The Virtual Stage: Rethinking Theater Space Through Online Games

Abstract

This study investigates the theatrical space in digital environments, with a particular focus on online performances produced during the COVID-19 pandemic. While theater has historically relied on physical settings to structure audience-performer interactions, digital performances challenge conventional notions of space. In contrast, online games maintain a strong connection to the notion of space and architectural discipline by incorporating 3D worlds. Based on performance theories linking theater to games, this study develops an interdisciplinary relationship among theater, online gaming, and architecture to construct a framework for understanding digital performance space. The methodology employs a comparative case study, analyzing five online theater performances alongside representative examples from digital games. Based on a theoretically grounded analytical framework, the spatial components and configurations of digital performances are investigated through four criteria: host performance space, ghost performance space, host audience space (interactions), and ghost audience space (sense of community). Findings indicate that online theater’s fragmented virtual and real spaces fail to foster a sense of community, which is vital for theatrical events. Conversely, online games merge real and fictional elements into collective, immersive virtual environments, offering a stronger model for online theater spaces.

Keywords

• Theater Space
• Online Theater
• Virtual Space
• Theater Architecture
• Online Game Spaces

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