The Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts presented a theatrical installation, “Shakespeare’s Garden: An Immersive Sound Stroll Through His Sonnets, Soliloquies, and Scenes,” on March 22–24.

The installation used the spatial audio capabilities of the Cube, a high-tech performance space in the Moss Arts Center, to provide visitors with an immersive sound and visual experience as they followed a meandering path through the space and listened to Shakespearean texts performed by Virginia Tech students.

The project was a collaboration of a quartet of faculty members. Amanda Nelson, an assistant professor of theatre, and Natasha Staley, an associate professor of voice and performance, both in the School of Performing Arts, curated the selections from Shakespeare’s canon and directed the student actors. Charles Nichols, an assistant professor of composition and creative technologies, also in the School of Performing Arts, composed original music for the garden. Finally, Meaghan Dee, an assistant professor and chair of visual communication design in the School of Visual Arts, which is part of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies. Dee created projection designs to augment the aural experience.

Photos by Courtney Flickinger (top) and Leslie King

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