Shakespeare VR

The Shakespeare-VR project uses virtual reality technologies to bring students face-to-face with professional actors performing Shakespearean soliloquies in a replica of Shakespeare’s Blackfriars Playhouse. Directed by Shakespeare scholar and Digital Humanities specialist, Prof. Stephen Wittek, the project combines the talents of partners from the virtual reality production company Stitchbridge, the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation, the CMU Center for Digital Sciences, Humanities, Arts, Research, and Publishing (DSHARP), and the American Shakespeare Center. In addition to providing an exciting, immersive introduction to the spaces Shakespeare had in mind when he composed his plays, the project makes an important contribution to the growing body of research on virtual reality in humanities education. Shooting at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia took place in November, 2018. The virtual reality experiences include scenes from Hamlet (1.2, 2.2, 3.1 & 5.1), and a virtual tour of the ASC Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, VA.