Short abstract

This paper examines what constitutes dramaturgical expertise in extended reality performance (XRP). Through thematic analysis of conversations between an XRP researcher and a digital dramaturg, key dimensions of such expertise for XRP are identified.

Long abstract

The emergence of extended reality performance (XRP) has changed what constitutes dramaturgical expertise. Adjectives used in this context, such as digital dramaturg (Kates, 2025) or tech dramaturg (Weijdom, 2025), signal the importance of negotiating technological affordances in the dramaturgy of XRP. In this context, practitioners play dramaturgically with technologies and the virtual spaces they create, often drawing attention to intersections of physical and virtual realities by shifting between virtual, augmented and physical realities (O’Dwyer et al., 2025). However, the dramaturgical expertise this requires is largely tacit, making it difficult to study, teach, or transfer. This paper thus addresses the question: What constitutes dramaturgical expertise in XRP practice?

Drawing on enactive cognition theory (Gallagher, 2020) and the concepts of reflection-in/on-action (Schön, 1983), we approach dramaturgical expertise as knowing-in-practice. As practitioners themselves tend to have the most suitable grasp of emerging practices and their theoretical implications (Penny, 2019; O'Dwyer et al., 2025), our research centers around the practitioner's voice in understanding XRP dramaturgical practices.

Our empirical basis consists of six in-depth conversations between an XRP researcher and a digital dramaturg, structured around a six-layer dramaturgical framework (Bleeker, 2023). The thematic analysis of these conversations reveals dimensions of dramaturgical expertise specific to XRP, informing what dramaturgs attend to, how they manage situations, and what repertoire they draw upon. These findings form groundwork for further research into XRP practices, while offering foundations for art and design pedagogy in this emerging field.