This is Part 4 of 3(?) in my Tempest write-up. In Part 1 I went over why this show is so important. Part 2 tackles my biased hang-ups. Part 3 was my breakdown of what I saw as well as what I heard others saw. That was all written as a first reaction to the show, but now it’s been nearly a year!

I saw the very first and the very last production of Tempest (plus, including the ones I supervised my kids in, a dozen in between). That’s a lot of Tempest! Why so many times? Here’s some brief thoughts as I look back on the show a week after closing.

Repeat Viewings

My initial reaction to Tempest was lukewarm. I was expecting more of the quiet menace I associated with the MC in The Under. I wanted a tightly controlled emotional arc with Sleep No More-esque puzzles and clues and Easter Eggs that would give me meaty, plotty reasons to come back again and again.

Instead I got something that felt more like a playful, relaxed, audience-participation-heavy, self-effacing romp among friends. After my first show I didn’t think I’d have any reason to come back for more. Except for an unsolved puzzle in the lobby, I wasn’t left wondering much. Except for one thing: how much power might the host (Prospero/Prospera) have in changing the vibe of Tempest?

Turns out: significant.

Some hosts took the Shakespearean text across the show very seriously. Some cut it down and found excuses to sing whenever they could. Some took great pains to draw a causal throughline between each set piece, while others tossed it off with an air of “whoa why are we here this is crazy right?!” Some spoke with big stagey energy that hyped the audience into active, bouncy participation. Others were softer and drew the audience in close for what felt like a more intimate, solemn experience. In every show where I got a new host it was a thrill to discover how well their theatrical sensibilities clicked with my own. When I got a repeat host, there was comfort in anticipating the tone of the ritual we were about to go through and to see how the other audience members around me might augment it.

Child’s Play

One time in early August I let my kids watch my Tempest experience via Chromecast and they were so enthralled that they demanded to have a turn. They are age 3 and age 5 and have both been experiencing curated VR content since age 2. Tempest, thus, has served as a wonderful introduction to Shakespeare (they also both watched The RSC’s Dream (thoughts) and enjoyed it but find Tempest endlessly engaging). Outside of Half+Half and junior accounts of Rec Room, this has been their intro to social VR as well. Also an intro to… romance?

My kids love the interactivity and spell casting, their silent role that forces them to communicate in more creative ways, the Ariel and Harpy set pieces, the sound of the language of Shakespeare (helpfully rolled out in SparkNotes-like fashion by many of the hosts) and various roleplaying as directed by the Prosperi.

Deirdre Lyons, Dasha Kittredge, and Haylee Nichele were all hosts quick to pick up on when these small audience members in their care were young children (I tried to alert Tender Claws ahead of time when possible). These hosts were endlessly accommodating in determining when my kids were ready to focus in to follow a task, and when they just needed to be set free to go explore the island.

The very first show my 5-year-old saw was with Deirdre Lyons as Prospera. He was so happy to have engaged with real people in such a meaningful, present way (as only VR can offer) that he immediately asked if he could do Tempest again. He had just started kindergarten and the curriculum was entirely remote. I sent Deirdre a video of him talking about how much he loved Tempest and she speculated, correctly I believe, that he was feeling a very teacher-like attachment to her. After a second show where he coincidentally got Deirdre again (and was thrilled to be given the same nickname by her and feel remembered), this may as well have been considered VR therapy; it meant so much to him.

I have to mention that Deirdre then went above and beyond the call of, well, any immersive performer ever. After Tempest closed the first time a few months ago, she wanted to make sure my 5-year old didn’t feel like she was gone, and crafted a complete narrative arc for him. She arrived as Prospera at the main stage, and tasked him with saving The Under from its imminent demise. She brought him to secret locations, she sang, she led a dance-off, she gave him fetch quests, and she brought a Shel Silverstein poem to life, complete with hilariously spawning hundreds of props into the world in a giant pile. It was… remarkable. And totally singular to the capabilities of this world and this medium. Thank you Deirdre!

Conclusion

I have to wonder why The Tempest became a show we kept coming back to. Was it fun? Sure. Was it one of the closest experiences to real-life theatre accessible to us over the past year? Absolutely. But I think more than anything (especially beyond my preconceived expectations), it was the actors and the audience who made this show so special. Getting a ticket and arriving at a specified time was something to look forward to, knowing we’d be entering a warm, safe, kind world with a consistent community spirit. Even from a social VR perspective, this was a space with clear rituals and defined roles where everyone wanted everyone to succeed, whether you were an audience member teaching another audience member a spell, or a host with the impeccable ability to read their silent audience and personalize the experience to keep each of them engaged. When a Tempest show started, there was a bond formed over the idea that we were in this together for the next hour, so let’s make the most of it. That was an amazing feeling, and for my kids and I at least, exactly the kind of respite we needed from 2020.

Other random thoughts:

1. On an intellectual level, it was wonderful a few months ago to see Samantha Gorman release a detailed, color-coded script for Tempest, which actually dictated key pillars of the show and where there were opportunities for the actors to riff and make the show their own. The Virtual Theatremakers Discord even devoted a book club to analyzing it. It was also a frequent talking point for the 5th Wall Forum participants.
2. So many of us in the virtual theatre space want to imagine Tempest as something that could serve not just as a creative precedent for future work, but also financial. We’ve been wondering: what are the actors being paid? Is there a union contract? Is it a set fee or based on audience count? How much revenue did Tempest bring in? Is there a model here that can work for other virtual theatre companies who want to play in this space, or is Tempest something of a one-off that can only work with generous support from a Facebook subsidy? Maybe someday we’ll know!

Let’s Dive Into The Under Presents: Tempest | Pt. 4 was originally published in Alive in Plasticland on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

This is Part 3 of 3 in my Tempest write-up. In Part 1 I went over why this show is so important. Part 2 tackles my biased hang-ups. This is my breakdown of what I saw as well as what I’ve heard others saw.

PLEASE DON’T READ UNTIL YOU’VE SEEN TEMPEST FOR YOURSELF

What exactly did I see?

I know everyone had a slightly different experience, so here I’ll lay out my opening night journey in a super dry and matter-of-fact fashion.

