Computer Animation and Virtual Reality for Live Art Performance

We present a virtual puppet performance including an animation system for real-time character animation based on motion capture. This performance may mix puppets, dance, comedy, and achieves interactivity between the manipulators and the other participants (real/virtual) on the stage. Most often, the show is aimed to children, but more complex or elaborated stories or concepts can be proposed to an older audience. The objective is to explore these new possibilities with low-end hardware and devices. For the future, including new concepts such as behavioral simulation would lead to animate directly main characters whereas the other ones would be autonomous.