Designing Immersive Experience: The Interplay of Audience Experience and Artistic Vision in cross-disciplinary immersive and Interactive Theatrical experience

This study aims to understand the dynamic relationship between artistic vision and audience experience, designed by creators of immersive and interactive theatrical experiences across different immersive formats. Drawing upon nine semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from the Netherlands, the UK, Norway, and the USA, along with two participant observations and document analysis, the research explores five productions. These five immersive productions are distinct in formats and storytelling across/in spatial environments (physical, digital, and hybrid). They are The Uncanny Thing Trilogy- Interactive Immersive Opera, Sleepy Hollow- XR and Theatre, Orphée | l'Amour | Eurydice -Immersive Opera, Briar and Rose in the Land of Fairytales -Live Stage Theatre Performance in using AR (augmented reality), and A Christmas Carol VR-Virtual Theatre live performance. Through five case studies and thematic analysis, this study concludes that the relationship between artistic vision and audience experience is not binary or strictly hierarchical; instead, they are multifaceted and interconnected. The interplay is context-dependent and dynamically negotiated through iterative processes, team dynamics, technological and spatial design, and the unique challenges and constraints of each production. Additionally, broader structural conditions such as funding environments, local policy, audience expectations, and infrastructures also influence the sustainability of the practice.