At least some Masonic Lodges and groups have long tried to incorporate props and similar elements into the Degrees, in an effort to make them more meaningful.
One example that comes to mind are the truly spectacular Degree backdrops in the Portland Oregon Scottish Rite Temple.
Another example is my own Lodge where we often perform the Fellow Craft Degree Lecture, and the Master Mason Drama, in costume.
Looking into the future, do you think that Freemasonry will come to include virtual reality technologies in our Degrees?
Should we?
Imagine the candidate having the experience of actually walking in to a representation of the Middle Chamber.
Imagine him seeing a representation of the Temple, from inside of it.
Many of our Lodges are interested in bringing the Chamber of Reflection back to Craft Masonry, yet as has been discussed here and elsewhere, find pushback from other groups who do not understand it. What about a VR Chamber?
I think that would be quite an experience, and technically possible. The FC degree, in my opinion, is the best of the three, as it is the most explanatory and beautiful of the degrees.
While you could do it within a lodge room, the best immersive VR experiences combine VR with physical space. Walls where there should be walls, doors where there should be doors, and stairs where there should be stairs. Just think, a space specifically built with the winding staircase, doors at each gate, and a middle chamber the candidate and conductor would enter. It doesn't need to be fancy, it can be just plywood (although the cost of wood these days!) and 2x4s, the VR would replace the meager physical with opulent virtual.
Talk about an amazing experience, one that no one would forget.
The COR would be a bit more difficult, as at least in our COR we provide the candidate with a page of text to read and some writing assignments that would be (I think) very hard to deal with.
I think there is a place for VR in our rituals, and it could be a transformative experience. Thats the 40,000 foot observation. The grassroots level will be a bit more complicated. The implementation of VR technology in Lodges will be tricky. No offense to my brethren, but in my District the average age approaches 70, and many of us older guys are less than tech savvy, and some are resistant to it, so we will have to compassionately role it out, with lots of gentle IT support and mentoring. Maybe one thing we could do is develop a standard VR program/system and role it out at the leadership conference we have for the Wardens each year. Let them experience it as part of their leadership training, so that they can integrate into their plans for the future. Then the technology committee could carry the technology and the software on a road trip and demonstrate it to Lodges as a Lodge program. There is also the economic piece that we would need to consider, and maybe an opportunity of Grand Lodge to orchestrate large purchase to provide bulk prices for Lodges.
When you get right down to it, our ritual--opening, closing, conferral of degrees is theater. Drama. We use this drama to create images in the minds of the recipients, images he will long retain. Favorably, if we do it well enough. Unfavorably, if we fumble our lines.
The use of props, such as in the Middle Chamber Lecture further cements the images in the minds of all the participants, and there is usually a scramble to set up these props in between the completion of the conferral and the start of the lecture/drama. I worked in theater for several years and understand the uses of sets and props to make the point. But all that is for naught if the players cannot deliver the script.
Personally, I would *love* to participate in a virtual reality presentation, transporting the players and audience to King Solomon's Temple. In VR, we can make the sets rich, profuse with symbolism and meaning, enriching the overall experience for candidate and audience alike!
My home Lodge has a Chamber of Reflection, with isolation for the candidate, symbols for soulful reflection, and a small writing assignment for the candidate to complete. The writings, by the way are never reviewed by anyone else. They are added to the Brother's record for his (and his alone) later review.
I think that would be quite an experience, and technically possible. The FC degree, in my opinion, is the best of the three, as it is the most explanatory and beautiful of the degrees.
While you could do it within a lodge room, the best immersive VR experiences combine VR with physical space. Walls where there should be walls, doors where there should be doors, and stairs where there should be stairs. Just think, a space specifically built with the winding staircase, doors at each gate, and a middle chamber the candidate and conductor would enter. It doesn't need to be fancy, it can be just plywood (although the cost of wood these days!) and 2x4s, the VR would replace the meager physical with opulent virtual.
Talk about an amazing experience, one that no one would forget.
The COR would be a bit more difficult, as at least in our COR we provide the candidate with a page of text to read and some writing assignments that would be (I think) very hard to deal with.
I think there is a place for VR in our rituals, and it could be a transformative experience. Thats the 40,000 foot observation. The grassroots level will be a bit more complicated. The implementation of VR technology in Lodges will be tricky. No offense to my brethren, but in my District the average age approaches 70, and many of us older guys are less than tech savvy, and some are resistant to it, so we will have to compassionately role it out, with lots of gentle IT support and mentoring. Maybe one thing we could do is develop a standard VR program/system and role it out at the leadership conference we have for the Wardens each year. Let them experience it as part of their leadership training, so that they can integrate into their plans for the future. Then the technology committee could carry the technology and the software on a road trip and demonstrate it to Lodges as a Lodge program. There is also the economic piece that we would need to consider, and maybe an opportunity of Grand Lodge to orchestrate large purchase to provide bulk prices for Lodges.
When you get right down to it, our ritual--opening, closing, conferral of degrees is theater. Drama. We use this drama to create images in the minds of the recipients, images he will long retain. Favorably, if we do it well enough. Unfavorably, if we fumble our lines.
The use of props, such as in the Middle Chamber Lecture further cements the images in the minds of all the participants, and there is usually a scramble to set up these props in between the completion of the conferral and the start of the lecture/drama. I worked in theater for several years and understand the uses of sets and props to make the point. But all that is for naught if the players cannot deliver the script.
Personally, I would *love* to participate in a virtual reality presentation, transporting the players and audience to King Solomon's Temple. In VR, we can make the sets rich, profuse with symbolism and meaning, enriching the overall experience for candidate and audience alike!
My home Lodge has a Chamber of Reflection, with isolation for the candidate, symbols for soulful reflection, and a small writing assignment for the candidate to complete. The writings, by the way are never reviewed by anyone else. They are added to the Brother's record for his (and his alone) later review.
Let's work on a Masonic holodeck!