The Theater of Metaverse – The Theatre Times

Introduction
It seems that the mission of the father of arts, “theatre”, as well as all forms of literature, was not always only to produce pleasure, describe life and its aesthetics, and reformulate life and its stories in all its forms. Rather, there was an additional mission for it, which it may have overlooked, which is the mission of producing imagination. This artistic and creative production will always remain useless when it lacks the element of imagination in its production. I do not mean only the imagination of literature and art about issues of rhetoric and details of statement, but the imagination of producing knowledge or what furnishes human knowledge in all its forms. There is a famous saying by the physicist Albert Einstein that confirms what I want to say in this introduction and also expresses his approach, as he describes imagination as more important than knowledge or that it precedes that knowledge. If Dodson’s story Alice in Wonderland inspired the famous physicist Einstein to hypothesize wormholes in the theory of physical relativity, and if the story of Pygmalion’s glasses inspired scientists to the theory of the three-dimensional world embodied by 3D and VR glasses, and if the play by the great Czech writer Karel Čapek Rossum’s Robot laid the first outlines of the idea of ​​robots or automatons and paved the way for the invention of the robot and also its name, then the science fiction novel Snow Crash, which was written in 1992, built the first foundations for the concept of the “metaverse”, the subject of our discussion in this article, for the first time, and the events of the novel by the American writer Neal Stephenson Snow Crash revolve around characters entering the world of the metaverse in the form of an avatar, which is a virtual lookalike of the character. Where humans interact with each other as fictional characters and with software, in a three-dimensional virtual space similar to the real world. If we are going to talk in this research article about what I called “theatre of the metaverse” as a kind of anticipation of the future, then we must talk in detail about the meaning of the metaverse and its affairs.

Snapshot from Sphinx Theatre Festival, held in China and overseen by director Ming Jingwei.

Meaning of the word Metaverse

Metaverse, as defined by Wikipedia, is a word consisting of two parts: the first is “meta” (meaning beyond, or more descriptive) and the second is “Verse” (coined from “Universe”) and means (beyond the world).

As for the difference between the Metaverse and the Avatar, it can be said that the Metaverse does not refer in the broadest sense to virtual worlds only, but may refer to the worlds of the Internet as a whole or worlds beyond the Internet as well, including the full scope of augmented reality. In the Metaverse, the Avatar can transcend the real world in which we live and enter the world of virtual reality. That is, the Avatar is part of the Metaverse worlds and an integral component of its components.

The “Avatar” was created by Chip Morningstar and Joseph Romero in 1985, when they designed the game (Habitat), a multiplayer online game. An avatar is a graphic representation or drawing of a real person, often found in user profiles of online forums, instant messaging services, chat rooms, or social networks. These drawings represent the author of a blog or microblog in two-dimensional form, or possibly a three-dimensional form, occupying a place in the virtual world. In general, an avatar is an embodiment of a person or idea. However, in the computer world, the word avatar specifically refers to a symbol that represents the user online.

The beginning of the use of the metaverse

The use of the term has developed over time, and its first uses were in virtual world platforms such as the Scand Life platform in 2003. Then, the writers at the American company DC Comics began using the term “metaverse” as of 2019 to refer to a central version of reality that affects other versions in alternate timelines.

The term has been exploited for the purposes of developing and amplifying public relations for various technologies and projects of the same type. Since many massively multiplayer online games share features with the metaverse but only provide access to non-permanent states, shared by up to dozens of players, the concept of multiversal virtual games has been used to distinguish them from the metaverse. The term is usually used – according to Wikipedia – to describe the concept of hypothetical future versions of the Internet, consisting of a decentralized, permanently connected 3D simulation. These virtual worlds can be accessed and accessed via virtual reality or augmented reality glasses, mobile phones, desktop computers, and gaming platforms.

Metaverse in its broadest sense may refer not only to virtual worlds, but to the entire Internet, including the full scope of augmented reality. There are a number of potential real-world applications for the metaverse. When the metaverse is perfect, users will be able to experience any activity and will be able to handle anything they need from one place. When the metaverse reaches its perfect state, it can be applied to anything.

