Interactive, Temporally Synchronous, Non-Ludic

Wayfinding: Taxonomy > Interactive & Gamified Theatre > The Spectrum of Interactivity and Gamification in Digital Theatre > Interactive, Temporally Synchronous, Non-Ludic

These digital performances are closer to traditional interactive theatre and in some cases are inspired by interactive stage shows. Like the previous example, these are not gamified or do not have ludic elements, meaning the participant-audience may not be able to influence the end of the work, so choices are more about being together in a temporally synchronous way. For example, Tim Crouch’s I, Cinna produced by Unicorn Theatre in July 2020 was based on his in-person show, originally developed for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The pandemic-era version was adjusted for Zoom, with Crouch performing alone in the back rooms of Unicorn Theatre’s space and filming himself with a webcam and a smartphone. The in-person version, developed for school-aged children, engaged the audience with requests for words, ultimately ending in the production of a poem; during the Zoom version, we in the audience wrote our offerings into the chat box, then turned our microphones and cameras on at the end to applaud Crouch’s performance. Although our written offerings engaged the performer in the moment and influenced us to write poetry, we did not change the show’s ending; you can participate with the pre-recorded YouTube version to loosely understand the narrative, but not experience the communal engagement.

Another interactive, non-ludic online performance is K. Brian Neel’s annual (now livestreamed) Jesus Christ: Ukulele Star. You can watch a clip from the 2020 livestream on YouTube now to understand some of Neel’s audience engagement; the pre-pandemic version of the show was a sing-along to Neel’s renditions of music from Jesus Christ: Superstar, which is difficult to recreate online, but Neel still engaged with the chat.