Thesis Statement

The power of theatre is its ability to be supernaturally immersed within a performance. The source of power for this willing suspension of disbelief lies with the initiation of human interest. Some architects attempt to create a willing suspension of disbelief through the creation of computer-generated forms that exceed straightforward manifestations as buildings. However, these forms camouflage their failure to create a human interest. This thesis explores how architecture can create a willing suspension of disbelief that sparks a human interest and in turn triggers an imaginative experience.

Thesis Statement: Revisited

Architecture, Theatre and the Willing Suspension of Disbelief

What is Theatre? Theatre is an event in which a performance takes place. This performance creates an inward nature of human interest or appearance of truth satisfactory enough to acquire a willingness from the audience to assimilate to a false reality. Conventional theatre relies on the coordinated aspect of the stage in order to separate the performer from the audience. This separation is a tool designed to aid the understanding of the satisfactory truth through translation of dramatic expression. However, modern theatre attempts to remove this intentional separation by engaging the audience directly with the performers and with the performance itself. This reconnection creates unexpected but intentional events to occur that enhance the suspension of reality. The intention of this thesis is to incorporate the ideas of theatre into the design of architecture whose own satisfactory truth creates a willing suspension of disbelief.