Snapshot from Sphinx Theatre Festival, held in China and overseen by director Ming Jingwei.

Other definitions of the metaverse

There is no specific definition for the metaverse, but Meta (formerly Facebook) describes it as:

“A collection of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who are not in the same room with you; you can hang out with friends, work, play, learn, shop, create, and more.”

Meta and many other tech companies are keen to expand the concept of the metaverse to become a tangible reality, by developing the tools needed to bring this technology to life.

In another attempt to define the metaverse, it is a huge social network that includes a combination of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and 3D environments in addition to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that are interacted with in real time, effectively and continuously, in which an unlimited number of people around the world participate, and it provides a real immersive environment for users and a real feeling, and real virtual communication in environments completely similar to environments in reality, as well as different types of transactions such as communications, payment, etc. May Stackides also mentioned that the metaverse is a post-reality world, in which physical reality is merged with virtual environments in a connected network that includes continuous and multi-person interactions, and contains worlds for open play based on virtual reality VR and augmented reality AR, and users are represented in it by symbolic images that interact with each other in real time and with an immersive feeling experienced by users, and these symbols are called avatars.

In another definition, the metaverse is “an integrated network of three-dimensional virtual worlds” accessed through a virtual reality headset – users navigate the metaverse using eye movements, haptic feedback controllers, or voice commands. The headset immerses the user and induces what is known as presence, which is created by generating the physical sensation of actually being there. This is the popular concept of the metaverse: a virtual reality-based world independent of our physical world where people can socialize and engage in a seemingly unlimited variety of virtual experiences, all powered by their own digital economy.

Metaverse Theater

If I have paved the way for this article by talking about the importance of imagination in producing knowledge, I can also put forward a hypothetical and prospective vision and imagine the Metaverse Theater based on the above as the virtual theater performed by a theatrical troupe of “avatars” in a virtual artistic exhibition space, with the same mechanism and method that a live theatrical troupe can present its artistic performance in a common exhibition space, whether it is closed like the Italian box or in an open exhibition space like street theater spaces, and as for the audience, its location will also be virtual, meaning that it watches the show and enjoys it via VR headphones, computers and smartphones, as well as allowing it to interact with the show virtually and with the same mechanisms used to present an artistic theatrical performance in an artistic exhibition hall in reality, tickets for theatrical performances in the Metaverse are booked using the same mechanisms in which tickets for artistic performances presented in reality are booked, and as for the characters of the play presented in the Metaverse, they are “avatars”, as I mentioned, controlled remotely by real actors and their voices, directed by skilled directors and have an integrated artistic crew just as any theatrical performance is implemented in real reality. Scenography, decor, lighting, sound engineer, makeup, clothing, etc. etc. etc.

It is possible to make the theatrical performance space in the metaverse on the street and instead of closed halls, the actors “avatars” can present their play in an open space and invite the audience, which is real characters represented by avatars, to form a circle in a virtual street and enjoy the artistic theatrical performance.

Such theatrical performances, in their closed and open space forms, can be invested commercially, as commercial goods of all kinds are displayed during the theatrical performances to the audience as a type of sponsored advertisements that support the existence and continuation of theatrical performances in virtual metaverse spaces.

Snapshot from Sphinx Theatre Festival, held in China and overseen by director Ming Jingwei.

Metaverse Play Texts

Experimentation in its greatest form is what can be clearly embodied in the “metaverse” theater. To make the experience more exciting and experimental, the texts that we can choose to present through the “metaverse” spaces must be composed by artificial intelligence robots of the “GPT-2 or GPT-3” model. Only here will the experience be complete and appear in the greatest image achieved by the genius of the human mind, at least according to this vision that I am presenting here and that anticipates the future of theater based on today’s technological data.
As for human intervention in the full embodiment of the “Metaverse Theater” experience, it can be said that it is a dramaturgical intervention in terms of processing the texts of the theatrical artificial intelligence robots by 10%, then the full directing of the details of the play with the same directing mechanisms in reality, noting the differences in the show space and what those differences require, and in a manner consistent with the requirements and necessities of technology. The rest of the functions of the technical staff responsible for producing any theatrical show and presenting it on the stage in reality will not differ, scenography, makeup, clothing, etc., and there must necessarily be virtual show stages, which are the future metaverse stages, which will be, as a result of their fame, bearing the name of global institutions such as the “Amazon” platform, hypothetically, or other famous platforms, and they are the only ones who determine stardom in the future and create it as well..

