The Architecture of Shakespeare’s Era

Historically Accurate Buildings Virtual Environmentsin

in Second Life

SL Shakespeare Company presentsIna Centaur

Ina Centaur Independent Scholar, researching and exploring innovations in new

media Academic background – Physics & Philosophy etc. You know me for my Shakespeare and virtual theatre endeavors on

SL.

SL Shakespeare Company (SLSC) You know SLSC primarily for its professional theatrical

performances. The SLSC is also curator of the most historically accurate theatres

and architecture relating to William Shakespeare in virtual worlds. This, then, is the subject of my talk, today!

About Ina Centaur and the SLSC

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Many “era-type” buildings, but few based on actual historic buildings, to specific dimensions, backed by scholarly research. Virtually none?

Shakespeare island sim: perhaps the only sim on SL whose every single building is based on an RL historic building that existed in Shakespeare’s era.

Clarification: The subject of this talk is not about buildings/sims that “look” a particular era, but buildings/sims that are built based on historical documents, archeological information, and artifacts to be authentically from a historic era. Specifically:

Shakespeare’s Era—meticulously recreated on SL, implemented as a fully immersive virtual environment. I will discuss the process in creating it, as well as dimensions of benefits for such environs.

Era-Type vs Era-Reconstruction

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Beginnings (Early 2007): different models of the SL Globe Theatre, a penchant for long-distance voice-acting (2006), voila, virtual theatre!

“Second SL Globe Theatre”—dimensions based on the Wanamaker Globe, a.k.a., Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London.

“Third SL Globe Theatre”—Second SL Globe Theatre moved to 4-sim for SL performances, allowing for 300-400 audience members for a respectable number of seats in an off-Broadway-sized theatre.

Implementation Overview, Part I

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An island in SL named “Shakespeare”—so many possibilities!

Wealth of content in plays alone, but keep it real to glean some un-expected insights via architecture prominent in Shakespeare’s life

Shakespeare island sim: Each building based on a real (RL) building that played a part in Shakespeare’s lifetime.

Photos galore! Bard’s Birthplace: where the Bard was born… Nash’s House: where his granddaughter lived… New Place: the last house that Shakespeare lived

in… Mary Arden’s House: where his wife lived in…

Implementation Overview, Part IIa

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More Photos galore! Garrick Inn: Prominent Victorian actor who helped

revive Shakespeare; this building is now a working restaurant

Harvard’s House: Where the guy who founded Harvard U grew up; has some remarkable wooden carvings in sills, etc.

Mistress Mall: Based on a reference in Twelfth Night: Act 1, Scene 3—interpreted literally, as a mall! ;-P

Implementation Overview, Part IIb

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pipeline (n.) – channel via which information is transmitted sequentially

The way we create historically-accurate buildings works via a pipeline with scholars, original documents, archeological/de facto information, at various points on the research end, and blueprints, SL building and optimization considerations, at various points on the other end.

Sometimes, the pipeline doesn’t progress sequentially, and we end up going back to research. It’s a virtual form of cross-checking. But, in general, we don’t begin on the SL part until there are solid dimensions (usually blueprints) and material determination (such as what kind of stone wall).

The end result is the most historically accurate virtual recreation possible!

Upcoming Case Study – Blackfriars Theatre

The "Pipeline"

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Pipeline Start: Culmination of seven years’ worth of research by IC

Resources: Contemporary documents

Piers Plowman/Plowman’s Creed Accounting Ledgers, Surveys, Lease/Sale Deeds, etc.

Comparison with Known Contemporary Structures

Blackfriars, London Background Overview: Blackfriars – Dominican monks (black coat over their habits) Lavish monasteries!

Dominicans were confessors to Kings, @Blackfriars Royalty were housed there, Parliament was held there

Blackfriars & Burbage’s Legacy Decades after Dissolution of Monasteries Bought by John Burbage, who never got to see plays held

there. Richard Burbage turned it into “Shakespeare’s indoor

theatre.”

Example "Pipeline" – Blackfriars Theatre, I

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Engineering Simulations to Determine Structure Lead-coated roof. Common coating on era roof, also in

purchase deeds. Weight distribution diagrams define roof shape, steeped. All known steeped-roofs from this era (of buildings of similar

size) used hammerbeam ceilings Three stories tall on south end, built on steep incline. Vaulted

basement.

Final Step of “Pre-SL” pipeline: Blueprints with dimension measurements are constructed When necessary, individual item diagrams are also created,

such as the ones for the balusters and hammerbeam structures in the Blackfriars.

And, the next is SL! Briefest of Overview: Hope this hasn’t scared you. It’s

rare for such care to be put into SL build, but I believe there are many benefits to precisions in such multiuser interactive constructions…

Example "Pipeline" – Blackfriars Theatre, II

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Education Engages the student in a way that traditional textbooks simply cannot do Care in historical accuracy of construction helps add to the “atmosphere” When the pipeline has the SL visuals implementing the RL historical data to

precision, the only thing that can result is an environment that will continue to instill a sense of “wonder” in the student or visitor. It puts new life into ancient subjects.

An ultimate globally-accessible form of asynchronous learning

Research Provides an authentic medium for simulation of and experiments on era-

activities Insights in era activities, even from passive observations

So many more possibilities to come! Keep your eyes peeled!

Dimensions of Benefits

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SL Globe Theatre

SL Globe Theatre

SL Globe Theatre

SL Globe Theatre

SL Globe Theatre

SL Globe Theatre

SL Globe Theatre

SL Globe Theatre

SL Globe Theatre

SL Globe Theatre

SL Globe Theatre

SL Globe Theatre

Blackfriars Theatre

Blackfriars Theatre

Blackfriars Theatre

Blackfriars Theatre

Hamlet Playbills

Hamlet Sets

Hamlet Faces 1

Hamlet Faces 2

Twelfth Night Playbills

Twelfth Night Sets 1

Twelfth Night Sets 2

Twelfth Night: Duke Orsino Scene 1