Extending the Computers as Theatre Metaphor: From Presence in the Theatre to Telepresence

This paper extends the connection between computers and theatre, first explored by Brenda Laurel in her research into human-computer interface. Applying a similar approach to the study of telepresence can present new perspectives and yield an interesting insight into the causes, effects and structure of telepresence. Working within a phenomenological tradition, the author establishes some points of connection between presence in the theatre and telepresence: the role of mediation, suspension of disbelief and a theatre audience’s or virtual environment user’s deliberate imaginative act. A further analysis of these aspects of presence, which are foregrounded and emphasised in the theatre, will add new dimensions to an understanding of telepresence.