Bennett, Naomi P., Erçin, N. Eda ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2707-9543, Langner, Greg, Kruchinina, Irina, Middleton, Johanna and Sampson, Cynthia (2024) Being Virtual Together: Creating Connection in "dist[Sense]". International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media.

Text Bennett et al_Being Virtual Together.pdf - Accepted Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 4 December 2025. Download (674kB) Request a copy

Abstract

This co-authored paper is a reflection on our collective and individual experiences creating and performing in dist[Sense], a virtual performance experience for one audience-participant and one performer-participant to be present together in a single Zoom box. dist[Sense] was created as a reaction to global stay-at-home orders and a widely-shared sense of isolation and need for human connection during the summer of 2020. Using Zoom Telematics, dist[Sense] created a shared virtual space in which the performer-participant and audience-participant could be co-present. Through writing this performance reflection, we (the creative team) have wrestled with our own definitions of presence. What does it mean to be both materially alone and virtually together? Can we really achieve shared meaning with another? Or is the experience of mutual understanding a projection of our thoughts and desires? Although these questions exist in Face-to-Face interactions, the virtual shared space of dist[Sense] brought their urgency to the forefront. In dist[Sense], the medium became the message: the medium of Zoom became the meaning we learned about — how to connect in virtual space. Through the creation and performance of dist[Sense], we each found our own way to be present and find connection in a time of mass isolation.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	"This is an accepted version of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media on 04/06/2024 available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14794713.2024.2357823”
Status:	Published
DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1080/14794713.2024.2357823
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general > NX456.5.P38 Performance Art
School/Department:	School of the Arts
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/10081

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