Tag: LEA News

Speak again, bright angel! Romeo+Juliet set to return to SL

Posted on by Inara Pey

poster

I’ve been following the work of the Basilique Performing Arts Company for a while now, and with good reason. Their work stands at the forefront of performing arts within Second Life featuring ambitious, cutting-edge productions which engage and enthrall. So much so that their masterful production of Paradise Lost: The story of Adam and Eve’s original sin, which runs through until the end of June, is completely sold-out.

Now comes word that their inaugural production, Romeo+Juliet, is set to return for a special 3-date early summer season, ahead of a full 2014 season’s run commencing in August.

The three special performances come courtesy of the Linden Endowment for the Arts, and will take place in a purpose-built setting on LEA14, designed and built by the production’s directors, Canary Beck and Harvey Crabsticks.

"Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene ..." Verona (foreground) and the playhouse beyond, LEA14, Romeo+Juliet
“Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene …” Verona (foreground) and the playhouse beyond. LEA14, Romeo+Juliet

The centrepiece of this is the playhouse where the performances will take place, located on a high plateau and surrounded by lush countryside. Around this lay four locations central to the unfolding story of tragic love: the town of Verona; the Capulet mansion; Mantua, the place to which Romeo retreats when the Prince proclaims him to be exiled from Verona, and the Capulet’s chapel, wherein the two lovers are reunited in death.

Visitors to the region are invited to explore the various settings, either before or after each of the performances, or any time on days when no performance is scheduled. Signposts have been placed throughout to help guide people between the various locations.

"What lady is that, which doth enrich the hand Of yonder knight?" The Capulet mansion, where Romeo first encounters Juliet. LEA14, Romeo+Juliet
“What lady is that, which doth enrich the hand Of yonder knight?” The Capulet mansion, where Romeo first encounters Juliet. LEA14, Romeo+Juliet

As the name suggests, Romeo + Juliet, which I reviewed here, presents Shakespeare’s famous play about star-crossed lovers in a brilliant mix of renaissance-inspired sets, 1940s costumes, and contemporary music from the likes of Nat King Cole, Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, Michael Buble, Jack Black, Carl Douglas, Queen and more. With a nod towards Baz Luhrmann and a rich weaving of music and dance as the means by which the unfolding story is largely told, the production is unique and fully engages the audience.

For the performance at LEA14 and the upcoming full season, Romeo+Juliet hold something special for audiences. “We’ve completely remastered it from the ground up,” Canary told me when she contacted me to let me know about the LEA dates. “We have redone the show with the new techniques and technology that we’ve learned as a result of Paradise Lost, and it’s better for it.” Hence why the new production has a “2.0” in it!

So even if you enjoyed Romeo+Juliet during its original 40-week run in 2013, this production is still not to be missed.

The LEA14 performances are all free to attend, but audience numbers are limited to 20 per show, with seats allocated on a first come, first serve basis.

"For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo" - The Chapel wherein Romeo and Juliet are tragically reunited
“For never was a story of more woe, Than this of Juliet and her Romeo” – The Chapel wherein Romeo and Juliet are tragically reunited. LEA14, Romeo+Juliet

Performance Dates

The three LEA14 performances will take place as follows (all times SLT):

  • 08:30, Saturday May 31st, 2014
  • 11:30, Sunday June 8th
  • 11:30, Sunday June 15th

Do be sure to mark your diary and to attend at least one; I can guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Related Links

Of exploding bustlines with a dollop of Sauce

Posted on by Inara Pey
Celebrity Blow Your Own Tits Off
Celebrity Blow Your Own Tits Off

In April 2014, I had the chance to try-out Maya Paris’ Sauce, an interactive piece inviting people to discover the secret sauce of relationships … via spark plugs, fish and chips and the aid of good old-fashioned red telephone boxes.

At the time, I noted that Sauce was in some ways the sequel to her equally interactive and wacky Celebrity Blow Your Own Tits off, which was originally hosted at LEA10, and I reviewed here.

However, if you missed the latter the first time around, now is the time to Come On Down to LEA25, where Celebrity Blow Your Own Tits Off is having an encore.

Celebrity Blow Your Own Tits Off
Celebrity Blow Your Own Tits Off

Tits is best thought of as a game show with a satirical edge to it, poking fun at our obsession with looks, beauty and perfection. There’s no actual host, just you (and a friend – it works best with at least two of you), and a series of interactive levels to work your way through, and wacky prizes to gain. Just follow the arrows and click, poke, prod and wear as you go!

It’s crude! it’s rude! It’s a lot of fun. What’s more, work your way through Tits, and you’ll get Sauce on top! A two-for-one deal, all done in, as the late Kenny Everett would say, the best possible taste! Enjoy!

Related Links

Upcoming SVVR conference to be streamed in-world in SL

Posted on by Inara Pey

SVVR

Update: The LEA blog post has been revised since this article was posted, and the following has been revised to suit.