1. Bought my ticket to the very first public performance in-app at the newly-visible Decameron Theater within ten minutes of the initial announcement on July 6th.
2. Checked Oculus Quest July 9th at 6 PM EST, an hour before showtime, to see if there was an update for The Under Presents app — nope.
3. Opened The Under Presents and arrived outside the theater a few minutes before 7 PM EST.
4. Saw the countdown on the inside of my mask.
5. Saw the countdown hit 0:00. Nothing happened. Tried to go into the theater doors. Still nothing. Walked/scrunched around for a bit.
6. Suddenly magically teleported into the Tempest lobby.
7. Alone in the space, did some exploring. Cast some spells. Looked through the jugs and saw two variations on the same world I was in. Heard punny announcements. Broke stuff. Repaired stuff. Learned that repairing a portal jug turns it back into a regular jug. Didn’t solve the puzzle.
8. After about 30 minutes I decided there may be a glitch. At one point what looked like an usher appeared in the center of the room in a red suit and gestured like he was trying to talk but I didn’t hear anything.
9. A DM I sent to the @tenderclaws Twitter got answered. Turns out The Under Presents needs an update and the person I’m messaging on Twitter actually tried to tell me this as that in-game usher!
10. He gives me a free credit that instantly appears for me in VR at the Box Office so I grab a ticket to the 8 PM show.
11. I still don’t see the update for The Under Presents. Restart the Quest headset and, aha, there it is.
12. This time at 8 PM I’m almost instantly teleported into the lobby and there’s now seven of us in here. Right off the bat someone points at my mask and I notice that I suddenly have a swirly storm mask. Hm, maybe this is something my 7 PM ticket gave me?
13. Tons of crazy spells by this particularly advanced group (I can tell because 5 out of 6 of them have upgraded their masks — something not often done by a casual player).
14. After 7 minutes in the lobby the doors opened, the lights faded and we all appeared at…
15. A campfire! At dusk! In the backyard of a two story house on a cliff, overlooking a very smoggy city.
16. Our host looks like a hippie theatre professor from the 60s.
17. Unfortunately we can’t hear her (signified by snapping our fingers near our ears and shaking our heads). She exits and comes back several times. We basically throw everything possible into the fire or off the cliff. After 6 minutes we can hear her. She’s so so happy. Big group hug (first of many).
18. She also introduces herself as an actor who was cast in The Tempest as Prospera. She’s Genevieve Flati whose voice I recognize from the Voices of VR Podcast. She asks us if we want to do some acting so we can all learn what this show is about.
19. Prospera casts 4 of us as sailors and immediately teleports us all up into the balcony of the house complete with sailor hats.
20. We run back and forth like we’re in a storm while the remaining 3 stay at the bottom and swing lights around to help with the effect. Prospera narrates the scene.
21. She gathers us around the campfire again and we congratulate our cast and our tech crew with copious finger snaps.
22. Now she casts us all as her spirits and says we’re going to do some magic (and learn about Shakeeespppeare (she sings a lot, Jean-Ralphio style))
23. Prospera drops a ton of sticks into the fire. Like thirty. They don’t burn. We then do the ‘repair’ spell (taught during the intro section of The Under, which by the way is now free!) and the sticks turn into a small stick boat. It floats above the fire like it’s on tumultuous seas. OoooOoooo.
24. She explains that as the magician Prospera, she has asked Ariel the spirit (aka sprite) to create a giant storm to take out her enemies. This is the same boat that we were just pretending to be on with the house balcony.
25. Suddenly we’re in a fully-realized storm with a real ship (though it’s still the same scale-model size) in the middle of the ocean as lightning strikes the ship and lights it on fire. Prospera quotes actual Shakespeare’s Tempest here. The part about “Hell is empty. And all the devils are here.” Rad.
26. Now we’re all under the water of the boat (now full scale) and our host becomes a giant Ariel, singing hauntingly with some vocal effects. There’s also music for the first time. Mm! Goosebumps here.
27. Suddenly that all ends and we’re in a stone building with a pool in the center and various other areas, including a basement, a second floor, and an outside. Likely Prospera’s cell/home, though it’s never identified as such.
28. Our host gives us about a minute to explore. I go everywhere and find swords, coins, books, paper, a staff, a hat, a shoe, a ship steering wheel, etc. I use my mask flame to light up the basement.
29. She then gathers us around and tells us about being the Duke of Milan and how her brother Antonio betrayed her. She asks everyone to go to her left who has ever been betrayed by a family member. There’s 2. The other 5 of us are on the right and we get taunted for our “perfect lives.”
30. She talks about how she (as Prospera) read too many books and that made Antonio want to betray her. Then she said “if you…oh wait, be right back, be right back, go explore.”
31. Then she was gone for a couple minutes and then continued where she left off. She asked those of us who read books / play games / relax a lot to go to her left and anyone who always focuses and puts work first to go to her right. All of us went to the left.
32. She talks about being exiled and how her and her daughter Miranda and her had to get out of Milan.
33. We appear back at the campfire with the ship above the fire again. We all put our hands in and agree to “leave our shame there.”
34. Then for a second we’re back looking at the boat on the water then we’re underwater for a second and then back in Prospera’s housey place. She talks about how we can never leave our shame behind and how it flashed before our eyes. Then she makes the pool in front of us do a swirly swool (like the mask I’m wearing) and it becomes a portal (jug-style) to a “rotten carcass of a boat” with her and Miranda on it.
35. She says “let’s get out of here, I’m too sad,” and we appear back at the campfire. She brought us here to eat some marshmallows. We have marshmallows on sticks and then roast and eat them. Then she says we need to sing and do a hokey pokey sort of dance with the marshmallows or the Shakespeare will not continue. We do the hokey pokey marshmallow dance.
36. Next, we appear in a big clearing and she tells us to bring her all of the wood. We do this for 2 minutes.
37. We then all hold hands (as best we can; you can’t actually grab someone’s hand). She says she needs someone to play her daughter Miranda (Miranda is given a flower crown) and someone to play the king’s son, Ferdinand (he’s given a cowboy hat). The rest of us, as her spirits, are given “servant ruffles” around our necks.
38. I become one of Ferdinand’s buddies and we’re told to go lift the wood like we’re weightlifting. And then Ferdinand sees Miranda and they play out their little rom-com, including Prospera challenging Ferdinand to fisticuffs (in the play this is all orchestrated by Prospero’s plotting)
39. She then talks about how Ferdinand got bored with Miranda and felt like he didn’t earn her “because in Shakespeare’s time, women were prizes I guess!”
40. Prospera says “this was some grade A rom-com right here. Like Stephanie Meyers. But now let’s go do some adventure stuff!” and we run over to another part of the level with an old boat (I think the one her and Miranda were in? How did it get here?).
41. Prospera now casts us all as the dukes, her enemies who betrayed her. Then she tells us to go eat a banquet and she’ll see us later.
42. We appear out in a new field with a big banquet table. We chow down like a bunch of gluttons, throw food, break stuff, gorge ourselves silly. The sky grows dark. Wind blows leaves.
43. Ariel appears as a terrifying spectacle in the sky, her body portaling the view of our boat sinking. She gives the “you are three men of sin” monologue, though of course leaves out the three since there are seven of us.
44. Some of us draw swords to attack her, but they fall to the ground and cannot be picked up again. The line “Your swords are now too massy for your strengths” is spoken as “Your swords are now too heavy to lift.”
45. Still as this specter, our host says “hey guys it’s me! Are you having fun? Did you eat any good food? Which one is the best food?” and riffs on some of what’s there. She then says we should go do something else and we appear:
46. Ah, at an actual The Under location. There’s some trees and a gazebo and an arcade. Like the task in The Under, we’re told to clean up and help the trees heal. We do that. We’re having a wedding, after all.
47. Delightfully flutey wedding music starts playing. We go to the gazebo. I’m cast as the rabbi marrying Ferdinand and Miranda since I’m already standing in the right spot, while everyone else is spirits (e.g. Juno, Artemis, etc) giving them blessings.
48. Our host says she’s gonna do this part like Hamilton: “Earth’s increase, foison plenty, Barns and garners, never empty” etc. etc. We lose her audio for about ten seconds here then she’s back.
49. We all receive as a wedding gift the swirly Tempest mask that I already had on. It’s new for everyone else there.
50. As we begin to say goodbye, one of the other audience members does a quick spell to set off fireworks. Our host is very impressed!
51. We’re all back at the campfire, a storm gathers around us. The house disintegrates in spectacular fashion.
52. We all hold hands then have a dance party. Every so often the world goes super psychedelic.
53. Our host asks if we’ll miss her and gives us parts of the “we are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep” speech.
54. A slow version of The Under theme song (?) plays as we say our goodbyes.
55. We go “1, 2, 3 Shakespeare!” over the fire and are psychedelically hyperspace teleported to a black and white version of the lobby, which fades to color.
56. We can leave whenever we want out the exit doors. Most do immediately since we’re actually roped off from exploring the lobby to the extent we could at the beginning. Note this entire live experience with the host (once we could hear her) lasted 32 minutes.
57. I was deposited alone back outside the theater… at which point I tried to go into The Under to see if I could find other Tempest viewers (based on the mask), but I found myself having to repeat the intro with the MC so decided to call it a night.

