Pre-show: Proposals

About, Proposals, Dramaturgy, Organization, Main

Originally, the work was proposed as the local participation for Interplay. This initial proposal shows how abstract the initial concept was before we gained all of final members and fleshed out how the project would be collaboratively developed. This first proposal was meant as a placeholder so that we could use a space and participate in Interplay. Then I sent out a call for participants to firm up interested parties. After the group had formed, we drafted a second Proposal in Fall of 2005 with a much clearer idea of how we might proceed (again seeking a performance space). The third proposal for technical funds shows a clear idea about the group's goals, composition and process.

Initial Proposal Spring 2005

Working Title: Flowspace (part of Interplay: Packet Creek)
As part of the online collaborative performance with the Art on the Grid online community, Maryland’s technology performance group, Luminance (coordinated by Brian Buck and Nadja Masura) would like to offer initial performance which will be integrated into the larger Art-Grid performance Packet Creek the fourth in the series of Interplay coordinated by the University of Utah’s Center for High Performance Computing.

Script: A text will be created through the submissions of original material, created in online collaboration, and assembled by participants at this and other research institutions. The themes explored in this installment will be the flow of light, water as well information and will follow in the footsteps of Outside/In’s examination of place, nature, and community through the metaphor of technology.

Number of characters: Unknown, the primary script and media development will occur this summer and into the early part of the fall semester when rehearsals will begin. The core performers and coordinators will be Nadja, Brian, Moira, and Nick. However it is my intention to emphasize narrative elements (as well as including computer art/video, combined with dance and music, as in previous Interplays) in exploring extended place, body and community –this means that there is an opportunity for a few actors to audition and others to get involved as assistant technicians as well. Colleges will determine who participates at their location.


What I would like to do is apply for two spots, one FlowSpace, late in the Fall semester to be a work-in-progress focusing on our local production (with participation from other sites). This piece would be structured around a loose poetic narrative corresponding to themes of place and flow, water, change and transformation.

This piece would then be integrated into the main Interplay: Packet Creek in the major production hosted and mixed online by the University of Utah. This second piece is usually set for April. In the past the Interplay performance events have garnered a notable reputation through positive receptions at numerous conferences on both art and technology including: Access Grid Retreat, Supercomputing, Seybold, ATHE and others. This summer we will be performing at Seybold in LA (from Maryland) as well presenting at the IFTR conference hosted by the Theatre Department.

Plot synopsis: the work will evolve out of submissions from the community and other entries. I will attach the initial NEA proposal which went out as a call for participants earlier this year. Please do contact me if you want further explanation. Basically, we are a collaborative online community and all materials generated come from artists at the contributing sites. Each site may interpret the guidelines in their own way and contribute whatever visual, movement, auditory, or textual material they wish. Here at Maryland, I am interested in weaving in some traditional theatrical elements (in the form of scenes and monologues) which speak to the ideas of change, resistance, flow, ecology (Maryland Streams) and the healing properties of water and the perspective of individuals in relative context (be it human or natural). In the past I wrote/coordinated the structure of the previous online piece Outside/In.

Requirements:
I will be applying to OIT for use of the Mobile Access Node, or using my own and the department’s rolling Dell as Personal Interfaces to the Grid. Additional support from the Department and Center is needed in the form of two rear-projection screens and two projectors, additional cabling and lighting support (lights focused not on screens) will be needed. I will be inquiring with MITH about possible additional support. Brian and I are trained on the use of our performance technology.

Director’s concept:
Flowspaces, as part of the large Interplay:Packet Creek project will explore the individual in a stream of change and will utilize technology to facilitate connection to various distanced locations as well as serve as a metaphor for connection, connectivity, and change/fluctuation. In Flowspaces I will explore the verbal and theatrical elements of water and change, the individual amid the forces of globalization. Essential themes will be expanded place and community evidenced through the collective performance medium of the Access Grid. Material may be collected from writers all over the county (or world), and will be shaped or distilled into a performance work.

