Caption: Wearing a motion capture suit at the Centre for Research and Innovation, Mark Bradbury, artistic director, Hard Ticket Theatre, confers with Chelsea O'Hara of DCXIX, a software development company that has recently moved to the west coast of the island (and that's Christopher Bradbury hiding in the middle!).

A partnership of the Centre for Research and Innovation (CRI), Hard Ticket Theatre and software development company DCXIX aims to immerse audiences in a virtual reconstruction of turn-of-the-century Corner Brook.

Dr. Todd Hennessey, director of CRI and faculty member in Grenfell's School of Fine Arts, is working with Hard Ticket Theatre artistic director Mark Bradbury (BFA '09), and Chelsea O'Hara and Dustin Boyce of DCXIX (619) to create a series of "ghost stories" - set in and around the pulp and paper town of Corner Brook - in a virtual environment.

"This event will feature live actors, in 'motion capture' suits, interacting with audience members in real time," said Dr. Hennessey. "The aim is to create a fully immersive, digital theatre event that places the audience in a reconstruction of turn-of-the-century Corner Brook, exploring its socio-economic and cultural history through the voices of the past, brought to life in an immersive, digital world."

Dr. Hennessey has an interest in exploring other avenues of theatre experience and, especially coming out of the pandemic, exploring the boundaries of audience participation, environment, and the nature of empathetic involvement offered by live theatre.

"Virtual reality might offer a particular praxis of all these ideas," said Dr. Hennessey. "We aim to both explore these ideas and offer an audience a unique experience that we see as one step towards more fully exploring these new avenues."

The members of Hard Ticket Theatre, and in particular Mr. Bradbury, will gather familiar "folk" and "ghost" stories that speak to the history of the area, its social conditions and heritage and legacy as an industrial town created for the pulp and paper industry.

"While these stories are drawn from local lore, they will be liberally adapted to speak to the social, culture, and gender striation of the town in its earliest days," said Dr. Hennessey. "We have specifically chosen to focus on Corner Brook's West Street as it's become, in recent years, a cultural lexus and focal point for the city as well as a stark reminder that Corner Brook itself is a shadowy creation, having sprung to life from the amalgamation of several previous communities."

Ms. O'Hara and Mr. Boyce are new to the region, having recently moved to the west coast of Newfoundland from Ontario. Between them they have decades of experience in the video games industry, film, television and "motion capture." Their expertise brings an understanding of the technical demands of the project.

The CRI owns three motion capture suits which are being used for the project, including the necessary software, a large studio space in which to work and administrative support.

"This has been a labour of love for me for several years," said Dr. Hennessey. "It's borne out of interest to explore the intersection of live performance with total digital immersion, while also providing a springboard into a much larger and more involved project that will investigate issues of mortality, ephemerality and personal loss. Our 'ghost story' project is a step in this direction."

Funding for the project is provided by Canada Council for the Arts and the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council.