The Anthropocene Project
featured as the central case study in: Yoon, Doo-Young.
“Slow Dramaturgy as a Means of Cultivating Interconnectedness and Sustainability through Temporal Deceleration: Focusing on The Anthropocene Project (2025).” Korean Theatre Studies, 2025.

This study aims to explore the characteristics of immersive theater, where audiences actively engage as Spect-Actors or Co-Actors. Grounded in the theoretical frameworks of Augusto Boal and Richard Schechner, the research investigates how immersive theater integrates active audience participation to shape its distinctive form and aesthetic value. Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed highlights audience agency and active involvement, introducing the concept of the Spect-Actor, wherein the audience assumes the role of the actor. Similarly, Schechner's Environmental Theater envisions the stage as a shared space for actors and audiences, encapsulating the idea of the Co-Actor. These concepts of audience participation have been pivotal in the evolution of immersive theater and continue to inform its contemporary practice. Drawing on this theoretical foundation, the study examines the application of Spect-Actor dynamics in modern immersive theater through three case studies: <Conference of The Absent> by Rimini Protokoll, <Every Brilliant Thing> by Creative Table Seok-Young, and <Justice Syndicate> by Fast Familiar. It analyzes how these performances foster immersive experiences and generate unique aesthetic qualities. In <Conference of The Absent>, Spect-Actors embody absent individuals' voices, dissolving the boundary between reality and fiction. This process transforms personal narratives into collective social commentary, producing profound aesthetic impact. <Every Brilliant Thing> reveals moments of emotional emergence through interactions among actors, Spect-Actors, and audience members, converting individual emotions into shared, communal experiences. <Justice Syndicate> leverages digital interfaces to facilitate audience participation, fostering collaborative decision-making and ethical deliberation, thereby transforming the theater into a micro-society for dialogue. This research concludes that Spect-Actors transcend the role of passive spectators to become genuine co-creators within immersive performances. While they may not fully replicate the roles of trained actors, their presence is integral to creating immersive experiences and advancing the aesthetic and participatory dimensions of modern theater. By encouraging further exploration of Spect-Actors' roles, this study seeks to inspire new, layered approaches to audience participation across diverse theatrical forms.