"Anything is possible," said Alison Dobbins, assistant professor of integrated media and performance design in the Department of Theatre.
Dobbins believes this because students are involved in different activities and classes and bring their unique experiences with them to theater classes.
She is currently working on a joint project with students from Kent State University who are developing a game program that can be used to show media at the theater.
One of the issues with using media for theater is that it is often prerecorded, and requires an actor to hit a certain line at a specific time to line up with the media – taking away the magic of theater. Instead, Dobbins is working to create a system where at any moment an actor can perform a specific action that cues the animation. To do so, Dobbins wants to create an interface that will connect the two elements. Dobbins eventually wants to bring the interface to smartphones. She also wants to explore how media designed for theater changes the genre.
Dobbins and those assisting her with the project will be holding a workshop in December at Riverwalk Theater in Lansing, and will present a full performance in June.
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