In collaboration with les Polymorphistes, a Belgian association and theatre company using theatre as a tool of social inclusion, in December 2023, Diesis organized, in the framework of the VR theatre project, a series of workshops on theatre and virtual reality targeting the elderly.
The VR theatre project wishes to promote theatre and virtual reality as tools of social inclusion for the elderly. During the course of the project, the partners developed desk research on the topic, materials and a pilot training for professionals of the field, and finally developed a handbook including guidelines to create theatre workshops featuring the use of virtual reality. Therefore, this series of workshops was the final step of the project!
Hakim Trabelsi, from les Polymorphistes, with the support of the Diesis team, animated the six workshops that were held in December in Brussels, and attended by a group of circa ten elderly. The objectives of these sessions were for the audience to become familiar with both theatrical tools and virtual reality, and use them to bond, communicate and express themselves. By the end of the workshops, the participants were involved in many theatrical exercises, tested virtual reality, created their own virtual avatars, and shared with the group a story. Thanks to this experience, a strong bonding and feeling of community were built among the participants of the group, the animator and the supporting staff.
The materials created during the workshops, such as the recording of the stories and the avatars, will be collected in a final VR experience which will be presented during the VR Theatre final event in February. Stay tuned to join this event!
We would also like to thank the Brussels Ouderenplatform which hosted the workshops and supported us during the whole activity.