Teaching in the Virtual Theatre Classroom - Teaching through Multi-User Virtual Environments - page 179

Chapter 11
Teaching in the Virtual
Theatre Classroom

Stephen A. Schrum
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, USA

ABSTRACT

Theatre as a discipline has long been thought of as traditional, organic, and non-technological. In per-
formance, at least one actor performs in a space inhabited by at least one spectator, and their interaction
defines the theatrical event. In the teaching of theatre, students apprentice themselves to and are taught
directly by masters in the field. However, in the 21 st Century, the application of digital technology to the
realms of theatrical performance and teaching has augmented the production of, and the methodology
behind, the teaching of the theatrical art. Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs), such as Second
Life®, afford educators a rich interactive setting that both mirrors and enhances education and train-
ing in theatre, in the areas of ancient site reconstruction and student exploration of a virtual world. My
teaching of a course titled Theatre Technology resulted in the development of some concepts regarding
how a MUVE might be useful in theatre education.

INTRODUCTION

environment (MUVE), such as Second Life®, we
may perform at any time of day and, with the use
of a preferences slider, select the brightness of the
sun or moon, a view to be shared by an audience
that is at once present in the environment and
dispersed across the globe.
The same MUVE technology can also be
applied effectively to teaching. As Berge (2008)
states: “The characteristics of virtual worlds, as
a medium, promote learning that is informal and
collaborative, with content and context that is

Theatre technology has evolved drastically (one
might even say dramatically ) since the first for-
mal productions by the ancient Greeks in the 5 th
Century B.C.E. For example, the Greeks selected
daytime for the presentation of their plays, since
they relied on sunlight for visibility before a col-
lective live audience. Now, in a multi-user virtual

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61692-822-3.ch011