-Comparing Stage Presence and Virtual Reality Presence -Reflecting on the impending release of new Head Mounted Display virtual reality (VR) technologies, the article examines definitions and techniques for digital presence, and compares them with research into stage presence. It opens with an outline of definitions of digital presence, comparing them with Cormac Power's fictional, auratic, and literal modes of presence in performance. The article then looks at techniques used in VR and on stage to achieve presence. Finally, performance examples that use virtual reality technologies are presented. The article concludes that even if the technology falls short, discourse on digital presence is useful in providing insights into presence on stage. Keywords: Theatre. Performance. Digital Performance. Presence. Virtual Reality. RÉSUMÉ -Une Comparaison entre Présence Scénique et Présence en RéalitéVirtuelle -Réagissant au lancement de nouveaux visiocasques de réalité virtuelle (RV), l'article examine des définitions et des techniques de présence numérique, les comparant à des recherches sur la présence scénique. Le texte s'ouvre avec un survol de définitions de présence numérique, les comparant avec les modes de présence scénique proposés par Cormac Power (fictif, auratique et littéral). Ensuite, le texte examine les techniques utilisées pour susciter une sensation de présence dans la réalité virtuelle et sur scène. Enfin, le texte conclut que, même si la technologie ne répond pas aux attentes, le discours autour de la présence numérique promeut un nouveau regard sur la présence scénique. Mots-clés: Théâtre. Performance. Performance Numérique. Présence. Réalité Virtuelle. RESUMO -Uma Comparação entre Presença Cênica e Presença na RealidadeVirtual -Ao refletir sobre o iminente lançamento de novas tecnologias de realidade virtual, como capacetes, o artigo examina definições e técnicas para a presença digital e as compara com a pesquisa em presença no palco. Inicia com definições de presença digital, comparando-as com as modalidades de presença em performance de Power -ficcional, aurática e literal. A seguir, aborda as técnicas utilizadas em RV e no palco para alcançar a presença. O artigo conclui que, mesmo que a tecnologia não alcance seu objetivo, o discurso sobre presença digital consegue oferecer insights sobre presença no palco.

modern scholarship with an intriguing challenge, and one which has the potential to fuel embodied research for years to come. The last chapter of The Players' Advice to Hamlet is not a conclusion, but rather a return to the beginning: to training. Wiles thus points to the circularity of the acting process itself, inviting scholars and practitioners to read the end in light of the beginning.

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(A project of the Digital Dramaturgy Lab at the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Toronto) This article discusses the 2017 festival-based undergraduate course, “Theatre Criticism and Festival Dramaturgy in the Digital Age in the Context of Globalization—A Cultural-Comparative Approach” as a platform for experiential learning. The course, hosted by the University of Toronto’s Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, and based on principles of our Digital Dramaturgy Lab, invited a small group of undergraduate students to critically investigate two festivals—the Toronto Fringe Festival and the Festival d’Avignon—in order to engage as festival observers in criticism and analysis of both individual performances and festival programming/event dramaturgy. We argue that site-specific modes of experiential learning employed in such a project can contribute in meaningful ways to, and expand, current discourses on festivalising/festivalization and eventification through undergraduate research. We focus on three modes of experiential learning: nomadic learning (learning on the move, digital mobility), embodied knowledge (learning through participation, experience, and feeling), and critical making (learning through a combination of critical thinking and physical making). The article begins with a brief practical and theoretical background to the course. It then examines historical conceptions of experiential learning in the performing arts, including theoriesadvanced by Burnet Hobgood, David Kolb and Ronald Fry, and Nancy Kindelan. The importance of the festival site is then discussed, followed by an examination of how the festivals supported thethree modes of experiential learning. Samples of student works are used to support this analysis.

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Now in the development phase of its third iteration, “In Sundry Languages” by Toronto Laboratory Theatre presents the language struggles of both new and established Toronto residents in eight different languages. Following rehearsals on and off throughout its year-long evolution, I have found it fascinating to see the progression from its initial workshop phase to its current period of refinement. The piece is based on the actual immigration or international experiences of its performing members. Each of their stories has contributed to the dramaturgical content of a series of twelve vignettes, which play with linguistic quirks, difficulties, and stereotypes. I initially participated as an actor-dramaturg in the earliest rehearsals (in April 2015) and had the opportunity to dabble in Russian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Persian, Korean, and Portuguese. Due to a scheduling conflict I was only part of the project for the first three weeks of a six-week development stage, which resulted in a public performance on May 15, 16 2015. I later caught up with director Art Babayants for an interview in February 2016 to learn about the second iteration of “In Sundry Languages” scheduled to run in early March, 2017 at the Luella Massey Studio Theatre (Toronto).

I write the account below as a future member of CUPE 3902. Though the University of Toronto strike did not affect me directly, its indirect effects for me were real and omnipresent. My classes were moved off campus in support of the strike and the growing rallies in which I occasionally participated sent a message that was loud and clear. It was fascinating to watch the growth of the strike movement in spring 2015, and though its conclusion left one with mixed feelings, it also left many reasons for optimism in the future.