Ethnoacting in VR (EthnoVR): DIY Soft Skills Development
An evidence-based immersive methodology combining Virtual Reality, headphone verbatim performance, and psychology to build real-world empathy, resilience, and growth mindset.
® Ethnoacting in VR™ is a registered UK Trademark (UK00004133854)
EthnoVR Impact & Public Engagement
Ethnoacting in VR (EthnoVR) bridges performance pedagogy, immersive technology, and cognitive psychology to strengthen core human capacities. First launched at the British Science Festival with British Science Association funding, EthnoVR guides participants inside first-person Virtual Reality environments where they simultaneously listen to, repeat, and embody authentic human testimonies in real time. Grounded in research pilots spanning healthcare, youth development, and actor training, the platform uses acting methodologies as structured tools for rapid experiential learning and lasting behaviour change.
Public Prototype Launch: British Science Festival (2024)
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Funder: British Science Association
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Experience: Visitors step inside a virtual public-speaking environment and embody a live verbatim monologue to build confidence under pressure.
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Focus: Fostering growth mindset, resilience, and emotional self-control with general public cohorts.
This is the first time I truly understand what compassion is. I felt it. That the patient was lonely, and I had to do something to help them. I will take this back to my practice.
— Practising Healthcare Professional / Nursing Apprentice (Post-Trial Questionnaire)
Cognitive Empathy in Nurses (Pilot March 2025)
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Cohort: Practising Nursing Apprentices, London
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Experience: Participants experience a first-person virtual hospital ward from a patient’s perspective, listening to and repeating real patient testimonies in real time.
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Focus: Cultivating cognitive empathy, active listening, and self-reflexivity in clinical care.
Read more in: Stamatiou, Cox, Thoma, Balla, & Sanni. (forthcoming 2026). Ethnoacting in VR: An equivalent to role-playing in healthcare education. In Tizzard-Kleister & Firth, T. (Eds.), Using Applied Drama in Healthcare Professional Education, Routledge.
It has pushed my self-confidence. To be able to give an award speech, which is one of my biggest dreams as an actress, made it seem so much more achievable. And my self-confidence was also boosted.
— MA Acting for Stage and Screen Student (10-Day Follow-Up Study)
Resilience in Actors (Pilot March 2025)
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Cohort: MA Acting for Stage & Screen Students, London
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Experience: Performers enter a realistic virtual auditorium to embody an uplifting verbatim speech, rehearsing vocal presence and focus in a high-stakes setting.
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Focus: Strengthening performance resilience, self-confidence, and intrinsic motivation.
Read more in: Stamatiou, Thoma, & Sanni. (2025). Ethnoacting in VR for Resilience in Acting Students: A Vakhtangov-inspired intervention. In Stamatiou, E. & Carnicke, S. M. (Eds.), Stanislavsky and Actor Training for the Screen, Routledge.
I embodied the idea yet I also heard it... I've learned falling down doesn't mean I've lost success—it's a positive affirmation.
— Participant 3, Age 13 (Post-Trial Questionnaire)
Growth Mindset in Youth (Pilot July 2025)
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Partner: Youth Empowerment Service, Newham Council
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Experience: Young participants step into an immersive virtual stage to voice authentic peer testimonies on overcoming setbacks and self-doubt.
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Focus: Developing resilience, self-belief, and a growth mindset in youth communities.
Read more in: Stamatiou, E., Aldcroft, T., Thoma, V., Sanni, O., Jurechová, Z. (forthcoming 2027). ‘Ethnoacting in VR for Growth Mindset Development: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study with Young People in East London’. Youth. (accepted)
Rehearsing a monologue inside a VR environment significantly increases focus by eliminating external distractions. It creates a supportive rehearsal ecology that helps neurodivergent performers (such as actors with ADHD) maintain deep concentration, while offering externalised sensory landscapes for actors with aphantasia who struggle with internal visual imagery.
— S Word Conference Participant & Colleague Reflection (University of Malta)
VR as a Rehearsal Ecology for Pre-Visualisation and Inclusive Pedagogy (S Word Conference 2025)
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Host: University of Malta
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Experience: Performers rehearse monologues inside distraction-free 360° sensory environments designed to externalise imagery and support focus.
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Focus: Neuroinclusive actor training (supporting performers with ADHD and aphantasia) and Stanislavskian/Vakhtangovian pre-visualisation.
Read more in: Stamatiou, E. (forthcoming 2027). ‘Ethnoacting in VR as a Rehearsal Ecology for Pre-Visualisation and Inclusive Pedagogy'. Stanislavsky Studies. (accepted)