Dynamic Theater: Location-Based Immersive Dance Theater, Investigating User Guidance and Experience

You-Jin Kim, Joshua Lu, and Tobias Höllerer:
Dynamic Theater: Location-Based Immersive Dance Theater, Investigating User Guidance and Experience. In: ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, ACM VRST 2023
Presented: ACM VRST 2023 - [Technologies in the Wild Session] October 10, 2023, Christchurch, New Zealand

▪️  DOI: 10.1145/3611659.3615705    ▪️  arXiv: 10.48550/arXiv.2511.00961

Abstract

Dynamic Theater explores the use of augmented reality (AR) in immersive theater as a platform for digital dance performances. The project presents a locomotion-based experience that allows for full spatial exploration. A large indoor AR theater space was designed to allow users to freely explore the augmented environment. The curated wide-area experience employs various guidance mechanisms to direct users to the main content zones. Results from our 20-person user study show how users experience the performance piece while using a guidance system. The importance of stage layout, guidance system, and dancer placement in immersive theater experiences are highlighted as they cater to user preferences while enhancing the overall reception of digital content in wide-area AR. Observations after working with dancers and choreographers, as well as their experience and feedback are also discussed.

Research Contributions

• Immersion in AR environments significantly distorts temporal perception, causing participants to overestimate the duration of their experience by 37%.

• Open world  experience requires balancing the functional efficiency of directional arrows with interesting elements that pull users in that direction naturally.

• Distinguishable virtual stages expand experiential variety within a confined space, making the environment feel considerably larger than the physical layout.

• Shifting from traditional choreographic control to collaborative artistic involvement from the outset better utilizes the unique affordances of AR platforms.

• Strategic placement of volumetric content zones allows for curated interactive narratives that respect individual user pacing and independent spatial exploration.

Citation IEEE Format

[1] Y-J. Kim, J. Lu, and T. Höllerer, "Dynamic Theater: Location-Based Immersive Dance Theater, Investigating User Guidance and Experience," in Proceedings of the 29th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, New York, NY, USA, 2023, Art. no. 27, pp. 1–11. doi: 10.1145/3611659.3615705. (11 Pages)

Citation APA Format

Kim, Y-J., Lu, J., & Höllerer, T. (2023). Dynamic theater: Location-based immersive dance theater, investigating user guidance and experience. Proceedings of the 29th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, Article 27, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1145/3611659.3615705. (11 Pages)