Trigger shift: participatory design of an augmented theatrical performance with young people

Abstract

Trigger Shift was a project that involved collaborating with a group of young people to explore the ways commercially available technologies could be appropriated into performance art. The project led to the production of an augmented theatrical performance using the Microsoft Kinect sensor that was presented to live audiences six times over two days. In this paper we describe the bottom-up, 11-month long participatory design process conducted with our young participants. We describe the manner in which the project was introduced to our participants and the techniques used to help them actively make decisions about the design of and role of technology in the final performance. We candidly report on the problems encountered during the design process and how the project team had to be reflexive to the needs of participants and the single predefined end-goal of the project. A number of strengths and weaknesses of bottom-up participatory design with young people are highlighted, and we reflect upon these to provide guidance for future researchers undertaking work in this domain.