And there we are. Technical issues aside, did that all sound familiar, or was your experience super duper different? Some variables I’ve heard about so far based on discussions with other attendees:

• Having the set-up be less “I’m going to tell you a story” and more “hey I was just now cast into a play based on The Tempest and will you help me get in the right headspace to understand it better?”
• High-energy action vs subtler embodiment of key dialogue.
• The balcony scene being a ‘warm-up exercise’ before the ‘main event.’
• Being told to bring artifacts to Prospero who then comments on them in relation to the story.
• Directly calling out elements of The Tempest that should be changed/reimagined for this show.
• Cat humor (by the hosts who own cats).
• Breathing/visualization/meditation exercises to help change scenes or conjure costumes.
• Question to the audience: “Have you ever made a decision that made other people suffer?”
• Variations in how much the host claims to know about The Tempest.
• Variations in actual direct quoting of the The Tempest or by-name casting of actual characters beyond Miranda and Ferdinand.
• Variations in the amount of hugging/hand holding/direct touching.
• Prospero leaving to go to the bathroom, complete with sound fx and toilet paper.
• Coleman (of The Under/Timeboat fame) making an appearance at the end
• Other characters from The Under showing up

Will update this as I hear of more variation!

Let’s Dive Into The Under Presents: Tempest | Pt. 3 was originally published in Alive in Plasticland on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

This is Part 2 of 3 in my Tempest write-up. In Part 1 I went over why this show is so important. Part 2 tackles my biased hang-ups. Part 3 is a detailed breakdown of my direct experience.

PLEASE DON’T READ UNTIL YOU’VE SEEN TEMPEST FOR YOURSELF

Great (Virtual) Expectations

I have to admit this show was not what I was expecting. In anticipation, I may have let my hopes run wild. My first thought after reading the words “The Under Presents: Tempest” was a tonal one: “yes! One of Shakespeare’s most enigmatic and provocative tales told in one of VR’s most enigmatic and provocative worlds. A perfect match!” However, despite sharing mechanics, stylization, and other assorted DNA with The Under, Tempest does not feel like it’s part of the same world.

The Under exists as a diegetic whole, a place where everything from the look of the players to the scrunching locomotion to the deliciously bizarre spell-based puzzles always come with a tingle of “there’s something menacing about this.” Tempest feels… too happy, too safe to be part of The Under or even to remind me of the tone of the original source material. It’s as though the cast and world of a Pinter play (say, No Man’s Land) were suddenly dropped into an energetic, 4th-wall breaking, David Ives one-act (say, English Made Simple).

Despite sharing textual qualities with Prospera/o, the cool, calculating, unsettling MC and his influence are nowhere to be found here. He, who becomes even more mysterious the more you learn about him and his role as the proprietor of The Under, stands in stark contrast to the clean, straightforward narrative world of Tempest. The actors here, despite many of them also playing characters in The Under, are far less “in character” as your Tempest host, never letting you forget they are, in fact, an actor in VR as they coddle you like you’re in a cross between a corporate team-building workshop and a book report study group.

This setup of Tempest’s world and rules succeeded in drawing me into a magic circle, but never a journey, never a true opportunity to suspend my disbelief. By the end, the whole didn’t feel like more than the sum of its parts.

Prospera/o, as portrayed, is an open book. Your host begins and ends as an actor cast into this role who wants to tell you about The Tempest, then proceeds to do that through a series of straightforward activities. Save perhaps the moments as Ariel (my favorites), the host never transcends that role. From the beginning you’re collaborators, even pals. I suppose what I craved was a less trustworthy host. Someone less themselves. Someone more… enigmatic.

Put another way: despite being in an immersive story, I never felt like I was immersed in the story.

But here’s the kicker: the extreme level of welcoming displayed here, complete with such prospects as group hugs, hand-holding, and visualization exercises is perfect for someone feeling even the smallest bit of trepidation about giving this experience a try. The fact that you can tell your friends and loved ones, even those who have never tried VR before, that ‘you will be taken care of here’ will be a key salve for any reticence they may be harboring.

