UEL

🏆 Ethnoacting in VR for Resilience in Acting Students

Pilot Study | University of East London | January 2025

💪 Why Resilience? Acting students often face high levels of stress, anxiety, and self-doubt, which can impact both their mental health and career progression. This project addresses that challenge by offering an innovative intervention grounded in dramatic practice and psychological theory.

🎭 The Approach Rooted in the Interacting Cognitive Subsystems (ICS) theory from psychology, the intervention combines:

Ethnoacting – performance of lived experiences and real-life testimonies Virtual Reality – immersive environments that simulate public performance settings Resilience Modelling – repeated exposure to narratives of perseverance and growth Through embodied storytelling, students encounter and internalise attitudes of resilience, self-belief, and emotional regulation — key traits for sustaining a creative career.

🧪 The Pilot The pilot was delivered at the University of East London in January 2025. It involved:

Immersive VR sessions featuring real-world testimonies Experiential learning grounded in actor training traditions Survey-based evaluation of wellbeing and skill development The results underscore the value of soft skill development through experiential learning, particularly for students from underrepresented backgrounds.

📚 Forthcoming Publication Findings from the study will appear in the following Routledge volume:

Stamatiou, E., Thoma, V., & Sanni, O. (forthcoming 2025). Ethnoacting in VR for Resilience in Theatre Students: A Vakhtangov-inspired Intervention. In Stamatiou, E. & Carnicke, S. M. (Eds.), Stanislavsky and Actor Training for the Screen. Routledge.

🏆 Ethnoacting in VR for Resilience in Acting Students

Pilot Study | University of East London | January 2025

🎭 The Approach Rooted in the Interacting Cognitive Subsystems (ICS) theory from psychology, the intervention combines:

🧪 The Pilot The pilot was delivered at the University of East London in January 2025. It involved:

📚 Forthcoming Publication Findings from the study will appear in the following Routledge volume:

Ethnoacting in VR: DIY Soft Skills Development

Ethnoacting in VR: DIY Soft Skills (Trade mark number: UK00004133854 dated 06/12/2024) is an innovative intervention inviting participants to engage in ethnoacting. This means they repeat real-life testimonies while listening to them through headphones, fully immersed in a tailored virtual reality (VR) environment. The VR setting is designed to replicate the world of the testimony, enhancing focus, the sense of presence and empathy. By applying modelling theories from psychology, this project explores how VR can help several social groups or professionals build essential soft skills that support their wellbeing. Tailored survey research assesses the impact and benefits for these groups. The core team includes expertise in acting (Evi Stamatiou, Principal Investigator), VR experimentation (Oluwatosin Sanni, Co-Investigator), and psychology (Volker Thoma, Co-Investigator). The project has already expanded into nursing (Georgina Cox, Co-Investigator) and youth development (in partnership with the Youth Empowerment Zone at Newham Council), with discussions setting the ground for applications on self-advocacy for people with disabilities (in partnership with the RIX Centre), and compassion in law professionals, reflecting its broad potential impact.

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