Todd Hennessey

A partnership led by Dr. Todd Hennessey of the School of Fine Arts (theatre) has received funding from the Canada Council for the Arts.

The grant enabled the partners to create "Corner Brook Ghost Walk: Live in V/R," a sold-out event held at the Hew and Draw hotel.

"The purpose of the grant was to develop a 'live virtual reality performance' for which we developed a virtual creation of West Street (circa 1950) and led participants (through the use of Virtual Reality headsets) to travel along the street listening to the narrator," said Dr. Hennessey. "We think this is a unique experience, in that we inserted a performer into the virtual landscape through the use of 'motion capture' technology, who performed live for the virtual audience."

The project was a partnership of Hard Ticket Theatre, software development company DCXIX and the Centre for Research and Innovation (CRI), of which Dr. Hennessey is director.

"This event featured live actors, in 'motion capture' suits, interacting with audience members in real time," said Dr. Hennessey. "The aim was 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."

Participants and technicians prepare of a live virtual reality performance of "Corner Brook Ghost Walk: Live in V/R" at Corner Brook's Hew and Draw.

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."

CRI owns three motion capture suits which were 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.