The first Silicon Valley VR (SVVR) Conference and Expo will take place on Monday 19th May and Tuesday 20th May 2014, at the Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California.

The Computer history museum, CA (via the LEA blog)
The Computer history museum, CA (via the LEA blog)

The conference will bring together a host of experts in the VR and in virtual environments, including the likes of Palmer Luckey (Oculus VR), Philip Rosedale, Ebbe Altberg, David Holtz (Leap Motion), Ben Lang (Road to VR), Jan Goetgeluk (Virtuix) and many more – see the list of speakers and panelists on the conference website – as well as including exhibits and demos from some of the top names in the field.

For those unable to attend the event in person, the Linden Endowment for the Arts has announced that sessions will be streamed to the LEA Theatre, starting at 14:00 on Monday May 19th with Philip Rosedale’s presentation, and the Creating the VR Metaverse Panel also being streamed (see below).

Creating the VR Metaverse Panel

(l to r): Ebbe Altberg, Philip Rosedale, Stefano Corazza and Tony Parisi. Ready to answer questions on “Creating the VR Metaverse”.
(l to r): Ebbe Altberg, Philip Rosedale, Stefano Corazza and Tony Parisi. Ready to answer questions on “Creating the VR Metaverse”.

Tuesday May 20th will see a panel discussion take place on the topic of creating the VR metaverse. Occurring at 15:00 on the 20th, the discussion will feature Ebbe Altberg (Linden Lab), Philip Rosedale (High Fidelity), Stefano Corazza (Mixamo), Tony Parisi (Vizi), and will be moderated by Draxtor Despres. Together, the panel will be considering topics such as:

  • One global metaverse or many?
  • Identity and privacy
  • Virtual World Governance: democracies, the greek god model, or benevolent dictators
  • Intellectual property and legal jurisdictions
  • Avatar portability and standards

There will also be an opportunity for the audience to put questions to the panel on these and other metaverse / VR-related subjects, and you can also potentially have your own question put to the panel. Simply add your question to the comments following THIS article (link), and if selected, Drax will put it forward during the course of the discussion.

Your gateway to the LEA

Posted on by Inara Pey

LEA_square_logo_60Most people in SL are familiar with the Linden Endowment for the Arts (LEA) at least in name, if not in purpose.

The LEA is a collaborative venture between Linden Lab and the arts community, established to help create a center of arts activity in Second Life. It is committed to providing access to engaging experiences in the arts for the SL community, through exhibitions, programmes and events, all helping to foster awareness of artists’ contributions to our virtual world and encouraging others to get involved or to be inspired.

While the regions used by the LEA (some 29 in total) are provided by Linden Lab, the LEA itself is run by a committee of SL artists and residents, supported by an advisory board. However, given the LEA does have 29 regions, all playing host to a range of art installations (some permanent fixtures, others representing the LEA’s Artist In Residence programme or other dedicated activities), finding one’s way around all the regions and knowing what is going on at any given time isn’t always easy.

One of the art pieces (by Maya Paris) at the new LEA gateway
One of the art pieces (by Maya Paris) at the new LEA gateway

True, there is the LEA blog, with notifications of upcoming openings and events, and there’s the LEA website, for information on the various LEA programmes, and the regions almost always offer visitors the opportunity to grab a HUD to help them navigate their way around all the exhibits. However, there has never really been anything resembling a central gateway, a place where visitors can go to and find out what is going on and where, ask questions, and have the means to teleport to anything that interests them, and then back again should they wish to continue their explorations.

Until now.

A part of the new LEA3 gateway
A part of the new LEA3 gateway

LEA Committee member Honour McMillian recently blogged on behalf of the LEA that LEA3 is being re-purposed as a gateway / hub for the LEA regions. The work is being carried out by LEA committee members and volunteers (of which more in a moment), and while it has yet to be completed, much is already in place.

Central to the gateway is a map to all 29 LEA regions, complete with teleport links, while nearby is an event board listing all upcoming events and activities. A short walk from this is a set of information givers which provide note cards on the various installations within the LEA. Around these areas is a mixed land / water park wherein a number of pieces from various SL artists are displayed and open to be explored. The selected items will change over time, helping to reflect the diverse range of art on offer within the LEA regions.

The information boards
The information boards at the LEA gateway

The welcome area will be staffed, as time an availability, by the LEA Volunteers, overseen by Honour herself. Although there are over 40 volunteers already, they undertake a variety of tasks, including providing guided tours of the regions, assisting the artists using the regions, helping with opening events and other activities, and so on. As such, new recruits are always being sought; so if you’re of a mind to volunteer your time, contact Honour in-world, and she’ll get you into the group and onto the training and orientation course.

As noted above, there’s still more work to be done at the gateway, but it as now open, so if you’re thinking of exploring the LEA regions, there’s now an even easier way to get yourself started!

