Theatre Engine: Audience as Research Partner

Alison Dobbins, associate professor of integrated media performance design, presentation concerns interdisciplinary research in theatre using technology to integrate the audience into the performance. Shark! The Interactive Musical empowers the audience to make tough choices and join the performers as they grapple with issues thematically represented by a great white shark. This performance project explores themes of racial identity, gender, and the secrets that lie deep below the surface. Shark! uses a web-based app that allows audience members to use their phone to vote, control lights, alter music, and be immersed in the performance. Shark! is one of the interactive performances developed under the project umbrella Theatre Engine.