  Since 2014, we have been conducting experiments based on a multidisciplinary
collaboration between specialists in theatrical staging and researchers in
virtual reality, digital art, and video games. This team focused its work on
the similarities and differencesthat exist between real physical actors
(actor-performers) and virtual digital actors (avatars). From this
multidisciplinary approach, experimental research-creation projects have
emerged and rely on a physical actor playing with the image of an avatar,
controlled by another physical actor via the intermediary of a low-cost
motion-capture system. In the first part of the paper, we will introduce the
scenographic design on which our presentation is based, and the modifications
we have made in relation to our previous work. Next, in the second section, we
will discuss in detail the impact of augmenting the player's game using an
avatar, compared to the scenic limitations of the theatrical stage. In part
three of the paper, we will discuss the software-related aspects of the
project, focusing on exchanges between the different components of our design
and describing the algorithms enabling us to utilize the real-time movement of
a player via various capture devices. To conclude, we will examine in detail
how our experimental system linking physical actors and avatars profoundly
alters the nature of collaboration between directors, actors, and digital
artists in terms of actor/avatar direction.
