Future of Live Entertainment Lab
Ryerson University, Canada’s leader in innovative, career-oriented education, is partnering with Cirque du Soleil, the largest theatrical producer in the world, to conduct boundary-pushing research into the future of live entertainment. Through a distinctively interdisciplinary approach at the crossroads of technology and creativity, the new Future of Live Entertainment Lab (FOLiE) at The Creative School will tackle questions of how changes in audience preferences, emerging technologies and shifting economic conditions are creating new possibilities for live entertainment, as well as potential for social, educational, and commercial impact.
From new ways of integrating technology into human performance, to developing methodologies for sophisticated live audience analytics, to generating deep insights into social and economic paradigms shaping live entertainment, the FOLiE will undertake multifaceted explorations and experimentations of fundamental questions for performance-based creative experiences. The active participation of The Creative School students and Cirque du Soleil staff will also contribute to the training of the next generation of live entertainment leaders.
Physically based at Ryerson’s downtown Toronto campus within The Catalyst, The Creative School's interdisciplinary research hub, the FOLiE will bring together faculty and students from a wide range of programs. Likewise, researchers will have the opportunity to access Cirque du Soleil’s expertise, facilities and audience insights from Montreal and beyond. Research projects within the FOLiE may also benefit from connections undergraduate and graduate course work, such as project-based courses in Global Trendwatching and Design Solutions.
Website:
Management
Video Games
Live Entertainment
Experiences
Innovation
Human Capital
Director of the Future of Live Entertainment Lab
Louis-Étienne Dubois
Louis-Étienne Dubois is assistant Professor of creative industries management at Ryerson University's School of Creative Industries. He holds a Ph.D. from HEC Montréal and from MINES ParisTech. He is also a guest lecturer at HEC Montréal and at Lille Catholic University. From 2012 to 2015, he was appointed to Wallonia European Creative District's high-level group, a European Commission sponsored initiative aimed at boosting the development of creative industries in Belgium.
Louis-Étienne's research activities aim at developing a better understanding of collaborative and innovation processes in both traditional and creative organizations. Some of his most recent work has been published in the European Management Journal and in the Revue internationale de Gestion.