In addition to networked performance utilizing outdoor broadcast (as Outside/In), these performances will contain various formats of media. For the last two years I’I have been collecting video footage of water, which I will have worked into an interactive installation, and intend to edit further this summer as well as using past performance technology workshop skills to create some 3D animations of flow and water in 3D Max, and Maya or Poser. There is a possibility of my working informally with Dan Conway this summer or accepting media from MFA students (or faculty) interested in submitting or manipulating digital materials. This media will be integrated into the performance (as well as the media of others) for the multi-university project Interplay:Packet Creek. The larger project will contain our local contributions and evolve in a similar yet unique format shaped by the creative direction at Utah and the combinations of artistic and technical skills and ideas of the joint Art on the Grid Members.

Letter to Future DPG Members

Dear Digital/Performance Artist,

We'd like to get a dialogue going via email to begin to develop the
digital performance around common interests, which tie together your unique
skills and artistic themes. The central idea behind this piece is nature &
humanity joined through technology/art, but this may be interpreted in a
number of either broad or specific ways. Let's begin a discussion.

Please look over and update or respond to the attached documents and respond
to the following questions:

1) What should we call ourselves? (name the group, name the performance)
Previously we have been The Digital Performance Interest Group and the
performance name has been Flowspace. These are open to suggestion.

2) What are the themes/ideas you like to explore in your chosen medium?
Please tell us about your mediums and update the DigPerfgrp document if
necessary. Feel free to provide links to your work or passages of text
which move/inspire you.

3) What is your schedule in late fall/early spring? We are checking for
availability for the Lab Theatre and Dance Theatre spaces for a 20 minute
performance in late fall and early spring, with the possibility of combining
our media with Interplay's online performance Dancing on the Shores of
Packet Creek in April.

4) We are trying to create a new performance piece. Would you prefer to
contribute to an online scripting process or work individually & in small
teams on artistically interpreting specific nature elements (fire, water,
air, earth) which would be assembled for a performance? My suggestion is that we identify which element each of us would like to work on and begin individual or paired exploration of that concept.
This way artists would create approximately 5 minutes of material for one
scene in relationship to one or two other participants (keeping the
coordinator in the loop). These would be played as four separate scenes
tied together and building to a fifth scene of synthesis. This method would
reduce rehearsal scheduling issues and allow artists to work paired with others whose technologies and ideas suit their talents/interests, while keeping a creative
through line.

4b) Pick an element (fire, water, air, earth) and discuss it in terms of
your technology /art and interests, explore it as a theme. See
thetaspace.doc for a visualization of how elements might be paired to both
technologies and ideas/themes (suggestions Air/Midi triggers/Sound-music,
Water/Video/Dance, Earth/Videoconferencing/Theatre-words,
Fire/Animation/Art). Elements may be interpreted of in natural or human terms. For instance: Water could be interpreted as human flow and the ability to change or literally as a necessary
resource becoming more scarce and polluted; Fire might be interpreted as
flame (and/or) chemical reaction or human political instability and
terrorism--flammability; Earth could be seen as dirt and basic living
needs, landscape or place and geography; and Air calls to mind the ethereal
nature of human breath, insight, creativity, but also transmission and
invisible transmission of ideas (media, power, data).

Each of these could be interpreted abstractly (painterly, poetically,
gesturally), literally (video, etc) or through statistical
data (political data or factual information), or through the creation of
specific narratives (storytelling, dialogue).

5) (Please interpret) How do we interpret or pattern nature (& life) through
art? How is art/technology an interface or conduit between human experience
and nature? As humans we put our fingerprints on everything we create, even
if it is digital. How does human comprehension and interpretation of
existence create imperfect, beautiful new meaning? How is art-making a
technology for comprehension/connection and how is technology an art?

6) What would you like us to read/see/experience/do before the next meeting?
Send links, passages, ideas to feed the group's creative process.

