Teaching in/is a Game, with Red Dead Redemption 2

Lecture in dutch

The course Audiovisual Actuality of the second year Audio Visual Art Professional Bachelor will transform into a game on Wednesday 10th March. The lecture will take place together with the students of Theater-, Film- and Literature Sciences of University Antwerp. Three lecturers and our own Eric Joris will give a lecture in the PlayStation-game 'Red Dead Redemption 2'.

The students will be transported to the late nineteenth century in a realistic Western setting. Wild animals and armed robbers might attack any time. On their journey along different settings in the Midwest - on a horse, with a carriage or in the train, students get an insight in 'theatrality', 'remediation' and immersion. Eric Joris links 19th Century technologies with his state-of-the-art immersive productions. A lecture has never been this suspenseful and unpredictable.

Theatre Studies researcher Kurt Vanhoutte explains: ”The lecture is about theatricality in new media and technology such as video games. How does theatre evolve in our society? What aspects of classic drama do we also see in games? In this lecture the students will experience the course material in the medium that is being discussed.”

Students will observe and/or experience how audio-visual media can function in virtual reality. Mia Vaerman gives an introduction and takes part as Solnity Jane. Jeroen De Rijck chases the bad guys and wild animals.

lecturers:
Kurt Vanhoutte, Theater studies researcher UAntwerp
Nele Wynants, art historian ULB and UAntwerp
Benjamin Verhoeven, assistant UAntwerp and theater maker
Sarah Lughart, lecturer St. Joost School of Art & Design
Eric Joris, theater maker and artistic director CREW
Mia Vaerman, guest lecturer RITCS
Jeroen De Rijck, lecturer and adjunct head of department PBa AK RITCS