As apps like Ctrl have shown, theatre-based VR experiences can make for some of the most immersive and compelling content you can see inside a headset today. But it takes a fusion of both theatrical and technical production skills to pull it off, which is a lot to ask. That’s where TheatreXR comes in.

Created by UK-based TOMtech, a division of Brighton’s The Old Market that specializes in educating creatives on the technical side of theatre, TheatreXR is a new intensive training course designed specifically to teach artists about VR, AR and how they might integrate it with their work. The first workshop will take place from 3rd – 7th September 2018 in Brighton with an introduction course the week beforehand.

“These new tools have a lot to offer to artists, but the reciprocal is also true,” TOMtech Creative Producer James Turnbull said in a prepared statement. “Live arts, such as theatre, are perhaps the best placed to help move the medium forward, bringing expertise in storytelling (and story ’doing’), innovation in narrative structures and audience emotional manipulation. However, the tools required for this work are rather different to stagecraft – this new training programme starts to address that.”

Electronic theatre artist Simon Wilkinson will lead the course, which will require participants to have a basic understanding of apps like Photoshop and/or Premiere Pro to take part. Over the course of the workshops you’ll learn to create a VR production in Unity as well as an AR production for iOS and Android. There’s also a look at scripting without code and using photogrammetry to create realistic experiences. Tickets to VR theatre events will also be included as part of the package.

The course is selling for £650 + VAT per person. Anyone interested in taking part should reach out to Turnbull at james@theoldmarket.com or call 01273 201800.