Exit, Pursued by a Bias

Enter: my wife. Been in VR as long as me (since the 2013 Oculus Rift DK1), but has a high sensitivity to VR sickness in every HMD save the HTC Vive. Also: she’s a Shakespeare stan. As in: she’s been reading, loving, and memorizing these plays since she was 10 years old. The Tempest is not a favorite (for one thing, she hates Prospero), but after I’d set up every comfort option (night mode, teleportation, a real fan), she decided to give this a go.

What a pleasant surprise for me to see her grinning ear to ear through most of the experience, one that was highly comparable to mine by way of sharing the same host. As much more of an introvert than I, she’s more trepidicious about participatory theatre. But she enjoyed how everything here felt optional. She didn’t want to play a character, and she never felt like she had to. But she laughed out loud watching some of the portrayals of the other audience members and found the high-energy, fast and loose telling by host Genevieve to be a ton of fun.

To quote her: “If this was a highbrow deep dive into Shakespeare, the interactivity might feel more intrusive. So by keeping this lighthearted, Tender Claws made best use of both the participatory element and the limitations of acting in the virtual environment.” She went on to describe how everyone was “friendly and gracious,” and that Genevieve’s hosting demeanor created a welcoming, playful environment that suited the production style.

Oh, and here’s something else cool — she had never been able to stay in the Quest 40 minutes before this and believes her motion-sickness was tempered by how engaged she felt. Lots of good news.

I’m glad she loved it, and I sincerely hope her response is the most common one: accepting this production on its own terms and enjoying it as such.

For my part, I wanted something that felt more like The Under. Maybe something more like Sleep No More, with a stronger tension of exploration against narration and puzzles to be solved and relationships to be explored and interpretations to be had, and myriad reasons to go back again and again and again but the more I dwell on all of that, the more I forgive it all. Because what is here is something that will work for the vast majority of attendees. As someone rooting for this budding medium to thrive, Tempest is much-needed rainfall. It shows the work of a company that is pacing itself.

And hey, here’s something neat I wouldn’t have expected: I think my 4 year old (who has been in The Under and Timeboat) would love this experience. If I let him do it, it will be his very first live theatre show.

Conclusion: Live Long and Prospera

Ultimately, I like Tempest but I don’t love Tempest and that’s okay. I’m certain that hundreds (hopefully thousands) of other people will say this was one of the coolest theatre experiences of their life, and I’m thrilled for each and every one of them.

This experience was, in a word, delightful. That’s just not what I look for in live theatre — I’m chasing words like cathartic, world-shaking, awe-inspiring. That accounts for maybe 5% of the theatre I’ve seen over the course of my life. I expect too much. But the potential is all here. To use a crude film analogy, I feel like I just saw Tin Toy… and now I know it’s possible to make Toy Story. I’ve seen the effectiveness of mask and body work, now I want to see something Up Close and Virtual.

Forget about me though, everyone should be more like my wife: happy to enjoy a live show on its own terms and not project their own needs onto it. Back in 2008, after we spent a semester in London, it became abundantly clear to us that America often treats theatre as an elite experience in everything from expected dress code to its cost to its subject matter. In the UK, theatre is more like going to the movies: you’re not always looking to go on an emotional rollercoaster and it’s okay to be sated by a few good laughs among friends. That should be enough, and if VR theatre, as something of an emerging hybrid medium, can establish that baseline, it’s going to mean more attendance from a wider audience and more overall appreciation of live performance.

Make no mistake, Tempest is a milestone, one marking only the very beginning of what’s possible. I hope both Tender Claws and all the other would-be VR theatre-makers of the world appreciate this for what it is while also being inspired by what it can be: a springboard. I’m excited to check out Tempest again, but I’m even more excited to see what comes next.

Assorted Food for Thought. What if:

1. All the settings were actually part of a single cohesive island that could be explored at will?
2. There were puzzles both in the lobby and during the show to be solved that unlocked other narrative content, even prerecorded? (Okay already based on points 1 and 2 I basically want to see The Invention of Morel in this style).
3. This was the ‘beginner’ version of Tempest but there was also an available ‘pro’ version with a host that goes deeper and holds your hand less?
4. There were spells you could only learn here but could continue to use back in The Under?
5. Midsummer Night’s Dream took place in The Under and they weren’t nice about it?
6. It was possible for the host to enact the entire show without direct audience participation?
7. In the same way clapping sets Prospero free in the original text, snapping were explicitly used to set your host free at the end of the experience.
8. The host actually played Shakespeare writing the story and played off of some of the popular interpretations that Prospero, to varying degrees, represents Shakespeare. Could also have a bit of a Mary and the Monster vibe.
9. Prospero plotted more and actively puts you under spells and you can find ways to break out and back to ‘reality’, which could start to have a very Tender Claws’ VVR feel.
10. You could actually hold hands by both grabbing each others’ hand. First grabber controls location until either grabber lets go.
11. There were TWO live actors in the same show to play off each other?
12. This show took you on a single The Tempest-inspired journey over 40 minutes and never asked the audience to perform any tasks?
13. You could experience this all as an invisible avatar?
14. Hosts had ‘stats’ and you could pick yours based on the your preferred style?
15. There was the possibility to hang out with the people you were in the show with afterwards, either in The Under’s lounge or maybe even a direct connection to Oculus Parties?

Other stuff to check out:

• Part 3: super detailed breakdown of what happened during my show and some of the variations I’ve heard on what can happen.
• Big ol’ video chat with a bunch of VR / theatre folks
• Some short videos of moments referenced in these posts.
• The rest of the Alive in Plasticland blog (all about live performance in VR)
• Video with commentary on my first time in The Under Presents back in November 2019
• Avatar Selection for Live Performance in VR IEEE GEM published paper (result of much study from Alive in Plasticland)
• Loveseat at the 2019 Venice Film Festival (Alive in Plasticland’s learnings brought from improv to our first scripted show)
• My Twitter thread about bringing audiences to virtual shows
• TCG 2020 webinar on remote live performance with Brendan Bradley and Jasper Tarr (coming soon!)

Let’s Dive Into The Under Presents: Tempest | Pt. 2 was originally published in Alive in Plasticland on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

There are already many excellent, mostly spoiler-free reviews of Tempest out there, so I’m not going to tip-toe around anything. See the show for yourself then come back. Here in Part 1, I’ll go over why this show is so important. Part 2 tackles my biased hang-ups. Part 3 is a detailed breakdown of what I experienced.

tl;dr: I liked Tempest. It’s well worth the 15 freakin’ dollars. Go check it out.

