{"id":5810,"date":"2026-05-25T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/?p=5810"},"modified":"2026-05-22T23:50:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T21:50:46","slug":"narration-dramaturgy-storytelling-call-it-what-you-want-as-long-as-the-magic-happens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/narration-dramaturgy-storytelling-call-it-what-you-want-as-long-as-the-magic-happens\/","title":{"rendered":"Narration, Dramaturgy, Storytelling\u2026 Call It What You Want\u2014As Long as the Magic Happens<br>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"is-style-chapo wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>New forms of narration, augmented dramaturgy, storytelling\u2026 \u201cNarrative\u201d now takes shape in many forms\u2014whether in writing, staging, or communication. Yet they all seem to point toward the same ambition: interacting with audiences and turning them into active participants in a sensory experience.<br\/>  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br\/>\u201cPeople have been telling stories since the dawn of time,\u201d says Emanuela Righi, co-founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/novaya.io\/\">Novaya<\/a>, a production company specializing in immersive installations. Yet XR technologies and social media have disrupted the way audiences are addressed, giving stories a new dimension while paradoxically bringing the importance of storytelling back to the forefront. <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Engaging audiences<br\/><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTen years ago, at the beginning of VR, producers\u2014often coming from film and audiovisual backgrounds\u2014were betting that everyone would own a headset,\u201d explains the producer, who also serves as secretary of the professional network <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pxn.fr\/\">PXN<\/a>. At the time, she notes, many works leaned toward gaming. \u201cThen the field began drawing inspiration from live performance, which relies heavily on storytelling,\u201d she continues.<br\/>At the intersection of these disciplines lies the immersive work Noire, which she produces\u2014an adaptation of Tania de Montaigne\u2019s essay. It recounts the story of Claudette Colvin, a young girl convicted for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger, just months before Rosa Parks. At the center of the experience, audiences are invited to discover her story and adopt different points of view. \u201cThey become co-directors, because they decide how to look at this story, how to experience it, how to move through it,\u201d explains Emanuela Righi. Here, narration acts as a guide, enabling what she describes as \u201ca fluid, embodied experience,\u201d supported by a combination of elements\u2014set design, spatialized sound, headsets, lighting effects, and more.      <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Noire - Trailer (FR)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QWou7Ihs1rI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe offer an in-situ experience: the body is fully engaged,\u201d adds J\u00e9r\u00f4me Fihey, founder of Le Crabe Fant\u00f4me and co-president of PXN, describing the contribution of narrative thinking. A member of the Expo committee, he develops immersive exhibition design projects. \u201cNarration creates engagement and tension,\u201d he says. It is not necessarily synonymous with linear storytelling or fiction; it can also be experimental.<br\/>In the summer of 2025, the magazine Th\u00e9\u00e2tre public devoted a <a href=\"https:\/\/shs.cairn.info\/revue-theatre-public-2025-2?lang=fr%20\">special issue<\/a> to intersections between theater and digital technologies, linking them to the question of new imaginaries. Co-coordinated with Jean-Louis Besson, theater director Jean Boillot presented the augmented dramaturgy laboratory he initiated. Building on experiments in remote theater developed during the COVID period, <a href=\"https:\/\/laspirale-jeanboillot.com\/le-nouveau-decameron\/\">Le Nouveau D\u00e9cam\u00e9ron<\/a> is based on the premise that digital media require a specific form of writing. His production L\u2019Arbre de Mia takes the form of \u201cready-to-play theater\u201d: a theatrical experience in which spectators also become performers through a smartphone that delivers their role.       <\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"AdM pr\u00e9sentation\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/874131533?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Rethinking an ecosystem<br\/><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While he speaks of \u201ca transformation underway,\u201d Jean Boillot also notes that \u201can entire ecosystem still needs to be rethought.\u201d The challenge, he explains, is to create dialogue between venues and artists in order to better integrate narrative-based works into theater spaces\u2014by questioning, or reinvesting, the frontal layout of traditional stages.<br\/>Providing a shared space for reflection and experimentation around digital transformations is precisely one of the goals of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmnlab.com\/\">TMNLab<\/a> community. While skepticism toward digital tools may have lingered among venue directors a few years ago, Cl\u00e9ment Coustenoble sees this resistance diminishing today. The TMNLab project manager points out that \u201cdigital culture, as a social phenomenon, has transformed practices that are not themselves digital.