OnBoardXR

Wayfinding: Appendices > Research Participant Information > Field Research > OnBoardXR

OnBoardXR was a virtual reality live performance and theatre festival hosted through a highly-customised fork in the now-defunct Mozilla Hubs. The festival began from an online VR live theatre work called Jettison, created by Brendan Bradley, to experiment with the FutureStages platform he made to support artists during the pandemic. The festival took applications for interesting live works and provided creative and technical support, along with a set production schedule, so artists could showcase a small slice of a new idea.

I ran across the group while completing my masters dissertation in Glasgow, Scotland in 2021, and briefly served as their dramaturg for their third festival. When thinking of post-pandemic theatre makers doing something besides Zoom or YouTube, I immediately thought of OBXR, who just happened to be in the early stages of producing their sixth (and last) festival in May 2023. I contacted Bradley and was able to join their Discord and rehearsals to observe the working process.