Performing Theatre. Experimental methodology for the simulation of the multisensory experience at the Roman Theater of Amman

This study presents the 3D reconstruction of the Roman Theater of Amman, ancient Philadelphia, through a representative architectural model from which acoustic simulations have been carried out. An exhibition will provide site-specific installations and artifacts for digital and tactile interaction via multimedia and tactile models. The procedure involves virtual 3D reconstruction in a game engine simulation environment supported by a scientific approach given by the acoustic simulations, which recreate the listening sensation that would have been in the theater at its original shape. The auralization process, similarly to the visualization process, allows the reproduction of sounds rather than images. The game engine simulation tests the analog-digital model’s staging and interaction design methodologies, starting from the tactile discovery of some props, such as masks. The investigation leads to reflect on which representative models can perform verification and subsequently communicative function, primarily in the visual dimension of the reconstructed architecture, synthesis of apparent oppositions between theoretical models (see Vitruvius) and built form. The new technological paradigms allow a dynamic and multi-sensorial experience of heritage, including those intangible values and stories that made this architecture spectacular.