Seeing Yourself on Stage: Multi-Avatar Performance and the Evolution of Self-Monitoring in VR

Live theater has long relied on the convention of a single actor embodying multiple roles. However, in VR performances where avatars persist within the digital space, managing multiple persistent avatars presents unique challenges. Agile Lens’ annual production of A Christmas Carol VR required a single performer to dynamically switch between avatars while maintaining presence, spatial awareness, and direct engagement with audience members. Initially, the primary challenge was controlling what happens to an avatar when the actor switches roles, and by solving for that problem, Agile Lens uncovered something larger: a real-time self-monitoring system for full-body motion capture performance with broad applications beyond theater.