Mark Reaney
Mark Reaney is a professor in the Department of Theatre & Dance and Head of the Department’s Scenography Program, teaching classes in scenic, lighting and costume design. With over 200 stage designs to his credit, his most recent work for KU’s University Theatre include Anon(ymous), Picnic, Angel Street, The Big Meal and The Marriage of Figaro. Professor Reaney is an internationally recognized expert in the use of computer graphics (CGI) and real-time computer simulations (VR) in the theatre. He has been designer and technologist for 11 VR/Theatre productions here and abroad, authored 13 articles and book chapters and made 25 presentations around the world on the subject. Much of this work can be seen at the website for the Institute for Experiment in Virtual Reality (i.e.VR) www.ievr.org
Address: VR/Theatre www.ievr.org
Department of Theatre & Dance, Murphy Hall, University of Kansas, Lawrence Kansas 66045
Address: VR/Theatre www.ievr.org
Department of Theatre & Dance, Murphy Hall, University of Kansas, Lawrence Kansas 66045
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at the University of Kansas featured the premier use of virtual reality in a
fully mounted theatrical production. In the process of merging the art of
live performance and the technology of real-time computer generated
graphics (virtual reality or VR), we looked for answers to many questions.
Computer tools in scenic design have certainly become widespread. Computer-aided design (CAD) tools and skills are rapidly becoming standard rather than exceptional. For years, stage designers sending their designs to scenic studios have employed technical-drawing applications created for architects. More recently, preliminary sketches, designs for painted drops and detailed drawings of props are being created using painting or photo manipulation programs such as Painter or Photoshop. More and more we are seeing designers use 3D modeling software to create scenic models that had previously been made with cardboard and balsa wood. These 3D applications are then used to render photo-realistic scenic sketches with incredible detail and accuracy.
Socrates intended this story to be a metaphor for the pursuit of knowledge and learning, but perhaps we can give it a more literal interpretation. Let us consider the shadows on the cave wall to be theatrical illusion, and the progression to greater perception of reality, the co-evolution of scenography and the audience’s facility for embracing a theatrical visual language.
Realities (i.e.VR) project group at the University
of Kansas is dedicated to exploring the uses
of computer technology in performance and
computer-generated images as a scenographic
medium. Three recent productions are described
which aimed to use VR technologies nor
to simulate reality but to achieve 'engagement'
of the audience. This is described as immersing
the participant through engaging storytelling.
The three plays were The Adding Machine, Wings
and Tesla Electric. They have provided a
wealth of information on the practice of
immersing a theatre audience within a fictive
world.
at the University of Kansas featured the premier use of virtual reality in a
fully mounted theatrical production. In the process of merging the art of
live performance and the technology of real-time computer generated
graphics (virtual reality or VR), we looked for answers to many questions.
Computer tools in scenic design have certainly become widespread. Computer-aided design (CAD) tools and skills are rapidly becoming standard rather than exceptional. For years, stage designers sending their designs to scenic studios have employed technical-drawing applications created for architects. More recently, preliminary sketches, designs for painted drops and detailed drawings of props are being created using painting or photo manipulation programs such as Painter or Photoshop. More and more we are seeing designers use 3D modeling software to create scenic models that had previously been made with cardboard and balsa wood. These 3D applications are then used to render photo-realistic scenic sketches with incredible detail and accuracy.
Socrates intended this story to be a metaphor for the pursuit of knowledge and learning, but perhaps we can give it a more literal interpretation. Let us consider the shadows on the cave wall to be theatrical illusion, and the progression to greater perception of reality, the co-evolution of scenography and the audience’s facility for embracing a theatrical visual language.
Realities (i.e.VR) project group at the University
of Kansas is dedicated to exploring the uses
of computer technology in performance and
computer-generated images as a scenographic
medium. Three recent productions are described
which aimed to use VR technologies nor
to simulate reality but to achieve 'engagement'
of the audience. This is described as immersing
the participant through engaging storytelling.
The three plays were The Adding Machine, Wings
and Tesla Electric. They have provided a
wealth of information on the practice of
immersing a theatre audience within a fictive
world.