Future Media Theaters brings together partners from industry, academia, and the cultural sector in Sweden, the UK, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and the US who are all working together to investigate and create new forms of performance using interactive technologies.

Future Media Theaters is an international initiative, currently funded by Region Västra Götaland, Sweden, and led by faculty from University of Skövde in close collaboration with Folkteatern Gothenburg and Skövde Art Museum.

Vision

We believe we are in the midst of another technologically entangled shift in theater, and come together to develop a network for exchange and collaboration to thoughtfully and intentionally image and create future media theaters together. The plurality of 'theaters' in our name reflects our ecumenical viewpoint on the nature of theater and performance more broadly, as a welcoming space with room on the stage for all kinds of practice and expression.

Method

Our lab-based approach allows us to share our experimental work with the public, and supports our production of both creative performance works as well as scholarship. Our interdisciplinary focus cultivates both new performance works that expand the field of media theatre, as well as creative research in partnership with related fields, such as cognitive science, games, and human computer interaction.

Objective

Our long-term goal is the creation of an international research center focused on Future Media Theaters, based at University of Skövde. The aim is for this research center to bridge theory and practice, connecting the academy with the regional and local community and industry. We envision an interdisciplinary structure for the center, to facilitate collaborative research in related disciplines including theater, performance studies, art, cognitive science, games, and human computer interaction.

We see media theater as a flexible and accessible platform through which research can also be shared with the public, and community invited into dialogue with us and our work. This first year of funded activities, generously supported by Region Västra Götaland, is an initial step toward building the Future Media Theaters network, identifying key research questions to pursue, developing new collaborations, and seeking future funding.