During the residency

This residency was shaped by the upcoming performance that the team had booked two weeks following the DDI week.  Experimentations in terms of theatrical layout and digital integrations were done with a specific performance space and set parameters in mind.  The theatre was set up with various cameras, screens, projectors, computers and microphones while the digital participants were given links to a vdo.ninja room so that they could join in remotely as well as a link to a mesh.io feed so that they could monitor the main camera in the room. 

Using a combination of live camera feeds from the virtual performers as well as analog overhead projectors with various props, the duo was able to create live improvised performances with guests from anywhere in the world.  

From their prior experience as well as through the week’s experiments, it became clear that there is always some amount of latency, so there was work to see how that can be integrated and worked with in terms of creating a cohesive performance.  There were also discoveries around the quality of the feeds from the virtual performers, such as if even one performer has a lot of background noise and their mic is on it quickly becomes an issue in the performance. 

Listening became an important precedent for the improvisational performance that the group wished to create. Starting with standard improvisational theatre forms, the group went on to experiment with new forms that incorporated technology. This represented a substantial new discovery during the week. The group created frames for the improvisors that they were able to work with-with the idea that they would all present as one body during the show, as a kind of handmade collage.