NMC Campus Observer

Second Life Theatre Workshop

CDB Barkley (aka Alan Levine) : Apr 19, 2007 04:50pm

We’re excited to be able to offer and host a new workshop that will take place in Second Life. Dan Undertone, a.k.a Dan Zellner in real life (Northwestern University), will lead this 8 session workshop that will use the new theater and studio on NMC Campus, the Machinima Building on the Learning sim.

We had a small taste of this last October, when Dan led an activity that was part of the Symposium on Digital Media.

Participants in a movement activity led by Dan Undertone, October 2006

Here is the information for the new workshop Dan is offering.

Description

This workshop will focus on using improvisational theatre games and other drama techniques to familiarize users with Second Life and its creative possibilities. Participants will plays the roles of author, actor and audience as various games are played and scenarios created.

The studio space where some of the workshop activity will take place.

We’ll be doing games and exercises to further understand the potentials of Second Life for the creation of theater and similar experiences. Experiences meaning creation of scenarios in which the spectator’s role will be different than many other theater situations in RL. These experiences also may be used for other non-theater purposes – example: language learning.

Dan will provide a framework within which we will work – this framework will be based on his experiences at The Second City in Chicago, Spolin’s work, and other theatre practices. FYI – Dan will also be attending improvisation classes and workshops in Chicago to further his experience with other styles of improvisation that his city has to offer (i.e. Improv Olympic long form and improvisation as practiced at the Annoyance). Dan did one class with Mick Napier which was amazing – his book Improvise: Scene from the Inside Out is very good. This this will prompt some other ideas as we go along.

If your curious to see some more information about Dan’s work you can watch a video which he prepared for a Symposium in England.

Requirements

Because this workshop involves building on workshop experiences and developing skills– attendance at all sessions is required. No previous theatre experience necessary. Since this is a first time workshop, patience and a willingness to experiment is very important.

Dates and Time: Section 101

8 sessions (1 hour each)

• Thursdays May 3 – May 31st (5 sessions) 12:00pm PDT (check your local time)
• 3 additional sessions to be determined by the group (1 session will be the final presentations of the scenes)

Dates and Time: Section 102

8 sessions (1 hour each)

• Sundays May 6 – 3 (5 sessions) 6:00pm PDT (check your local time)
• 3 additional sessions to be determined by the group (1 session will be the final presentations of the scenes)

Workshop Leader – Dan Zellner – Bio

Dan works in the Digital Media Services unit at Northwestern University providing support and consulting for Faculty, Graduate and Departmental digital multimedia projects. He has also served as a guest artist/instructor for Northwestern University’s Center for Art and Technology. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Z: a theater company that explores the combination of Chicago style improvisation and digital multimedia. Dan Zellner is only one of a handful of Illinois artists working in this area. Having spent over 15 years in Chicago’s theatre community, Dan has introduced a number of innovations to the Chicago theatre scene: one of the first websites concerning Chicago theatre information, the first Internet-based play development workshop in Chicago, and creation of a number of experimental shows involving various digital multimedia stages.

How to Participate

The class size is limited to 9.

If you are interested please contact Dan Zellner with the following information:

• Your Background
• Your interest in the workshop (what would you like to achieve?)
• Your website or any other online material of interest.

The class will also use this special theatre space in the Machinima Complex – the arrangement can be instantly re-configured to different kinds of theatre styles

Story filed under: Teaching and Learning,What's Happening

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