(note: I’ll often refer to The Tempest in reference to Shakespeare’s text as well as Tempest as shorthand for The Under Presents: Tempest)

Initial Thoughts

I am so glad this show exists and I want to praise the hell out of it. What an accomplishment! To put this together over a month of rehearsals on a platform that was, until very recently, perhaps only halfway set-up for everything this needed to do? All the congrats in the world to the Tender Claws team and their collaborators.

Here’s the three most important things this models:

1. How to provide theatre actors with paying jobs (at least thru September!) at a time when there’s very little of that going around.
2. How to establish a baseline template for what a VR theatre show might look and feel like.
3. How to charge on a per-show basis.

Tempest is helping to normalize the idea of live VR theatre in a way that I thought, in the before-times, could still be a year or more away. This will be the first meaningful, paid, live VR performance of so many people’s lives. For most of those people it will be a good to great one.

Narrative

The Tempest is a tough play. I’ve seen several productions of it and I’ve walked away from every single one with varying levels of confusion and enjoyment. While I wouldn’t say this take clarified any part of the core story or themes for me, I can say that The Under Presents: Tempest was by far the most approachable. In fact, this might be one of the most approachable pieces of theatre for the masses I’ve ever encountered. Your enjoyment of this show likely has little to no correlation to The Tempest, or even Shakespeare. And considering this is designed for one of the newest pieces of consumer tech available (the Oculus Quest), the mass appeal I believe this has is extremely high praise.

Part of that accessibility is thanks to its unreliance on the text: this show doesn’t actually need to be based on The Tempest and could work just as well with any story involving magic and a handful of characters. You could even call the Tempest’s usage of The Tempest a big ol’ MacGuffin. For one, the host doesn’t embody any of the actual traits of Prospero and more than anything, serves as “friendly guide to your first live VR theatre workshop.” The core of this is the experience of doing it together as a group, but if all of the sudden you were in a volcano or an iceberg instead of on Propsero’s island, it could still work just as well.

Performance

There’s so much playfulness in the telling of the story here. I love all of the room the actors are given to make this their own and even evolve what they do from show to show. The engagement with the audience is much more successful than I would have expected, assuming you have the right crowd. Both my wife and I in our separate shows were lucky enough to be with six other audience members who were advanced users of The Under and game for anything.

But that “help me tell the story” participation element can backfire. A friend of mine had a not-great experience because he just happened to be with a bunch of audience members who didn’t want to participate or were actively trolling (even running off with a key prop: the jug for the swirly pool). The host struggled with this uncooperative group, and the final result suffered in kind. Could there be contingencies for this? Sure. In the same manner The Under has recorded performances, Tempest could have recorded performances for Ferdinand and Miranda and the Dukes ready to be conjured up at a moment’s notice. This almost certainly wouldn’t be ideal, but it’s one way to take advantage of the affordances of VR to ensure one good audience member in a sea of bad ones still receives a minimum guaranteed experience.

Visuals and Audio

There’s been an assumption by many social VR platforms that avatar mouths should move. Our Alive in Plasticland studies in High Fidelity led to us favoring static faces (check out these larval masks) and I like that here as well. Especially when you account for the sparse facial detail, it feels like mask work and it draws more attention to the way performers use their body.

The two designs of Ariel are amazing. Fish tail wrists! Everything there from the voice modulation to the sound fx to the music all work together pitch perfectly. Definitely among my favorite moments, capturing the sense of simultaneous excitement and dread that I’ve enjoyed in other productions based on The Tempest.

The sets are lovely, though a little too samey in color, style, and all feeling similarly outdoors (even Prospero’s cell with the oculus up top). The storm at sea, being underwater, and the the storm at the end were my favorite spectacles. Also loved the pleasant day at the feast turning into a storm during that second scene with Ariel.

I wish there was more distinction in colors and style between the ‘real world’ (the campfire) and the other settings. Also I’m not sure what was up with the crazy psychedelics at the very end, though they were undoubtedly fun.

Technical

This category of achievement impressed me the most. Comparing this to my firsthand development of live theatre events in High Fidelity as well as the many events I’ve attended in Altspace and VR Chat (if you want instant stress hives check out TonyVT Skarred Ghost’s post about a recent VR Chat concert), Tempest was remarkably seamless. The in-app ticket buying process? Great. The way you’re instantly warped to the lobby with your fellow attendees then each subsequent scene and there’s almost no way you can mess it up? Such a relief. All you need to do is be present and make sure you maintain both an internet connection and a battery charge. It’s a revelation!

Tender Claws is now in the astounding position to put on upwards of 40 of these live shows per night (11 actors *4 times) with one paid performer who also takes care of the tech for each show. Who else is needed now that the production design is done? Support staff. I had a glitchy experience of being stuck in the lobby alone at first and an usher magically appeared to try and help. I couldn’t hear them so it didn’t work, but this is still an impressive moment of customer service. They saw that I was alone in a lobby instance, tried to come help me, then instantly gave me a credit to buy a ticket to the very next show. Nothing else like that exists right now, especially as part of a paid virtual experience model.

The only other tech issues I’ve spotted are the host not being heard by one or all of the players or the host disappearing for a moment. Oh, and what happens if you leave the experience for a bit? While my wife was in the show at one point the Quest floor level got confused and went up to her neck. I popped in briefly to reset the guardian, and by the time she was back in Tempest, the scene had changed, costumes had changed, and everyone had moved around but she was back in it without missing a beat! Try keeping that synchronicity in any other virtual world with this much going on.

Speaking of which, the manner by which the host can move you from location to location, scale to scale, costume to costume, was excellent. I do wish instead of instantly teleporting between locations there was something that felt a little more of a piece with the magic of the world, maybe something in the style of scrunching or going inside jugs or water or even flying you to different areas of the island (as is, a casual audience would be forgiven for not even knowing this whole story takes place on a single island). But the most important thing is it worked, and flawlessly. Also loved eating at the feast and the swords becoming too heavy to threaten Ariel with, both mechanics already baked into The Under and very well suited for that scene.

I’m also grateful I was able to capture this entire experience. When at a live event that allows recording (theatre almost always = no), I’m always torn between just enjoying the moment and creating some kind of record of it for, I dunno, me on a lonely day? My grandkids? In any case, the ability to just hit record at the beginning of the experience via the standard Quest sharing feature and not give it another thought is having my cake and eating it too at its finest. And it’s not like I just set up a tripod in the back of a theater. This is personal… this is my experience.

