As one of Greece’s most esteemed cultural organizations, AF has been at the forefront of the country’s artistic landscape since 1955. In this conversation, we are joined by Eleni Oikonomou, who shares insights into AF’s involvement in the groundbreaking VOXReality project. As a use case partner, AF leads the Augmented Theatre initiative, collaborating with technical experts to merge AR technology with live theatre. Through pilots featuring excerpts from ancient Greek tragedies, AR glasses deliver translated captions and visual effects, blending the physical stage with digital elements to enhance accessibility and audience immersion.
Can you provide an overview of your organization's involvement in the VOXReality project and your specific role within the consortium?
The Athens Epidaurus Festival is one of Greece’s biggest cultural organizations and organizer of the summer festival of the same name, since 1955. In the VOXReality project the AEF is a use case partner, owning the Augmented Theatre use case. We are working with our technical partners to merge AR elements with theatre, with the goal of enhancing accessibility and audience immersion. This includes pilots featuring excerpts from an Ancient Greek tragedy, where translated captions and audiovisual effects are delivered through AR glasses, merging the physical stage with digital elements for a more immersive theatrical experience.
How is the effectiveness of the language translation feature in enhancing the audience's experience during theatrical performances ensured, to deliver a seamless and authentic experience for the audience?
Multiple strategies are employed to address issues of accuracy, precision and latency in the delivery of the caption feature of the Augmented Theater use case.
To start with, in theatre, translation is an art form in itself. Theatrical texts require a level of precision and sensitivity to convey not only the literal meaning, but also the emotional, cultural, and dramatic nuances that are essential to the performance. Therefore, the real time translation feature of VOXReality is based on literary translations from Ancient Greek, performed by acclaimed translators to safeguard the integrity of the play. Additionally, internal controls and evaluations are carried out to assess the performance of the translation feature to ensure the artistic integrity of the original text.
Finally, two internal pilots and a small-scale public pilot have already been deployed, with a goal to assess the quality of the use case and fine tune the features we are developing. During the public pilot, we had the opportunity to gather feedback on our translation and caption feature from the participants, via questionnaires and semi structured interviews. This feedback has been valuable in improving the use case and refining our future steps.
Considering the importance of cultural nuances in theatrical expressions, how does the language translation system address the challenge of maintaining cultural sensitivity and preserving the artistic intent of the performance?
This is another reason why literary translations are used in our use case. As previously explained, literary translations are irreplaceable, even as AR technology presents the exciting potential to accommodate native speakers of diverse linguistic backgrounds. While translated captions are becoming more common in theatres, they are not universally available and typically cover only a limited number of languages. The ability of Augmented Theatre to extend beyond these traditional limitations underscores the importance of a solid foundation in literary translations to ensure that cultural and artistic elements are preserved.
The language translation system for VOXReality prioritizes cultural sensitivity and artistic integrity by relying on these literary translations, which capture the cultural nuances and emotional subtleties of the original text. To ensure that these aspects are preserved throughout the development, we conduct thorough evaluations of the translation outputs through internal checks. This evaluation is crucial for verifying that the translations maintain the intended cultural and artistic elements, thereby respecting the integrity of the original performance.
Considering advancements in technology, do you foresee the integration of augmented reality to enhance theatrical experiences, and how might this impact the audience's engagement with live performances?
AR has the potential to transform traditional theatre by offering immersive experiences, blending digital and physical elements to create new artistic dimensions. This technology allows for new dynamic ways of storytelling, capturing audience attention and enabling interactive elements that can enhance engagement with the performance.
One of the key opportunities AR offers is improving inclusivity and accessibility in theatre. This aligns with our organization’s goals, driven by a strong commitment to supporting inclusive practices and leveraging AEF’s international outreach. AR has the potential to engage audiences who may feel excluded from traditional theatre spaces, whether due to physical, linguistic, or sensory barriers, in unprecedented ways.
The rise of augmented reality (AR) technologies in the coming years therefore is undoubtedly set to make a lasting impact on how audiences engage with live performances. However, thoughtful consideration is essential to balance technological advancement with artistic integrity. This includes ensuring that AR enhances rather than detracts from the human experience of live performance and considering the impact on traditional theatre roles and artists rights.
Furthermore, while integrating AR into live theatre presents exciting possibilities, it also comes with several challenges. Combining AR with physical elements can sometimes be distracting for the audience, and technical issues like glitches or misalignment can disrupt the performance’s flow and break immersion. These challenges are compounded by the current limitations of bulky AR equipment. However, advancements in technology are expected to address these issues, leading to more sophisticated and user-friendly equipment. These challenges highlight why the VOXReality project is so exciting, as it allows us to explore and refine how AR can complement theatre in a real-world context.
How do you see theatre exploring virtual platforms for performances in the foreseen future? How might AR VFX be utilized to reach broader audiences or create unique immersive theatre experiences?
As an emerging medium, virtual platforms have the potential to revolutionize theatre by expanding their reach and creating new engagement opportunities. In our project, we use Augmented Reality Visual Effects (AR VFX) to blend digital elements with a live performance, exploring how these technologies can impact and create immersion in the theatre experience. In our use case voice activated VFX serve to accompany a scene of an ancient Greek play. Since in ancient Greek tragedy events are not enacted on stage and the retelling of events by actors is the norm, the VFX developed in our Augmented Theatre use case follow this narrative tradition, bringing the described elements to life for the audience in a very innovative way.
More broadly, the integration of virtual platforms and VFX opens up numerous possibilities for innovation in theatre. They can create dynamic, interactive backgrounds that change in response to the action on stage, integrate virtual characters or objects that interact with live performers, the possibilities are very diverse. VFX can also help in overcoming physical barriers by providing virtual set designs that are not constrained by physical space, and address geographic limitations, even enabling remote audiences to experience the performance in a virtual environment or enabling actors to perform from different locations.
Elena Oikonomou
Athens Epidaurus Festival
