NEXT LEVEL

Festival für Games, interaktive Kunst und digitales Theater

13.11. — 16.11.25

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Discussion: Superimposition – Overlays of Staging and the Individual

14.11.25, 
12:45 – 13:30 Uhr
Dortmunder U, Discussion, Talk

Following Jonathan Harth’s talk

In extended reality, actors do not operate via a remote-controlled avatar, but enter the virtual stage with their own bodies and a virtual representation. It is a performance in two respects: On the one hand, the actors bring the experiences of their real-life world into the virtual environment; on the other hand, they adopt a virtual character that they imbue with their own presence. This interplay with roles is semi-permeable, as the human lifeworld penetrates the determined, computer-generated staging and vice versa. The superimposed states of superimposition influence both individuals and society, changing their lived reality. The reciprocal interface operates at the intersection of code and individual. To directly experience the staging, these interactions must establish an intersubjective connection with the determined staging. In our discussion, we examine the interfaces between self-efficacy and virtual staging, as well as their potential impact on our lifeworld.

Panelists: Jonathan Harth, Sarah Buser, and Robin Junicke

Moderator: Tobias Bieseke

kiU Talk #8 of the kiU storyLab of FH Dortmund/Dortmunder U.

In German.

Sarah Buser
Jonathan Harth
Robin Junicke
Tobias Bieseke

Sarah Buser is a director, dramaturge, and programmer. In her work on participatory, theatrical play systems, she combines narration, code, and fiction to make theoretical concepts and social phenomena interactively tangible. She has realized projects with, among others, the Kunsthalle Basel, the Theater Dortmund, Ars Electronica in Linz, and the Berliner Ensemble.

She studied philosophy and German language and literature at the University of Basel and dramaturgy at the Zurich University of the Arts. She was a fellow at the Academy for Theatre and Digitality, taught as a visiting professor for VR and multimedia design at Burg Giebichenstein in Halle, and currently teaches in the Master’s program in Play and Object at HfS Ernst Busch and in the Master’s program in Creative Technologies at the Film University Babelsberg.

Jonathan Harth works at the Chair of Sociology at Witten/Herdecke University. His research interests include the sociology of digitalization (Extended Reality and sociality under conditions of machine intelligence), digital art production, and the sociology of religion (Western Buddhism). Alongside his work at the chair, Harth works on the research project “Theater of Extended Realities” at Theater an der Ruhr, which investigates the use of digital technologies in virtual and augmented theater plays.

Robin Junicke received his doctorate in Theater Studies (Dimensions of RolePlayingGames). He currently works as a lecturer in the Master’s program Scenic Research at the Institute for Theater Studies at Ruhr University Bochum, as well as a lecturer at various universities. Furthermore, he works as a freelance photographer, cameraman, and dramaturg. His main areas of work include game theory, theory of the fantastic, dramaturgy, and documentation methods in the arts.

Tobias Bieseke is a research associate at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts, working at storyLab kiU at Dortmunder U (Centre for Art and Creativity), where he researches the potential of extended perceptions and narratives for contemporary art. He experiments within the framework of artistic research, operating at the intersection of artistic application and the scientific investigation of new media. Occasionally, he also works in the freelance creative industry for theaters, universities, and companies. Since 2018, he has been working on his doctorate at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM) in the field of experimental computer science, supervised by Georg Trogemann. His thesis is titled “Extended Realities – Technically Augmented Visual Perception and its Impact on Individual Spaces of Action in Contemporary Art”. In 2023, he first showcased the success of his research when, together with Thomas Krupa, he won the German theater award “Der Faust” in the “Genre Jumper” category for “The Wall 360°”. Concept: Tobias Bieseke, Programming: Jan Schulten, Avatar Artwork: Azziza El-Yabadri, Environment Artwork: Timo Sodenkamp.