Price

It is so so so important for regular people to see value in paying for performances, even if they’re at home. Between the National Theatre in London posting full theatre productions on YouTube every Thursday, to all of the free concert experiences in Fortnite and Wave, to everything going on with Zoom, no one really knows what something should cost. Many people feel like it should all be free, because that’s what it’s cost them so far.

That’s a tough revenue model.

Adventure Lab was first to the punch charging $100 to have up to 4 people in a single-host show for their VR escape-the-room-esque puzzle/narrative game. That’s $25 per person, it’s a ton of fun, and totally worth grabbing your friends for.

Also worth mentioning is Supernatural, a Quest-based subscription workout which caught a lot of flack for being “like Beat Saber, but $20 per month.” That’s the other competitor here: apps. People are used to buying something once and owning it forever. The Under Presents started as a single $20 purchase that gave you unlimited access to sporadic live performers and the Timeboat experience, and now has shifted to a free ‘demo’ app with paid add-ons.

You can read my Twitter deep dive on Supernatural pros and cons over here, but the reason I bring this up is there’s no way the $45-$105 being pulled in per Tempest show isn’t subsidized, so I’d like to start thinking about how a non-Facebook backed company could find a way to bring in enough revenue on its own to survive. Like Supernatural (or how some theaters are run), I’d like to imagine we could see a live VR performance subscription model pop up in the next few years. Imagine a world where The Under Presents (or a similar platform) allow for both a per-show price, but also a monthly or annual subscription cost to see any of their 5 running shows on the regular.

Heck, let’s go wild for a second imagining revenue opportunities and consider premium VIP extras:

1. Special access to the existing VIP lounges and special masks/spells/props
2. Q&A with host after a show
3. Backstage/dressing room/control panel tours
4. Copy of the script

$100 for a show or $1,000 and above for season passes. Oh and your name on a virtual donor wall! 🙃

Next up:

In Part 2, I go into how I admire the appeal this show will have for general audiences, but that it wasn’t my cup of tea. And why that’s okay.

Part 3 is a more of an appendix; it’s a super detailed breakdown of what happened during my show and some of the variations I’ve heard about.

Let’s Dive Into The Under Presents: Tempest | Pt. 1 was originally published in Alive in Plasticland on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A sold-out workshop on March 13, 2019

It’s time! Our NYC Alive in Plasticland Team (Kiira Benzing, Alex Coulombe, David Gochfeld, Kevin Laibson) has arrived in Austin, TX. We are joined with technical support by our colleagues Dario Laverde (HTC Vive) and Mark Sternberg (REVRIE). We’re rolling up our sleeves, and with VR headsets, ready to share our practice with other creators.

THE DEETS!

Our Workshop will be held on:

March 13th from 4:00–6:00 PM

Westin Austin Downtown

310 E 5th St, Austin, TX

https://schedule.sxsw.com/2019/events/PP93017

You need to RSVP: through the SXSW site.

If you can’t get on the list, you can standby, in a real world line, if you are here in Austin.

What We’ll Really Be Doing

We will be sharing best practices, tips on how to get started, explanations of 6-DoF and how we calibrate our actors in social VR.

Kevin Laibson will be doing live demonstrations (as a performer).

So You Wanna Act in VR?

For those of you wishfully thinking you would have to join a fancy Graduate School program to put learn how to act in VR — the opportunity has arrived for a select few to do this right here in Austin.

During our workshop we will be inviting audience members up to join Kevin in trackers and headsets to learn some basic exercises that we do with our NY actors.

Kevin says this:

“It’s gonna be something...” — Kevin Laibson

You don’t have to jump through a portal to join us, come by in person!

SXSW 2019 — Producing Live Performance in VR was originally published in Alive in Plasticland on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Our troupe of veteran NYC actors include an array of professional improvisors who perform regularly between The PIT (Peoples Improv Theater) and UCB (Upright Citizens Brigade). These amazing live actors embodying these virtual avatars are (in no particular order, but alphabetical): Ray Cordova, Katie Hartman, Jake Keefe, Tracy Mull, Sarah Nowak, Mark Stetson and Keisha Zollar.

Kevin Laibson — my co-director takes on a few roles depending on the event; doubling at times as a performer and most critically, hosting as emcee for our productions. If you hear a sarcastic robot in the wings of the theater, you can be assured it’s Kevin.

Performing in FUTVRELANDS

Our team was thrilled to participate in the first-ever VR festival held entirely in VR in High Fidelity’s FUTVRE LANDS. This VR festival took place inside an original world designed to host music acts (Thomas Dolby), a fashion stage for the Best Avatar contest, games, and a stage for live performance. Our improvisers Mark Stetson and Kevin Laibson took the stage to do a short set.

The Rehearsal

We ran some physical activities both in headset and out of headset to get ready for the show. The primary game Mark and Kevin ran was “What Are You Doing” where an actor begins an activity and the other actor asks the question “what are you doing?” The job of the first actor is to name any other activity besides what they are doing. Then the second actor does that activity and the game ensues.

The Discovery

The High Fidelity audience was great. They were patient and respectful while we remedied our technical challenges moving actors and setups around. The audience enthusiastically engaged in conversation until we were able to take the stage. They engaged with our actors and offered letters when our actors asked for suggestions. Just the mere engagement with the live audience was a nice discovery; the audience was listening, responsive, and respectful. We even heard a few laughs!

On Stage Audience Engagement

To take this challenge to the next level, our improvisors asked for letters from the audience and began their activities always with the set of letters. They then increased the challenge moving from 2 letters up to 3. Even with the technical challenges we faced, the High Fidelity audience got involved pitching letters and our actors faced every challenge with passion and humor.

Design: Black Box Theater

For the location of our improv show and workshop, we designed a custom black box theater and created special lighting to use the entire space, all the way into the audience’s seats. Each member of our Improv troupe was assigned a different game to teach.

We gathered the audience onto the stage and we ran through a series of games. Some games games included: Dirty Hand Randy, Gift Giving, and the classic “Yes, And.” With patience and thoughtfulness, actor Keisha Zollar led everyone through “Yes, And” (which she has probably taught over 1,000 times to live performers in the real world).

Teaching Improv to Avatars

Our second public event was an improv class in VR to a class full of unique avatars. We invited all levels of experience, and we encouraged everyone to attend in their unique avatars (robots and dynamic costumes were all welcome).

