Announcing the Final Examination of E. Duncan MacPherson for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Theatre, Themed Experience
The aim of this thesis is to design an interactive educational experience that helps to educate guests in aspects of the culture, society, and beliefs of Scandinavian peoples during the Viking age. The concepts are illustrated through a dynamic narrative designed to be experienced through exploration of a themed environment. Immersion into the narrative is intended to instill a sense of active participation with the culture itself. This interaction is intended to inspire guests to further investigate the culture and history outside the limits of the experience. These qualities, unique to an immersive environmental themed experience, capture the lasting attention of an audience such as other mediums may not. Design and narrative decisions in the experience will be supported and justified by research of primary sources (untranslated medieval sagas from Iceland and Norway, archeological artifacts from the region and period, the prose and poetic Eddas) and secondary sources (translations and interpretations of Viking age literature and mythology, archeological documentation and interpretation of primary sources.) One goal of this experience will be to dispel common misconceptions of medieval Scandinavian culture and society propagated by popular literary, film, television, and video game representations, and to present a historically justified representation as equally compelling. Strict historical exactitude, however, is not the intent. A model of a historical Viking archeological site could be accurately created. However, it will not necessarily be as engaging as an endeavor that takes certain creative license. This thesis is also an experiment in establishing a groundwork for educational representations of historic and modern cultures in themed experiences. I use Viking Age Scandinavia, a culture with which I have significant academic experience prior to this thesis, as a test case for this idea. The scope of the project includes a designed and planned themed experience expressed through written and visual mediums where appropriate, as well as historical justification for design and narrative choices.
Committee in Charge:
Prof. Peter Weishar
Prof. Tim Brown
Prof. Vandy Wood