Anyone for Live Theatre?

I want to consider presentation formats that go beyond the proscenium stage and theater- in-the-round. I want to think about street theater:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_theatre

and interactive theater:
http://www.improvacting.com/M_index.htm
http://www.interactivetheater.org/iactwebs/Welcome.html
http://www.tonisant.com/aitg/
http://www.interdrama.com/

Some of these may fit better in SL than does the traditional theater format. We may want new traditions.

I have a little stage on my parcel in Borrowdale that I've been meaning to offer for non-commercial performances of plays and music. If anyone needs to use the stage for rehearsals or can make use of it for a charity event please send me an IM and I'll invite you to the Borrowdale Performers so you can build etc.

I have private area of 6656 with large stage house that was built by a friend, its all still work in progress we have gardens, river, dam under temple. The temple is dedicated to Sleeping Cats its beta stages not sure if I like the build but it was my first type of that creation. The texture of the sleeping cats needs to be changed to lighter color then dark wood.
There is area near by to ad a additional 1536 but the guy is charging over 40k for lot and I just don't have it and not sure I want to go to next tier level for 1536m2 overpriced lot.
The stage is big enough for piano and few performers. We even have sitting area and area for dinning too. I have just been working here and there but my main builder has decided to find her own place but she said she leave me a copy of stage house.
I have been thinking of doing invitational and private events to keep lag and hassles at mininum. I would prefer to have events where I can limit the crowds and guest to event times but not sure if it would work out.
I have some of my own ideals in how I want to do this but just not very involved team.
One thing I have thought about is music events, story telling events and I am working also on pg-ish, noncombat focused roleplaying groups based on creators, sl adventurers where we could present our stories and adventures in slide show type event.
Also another ideal I had was huge stage area as way to display for large Art exhibits and user created videos, films.
I don't have a mic, with my throat problems I have no interest in using skype though.
Problem is meeting creative people who want to do creative things as team.
I have been experimental with virtual 2d rooms for stage props or to expand the 3rd space for rpg enviroments.

Video in release
'My Second Life' was shot entirely in the popular online world Second Life. On one of his visits in SL, Filmmaker Douglas Gayeton came across a series of seven video dispatches by a character named Molotov Alva. It appears that a man by the same name mysteriously disappeared from his real world California home in January 2007. Gayeton put Alva's dispatches together into a documentary of seven episodes. Will he find the answers he's looking for? Episode 1 is online now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7u0a9pUSs

This will give you some idea of what is possible in Second Life. Sure, shooting a video is easier than live performance. It took Gayeton several months to shoot and edit. While you are in YouTube, you might look for other videos doen in SL. I think there are more than 200. You can find mine by searching under selbyevans or thinkerer.

Hello. I wanted to post a quick reply to show my interest in doing a live theater production. I have scoured the forums and searched my little heart out for this type of thing to no avail. I enjoy acting and have done several plays and took theater in college. I would also be interested in helping out with some of the technical aspects that it would take to pull this off. I am currently getting ready for my one month birthday. While still considered a newbie, I have already surpassed several veterans to the game with the stuff I have done. I am currently looking at Machinima and have a lead role in an upcoming project.

Feel free to IM me Upo Choche in game. I will check back with this thread if there are any updates.

Take care.

Check out the video I just posted about in this forum. For basic help in making videos, see my website:
http://www.thinkerer.org/Studios/StuCamEd.htm
There is related help in audio in the LOD section.

I am particularly interested in making (and posting) videos of live performances.
TM

We have several offers of locations for set prep and presentation. The opera house at Stonebender's place is great for presentation on proscenium stage. My island, Thinkerer Quests, is also available. It already hosts sets that have been used in videos, including the memory forest in Gayeton's series on YouTube.

I hope we will have a SII company. That is Street-Improv-Interactive. They will not need a stage. They will perform in public places. Like malls, dance clubs, and the like. They will just use the site as is. With permission, of course. After they get to be famous, they will charge malls to stage performance and bring in visitors.

