RENOWNED Chinese theater director Meng Jinghui believes that “every revolution in technology brings a renaissance in art,” so he seeks to bring a unique theater play to people through the power of the internet. Integrating modern technology into stage theater, the Sphinx Meta Theater Festival with Meng as artistic director explores the notion of the Metaverse. It will be held from April 15 to May 7 in Beijing with the participation of hundreds of artists. As one of the important avant-garde directors in China, Meng has had a significant impact on the contemporary Chinese theater scene. He stated that he expects to showcase domestic drama performances in a novel manner through virtual reality (VR) and investigate new opportunities for Chinese drama performances in contemporary society. “This Meta Theater Festival is an experiment,” said Meng. “Following the birth of movies, this is also another new age for theater artists and global technology to combine together.” To break the limits of the physical stage, the festival named after the mythological creature from Egyptian lore, uses a variety of core technologies, including VR, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and cloud computing to support the development of theater. For example, a total of 83 spectacular futuristic AI-generated posters were produced with the help of 83 guests from various walks of life, including artists, celebrities, magazine editors and tech company CEOs, to showcase the future theater in China. The festival’s opening play, “Faust,” directed by Meng, will usher in a new age of theater by fusing reality and the virtual. Adapted from the masterpiece of German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the play will be presented with the assistance of high technology. Talking about the reason why he chose the story, Meng explained that he wanted to make a metaverse drama and “Faust” fits just fine. “The devil has allowed Faust to have so many abilities, which are like the possibilities that the Metaverse has given human beings. Since human beings have developed technology to explore and conquer the world, now we’re on our way to explore our spiritual world, which is indeed very Faustian,” said Meng. Here in “Faust,” VR technology is one of the major technologies used in the play. To an extent, during a stage play, digital parts will be added in with the help of a technical team who has created digital images of characters such as Faust, the Devil and Mrs. Faust. According to Meng, the digital roles will also interact with the actors on the stage during the play, to present a multi-dimensional interactive and immersive performance to audiences. “Digital technology has brought huge opportunities for the future transformation of our theater industry. It is possible that we can easily create more complex and realistic characters for the stage. Digital technology also allows us to present scenes and special effects that were previously impossible on a bare stage,” he said.(Global Times) | 