Invited Performance

Monday, 11/18, 16:30-20:30

Tuesday, 11/19, 10:30-11:00 & 12:30-14:30

Every 30 minutes, in Carrollton

Virtual Meditation #1

Playwright: Sara Ruhl, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

Director: Brenda Harger, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

Production Team: Ken Strickland, Nate Jones, Timothy Price, Dan Schoedel, Brian Jacobs, Cheryl Platz, Huntington Howe, and Ryan Dixon, Carnegie Mellon University, USA

Website: http://www.etc.cmu.edu/projects/atl/

An experiment in interactive drama where two volunteers become the actors in the play by providing their faces and names to virtual actors, and their measurable biological signals are used as input to influence the performance of the play. We are using technology, in the guise of biofeedback sensors, virtual scenes, and 3D face modeling, to turn select audience members into actors by involving them directly in the drama. Their desires and fears of touching each other, of holding hands with a stranger, become integral parts of the play itself, changing our perception of what is traditionally thought of as a theatrical experience.

Conference Reception

Tuesday, 11/19, 19:00-22:00

Pat O'Brien's, 618 Bourbon St. (near the corner of St. Peter St., in the French Quarter)

Phone: (504) 525-4823

Shuttle buses will operate continuously between the conference hotel (Hyatt Regency) and Pat O'Brien's from 18:30 until 22:30. The cost of this event is included in the conference registration fee; additional tickets are available for $65 at the registration desk.