Computer Theater

Claudio Pinhanez (pinhanez@media.mit.edu)
Thu, 15 May 1997 18:42:39 -0400

Hi, again,

First, I'll publish the references in a web site as soon as I can.

Also, some people asked me about what I mean by "Computer Theater".
Well, I used the term in a paper I wrote last year because I had the
need for a term similar to "Computer Music" and "Computer Graphics"
grouping related work in theatrical performances involving
computers. It's not about theater as a metaphor of interaction, and
there it differentiates from Laurel's "Computer AS Theater" (which I
think it is an incredible book).

My focus is more on real plays involving computers and human actors,
and on interactive environments with strong dramatical
structure. Typical examples are the works of George Coates, Larry
Friedlander, Mark Reaney, plus a long list...

The reason I'm asking for references is that I'm revising that
paper. Particularly, I'm refining the use of the term (comparing to
previous uses, if any), and expanding the list of references to
previous work in computerized performances in theater.

The previous version of the paper is at

http://www.media.mit.edu/~pinhanez/tr378.html

(comments, thoughts, concerns, and critiques are VERY welcomed)

You can also see a very SIMPLE experiment I did in theater
with computers at

http://www.media.mit.edu/~pinhanez/singsong/singsong.html

Thank you all (but keep sending references),

Claudio Pinhanez

MIT - Media Laboratory
E-mail: pinhanez@media.mit.edu
URL (research):
http://www.media.mit.edu/~pinhanez