EXERCISE: YES, AND —

Yes, And is a cornerstone of Improv. This game is an oldie but a goodie.

Keisha Zollar led the class through several rounds before they got to “Yes, And.” Those rounds were: “No, But”, “Yes, But” and finally “Yes, And.”

She asked everyone to find a partner and then to find their own place in the theater. The class spread out into the audience and we brought the house lights up. Keish introduced an imaginary scenario. She said “Imagine you are planning a party with your friend.” One partner began by sharing an idea for the party The second partner replied with the words “No, but…” and shared their idea. Then, returning to the first actor, they responded with “No, but” and added a new idea. The pair alternated ideas for a few minutes.

In the second round the partners changed their statement to begin with “Yes, but” while they add new ideas. In the final round the actors change their statement to begin with “Yes, and.”

You could hear the ideas grow and the enthusiasm in the class build as everyone shifted towards “yes, and” — accepting, building a bigger idea together.

This simple shift in intention grows the game into a collaborative exercise. Teamwork, imagination, and communication — these are critical to good Improv.

The Class Discovery

Something really special about the High Fidelity audience we learned is how international and intelligent their user base is. Everyone brought a different perspective to the class environment. Every class has a different kind of energy and either people have a “yes, and” attitude to join the activity or they hold back with hesitation. The class’ willingness to participate in group games and to pair off and meet new people was refreshing.

The Full Improv Show

We led a full hour of an improvised show. We set an ambitious plan to include many short form games, to try some new experimental games modified for VR and to switch our actors frequently. Some of these games included: Good Advice, Bad Advice; Bartender, Fresh Choice and the classic Freeze and Justify.

The Design of Show

For ongoing performances we created a black box theater. We wanted something that would feel neutral. We created a set of neutral avatars (avatars costumed in jeans and t-shirts and basic sneakers and flats) and paired them with each actor. To set the energy we made a playlist of upbeat music which we played as the audience arrived. We designed a simple set of lighting cues: an opening cue, house lights, some special spotlights for our Emcee, and of course a blackout. Ironically, this blackout feels very real, as it would in a real theater and we noticed in rehearsals when running through our lighting cues the actors would request we “turn the lights back on.”

The Discovery

In rehearsals we began to experiment with scale. We encouraged our actors to pull this into their games and scenes when it felt natural. In the final game “Freeze and Justify” the actors played a lot with scale, growing enormous into giant creatures and shrinking down to tiny avatars. As they traded between the frozen position they also passed the size they had been in to each other — and while this took a moment to achieve technically, the audience seemed to appreciate this watching the actors transform in size. As our actor Ray shrunk down to a tiny baby size, he utilized flying and actor Tracy lifted him in the air — in the real world, this would have been impossible to pull off without putting the actors in harnesses and creating many perceptual magic tricks. But we were able to do this within seconds.

We leave you with Ray’s baby GIF captured by Angel Say in our audience.

Next up: SXSW 2019 baby!

Join us in Austin for a 2 hour workshop

Performing VR Improv: The Early Shows was originally published in Alive in Plasticland on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Over the summer we ran a series of experiments with actors ranging from the dramatic style of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar to Improv comedy. We invited pairs of actors to work with our VR team. Pairs of actors brought in a well-rehearsed scene. Since we take the actors out of their familiar physical reality and into a completely new, virtual reality it was necessary the actors were well beyond memorization and already had a sense of the emotional beats of their scene.

Our first session was with actors Ellen Cheney and Jesse Tendler. Cheney and Tendler had joined us to rehearse a scene during our pre-test; so at this point they were familiar with the new communicative differences to perform in VR. Actor / Writer Ellen Cheney wrote contemporary scene. The premise was about two old friends who reconnect after a high school reunion and one has some shocking news to share.

Cheney wrote the scene with these elements in mind:

- contemporary in genre

- avoid any prolonged physical interaction between actors

- a moment of “revelation” where one actor reveals something to the other

First challenge:

A challenge we anticipated was the need for interacting with props. I began the day by running the scene with the actors the way we would run it regularly in a rehearsal (without headsets). This was important for me to observe how they wanted to related to each other. The actors mimed some drinks that they have in the first part of the scene. We hadn’t designed any specific props for this experiment and the scene required two glasses. At one point the actors pass a drink to each other. We looked quickly for a prop that felt suitable for this interaction.

A discovery:

A wonderful discovery was placing the actors in a new environment. What’s exciting about working within a social platform like High Fidelity is that it allows us to select from a wide array of locations. We moved them for a final test into a realistic Mad Men-style apartment with a fancy city view. Cheney had written the scene with this location in mind. The environment played a big part for these actors in their relating to the reality of the scene.

Taking it back to Shakespeare

Next we worked with actors Will Sturdivant and Jake Ford. Will had previously worked with my colleague David Gochfeld on a scene from Hamlet performed in VR.

Sturdivant and Ford chose to work with classical text, and prepared a scene between Brutus and Cassius in Julius Caesar (Act IV, Scene 3). This scene could not have been farther in style from the contemporary scene Cheney and Tendler performed; it runs the gamut of extreme emotions with the climax when Cassius’ offers up his own dagger and willingly exposes his chest to his dear friend Brutus.

“There is my dagger /

And here my naked breast; within, a heart /

Dearer than Pluto’s mine, richer than gold.”

–William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, IV, iii

The Backstory

Brutus and Cassius joined forces commanding troops to kill Julius Caesar. In this scene there are accusations of bribery, questions of morals and at the root of everything is the loyalty of their friendship. The scene concludes with Brutus revealing that his wife Portia has killed herself.

Avatars and Emotion

Finding the right avatars to communicate the emotional intensity of a scene is a real challenge right now. We ran actors Sturdivant and Ford through a series of avatar styles and the actors did an excellent job keeping their energy high through this very tense scene. We also tried changing the environment for the scene: beginning on a traditional stage and concluding on the stage. The take-away here is that the stage was best for these performers and the

Moving Through Centuries to Present-Day TV

We took a great pivot from Shakespeare and tested a scene from the acclaimed TV series “The Wire.” Actors Carl Hendrick Louis (Broadway: 1984, The Cherry Orchard) and Kareem Lucas (Black Is Beautiful But It Ain’t Always Pretty) brought the intensity to these scene.

The TV Scene Challenge

The greatest challenge for the actors in this scene is how reliant it is on physical contact and touch. The scene’s dialogue builds dramatically and it finishes with an aggressive fight that turns into choking. This is a great challenge to get right in VR as the avatars rarely make convincing contact with each other that would aid the imaginations of the actors as well as the audience.

