?

Four Research Strands

1. Yuriwaka: VR adaptation of a 16th century folk story

I will work with undergrad students in my research seminar on translating and adapting Yuriwaka into a mixed media VR installation. Project documentation: Google slideshow.

2. Field Notes: reflections on VR performance

Field notes are critical remarks on current VR theatre work, mixing personal reflections with key concepts in performance studies and critical theory. Access Field Notes on Substack.

3. World Mapping

To understand the function of virtual worlds in VR theatre, mapping world data for critical analysis is key. This documentation is housed on YouTube and also here in this digital book.

4. Dissemination

The dissemination of the research will be in the form of conference paper presentations, colloquiums, and journal articles.