Thank you for your response, let's get an open dialogue going. I also look
forward to seeing you August 5th 12:00 at CSPAC's Applause Cafe with sample
media and ideas.

-Nadja Masura
coordinator

After The Group Had Formed, we drafted a Second Proposal in Fall of 2005

Digital Performance Group Proposal

Introduction to the Working Process/Concept:
The Digital Performance Group has created a framing structure for a new work which will allow individual artistic and technical talents from multiple disciplines to combine to create innovative and dynamic imaginings. The piece is based on the idea that technology can be used as a positive conduit or connection between humans and nature (the environment), as well as each other people (and perhaps in themselves). Technology, the passage of information, either through human performance or a computer’s digital processor, gives humans the ability to interpret the world around us (factually, poetically, globally, even personally).

By creating a framing structure using the elements of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water we intend to govern the mood and flow of the piece joining sections and collaborators together. This will give each scene an implied presence of nature, while allowing for an evolving conversation between human/tech or nature/tech or nature/human issues to surface on aesthetic[abstract], personal, technical, and global levels. A current running through the piece will be the implied fifth element which is the human process of synthesis and interpretation (using the tools of both digital and performance technologies).

Each elemental scene will reflect the interests and skills of its members and may include more than one level of the element (political combustion, visual animated fire—etc.).
Each artist as a member of a group of artists contributes material in conversation with their peers to form a scene which can be tied to the rhythm and flow of the whole piece. Additional shaping will occur through inter-group conversation through general meetings, and artistic direction from the artistic facilitator- Nadja Masura and Organizing Committee [Moira, Paul, Nadja, Aaron also Karen]. We are forming a [democracy] of artists, and a unique collaborative opportunity to work with peers across the disciplines who embrace performance and technology.

Two Part Process:
While is the intention of the group to contribute much of the material created in our UMD production to be used in the intercollegiate online multi-site performance Interplay: Dancing on the Shores of Packet Creek (to be held in April & hosted by the University of Utah’s Center for High Performance Computing), the primary goal is to first create a short (20 minute) but unified digital performance piece for the University of Maryland community. It will [tentatively] occur in late February or early March with both student and faculty participation.

Involvement:
This collaborative work [Title] will join the human/tech resources and interests of Art, Dance, Music, Theatre [and perhaps the sciences]. [We hope to include the midi-triggering expertise and pre-existing animations of Brandon Morse, the choreography and political experience of Karen Bradley, Maya animation and MFA support from Dan Conway, Lighting and Technical directing by Paul Jackson (OC), dance performance by Moira Jackson (OC), Sound collages from Mike Sparrow, imagery and support from Aaron Tobiason, performance by Leigh Smiley, and visual imagery, poetry and artistic coordination from Nadja Masura- among others

Summary of Project:

Flowspace (working title) is a project which would be the first of its kind at the University of Maryland; a media-integrated performance combining the research and creative contributions of faculty and students from diverse corners of the university. As part of your commitment to advancing technology in the humanities , you could serve as hub joining varied aspects of the university through proving the necessary technology funding and visible support for this enterprise.

Project participants currently include faculty Brandon Morse of Art, Karen Bradley of Dance, and Dan Conway of Theater as well as several MA, MFA and PhD students. In addition we are seeking additional interested parties in Music, Computer Sciences, and ARHU. The project would integrate their combined abilities in 3D graphics, video, live performance and midi-triggered media to create a live and online performance utilizing the Access Grid environment. The performance would become a model for working with technology in the Arts and Humanities on campus. Through online collaboration with the Art Grid online community scholars and performers at additional institutions across the country would take part in shaping the event. The piece would be open to text, music, performance, and visual data from remote sites, following an online call for participants.

