The ship showed me the true technical potential of augmented reality

A few weeks ago, I met Sir Ian McKellen and he told me a story about how I was born, where I grew up, and when I would eventually die. Some of the details were a little sketchy, but others were so worrying about money that he seemed like he really knew things about my life that I never shared with anyone. He told me not to panic, which was difficult because of how emotional and arresting the whole experience was.

McKellen’s words made me look away to find Golda Rosheuvel staring at me with equal interest and telling the same compelling tale I wanted to hear more about. Her telling of the story was different and brought new emotions into sharp focus, but she felt like it came from the same deep well of wisdom. And while there were moments where Arinze Kane and Rosie Sheehy took the narrative to dark and painful places, direct eye contact with them helped me understand that they were just trying to convey some important truths about themselves.

This is some of what I felt during the last screening of coffina new play by writer Simon Stevens, director Sarah Frankcom, and mixed reality production specialist Todd Eckert, currently running at The Shed in New York City. Produced by Eckert Ten Drum Theater Company, coffin It uses augmented reality glasses to create a mixed reality experience that puts you face to face with the actors of the play. The play is based on Tin Drum’s previous experimental productions such as life – A mixed reality show in which performance artist Marina Abramović walks through her disappearance – and Medusa, Which installation is used Magic Leap 2 headphones To display digital architecture in an empty artistic space. But the new work deploys its technology in a new way that makes you feel like more than just an audience member.

I and dozens of attendees weren’t quite sure what to expect before the show began, but it started to make sense as we sat in a circle in a dark red room lit only by the dim glow of a huge orb hanging above us. After we all donned pairs of wired mixed reality glasses with the help of the stage attendants, the room became darker — so much so that we could barely see each other. The darkness and nervous silence had us all looking toward the globe, putting our heads in the perfect position to see coffinOne by one, the ethereal cast members come into focus.

McKellen, Rosheuvel, Kane and Sheehy play a quartet of people who find themselves existing in a kind of transitional space somewhere between life and what comes after death. You, the audience, complete their circle as a newcomer who knows nothing about this metaphysical place, and you have to understand how your life story is a collection of experiences that are not unique to you. The characters tell your story by recounting moments from their own lives, which become more specific and intense as the play develops.

Although cast members are not physically present during the performance, coffinThe sparse production/lighting design and use of augmented reality via AR headsets make it seem like they’re all sitting just feet apart. Frankcom – who was open Not particularly interested in technology – Prompt coffin As a traditional theater show it focuses more on the performances of the actors rather than the elaborate sets. But by capturing these performances with a 52-camera volumetric video system, they are able to present them in a way that… coffin It feels strangely haunting and is a prime example of how this kind of technology can create new ways of experiencing traditional theater.

Captivating as all of coffinWhat really appeals to other elements of the play is the way the MR glasses capture each actor – who recorded the entire show as an ensemble in one take. The actors look close enough and clearly enough that it feels like you can reach out and touch them. But at certain moments, this clarity gives way to a little visual distortion and wobble caused by glasses. It doesn’t completely break the illusion of the actors being in the room with you, but it does give them an eerie, ghost-like quality that plays into the series’ exploration of death.

coffinIts greatest achievement is the emotional action that builds at the end of its 47-minute runtime. After recounting aspects of their own lives, the play’s characters left me thinking about how much of myself I saw in them, and how things that didn’t resonate with me personally might speak to other audience members sitting around me.

While we were all getting ready to pack up our shoes (you have to take your shoes off), I heard other people talking about how to do it coffin It made them feel like they were becoming connected to something bigger than themselves – not in a religious sense, but in terms of sharing a very intimate experience with a group that left us all thinking about how similar we are. I rarely find myself impressed when I try new technology for the first time, however coffin Show me how powerful augmented reality can be to enhance already beautiful art.

coffin Now showing at The Shed until March 1st.