Literary Theory and Theatre Practice: A Comparative Study of Watching the Script and the Simulated Environment for Theatre

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Literary Theory and
Theatre Practice: A
Comparative Study of
Watching the Script and the
Simulated Environment for
Theatre
Roberts-Smith, Jennifer
j33rober@uwaterloo.ca
University of Waterloo, Canada
Dobson, Teresa M.
teresa.dobson@ubc.ca
University of British Columbia, Canada
Gabriele, Sandra
sandrag@yorku.ca
York University, Canada
Ruecker, Stan
sruecker@ualberta.ca
University of Alberta, Canada
Sinclair, Stéfan
sgs@mcmaster.ca
McMaster University, Canada
Bouchard, Matt
matt.bouchard@gmail.com
University of Alberta, Canada
DeSouza-Coelho, Shawn
shawnathanddc@hotmail.com
University of Waterloo, Canada
Kong, Annemarie
aakong@yorku.ca
University of York, Canada
Lam, David
david.the.monkey@gmail.com
University of Waterloo, Canada
Rodriguez, Omar
omar.rodrigueza@gmail.com
University of Alberta, Canada
Taylor, Karen
katay164@interchange.ubc.ca
University of British Columbia, Canada
This paper describes the results of our recent
work on a 3D prototype called the Simulated
Environment for Theatre (SET), which we
undertook based on a growing realization that
our earlier 2D prototype, called Watching the
Script, reified some fundamental biases that
would render it less useful for stage directors
than we had originally hoped. Having produced
the two prototypes, our next step is to carry out
a user study to compare their usefulness. We
intend to present the results of this user study,
combined with a discussion of the meaning of
the two designs.
The design of Watching the Script features three
different perspectives on the text of a play: a
microtext column that gives an overview of the
length of sections, combined with coloured lines
to indicate each character; a reading pane; and
a dynamic playback on a stylized stage, where
characters move around and their speeches
scroll out underneath them.
While it has a certain naive charm, the
Watching the Script prototype has several
fundamental features that make it less than
optimal for theatre directors. First is the degree
of stylization of the stage, which is restricted to
a single shape and does not readily lend itself
to customization, either through changing the
basic stage design or through applying details in
the form of a set. Related to this stylization is the
overhead perspective, which makes it difficult to
imagine the actual lines of sight of people sitting
in the audience.
Next is the association between movement and
speech. Watching the Script is driven by the
XML of the play, which means that character
movements are attached to speeches. However,
in actual practice, characters are not restricted
to moving only when they speak. This emphasis
on the speech as the fundamental unit of the
play is reinforced through the central role of
text in the interface, with each speech occurring
simultaneously in three different places. We
argue elsewhere (Gabriele et al. 2009) that
both of these features make sense from the
perspective of English literature, where the
central object of study is the text. However, in
the staging of a play, we recognize that the text,
while still important, is a less central concern.
Directors take the text of a play as a starting
point, routinely cutting lines, removing entire
scenes or characters, and so on.

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Next is the association between movement and
speech. Watching the Script is driven by the
XML of the play, which means that character
movements are attached to speeches. However,
in actual practice, characters are not restricted
to moving only when they speak. This emphasis
on the speech as the fundamental unit of the
play is reinforced through the central role of
text in the interface, with each speech occurring
simultaneously in three different places. We
argue elsewhere (Gabriele et al. 2009) that
both of these features make sense from the
perspective of English literature, where the
central object of study is the text. However, in
the staging of a play, we recognize that the text,
while still important, is a less central concern.
Directors take the text of a play as a starting
point, routinely cutting lines, removing entire
scenes or characters, and so on. In the Simulated
Environment for Theatre, we reconceived the
design to better support the affordances that
are central to the task of the Director. For
example, the character movements are now
associated with a timeline rather than with the
speeches, so that the character movement and
the speeches are both attached to the proposed
line of action on stage rather than to the text.
We have also introduced the ability to judge
the line of sight from any point in the audience
by developing the system to load 3D scale
models of actual stages and sets. Using the Unity
game engine as the programming environment,
we inherited the standard game controls for
camera movement, so that quite sophisticated
variations in perspective are possible. The
user can, for instance, switch between cameras
situated at different locations, making it possible
to quickly see the stage from several angles.
It is also possible to switch from the audience
perspective to the perspective of any of the
actors.
Our user study will be carried out early in 2010.
We will ask six directors working in industry to
try out the two interfaces and provide comments
through a thinkaloud protocol. We will also
obtain screen captures of these individuals
working with the two different systems. Finally,
considering pedagogical applications of these
interfaces, we will work with a small group
of graduate students in theatre education who
will consider the affordances of the prototypes
for teaching and learning about disciplinary
theory and practice. We expect this process to
provide additional insights into the choices of
functionality for SET, as well as the features
of Watching the Script that might be worth
adapting for inclusion in the new system.
References
Roberts-Smith, Jennifer, Gabriele,
Sandra, Ruecker, Stan, Sinclair,
Stéfan, Bouchard, Matt, DeSouza-
Coelho, Shawn, Kong, Annemarie, Lam,
David, Rodriguez, Omar
(2009). 'The Text
and the Line of Action: Re-conceiving Watching
the Script'.
Proceedings of the INKE 2009:
Research Foundations for Understanding
Books and Reading in the Digital Age.
Victoria,
BC, 23-24 October 2009.