overview | features | implementation | production | results | credits

The Interactive Theatre
	In 1998, Carnegie Mellon Human Resources began using Interactive Theater performances to spur dialogue among faculty and staff about sensitive workplace issues such as race relations, sexual harassment, and organizational change. Audience members watch a ten-minute scenario performed by professional actors.  Then, the audience is invited to discuss the scenario with the characters as they stay in role.  The question and answer session is followed by a discussion facilitated by human resources personnel.
InterACT: Interactive Theatre Goes Digital
	In a twenty-one week project, the live Interactive Theater experience was adapted into an interactive digital piece, capable of being delivered on DVD-Rom.   In the first seven weeks, the team laid the groundwork for the interactivity by using Synthetic Interview, a word-matching algorithm, to have the scenario characters respond to user questions.  The later fourteen weeks were spend adding to and fine-tuning the database of answers, resulting in over 700 answers between the three virtual characters. The project was based on content from “The Talking To,” a scenario which deals with diversity and race relations.  Like traditional Interactive Theater performances, this interactive training tool is not intended to provide solutions to sensitive workplace issues, but rather to raise awareness and allow the user to explore new perspectives.
		Next : Features

Carnegie Mellon

Entertainment Technology Center

www.etc.cmu.edu