HYPERSTAGE: an Open Knowledge base for the semantic reconstruction of theatrical performances through the harvesting and processing resources
from the New Italian Network of theatrical digital archives
The Hyperstage project is aimed at creating an innovative open knowledge base, which, relying on many decentralized and interconnected databases, allows you to connect digital archives of the performing arts without “translation” problems from one language to another. Connecting the various digital archives in a common platform to view data and documents, without changing the existing metadata in each of them, would allow their use and interoperability (Linked Open Data) in an open science vision (Open Science).
The aim of the project is to create a knowledge base consisting of a portal with: 1) the list of all the digital Italian theater archives, which will be registered for the first time, each with an essential metadata sheet to be designed according to new criteria; 2. the list of digital archives that adhere to the project, linkable and with access to Open Data; 3. the knowledge base, Hyperstage, which will make it possible to reconstruct the intangible asset “Theatrical Event” on the platform itself, using metadata enriched with semantic relationships, aggregated according to the rules and criteria of the new ontology. The resulting knowledge base will be published on Linked Open Data.
The Hyperstage ontology will be based on the concept of “Theatrical Event”, which is substantiated by the semantic aggregation of information relating to that entity. The definition of the elements making up the concept of “Theatrical Event” is part of the methodological research that will guide the subsequent modeling of the data.
The user interface will be designed on the basis of the requirements defined by the domain experts according to the User Center Design methodology. In addition to the connection with digital archives, the Hyperstage ontology will allow the management of experimental products: for example, theatrical reconstructions in immersive virtual reality environments, virtual museums and so on.
The purpouse is to allow the user to find in the platform itself all the metadata, usually scattered in various archives, libraries and websites, already organized and ready for use according to the phases of creation, staging and final documentation of the theatrical event desired. The information collected and organized within Hyperstage will be acquired and interchangeable with databases or other complex systems connected to it.
Hyperstage will be sustainable because 1) it will avoid duplication and redundancy of information, saving effort and labor costs; 2) will reuse the digitized data and all those documents and images buried in the databases, enhancing the huge digitization effort made to preserve them; 3) will transform static data into circulating data by creating an integrated system of dialoguing archives / platforms of the performing arts.
Donatella Gavrilovich
(PI Project PRIN 2022)