Interactive Dramaturgies

I have just added a new book to my reading shelf: Interactive Dramaturgies - New Approaches in Multimedia Content and Design, edited by Heide Hagebölling and published by Springer Press under the X.media.publishing brand.

In the preface Hagebölling lays out a set of general topics covered in the book. A few of the subjects covered in the book include:

• Intelligent interfaces, hybrid environments and data spaces
• Experiments with interactive films
• Interactivity, communication between man and machine
• Methods of conceptualizing interactive programs
  

Interactive Video Manipulation

Interactive Video Object Manipulation from Dan Goldman on Vimeo.

This is a very interesting video demonstration of a developing video analysis and manipulation tool rolling around in the Adobe research labs. I am particularly interested in the method being used to determine separate objects moving in a video. I am also impressed at the quality of detail pulled from the low contrast source video of the people walking through the forest.

The puppetry of the video through a point based interface, which allows for the creation of virtual sliders that attach themselves to points moving in the video seems like a prime candidate for integration into a Frieder Weiss type human-controlled interactive performance space.

EyeCon

An image of the EyeCon interface.

From the EyeCon website: "Eyecon's main use has been to facilitate interactive performances and installations in which the motion of human bodies is used to trigger or control various other media (music, sounds, photos, films, lighting changes, etc.). EyeCon does this using a video feed from the performance or installation area (any normal video camera may be used)..."

Frieder Weiss, of Chunky Move and Glow fame, is also behind EyeCon a visual analysis and triggering software package meant specifically for performance. It seems like a more specialized and perhaps elegant system then offered by EyesWeb, an open source package that attempts to serve a similar audience.

Along with Processing (which just dumped the beta tag and has gone v 1.0) and Isadora I believe that EyeCon/EyesWeb may represent an early iteration of a new key 'dramaturgical software tool' or even stand as the realization of a potential 'new technological theater primitive'.

Robert LePage: Faust

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
Marcello Giordani, left, as Faust, and John Relyea as Méphistophélès, with watery projections behind and below.

The above image is from Robert LePage's Faust currently being mounted at the New York Met.

Ever since I heard that Robert LePage will be directing Wagner's "Ring" cycle in 2010-2011 at the New York Metropolitan Oprah, I have been saving my pennies and counting the days.

LePage is the single most influential director and auteur to inspire and enliven my own theatrical life. His methods of performance, gesture creation, improvisation and his amazing aesthetics have constantly captivated me and informed my own work. From his film and stage productions such as "Tectonic Plates" and to his recent "Image Mill" LePage constantly asserts himself on the bleeding edge of performance technology while always developing and executing the art of story telling with excellence.

With LePage's "Ring" still a ways off, he is currently staging "Faust" at the Met and it looks like his use of interactive media environments is continuing to evolve. In an interview with Daniel K. Waken of the New York Times, LePage hints that some of the elements he is using in "Faust" may find a home in his production of the "Ring."

"Faust" is a remounting of LePage's 1999 ExMachina production, however it has been further adapted (a hallmark of LePage is a constant evolution of his work, even between individual performances) and now includes a number of interactive set elements which is apparently a first for the Met. The piece now includes a number of microphone sensors which drive the parameters of live video effects and cinematic elements. Also in use in this production are a number of live video processing and projection effects creating the illusion of reflections in water and burning fire surrounds the performers and dancers. There are couple of accompanying videos that show these effects of in Times review.

As mentioned in the review LePage's "Faust" is serving as a introduction between LePage and the directors/staff of the Met. It is hinted in the review that some of the techniques from "Faust" may find a home in the "Ring" as well.

With LePage's performance production group named ExMachina, there is a commitment to advanced technology built into his approach to performance. However it is truly his ability to perform and unfold a story that allows his use of technology to not seem forced or take undue focus away from the worlds created in his pieces. His mastery as a director lies in his ability to braid his productions through performance as well as the complex sets and technology that enables the magic of theatre. Harvey O'brien describes this trait well in his review of LePage's "Far Side of the Moon."

Having seen a few interactive projections show up in KA, LePage's recent collaboration with Cirque Du Sole , where rippling pools of light expand out from numerous performers flying along a fifty foot wall flooded with projected light. It is exciting to see how his use of interactive projections and environments continues and will continue to evolve.