\u201d<br\/>New forms of narration are also reshaping institutions in multiple ways\u2014particularly in communication and audience engagement, with the goal of \u201cimproving dialogue with audiences and reaching new ones.\u201d This is the focus of a self-learning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmnlab.com\/prospero-extended-theatre-x-tmnlab-data-literacy-platform\/\">platform<\/a> dedicated to data-driven management and marketing strategies. Through the project <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmnlab.com\/unlock-theatre\/\">Unlock th\u00e9\u00e2tre<\/a>, the association is also seeking to \u201cleverage social media to rekindle interest in theater outings among thirty-somethings.\u201d Among the tools developed is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmnlab.com\/2025\/12\/15\/la-mallette-diy-le-kit-pour-rejoindre-le-mouvement-tapremiereautheatre\/%20\">#tapremiereautheatre<\/a>, a Reel format in which non-attendees share their first theater experience, before and after attending.        <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Dramaturgy, storytelling, narration\u2026<br\/> <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMany terms cover the same idea, and the same term can carry different meanings depending on the perspective,\u201d the project manager reminds us. For him, the real challenge lies in collaboration, shared knowledge, and collective cultural literacy among all stakeholders in a project\u2014artists, technical teams, audience engagement staff, and more.<br\/>These questions will be at the heart of the event <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmnlab.com\/events\/chaillot-augmente-x-rencontres-2026mnlab-art-vivant-et-environnements-numeriques\/\">Chaillot Augment\u00e9 x Rencontre TMNlab<\/a> \u2014 Performing Arts and Digital Environments, taking place on May 5 and 6, 2026, in Paris.<br\/>And if the word narration is so often paired with new, does that imply a constant push for novelty and innovation? J\u00e9r\u00f4me Fihey calls instead for the \u201cstandardization of technologies, without falling into rigid formatting.\u201d Emanuela Righi, for her part, highlights the diversity of audiences targeted by her narrative projects: \u201cOur approach is to make the technology invisible, so it serves only as a support for the story.\u201d<br\/><br\/>     <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Driven by Cie La Spirale, the 2nd European Encounters on New Writing Practices will take place in Metz in October 2026. Among other topics, they will examine the durability of formats, addressing the challenge of \u201canchoring them over time\u201d in order to move beyond perpetual prototyping, as Jean Boillot explains. He adds: \u201cDigital culture is the new popular culture, and a powerful lever for renewing audiences and reaching those who are distant or excluded.\u201d But this requires dedicated writing practices capable of guiding audiences into\u2014and back out of\u2014these sensory experiences.  <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Diversity of narratives: a political issue<br\/> <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe new buzzword is \u2018story,\u2019\u201d says J\u00e9r\u00f4me Fihey, who also notes that \u201cfar-right movements are heavily investing in these media, which allow for strong emotional engagement with audiences.\u201d This observation is echoed by historian Martial Poirson, professor at Universit\u00e9 Paris VIII, who analyzed what he described as \u201can ongoing offensive\u201d in the newspaper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.humanite.fr\/culture-et-savoir\/andre-malraux\/martial-poirson-historien-les-spectacles-de-lextreme-droite-fonctionnent-sur-la-sideration-on-ne-reflechit-plus-on-doit-etre-debordes-par-lemotion\">L\u2019Humanit\u00e9<\/a>. As a producer and co-president of PXN, the head of Le Crabe Fant\u00f4me emphasizes the importance of using these new narrative forms to \u201cguarantee a diversity of perspectives, including those that have long been invisible.\u201d He calls for a genuine \u201cnetwork of cultural venues\u201d that would allow a wide range of works and narratives to exist.   <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"is-style-signature wp-block-paragraph\">Par Julie Ham\u00e9on<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New forms of narration, augmented dramaturgy, storytelling\u2026 \u201cNarrative\u201d now takes shape in many forms\u2014whether in writing, staging, or communication. Yet [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5809,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-5810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ambivalences","tag-hybrid-creation","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5810"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5811,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5810\/revisions\/5811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hacnumedia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}