New media theatre involves the intersection of technology, often film and digital technologies, and live human performers. I’ve worked with new media theatre, predominantly as a director and dramaturg, since 2012. Here are some highlights.
Vampires of the Neverwood
Inspired by Dungeons and Dragons, queer drag and burlesque shows, video games, and that uncomfortable random product placement in movies, this show blossomed between 2019 and 2021 into a 3-story-path, 6-week adventure. This decide-thine-personal-disaster style comedy is action-packed with pole dance fighting, dungeon crawling, over 20 different puzzles, sitcom-esque setups bound to trigger your social anxiety, several odd subplots involving Chicken Marsala and a Junior Varsity Lacrosse team, and so much sexual degeneracy, it’ll have you wondering, “How has YouTube not taken this down yet?” The audience chooses to follow the path of Realism, Pessimism, or Optimism, following Jonelle, Cherelle, or Taffy Bloomers through two nights of exciting escapades to save the world from the Vampire Queen and the collapse of the Wind Temple.
During livestreaming performances, the shows involved audience voting and a chat program to engage the audience like a DnD adventure. While this feature no longer exists in the recorded versions, you can still witness the in(s)anity thanks to YouTube.
You can watch each of the adventures on Annex Theatre’s YouTube page.
Effing Robots: Online Edition
I performed my A.I.-themed solo show, Effing Robots: How I Taught the A.I. to Stop Worrying and Love Humans at festivals through 2019 and the beginning of 2020. Unfortunately, due to tHe PaNDeMiK, I had to cancel some tour stops in May and August 2020. I did not pick the work up again until the end of 2020, after moving to Scotland for school.
Now, thanks to a better understanding of new media theatre and the impressive agility of fringe festivals the world over, I’ve created a filmed version of Effing Robots that will live online as its final form.
Spin the Bottle: Speculation Diaries Edition
Annex Theatre in Seattle, Washington hosted one of the longest-running cabarets in the Pacific Northwest. In 2019, I “took over” three StB’s under the title “Speculation Diaries,” where I promoted speculative fiction-themed works. Many of these were new media in several ways – electronic music, slideshow talks, burlesque, and non-traditional theatre of all kinds.
I was supposed to take over a few more in 2020, but I was only able to do one, in April. Fortunately, it lives online!
Codename: KANSAS, Witch Hunter!
In the post-apocalypse, a war rages between the last human survivors and the malformed techno-mancing Witches. Witch Hunters are skilled warriors that hunt and kill these super powered enemies. They are trained in the ways of analog combat. They have no names, their entire identities exist within their personal code. CODENAME: KANSAS is the most accomplished amongst them but she soon learns there’s more to her than just her code and arms.
Combining live actors, intensive fight choreography, film sequences, and reactive background effects, CNK was among the first new media shows produced in Seattle. I was lucky enough to direct and co-dramaturg this production from Copious Love in 2015. You can see the filmed version online!