When: February 21 at University of Chicago; February 23 at Northwestern University
Where: The Franke Institute for the Humanities, University of Chicago, 1100 E 57th St, Chicago, Illinois 60637; Northwestern location TBA
Price: Free; there is additional availability for private performances on both dates; email badnewsgame@gmail.com for details
Tags: #interactive, #oneonone, #game, #AI, #actor #ContentAdvisory(see below)
Get No Proscenium’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
SubscribeSubscribe
Bad News is an award-winning installation work that combines Wizard of Oz techniques and live improvisational acting into an emotionally charged one-on-one experience whose story and setting is uniquely generated, for each performance, by a computer simulation.
In the summer of 1979, a resident in a computer-generated American small town has died alone at home, and a mortician’s assistant — the player — is tasked with tracking down and notifying the next of kin. To do this, the player navigates the richly simulated town to interact with its residents, who are each played live by a professional actor. Throughout gameplay, an unseen wizard listens in remotely to manage the unfolding experience via live coding and discreet communication with the actor.
In this special public performance, attendees will listen in on a live playthrough (in the style of a radio play) and receive a behind-the-scenes, commentated look at the AI technology and Wizard of Oz techniques that underpin the experience. Attendees will also be encouraged to ask questions and call out story ideas that can be communicated to the actor, who may integrate them into the experience as it is unfolding. A Q&A session will follow the performance.
NoPro is a labor of love made possible by our generous Patreon backers: join them today!
In addition to the No Proscenium web site, our podcast, and our newsletters, you can find NoPro on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, in the Facebook community Everything Immersive, and on our Slack forum.
Office facilities provided by Thymele Arts, in Los Angeles, CA.
Contact Level: None
Content Advisories: Discussions of death.
Discussion