Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1996 - 49

YR to fulll" e\plore the pSlchological dimension of the drama and its relationship to character. place. time. and action.
'1\1"0. Il"e hal"e learned that the rules of the game-ll"hat Il"e mean
bl" full integration. Ilhat Il"e beliel"e it to be-are defined ,mell" bl" each
era or generation. Therefore. I am not suggesting that YR is in anI" Il"al" a
final solution. YR is just another step in the journel". Just as the I"isual
1"0cabuiarY of artificial perspectil"e prol"ided the il1legratil"e link for the
perceptions of the Renaissance. so the l"isuall"Ocabulan of YR Il"ill proI"ide the il1legratil"e link that Il"illmake our i'l"el1ly-urst cel1lUIY perceptions possible. \\"hat these perceptions might be. I II"0uid also suggest.
Il"ere hil1led al bl" Robert Edmond Jones Ilhen he deleloped his I"ision of
a \ell" Theatre.
Jones' I"ision Il"as to be a technological alld philosophical sl"Ilthesis
thal ll"Olild gil"e dramatic e\pression to the condition of contemporarl"
nmn. It is this condition. this realization of the relationship bei'l"een our
outer and inner lil"es. that Jones sought to reconcile Il"ith his nell" elrama
and his nell" theatre. This reconciliation. as Jones defined it from his
prophetic and humanistic perspectil"e. is actualll" a process of healing.
.-\t the end of his essal" he noted:
For II is 1101 aliI' OilIer life alolle Ibal bas lIIeallilig Jar
liS lod{!)'. liar aliI' ililier life alolle. bill Ibe lil'illg relaliollship belweell aliI' OllIeI' life alld aliI' IlIlIer life. rilid
II is precise(r Ibis lil'illg rela/iollsblP Ibal is Ibe sllbjecl
oj Ibe lIell' drallla. III life as we lire II aliI' IlIlIer e.\jJeriellce mils parallel 10 aliI' OllIeI' e.\jJerlellce bill seldolll
lIIeels il. 7JJe Iwo mrielles oj e.\jJerlelice are mre(r
Jllsed. Bill Ibe lIell' drallla 11'111 preselll 10 liS. 1101 01111'
0111' life ill relalioll 10 Ibe world Ire lire ill. bill aliI' relalioll 10 aliI' 0/1'11 IlIlIer drealll. Here Is II prolllise. Seeillg
il-bearillg II--e.\jJeriellclllg il Ire call becollle wbole
alice 1II0re.;
Yirtual Realit\. I beliel"e. is the contemporarl" technique that \I"ill allOll" us to unlock this I"ision further. Tbe Addillg .llachille: A VIrlllal Reali~I' Projecl is. I believe. the first step in that direction.*:.

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\OTES
I, .Iones. Roben Edmond. "The [)r;Ulla Of The Future." IllS. Beinecke Libran. Yale L'ni\ersin': 19- ~~. (For acomplete disclL-;sion of.lones· \ision of a "\el\' Theatre" see: L'nl1lh.
l!elben, "The \el\' Theatre Of I~oben Edmond.Iones". Wc: r IX'inter 1988: S-Il.)
) The earll pioneering \\'ork of The George Coates PelfollllanCe \I'orks in this area offered an experience that W;L, like l'il1u:t1 Realit\. In their own \\OIlL, it was... t il'llial.
I'inual Reality". The experience seemed to be like \irtual realin' but did not use actual
I'inual Realit\ techno!oi,'\'. nor did the audience hare to \\ear :l\1\' mediating de\ice.
such :LI polarized gl:L\>l':l or a head mounted displ:t\. in Oilier to riel\' the images. In hi>
recent \\urk. such :L, HelieI' Had _I·ell'.'-. pol:trizl'(! gl:L\se~ are used b\' the audience to
,uspend themsel\t':> in. :L' Coate> calls it. "atolal immel,i\e sUITound", (See ",Imerican Theatre", October 199'1. 3~l.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1996
