CWRU Performing Arts Center Debuts VR Stage Software

Press release from the Maltz Performing Arts Center:

May 19, 2021

While the pandemic has limited the Maltz Performing Arts Center (MPAC) at Case Western Reserve University to host livestreamed concert for about a year, other projects have continued uninterrupted.

Students from Case Western Reserve University’s Case School of Engineering joined MPAC staff to form a computer-assisted design (CAD) team. Its goal: to create an augmented- or virtual-reality system for stage setups and modifications.

After hundreds of hours of work, the Maltz CAD team produced what is believed to be among the first virtual stage plotting software systems in Northeast Ohio for the performing arts.
Instead of hand-drawn stage plots or using software that may not fully articulate the needs of an act, the new virtual reality setup will allow performers, agents, touring groups and designers to address the needs of their live shows without being on site at the Maltz Center.

Groups who perform at the Maltz Center will be offered the opportunity to use this virtual reality software to set up their stage. The software will give performers the ability to place things like music stands, chairs, trussing, and more in virtual reality that is the same scale as a performer would see while standing on stage.

For more information, contact MPAC’s Box Office and Marketing Manager Rob Van Auken at rxv139@case.edu.

This press release was produced by the Maltz Performing Arts Center. The views expressed here are the author's own.