Theatron3: Teaching & Learning

About

Teaching & Learning

The Virtual theatres that make up the Theatron 3 project provide a myriad of opportunities for educators at all levels. Subjects which might be particularly interested include: Drama and Theatre studies, English studies, Cultural and Historical studies, Classics, Medieval and Renaissance studies.

The theatres will be available for classroom use, free of charge, for the forseeable future and you can learn more about how to use them by going to the 'get involved' section of this website.

Pilot pedagogical projects

To start exploratory work with students on Theatron 3 island. The project involved both the Higher Education Academy English and PALATINE the Dance, Drama & Music Subject Centres to work with their respective HE subject comunities on the educational component of the project. Five partners were engaged from a range of subject areas in both further and higher education contexts in the United Kingdom.

Much of the work of the valuable lessons learned from the Pedagogical pilot projects has been captured in the project wiki.

Other educators have used the Theatron Island outside of the project and have shared some of their experiences with us.

Project 1 - Seeing space: Exploring scenographic principles in Second Life

Project lead:
Paul Brownbill, University of Wolverhampton

Subject Centre contact:
Lisa Whistlecroft, PALATINE

Overview:
This project was intended to allow students to experience, analyse and evaluate stage configurations that are tied to actual theatre buildings, giving them a greater opportunity to understand how the spaces work and the possibilities each space offers to the scenographer thus better informing their scenographic decisions.

This project ran into several difficulties, which were very revealing about the range of barriers that implementing Second Life can meet. These are fully discussed in the end of project report.

Project 2 - Integrating film technologies into Second Life

Project lead:
Joff Chafer, University of Coventry

Subject Centre contact:
Lisa Whistlecroft, PALATINE

Overview:
The project explored ways of performing in chorus within the theatrical spaces, and analysed the experience of movement in unison. In addition the project integrated live and virtual performance, for example by creating animations for avatars to react with real life performers in real time using back projection, or finding ways of using multiple projectors to explore the virtual spaces at a more human scale rather than on a computer screen.

Read more about this project >>

Project 3 - 'The fools' zanni': exploring prominent characteristics of the Commedia dell'arte

Project lead:
Gordon Duffy-McGhie, Middlesbrough College

Subject Centre contact:
Lisa Whistlecroft, PALATINE

Overview:
This project facilitated learners' exploration of the link between theoretical knowledge and practical understanding of the Commedia dell' Arte. It utilised the unique opportunities a virtual medieval open-air stage will present, in order to allow learners, of all abilities, the opportunity to recreate the distinctive staging devices and techniques of the commedia troupes.

Read more about this project >>

Project 4 - Virtual Poiesis: The New Creative Pedagogy of Second Life

Project lead:
Chris Wigginton, Northumbria University

Subject Centre contact:
English, Brett Lucas

Overview:
This project considered and exploited Second Life as a location for the teaching of interdisciplinary work across literature, writing, performance and media. In so doing it will focus on the creation of new texts which, rather than mimicking or recreating historic and textual mediations of 'real life', respond to and emerge from direct engagements with SLEUTH's 15 new virtual theatre environments. Accordingly, rather than rehearsing campus based and led teaching methods, the project investigated the potential of these environments as spaces for new pedagogic developments.

Read more about this project >>

Project 5 - 'Insubstantial Pageants': learning about Renaissance drama in Second Life

Project lead:
Gweno Williams, York St John University

Subject Centre contact:
English, Brett Lucas

Overview:
This project will invited undergraduates studying Renaissance drama on English and Theatre degree programmes to experiment with the processes of staging scenes within the virtual Globe Theatre and contrast this process with that of staging performances on a real life stage. Issues such as performance, gestures, props, positioning of actors and overcoming various technical barriers were all investigated.

Extra projects

Project lead:
Various

Overview:
The popularity of the Theatron resources led academics to use them as resources for their own teaching sessions, outside of the funded sub-projects that existed as part of the project. Although not formally part of the project, these are included here to demonstrate the impact the project has made on the community as a whole.