IN/ACTive: A Distance-Technology-Mediated Stage for Performer-Audience Telepresence and Environmental Control

The increasing virtualization of the performance process has resulted in passive interactions between performer and audience based on the observing paradigm, but without the presence of in-person staging. We designed a more interactive paradigm of remote performance using a multimedia exhibition strategy where visitors can alter the environment of the performer's location by changing its music and lighting, whereas the performer can create engagement in the exhibition space by affecting a remote robotic arm. We conducted a case study with five participating performers, investigating their expectations, workflows, and perceptions before and after the performance-exhibition, and examining the video footage of their interactions with visitors to understand how they adapt and respond to this remote performance paradigm. We found that the robot arm was perceived as a mediating character with its own distinct identity, that musical changes have implicit behavioral effects on the performance, that lighting manipulations actively changed performer actions during improvisation, and that audiences appear to identify themselves and the robot as integral co-performers in this setup. This work provides insights into how performers learn to engage with audiences in novel distanced spaces and diverse interactive media, generating insights for future virtualized performative interactions beyond the classical stage metaphor.