I am checking off location from the agenda. Not a problem.
TM

My slogan is,
Anything that doesn't work is a trial run.
So let's start planning for a trial run. And lets start with the advantages of SL.
Cheap. We can afford to learn for our mistakes.
Interactive. We can get the audience involved.
Zero Distance. People can drop in any time. From anywhere in SL.
24/7 Any time you have something to show, you can find people to look.
Nobody knows how to do this.

Meaning:
SII is most promising. (Street-Improve-Interactive)

You can make the stage shows interactive by having open rehearsals and open casting calls. To see how Richard Attenborough would do this, rent "A Chorus Line" from Netflix.

Nobody knows how to do this. -- so we are like the talking dog. He does not have to be a great talker. What is of interest is that he does it at all.

Agenda Item -- form a group, to include theater people and interested audience. There may be several roles in the group, with different powers. We will need to make decisions on that. I will form the group and manage the details if no one else wants to. We will need at least 3 people for the group to live. I think we will have plenty of members.

The group will serve for communicaiton among people interested in the Second Life Theater. Including Stage, Street, Improv, Interactive, and Video. Who wants to come along? Post on this forum if you want to be in this group.

Post in the next day or so if you want to form the group. Otherwise, i will form it.
TM

It all starts with storytelling. At least that's my view. So we need ways to develop stories and turn them into visual and audio scripts. If you want to tell stories, you will see the value in SL production. You have creative control. Maybe with a little help from your friends.

Since it starts with storytelling, we can't start without story tellers. And, yes, there are lots of good theater scripts around. But to use those, we need somebody to deal with the copyright issues and somebody to rework all the stage business for Second Life. Flying is easy, but smiling is really hard.

Or we can use original content, written to be staged in SL. One advantage of that is that if you get reallly good at it, you might be able to sell your productions on LULU.TV:
http://www.lulu.tv/

Anyway, one of the start items is to put out a call for stories. We will probably need to arrange for story conferences that include authors and actors. My suggestion for now-- post your story suggestions on this forum.

Would love to participate and have Space in SL for performances. Could also assist with voice acting direction as avitar movement is worked out. Hey you know the old radio dramas they filmed during recording were pretty funnny even though the characters stood behind mics the whole time. Outy 's already has a good emoter, maybe she coul dbe persuaded to increase the possibilites of facial expression?

PLease keep me up to date on developments

Exuberance Lafleur
Pele

WESTWIND Productions becomes a division of Thinkerer Studios. Created by WESTWIND Ackland, this production unit will concentate on the prduction of live theater in the class I called SII (Street-Improve-Interactive). WW will deveop a repertory company to present both existing and original playlets/episodes. Playlets will be of about 5 min. in length. They may be connected as eposodes in a longer scenario.

WW will select existing playlets and work with authors to develop original playlets. The whole company will include actors and writers. It is likely that a script will be developed in story conferences that include most of the company. Performances will probably be developed that way too. There are no rules to say that actors can't write or that writers cant act. Both script and performances will continue to be improved in presentations. (Off-broadway is never final.)

Performances will happen in various places around SL. ALWAYS with permission of the owner. The company may put out a tip jar and share the proceeds. Later the company may charge owners of malls, dance halls, and the like for presentations that draw traffic.

When original content is adequately developed, Thinkerer Studios may make videos. The videos will initially be posted on YouTube (no revenue). If they become popular enough, the videos may be posted on LULU-TV for revenue generation.

At present, Thinkerer Studios will provide tecnhical assistance for the live productions and public relations services to WESTWIND productions. These services will be provided free, so that any revenue gained from tips or performance fees will be retained entirely by WESTWIND productions. If there is a prospect of revenues from vidoes, the sharing issue will be negotiated. But Thinkerer Studios does not intend to make a profit.
TM

WESTWIND productions is now calling for actors and authors interested in the kind of repertory company I have described in an earlier post. Humor would be of particular intetrest. Anone interested can contact WESTWIND Ackland by IM or post here.