“Phoenix” Festival

It may seem inevitable for global theaters to now go, either actively or forcibly, to embrace digital forms, especially amid the rise of the Internet of the metaverse.

On Saturday, renowned Chinese theater director Meng Jinghui announced a brand-new theater festival that will kick off in April in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with participation across the metaverse.

This is China’s first metaverse theater festival, and the Sphinx Meta Theater Festival, named after the mythical creature “phoenix” from Egyptian tradition, will seek to establish international connections with cities around the world including New York, Paris and Berlin, with the help of technology.

Later on Saturday, the organizers of the new festival released a total of 83 visually stunning futuristic posters created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI).

Snapshot from Sphinx Theatre Festival, held in China and overseen by director Ming Jingwei.

The posters were created in collaboration with 83 guests from all walks of life, including artists, CEOs, magazine editors and tech company CEOs, who were invited by the festival to input six guiding messages into an AI image generator to produce extraordinary works of art; to present the future of theater in China through them. As host of the theater festival, Ming inserted messages such as “The Cruel Green,” “The Decline of Tomorrow Has Nothing to Do with Me,” “The Young Picasso,” “The Crazy Colors of German Expressionism,” and “No Cause, No Effect.”

In addition to posters, the first Metaverse Theater Festival “Phoenix,” scheduled to be held from April 15 to May 7, will feature nine sections, including a Metaverse Theater Stage, interactive multimedia exhibitions, summits and panel discussions, and a participatory marketplace, with the aim of discussing potential breakthroughs in the future of metaverse theater as well as the limitations of AI technology.

As one of the most influential figures in China’s theater industry, Chinese director Ming is known for his humorous and critical style, as well as his leadership of diverse artistic sensibilities, and has recently been able to turn attention to a new trend: a combination of virtual reality and plays (meta theater).

Snapshot from Sphinx Theatre Festival, held in China and overseen by director Ming Jingwei.

The combination of theater performances and artistic technological techniques is not entirely new in China. In 2022, the National Peking Opera Company presented the first human opera powered by artificial intelligence, You Zixi. The AI ​​character learned its movements from other Peking Opera performers. As the concept of the metaverse has leapt from science fiction novels to small screens and now to real-life art, this unstoppable trend is also worrying insiders: Has art really entered the digital world and where are the boundaries?

Liang Xin, an expert on the theater industry and Henan opera, told the Global Times on Sunday that no matter what kind of high technology enters the industry, the ultimate goal is to improve performance.

“High technology, such as the metaverse, should be used in any aspect, to make the audience feel the beauty of art, opera or plays, so to speak,” Liang said. “We can’t lose the essence of art by focusing too much on technology. I think this is what the Metaverse Theater Festival will also bring to the table.”

References 
(1) Warda Gharman Al-Omari, Metaverse: Its Concept, Advantages, Disadvantages, and the Possibility of Benefiting from It in Education, published on 07/01/2022, link: https://www.new-educ.com/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%B3-metaverse-%D9%85%D9%81%D9%87%D9%88%D9%85%D9%87%D8%A7-%D9%85%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%A7
(2)Mystakidis, S. (2022). Metaverse. Encyclopedia, 2(1), 486–497. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia2010031
(3) Adrian Ma, What is the Metaverse, and what can we do there?, URL: https://theconversation-com.translate.goog/what-is-the-metaverse-and-what-can-we-do-there-179200?_x_tr_sl=en&_x_tr_tl=ar&_x_tr_hl=ar&_x_tr_pto=sc