Date of Award

5-2019

Document Type

Thesis open access

Department

Theatre Arts

First Advisor

Kyle Gillette

Second Advisor

Rachel Joseph

Third Advisor

Kathryn O'Rourke

Abstract

Immersive theatre is an important type of modern theatre, notable for its emphasis on bodily engagement. This thesis examines the significance of theatrical and found spaces in immersive work and the potential for immersive theatre to engage its audiences’ bodies in new ways. After first exploring the importance of lived experience in a digital age, the paper moves on to examine the connection between agency, intimacy, proximity, and body. The third section considers the importance of audiences’ bodies as part of an immersive performance, both as sites of intimate interaction and as agents within the work, with a focus on how space and design are used to engage spectators’ bodies through the multisensory experience. The final section of the paper addresses a series of immersive performances created as part of this thesis; these immersive works, each themed around a different season, experiment with immersive strategies while all being set in the same location.

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