WW will be reading and posting here as soon as she figures out how to get to the forums.

As an added suggestion: this plan could benefit from contiuing characters who appear in multiple episodes. You might think of developing a character. You might perform, write for, and voice the character you develop. This is a privilidge that many real world authores would kill for.
TM

Hi Thinkeher!

Count me in! Today i'm little bit busy with my house warming party but i have more time tomorrow to discuss!

Petteri

Definitions: SL group is a collection of people interconnected by the SL database. Someone creates and owns the group. The group will have a name, a charter, and at least 2 members. Membership can be by open enrollment or by invitation. Members can send ims to the group. If you are in a group, you get all the ims from the group. The owner and other appointed members can send messages and attachments (notecards) to the group. When voice is implemented in SL, voice conversations will be possible among group members. Group owners and officers will be able to determine who speaks.

Further info about groups: http://secondlife.com/knowledgebase/category.php?id=18

I expect we will be forming at least 2 groups in our theater effort. One will be an umbrella group assiciated with Thinkerer Studios. It wiill have open enrollment and will welcom all who are interested in SL Theater. That will include the audience and people interested in offering venues, as well as theater people. When we have performances, we will use this group as a way to announce performances. I will form and run this group.

The second group will be specifically for Westwind productions. I will form it but WW will run it. Membership will be by invitaton (issued by WW or her officers). WW will use that group to organize and manage the plays she is directing. I expect this group will mainly include the performers and writers on those plays.

There may be other specialized groups formed out of the umbrella group if there are other specialized interest areas. Thnkerer Studios will work to foster media opportunities in SL, including the production of Learn On Demand (LOD) videos and documentaries. These activities may result in groups later.
TM

Hi All,
I am Westwind Ackland a director of live theater as well as an actor. I have decided to form an active operational group of theater artist and associates for regularly scheduled presentations and performances in Second Life. The group's name is "Act Up Second Life Theater Group". The group is a division of Thinkerer Studios, it is not for profit, and it will be for a private elite group of artists and craftsman. Membership is by invitation.
For our new group, I am seeking innovators with a love of theater, as we are attempting to go where no man has successfully gone before in Second Life." Realizing that this may be an enormous challenge I will need dedicated, creative, determinded people working with me, knowing that our only reward may be SUCCESS.
If you are real life theater person or want to be and you are interested in being a pioneer in Second Life, I would like to invite you to this new group.
Our first meeting will be a live conference of 8 or 9 people, by Skype Communication on Sunday, March 25, 2007 (using SL time) 9am and another at 9pm to accomodate the time zones. Myself and Thinkerer will listen and share ideas for our start up. If you don't already have Skype you can download and use if free from www.skype.com. Just put in my skype address which is my complete name as above and call for either meeting.
It is not necessary to be at the live meeting to be in the group. Anyone interested in participating in this new group may IM me directly.

WRITERS:
I am in need of 10 minute, 2 or 3 person theater scripts or monologues to be used in our Grand Opening season. These scripts should pertain to life here in SL, and must not be plaguarized in anyway.
This is an opportunity of a lifetime for our writers, as they will not burdened with rating restrictions. Writers have all artistic freedoms to their work, may direct their work, act in it , even hold their own auditions. I will be available and willing to audition and direct if you prefer, it's your own choice. Unlike in real life, here writers may follow their vision from begining to end.
We need the writers to submit his or her own work to us. You are welcome and encouraged to submit more than one script. We will read them all and choose our startup shows from what has been submitted. New works from Second Life writers will always be accepted, even though there will be a cutoff date for the grand opening entries. That date will be posted in the future.
You may submit your scripts to me by notecards in game or email Toimmeringdiva@yahoo.com.
If I left out something or you have questions IM me.

