- 2 day event
- 3 rooms
- 20+ interactive buttons
- 130 chat messages
An online theater festival in an interactive online environment with custom-made designs
Cultuurhuis Casino and Cultuurconnect teamed up to organise a unique audio experience devoted to stories, sounds, voices and podcasts. This two-day audio theater festival is an experiment of the research project Art@Home in which Cultuurconnect wants to give cultural and community centers the opportunity to present a digital artistic offer to the audience. Continue reading to discover what made this event stand out.
We were looking for a partner who could build us a customized virtual theatre and teamed up with Thola. They incorporated our needs and wishes and actively gave us advice in how to make the theatre experience better. Sofie was always available with a big smile for help and a quick question. On top of this, Once Storytelling designed a warm and beautiful virtual theatre, also here exceeding our expectations!
Paulien Coppens – Project Manager R&D at Cultuurconnect
An entertaining program
he first day of this audio theater festival kicked off with an interactive live session in which different true stories were told under the guidance of Relaas. After that the attendees could enjoy ‘Dubbel Glas‘, an immersive audio performance by Rinske Bouwman and Inge Wannet. The audience was invited to put on their headphones to get carried away during this theatrical spectacle that was experienced from the living room, but at the same time felt like a live performance. Finally, the visitors had the opportunity to meet the main artists during an engaging Q&A session.
The second day was entirely dedicated to podcasts. During the online workshop about ‘How to podcast’, our expert Sara Logghe from allespodcast shared her best tips & tricks on how to create and structure a podcast story.
More content to discover
Next to this carefully selected program, the attendees could find multiple interactive buttons spread out over the three rooms of this theater festival. When clicking on these buttons, different types of content appeared. For example, in the left corner of the lobby people could enter the virtual listening corner where short audio performances, soundtracks, a podcast, an artist biography and an interview article were available. Another button was added to the right corner the outside bar. This button took you to a website where you could buy coffee or tea to support the local artists. And finally, in case of questions or issues the attendees could click on the bartender to get in contact with her.
How to bring a virtual theater to life
For this two-day online theater festival it was very important that the audience had the sensation of being in a welcoming theater environment. Also for this event we turned to the excellent design skills of Once Storytelling. Without hesitation they accepted the challenge to create three magical theatre rooms and matching avatars:
- Welcoming lobby
The lobby is the central area where the attendees started their audio journey. It included a colorful listening corner with a jukebox, a bar with a great assortment of drinks and a retro lightbox which displayed the program. - Charming outside bar
This room consisted out of lots of tables in an evening setting with cosy lights in front of a big screen which was used for the live sessions. - Cosy theatre hall
A dark but cosy room that immediately draws the attention to the main artists that are standing in the spotlight on a stage with signature red curtains. - Avatars
The attendees could choose from a set of 16 avatars that were all dressed up in evening gowns or tuxedos. Also the main artists and the bartender had their own personalised avatar.
Do you want to amaze your audience with a similar online cultural experience?
Reach out to us by requesting an introductory meeting here.
