The Sacred, The Secular and the Spectacular: The human need for immersive environments

<p dir="ltr">This thesis examines how production design facilitates immersive, transformative experiences in both secular and religious spaces. While places of worship and places of entertainment may seem like opposing worlds, both employ space, spectacle, and ritual to generate communal transcendence. Across cultures, humans have sought out designated spaces for rituals and collective experiences, where sensory immersion—through architecture, lighting, sound, and staging—enhances emotional and spiritual connection. Production design plays a crucial role in orchestrating these elements, dissolving boundaries between performer and audience to cultivate collective effervescence and shared meaning.</p><p dir="ltr">This study will be grounded in three theoretical frameworks: Émile Durkheim’s concept of collective effervescence, which explains how group rituals generate heightened emotional energy; Arnold van Gennep’s rites of passage, which structure experiences of transformation through distinct phases; and Michel Foucault’s heterotopias, which describe spaces that blur reality and illusion, shaping new social meanings. This thesis explores these theories to suggest how places both secular and sacred employ spectacle to fulfil a human need for immersive environments.</p><p dir="ltr">To illustrate this, I have undertaken two case studies: Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour, which exemplifies how large-scale concerts function as secular rituals, and Hillsong Church, an Australian American megachurch that merges religious worship with entertainment aesthetics. Both case studies reveal how contemporary gatherings construct immersive experiences that challenge the traditional boundaries between the sacred and the secular. Through an analysis of their production design, this thesis explores how modern spaces of worship and entertainment operate within a continuum of ritual performance, reinforcing their significance in shaping cultural identity and collective belonging.</p>