joonistage

Joonistage is a staging approach in contemporary theatre and live art that emphasizes the integration of performers, space, and digital media to create interactive spectatorship. Practitioners use modular set pieces, live video feeds, projection mapping, and reactive lighting to adapt performances to audience presence and choices.

Core techniques include reconfigurable scenery, live video capture projected onto screens or surfaces, real-time audiovisual processing, and audience participation mechanisms such as audience-triggered cues, mobile app interactivity, or dramaturgical structures that alter narrative pathways.

Originating in practice-led theatre and media art communities in the 2010s and 2020s, joonistage developed through collaborations among theatre makers, designers, and programmers. It is often associated with experimental venues, festivals, and residencies that support interdisciplinary works, immersive media, and live-coding approaches.

Supporters argue that joonistage expands expressive possibilities and invites greater audience engagement, while critics caution about technical complexity, resource demands, and variable audience experience. The concept has influenced pedagogy in many theatre programs and informed developments in immersive and interactive performance practice.