Rabea Kiel and Matthis Meppelink are a Berlin-based artistic duo specializing in live virtual reality applications within performance theater.
Their work focuses on exploring theater as a medium to deconstruct and reimagine the world as a simulacrum.
Their main interest is to find artistic strategies to explore different levels of perception, immersion and new forms of embodied experiences in mixed reality situations.
Together, they developed Virtual Blackbox, an intuitive, open-source software tool for integrating mixed reality into live performances without programming expertise.
The software, which has been tested and refined through workshops and collaborations, will be available for free in 2025, offering a dynamic platform for creative exploration on stage.
Virtual Blackbox is a mixed reality tool designed for live performance, enabling seamless integration of VR into performative spaces
Projects
“Requiem For The Real”Kiel & Meppelink
A person stands on stage in front of a large screen. The audience watches as she immerses herself in virtual worlds. Simulated fragments of memory emerge: The snowstorm. A father flying a kite. The role of Lady Macbeth. A reality Matryoshka unfolds: beginning with the actress’s inner experience, expanding through virtual reality constructs and the peculiar reality of the theater stage, ultimately questioning the very construction of our world. Funded by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds. More Info
Multiple Exposures: Sensing Mixed Reality as a Performative Tool on Stage Kiel & Meppelink, Paula Strunden, Lundahl & Seitl
A symposium that focused on mixed reality in live performative art on stage. The title “Multiple exposure” hints towards the capacity of the technology to emphasize the multilayered nature of experience. More Info
Workshops with VIRTUAL BLACKBOX at Ballhaus Ost and HAU Hebbel am Ufer Berlin Kiel & Meppelink, Elinor Hasselberg, Klama, Karen Zimmermann
Workshop Participants: Nadia Bakhshi, Lena Biresch, Mel Brinkmann, Chanee Choi, Guiliana Mei, Iga Ssck, Katarina Eckhold, Magdalena Emmering, Katrin Wittig Miriam Grimm, Christ Ziegler, Benjamin Busch, Beatrice Babin, Mario Simon, Caroliin Schabbing, Rosa Wernecke, Inti Gallardo, Jere Inkongio More Info
“Requiem For The Real”Kiel & Meppelink
A person stands on stage in front of a large screen. The audience watches as she immerses herself in virtual worlds. Simulated fragments of memory emerge: The snowstorm. A father flying a kite. The role of Lady Macbeth. A reality Matryoshka unfolds: beginning with the actress’s inner experience, expanding through virtual reality constructs and the peculiar reality of the theater stage, ultimately questioning the very construction of our world. Funded by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds. More Info
Multiple Exposures: Sensing Mixed Reality as a Performative Tool on Stage Kiel & Meppelink, Paula Strunden, Lundahl & Seitl
A symposium that focused on mixed reality in live performative art on stage. The title “Multiple exposure” hints towards the capacity of the technology to emphasize the multilayered nature of experience. More Info
Workshops with VIRTUAL BLACKBOX at Ballhaus Ost and HAU Hebbel am Ufer Berlin Kiel & Meppelink, Elinor Hasselberg, Klama, Karen Zimmermann
Workshop Participants: Nadia Bakhshi, Lena Biresch, Mel Brinkmann, Chanee Choi, Guiliana Mei, Iga Ssck, Katarina Eckhold, Magdalena Emmering, Katrin Wittig Miriam Grimm, Christ Ziegler, Benjamin Busch, Beatrice Babin, Mario Simon, Caroliin Schabbing, Rosa Wernecke, Inti Gallardo, Jere Inkongio More Info