As always, time pressure is high (the papers should be printed out by
tuesday)
so maybe we can not "democratically" discuss a version of these texts
here. Anyhow I want to post the first draft to hear what you think of it.
I also included / made a collage of what was posted to this list recently.
My idea is to define the parts of our project to help making the whole
concept clearer to someone who never heard about it before.
----------------------
1. ) The play
7 Epeisodions that tell stories from Homers Odyssey, acted out by virtual
and real actors. Each Epeisodion is framed by the Stasimas.
A Stasima is the sound of the choros, which is made by the virtual audience.
2.) Stage
Each venue will have a stage in the size of 8m x 8m, an connection to the
Internet, a special technical (including the sensor technic) and lightning
equipment.
In the forefront the audience will see the stage, where the actors are
posed. Behind the stage the technicians and the computing equipment will be
visible. As an additional visual material there will be also some screens
in the back.
(----- here the long promised sketch of the stage ------- sigh)
2..1.) Journey
On the table (------- which is currently put into html format - i am sorry
for this delay---- <sigh>) you can see how Odysseus and his opponents
travel from venue to venue, In each Epeisodion there will be an interaction
between at least two stages, which will differ from scene to scene.
The auditorium sees either one real actor and one or two virtual actors or
only virtual actors on their stage.
4.) Actors:
4.1) Real Actors
On each venue at least one player is needed. Probably two actors will be
needed in the most cases because of the quick change of the scenes to
change costume (--------see again the table of venues and roles, coming
soon------).
Theoretically up to 6 actors can interact at the same time (one on every
stage).
4.2) Light Cones
Each real actor is represented as a light cone on the other stages, so that
the audience of every venue can watch and hear all actors playing. The
audience connected via their computerscreen will get the visualization and
the sound of all actors.
5.) Audience:
5.1.) Real Audience
On each stage a "real" audience will participate the ongoing on the stage.
But synchronously there will also be the possibility to participate via any
computer that is hooked on to the lines of the Internet from all around the
world.
5.2) Choros
The choros in the tragedy represented the people. In Oudeis the choros will
represent the audience who follows the play on computer screens, so that
they will have a special opportunity to interact and comment on the play.
Sounds of voices singing 'a capella' in greek, composed by Santiago
Pereson, will be produced by instructions sent by the virtual audience
during the play. Two loudspeakers will make this sound on the stage.This
sum of voices will sound like a chorus, each voice is 'triggered' by
someone over the net and most of this voices will be processed to have a
'realAudio' sound, the sound format most used in the net.
This interaction will also be visible for all spectators - the active ones
and the ones who are only watching. It will be made by some sort of
'score', made up of dots on a two-dimensional 'canvas'. This can then be
'played' by the computer that deals with the choros. x would be time and y
would be a sound choice.
ie: time (seconds?)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 O
2 O O
sound 3 O O
4 O
number 5 O
6 O O
7
The number of 'dots' that are drawn will keep updating during the episodes
on a screen behind the stage, visible for the other audience members then,
in the stasima (between two episodes) the picture would 'freeze' - and be
played.
6.) The gods
In Oudeis there are the technicians who have the outlook to be omnipotent.
They have a power combined with little faults just like the greek goods
used to have. Dependent on the goodwill of the lines of the net they stir
Odysseus, his opponents, the audience - and themselves - through the play
of the journey.
(------- here is some clear definition still missing. Looking for some
combination or inspiration by the greek myth of creation: mother earth /
Eurynome / Night is coming out of the chaos, conceiving the "worldegg" from
the wind--------)
The gods are visualized by the presence of the working technicians behind
the stage.
7.) Our Ocean - the Internet:
7.1) The Screens
Behind the stage there will be posed some screens that visualized several
points:
7.1.1) Map
A map of the journey of our Odysseus: On a (historical?) map you will see
Odysseus making his way. From stage to stage, using the lines of the net,
building our own net between the venues. (maybe this will be parted in two
or three screens / map)
7.1.2)Music
A screen that shows the drawing of the choros and in during the stasimas
the "picture" of the music heard.
7.1.3)Text
A screen that shows the text of the Episodions (in English and in the
mother tongue of the venue?)
7.1.4)
A bar graph or some kind of chart that shows the data transmission, the
"traffic on the information highway"
7.2) The Lobby
To establish a relationship between the audience members on every venue,
there use of a TV connection is intended. TV screens placed in the Lobby
would show pictures taken live from the audience of the other stages. By
moving, waving and saying cheers the audience members could interact
worldwide before and after the actual play.
7.3) Net lags
In all of the strange and exotic lands Odysseus journeyed there were two
things that remained constant, the sea and sky. These two elements that
unite all of the locations of The Odyssey and unite all of the RL stages
of Oudeis.
Two issues - the everthreatening Netlags/Netsplits and the dramaturgical
need to display the Net somehow in the play - could be (partly) handled by
providing the RL-audience with pictures/short video clips of a -
quiet/stirred? - ocean via monitors at the beginning of the play,
accompanied by a mixture of sea sounds and Netnoise during possible
problems of any kind, i.e. Netlags/-splits ... this could - apart from
making it visible - make for a dramaturgical representation of the Net as
the other protagonist in the performance.
------------------------------
I left out the technical points here. (We have our weekly meeting in one
hour so than I will update this with the team)
And I suppose that we will have to shorten it for the printed version,
maybe some of the points should be kept back as "internal" discussion.
What else have I forgot?
How can we make our concept more clear to an outstanding person?
Is this ok if I use your words (did you find them ? :-)
Mon
------------------------------alles Theater--------------
Monika Wunderer wunderer@st1hobel.phl.univie.ac.at
++ 43 (1) 892 35 20
http://st1hobel.phl.univie.ac.at/~wunderer/
http://iguwnext.tuwien.ac.at/~oudeis/
I am milk
I am red hot kitchen
And I am cool
Cool as the deep blue ocean
I am lost
So I am cruel
But I'd be love and sweetness .....
c: garbage