Not everyone wants to talk on skype. So, with a little help from my friends, here is an alternative: SemiSkype. You install Skype. But dont plug in a mike. You can still answer calls, because Skype tells the caller when you have answered. You hear the caller(s) on your speakers. You talk via IM in Skype or in SL.

Actually, this arrangement may work well in conference calls, where there may otherwise be too many people wanting to talk at the same time. And it will work well for directing a performance. Probably a director's dream--actors who can't talk back.
TM

Here are some Wikipedia pages that might be useful for storytellers working with WESTWIND.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_structure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Story_arc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quest
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth

The last item, Monomyth, may not be all that important in a short skit, but Star Wars fans will find it interesting.
TM

Here aree some people I know who might hae something to contribute to WWs project.

Dale Bolero. Novelist, publishing an online novel. Link at:
http://www.hestillwatches.com/onlineflip/index.html

Lindsey Warwick. Played Stupefyin' Jane in "Road Hazards Exposed"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnM8AdSe2ac

Clicko Jun: Great Batman outfit.

Dirge Wesburn: Great arctic fox. I have been wanting do a video in which one on my characters, Ben Bother, former TV news anchor interviews him about disaster in the arctic. Ben is always looking for disasters where ever he can't find them.

TM

Theatre in SL is what I'm looking for and I'm eager to be a part of it. I work actively in theatre in RL, as a director and stage manager, but I'm a newbie in the SL world (born last week!). But add my name to the list!

Local theatre is my hobby/passion and what I love to do when not glued to the computer on SL.

Please count me in as an actor - I also have directing experience, not sure how this will translate in SL, but I definately want to be a part of it!


Sol

I have some land on Broadway Live Island. This is a 4 sim island oriented towards theatre and associated professions. I only moved there 2 weeks ago and not all the land is rented yet, but the owner, Trip, is quite dedicated and it looks like it will be a thriving community once things get going.

Do a search for Broadway and drop in to say hi.

Update on this thread-- A live theater group has been organized by Westwind Ackland. It is working in the Broadway Live Island area. It is preparing to start rehersals soon. We are now looking for scripts. Here is a notecard we sent out yeasterday.

Live theater is coming to Second Life. At Broadway Live Island. a theater group is getting ready to rehearse as soon as they find scripts. They need one-act plays. About 15 - 20 min length. They will be using the audio system for speech, so dialog is important. Can use humor, mystery, especially. But let us see what you have, even monologue.

But you do not have to be skilled at writing dialog. If you give us a promising scenario, we will work with you on it.

The group includes an experienced broadway producer (Trip Potvin), several people with theater experience, and a video producer (Thinkerer Melville). So if we can work up good scripts, we can produce them in Second Life and present them on YouTube.

(You can also perform in your own script. What writer gets to do that?)

The relevant group is ACT UP! If you have an idea that might be worked into a script for our group, contact Westwind Akland, Upo Choche, or Thinkerer Melville.

Sounds great. Looking forward to it.

One caveat: you do know that Act Up is the name of a national AIDS organization that was known for their radical protests?

How do you implement the audio system?

Tyg

>>One caveat: ..
Yes. I know. Act Up is the SL name of the group. For publicity and branding, I think we will choose names suited to the objective, For example, we may have a "Murder, Inc." unit that produces detecttive stories.

>>Looking forward to it.
We also plan for another group that represents the audience. That group -- perhaps called "First Nighters", would provide support in things like publicity, sets, sites, props, script review, extras, and technicals. Probalby the First Nighters would have some perks, such as advance information and invitations to attend dress rehearsals.
We will form this group if needed, but I favor an independent group that could promote SL theater in general, not just our group. So I hope somebody else will form the group.

>> Audio
Our present plans are to use the SL audio system when it is available. We have tested in the voice beta grid and believe we can use it. We are now using Skype conference for meetings and will use that for initial rehearsal. We are also looking into TeamSpeak (and sttreaming audio) as plan B.

Are there plans to pay the playwrights? That's probably the best way to get good scripts.