Royal Shakespeare Company And Magic Leap Offer Unique Fellowships To Explore Digital Theatre Innovation

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and technology innovator, Magic Leap, have launched the first ever Fellowships programme to explore the future of theatre innovation. The announcement comes as the greatest minds in spatial computing join together at Magic Leap's first developer conference in Los Angeles (L.E.A.P. Con).

Six students will discover the future of theatre using spatial computing technology. The Fellowships will give the candidates access to Magic Leap's technology, skills and expertise, as well as the depth and breadth of the RSC's theatrical knowledge and experience. The project aims to shape the future of theatre audiences' experiences, using the latest digital technology.

The Fellowships will focus on three key areas of skill and expertise:

• Creative (actor, performer, designer, producer)
• Narrator (writer, dramaturg)
• Technical producer (photogrammetry, motion-capture and volumetric-capture), spatial computing programmer or coder

UK university partners including the University of Birmingham, i2 media research Limited at Goldsmiths University of London and University of Portsmouth have joined the RSC and Magic Leap to create opportunities for students, academics and post-grads who have an interest in digital story-telling. The Midlands 4 Cities doctoral training programme will also participate to connect with eight leading universities in the Midlands region. The fellows will have the chance to build spatial computing skills that can be applied to theatre and live performance. The journey will be followed through a series of blogs led by innovation foundation, Nesta, allowing the knowledge gained to be shared throughout the creative industries https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/mixed-reality-theatre-new-ways-play-reality/

Fellows will be selected through an interview process in late November/December 2018. Those wanting further information should contact daisy.murray@rsc.org.uk to express interest in applying. The Fellows will receive expert input from the RSC, university partners and Magic Leap technologists, on everything from dramaturgy and stage design to user experience, audience insight and developer skills. They will also work with external industry specialists throughout the fellowship.

The results of the R&D will shape the next stage of the RSC and Magic Leap partnership including the development of larger-scale projects creating theatrical performances within spatial computing.

Sarah Ellis, RSC Director of Digital Development, said:

"We're all about creating amazing experiences for audiences, to captivate and to inspire people through our performances. We want to push boundaries and to seek new ways of engaging people in live theatre. New technologies have a great potential to do this.

"Magic Leap are at the nexus of art and technology. By partnering with them it allows us to explore how storytelling can be brought to life using spatial computing to create a seamless blend of the real and the digital. We are thrilled to be working with them and our university partners to find the next generation of creative technologists who can help us to change the face of live experience for people around the world."

John Monos, VP, Human-Centered AI & dDNA at Magic Leap said: "We're thrilled to partner with the forward-thinking and creative team at the Royal Shakespeare Company. The RSC is leading the charge in the intersection of arts and technology, a key area of focus for Magic Leap. Working together gives us both the opportunity to be at the forefront of arts and technology by mixing the digital with live performance to ultimately develop the next frontier in theatre."

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