Experimenting with distributed participatory performing art experiences

This paper presents the research, experimentation and evaluation work of two open pilots performed with the Co-Creation Stage tool. This tool enables live experiences in the field of performing arts, connecting distributed locations in real-time and enabling co-located and participatory experiences. One of the open pilots is in the area of opera, performing a co-created work-in-progress between professionals led by SAMP, a Portuguese artistic organisation, and inmates, workers and relatives of a youth prison (EPL-J) in Leiria (Portugal). The main stage of the opera was at the Gulbenkian concert hall in Lisbon, with professional singers and musicians together with inmates and relatives. There was a live link to a secondary stage in the prison with inmates and professional musicians, as well as links to ex-inmates and relatives from all over the world. The second pilot was an interactive and participatory theatre play performed by Utopian, a Theatre Company in Getxo (Spain), where remote viewers could be part of the experience by interacting with the actors and influencing the narrative. In this paper we present the lessons learnt in the evaluation of these pilots through questionnaires and interviews with participants, audience and experts.