Flowspace, under initial development this summer, will continue to explore concepts of place (ideally evidenced through outdoor broadcast from diverse geographical locations), and virtual community, while performer’s body and presence are extended through technology. The emerging dramaturgy will focus on interpreting dual themes of ecology (especially streams and water) and humanity (change and adaptation) through a mix of virtual and visceral elements. As a brief poetic sensory piece with a life of its own, staged late in the fall semester or likely the early spring semester, elements of Flowspace could then be integrated as Maryland’s contribution for the Interplay: Dancing on the Shores of Packet Creek. This would be the third performance in the Interplay series in which Maryland has participated. The series is receiving increasing national awareness through conferences such as the coming performances at Siggraph 2005. Through funding the technology for this production, both the Interplay series and the University of Maryland could benefit from the combined creative energies of the Flowspace team and the resulting mutual positive exposure.

Type of Assistance Sought:

We are primarily seeking funds for technology support/infrastructure for Access Grid node or PIG. Technical support will be a vital component of the production’s success.

There are three options for technical support:
A. Fund the establishment of a full node.
B. Hardware supplement to existing PIG.
C. Rental of OIT or CSCAMM teleconferencing technology facilities.

In addition to technical support, these items are of secondary importance, but would assist in the production process. Staging Supplies (Costumes, dry cleaning, purchase of additional wires, construction of additional projection surfaces.) $300.00

A. Fund the establishment of a full node.
This is the best performance solution which would allow us to function at the level which has become a standard for the Art Grid community, allowing continued participation in high-profile performances presented at such conferences such as Siggraph.

In addition to a CPU with the following specifications*:
Dell Precision 670
2.80 GHz processor
1BG DDR2 SDRAM
160 GB Hard Drive
128 MB PCIe x16 nVidia Quadro FX 1400, Dual DVI or Dual VGA or DVI + VGA video graphics card
17” flat CRT
(or better)
$2107.00
*Going by UMAGI AG/VPL OIT configurations 2003, not including additional educational discount.

we will need the following items:
• Videum™ 4400 AV Four-Channel Video and Audio Capture Card: $759.00
• ClearOne AccuMic VC echo cancellation microphone: $650.00
or a ClearOne Gentner XAP400 Echo/Noise cancellation audio management and distribution device: (estimate) and 4 general-purpose microphones at $80 each
• (Speakers $40.00)
• (One or more video camera: Sony EVI-D100: $1200.00)
• (50-foot remote camera control cable: $40.00)

B. Hardware supplement to existing PIG.
This would be a partial solution which may allow us to continue working with the Access Grid community. This is only a temporary solution, not a long-term one. Using the existing Dell desktop and webcams, we would augment the existing configuration with an echo cancellation microphone, priced at around $650.00 (AccuMic VC, serial number 910-156-115, available from Clear One Communications), a video capture card to allow the use of multiple cameras (Videum™ 4400 AV Four-Channel Video and Audio Capture Card: $759.00), and one webcam (prices range from $100-$300).

C. Rental of OIT or CSCAMM teleconferencing technology facilities.
If option A or B are not viable, it may be possible to rent video conferencing equipment or facilities through OIT or CSCAMM, the Center for Scientific Computation and Mathematical Modeling. However, I do not have a detailed estimate for the cost, and would require additional contacts. Any rental of equipment or space would need to include rehearsals as well as performance. This is the least satisfying option of the three, as it would only provide a one-time solution to the problem. Every session of the CSCAMM Access Grid node must be associated with an approved project for accounting and tracking purposes. There is a fee of $153 per session (2 hours) and $77/hour for each additional hour to help offset the continuing operation and maintenance costs of the node. We do not have an estimate for the use of the mobile node which is in transition under the OIT restructuring of the VPL lab and its personnel.

Thank you for your consideration of our technology needs. Both Maryland’s continued participation in the Interplay series and Flowspace can only be made possible by the support of university institutions which believe that it is important to reach beyond the status quo of art, humanities, and technology in order to create innovative interdisciplinary works. By supporting this collaboration within and among institutions which explores technological and the arts and humanities, you can further advance the university community to the level of national recognition while nurturing ground breaking scholarship and performance.