Virtual Theatres: An Introduction [Paperback]

Gabriella Giannachi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2004

The first full-length book of its kind to offer an investigation of the interface between theatre, performance and digital arts, Virtual Theatres presents the theatre of the twenty-first century in which everything - even the viewer - can be simulated.

In this fascinating volume, Gabriella Giannachi analyzes the aesthetic concerns of current computer-arts practices through discussion of a variety of artists and performers including:

* blast Theory
* Merce Cunningham
* Eduardo Kac
* forced entertainment
* Lynn Hershman
* Jodi Orlan
* Guillermo Gómez-Peña
* Marcel-lí Antúnez Roca
* Jeffrey Shaw
* Stelarc.

Virtual Theatres not only allows for a reinterpretation of what is possible in the world of performance practice, but also demonstrates how 'virtuality' has come to represent a major parameter for our understanding and experience of contemporary art and life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A welcome addition to the growing range of works currently available on virtual reality and performance. It is clearly written and offers a useful historical overview of the field to date ... Giannachi has done impressive work in collating a vast and stimulating array of relevant examples ... There is no question that Virtual Theatres is a tremendously useful teaching and research resource. It will be of great use to teachers of new media, as well as post-graduate and under-graduate students of theatre studies.' – Studies in Theatre Performance

About the Author

Gabriella Giannachi is lecturer in Theatre Studies at the University of Lancaster, where her specialist areas include hypertextual, digital and virtual performance practice. She is the co-editor (with Mary Luckhurst) of On Directing (1999) and co-author (with Nick Kaye) of Staging the Post Avant-Garde (2002).

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; New edition edition (April 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415283795
• ISBN-13: 978-0415283793
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,553,310 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)