Related Links

Yet shall the lovers reunite: looking ahead to LEA AIR 6

Posted on by Inara Pey

As I recently noted, the Linden Endowment for the Arts have announced the successful applicants for the 6th round of Artists in Residence (AIR) grants.

Tyrehl Byk: returning to the LEA
Tyrehl Byk: returning to the LEA

All of the successful applicants, who will be receiving the use of one full region supplied by the LEA each for a six month period, are to be congratulated. However, and without wishing to sound like I’m playing favourites, there are a couple in particular that I’m looking forward to.

The first of these is Tyrehl Byk. The master of the particle, Tryehl’s work is nothing short of astounding, as anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing shows like Catharsis and Particle Phantasmagoria can more than confirm.

I’ve no idea what Tyrehl has planned for his installation at the LEA, or whether it will be particle-focused; but I am convinced it will not disappoint, and I’m already eagerly waiting to hear more – which admittedly may not come until he’s ready to unveil his installation.

The other item I’m fairly bouncing about getting to see is from a team new to the LEA, although they have already established themselves as a creative tour de force in performance arts within Second Life, having established the Basilique Performing Arts Company.

I’m of course talking about Canary Beck and Harvey Crabsticks who, as their stunning Romeo+ Juliet approaches the end of its fourth season, will be trasferring it to the LEA as a part of an interactive, educational multi-media exhibit which will allow visitors to not only witness performances of their interpretation of Shakespeare’s immortal play about tragic love and loss, but to immerse themselves in the world of Romeo and Juliet.

“We envision building a full, open-air sim laid out on ground level making the scenes in Romeo + Juliet come to life. We hope that becoming associated with LEA will help us expand our reach to a broader audience,” Canary states, announcing the plans in her blog. She goes on:

At the centre of the sim will be the Basilique Playhouse where the play will be performed on a weekly basis, beginning in March.

The aim of this project is to build on our past work in presenting the play, augmenting the experience for visitors beyond spectator status, but rather as involved, participating, and interactive “actors” in the work, in three dimensions.

Extending on the themes of the play, and surrounding the playhouse, will be four highly immersive and distinct quarters giving the visitor the impression they have stepped back in time.

Relive the Basilique Performing Arts Company's Romeo+Juliet and immerse yourself in scenes from the play
Relive the Basilique Performing Arts Company’s Romeo+Juliet and immerse yourself in scenes from the play

The four immersive environments will comprise a public piazza and streets that one would have found in Verona at the time of the play’s setting; the Capulet family’s mansion where Romeo and Juliet first encounter one another at a ball, which will contain Juliet’s bedroom and the orchard beneath it where Romeo famously woos her; the town of Mantua, to which Romeo is banished after killing Tybalt; and finally, the chapel in which will reside Friar Laurence’s cell and the Capulet family tomb where Romeo and Juliet find their eternal rest.

Visitors will be able to witness performances of the production, re-create famous scenes from the play themselves, and engage in an interactive, HUD-based hunt / game based on challenges and clues surrounding the play, and the life of William Shakespeare.

The installation is to be developed in phases over a two-month period, opening its doors to the public on March 1st for perfomances and the additional quarters opening progressively as they are completed.

Having see the dedication and talents of Canary and Harvey – and the Basilique Performing Arts Company – I have little doubt that everything that is being promised will be delivered. This really is an exhibition – an event – you will not want to miss. Hopefully, and with Canary’s permission, I’ll be able to bring more news on this project as things progress.

LEA announce AIR 6 selection

Posted on by Inara Pey

LEA_square_logo_60On Monday January 27th, the Linden Endowment for the Arts announced the successful applicants for the 6th round of the LEA’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) programme.

They are: Solkide Auer, Canary Beck, Tyrehl Byk, Glyph Graves, Xineohp Guisse, Mac Kanashimi, Livio Korobase, Yooma Mayo, Mimesis Monday, Maya Paris, Tomm Pye, SodaGnome Resident, Tansee Resident, TheRealKarenEliot Resident, Sniper Siemens, Storm Septimus, Pixels Sideways, Nexuno Thespian, Lorin Tone and Eupalinos Ugajin.

Musiclandia by Livio Korobase, a successful AIR 5 bid
Musiclandia by Livio Korobase, a successful AIR 5 bid

The LEA received over 40 applications, and those selected were viewed as presenting “truly outstanding proposals that represent a diverse range of virtual art.”

The successful applicants will each be allocated a full region within the LEA for a 6-month period. They have up to four months to prepare their projects, which range from full-sim immersions, to innovative builds geared specifically for multimedia works such as sound and machinima. Each installation must be open for a minimum of two months of the 6-month allocation, and it is expected that some will be open in advance of the four-month build deadline. All exhibits must be open to the public by the end of May 2014 at the latest.

All openings will, as usual, be announced in the LEA blog.