A Few Discoveries

The Theater was the wrong environment for the TV scene. We didn’t spend much time on the virtual stage; it just felt like a mismatch for the text. I suggested to my team that instead of running the scene in the Theater, we run it instead in a more realistic environment; an apartment which might feel more intimate.

However, by the second time we ran the scene we knew the apartment environment was also wrong. We began hopping around the apartment to exterior environments. First a patio deck off the apartment; next a deck area; and finally an exposed rooftop. Surprisingly, this last environment we landed in, the rooftop felt the best to me and the actors agreed. I felt that the actors’ work resonated best in this fairly bare environment.

2D Discovery — VR Cinematography

My favorite revelation was that when we were documenting this scene with our virtual cameras, we tried a lot of camera setups. I found myself wanting to try camera moves and change angles and movement around the action; the same way a cinematographer would make creative decisions in the 2D world. When editing our documented takes together for research, I realized just how compelling this footage could be in 2D. The shots felt cinematic at times. There were great angles and moments to cut between allowing for creative editing. One moment felt so devastating in 2D as we cut between shots of the actor (in avatar form) releasing his grip and the other actor crumbled to the ground gasping.

Could a VR Cinematographer be a new job for VR creators? Could the 2D output of this virtual content actually be as cinematically satisfying as 2D captured content?

I muse…

Reflections the actors made regarding how they felt embodying their avatars. “I didn’t stop to look at who I was…I only cared about what my scene partner looked like.” Carl Hendrick Louis. Another highlight of this session was watching Kareem discover flying. Despite the heavy drama of this scene; there was a lot of laughter during our session!

YES, AND!

We rounded out our research with more laughter by trying Improv in VR. We brought in the former artistic director of the PIT, Kevin Laibson; and professional improviser, Mark Stetson for a workshop. The improvisers adapted quickly to the headsets and controllers; but they felt their performance suffered. I ran them through a series of short exercises and activities where they were establishing a world and basic props. One challenge they faced was setting linear space, which they felt was “very hard.”

By the end of the workshop I felt that they were able to overcome the technical frustrations and begin to find some freedom. In the moments where they were able to forget the technical boundaries it enabled them to go beyond short form. The actors felt that VR brings them back to the place when they first discovered Improvisation — a place of total joy. This excites me because it demonstrates the power of VR.

Where we’re going next…

We have now formed a real VR Improv Troupe, training actors and creating live performances and workshops in VR. Stay tuned!

Testing Performance Genres in Social VR was originally published in Alive in Plasticland on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

IT’S HAPPENING! A one-of-a-kind live event. And it’s free! Join us from anywhere in the world. For free. December 15, 5 PM EST / 2 PM PST. More info here.

Check out the bios from our incredible NYC-based cast:

Ray Cordova

Ray Cordova can be seen performing with his improv team, Astronomy Club, every second Monday of the month, at the UCB East theater. Ray is an improviser, writer and actor. Abandoning the idea of college or a regular “9 to 5” long long ago, Ray has no qualms about missing out on the finer things in life, like a roommate-less apartment or unprocessed food. On a personal note, Ray enjoys spicy food and sharing.

Katie Hartman

Katie Hartman is an actor, writer and comedian in NYC. She can be seen in High Maintenance (HBO), Younger (TV Land), Search Party (TBS) and in the Netflix/Adam Sandler film, “The Week Of.” In July 2018 Katie was selected as a New Face of Comedy for the prestigious Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. She was a staff writer and performed on both truTV’s Paid Off with Michael Torpey and Hearst Media’s Seriously.tv. Her web series “Made to Order” was listed as one of “6 Brilliant Web Series” by Marie Claire and her sketch duo Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting was hailed by Complex Magazine as “One of the Twenty-five Funny People That Should Have Their Own TV Show.” www.katiehartman.rocks

Jake Keefe

Jake Keefe been doing improv for 17 years. He has studied and performed at The Second City, UCB and The PIT. He currently performs in the Off-Broadway play “Puffs.” Also Jake loves dogs. So much.

Tracy Mull

Tracy Mull is just a small-town Idaho girl raised on imagination and spuds. Tracy has a B.S. in Theatre which has been very helpful when it comes to making things up. Since 2006, she has helped create and perform with multiple improv troupes in Idaho, New Jersey, Connecticut and NYC. She feels very fortunate for the tremendous amount of talented friends and stage time! Tracy has studied at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater and can be seen performing at the People’s Improv Theater (Gas Station Horror, Impro-Vention, Solocom), ComedySportz NYC, BeerProv (NYC and MSC Cruises) and anywhere with a good set of imaginary cupboards. Follow her on Twitter @sandwichJOY for a medley of silly and sad tweets.

Sarah Nowak

Sarah Nowak is very grateful to be a member of the Pit House team The Baldwins, performing every Saturday night on the mainstage. She studied improv at The Second City of Toronto Conservatory before moving to New York to join The Pit where she is proud to be a frequent performer and level one improv teacher. As a character actress, her favorite roles include A Witch in Macbeth for Shakespeare in Delaware Park, and recently Belise in Les Femmes Savants and Dawn in All in the Timing for The Williamsburg Theatre Company. She has worked on several improv and sketch projects around the city and has traveled around the country with her independent ensemble SidViscous.

Keisha Zollar

Keisha Zollar is an actress-comedienne living her life in NYC. She’s a former staff writer on The Opposition with Jordan Klepper. She’s a writer and performer on Astronomy Club, who dropped their digital sketch series with Comedy Central this fall. And if you’re bored and need to see her overshare with her husband, Google “Keisha and Andrew”. More info at KeishaZollar.com

SEE YOU TOMORROW.

Meet the Cast — Live VR Improv Show! was originally published in Alive in Plasticland on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Heard of Second City or UCB? Ever wanted to learn the improv ropes from the best in the biz from the comfort of an avatar? Watch or participate from anywhere in the world, for free.

After months of behind-the-scenes work with High Fidelity exploring the pros/cons, ins/outs, ups/downs of live performance in VR, we’re thrilled to announce our first fully-fledged public event: an Improv Workshop.

Sat, December 8th | 5:00 PM EST, 2:00 PM PST

In our case studies this summer, we tested scripted performances: comedy, drama, and even dance, but the modality we found ourselves most thrilled by was improv. There’s something about the style of High Fidelity — a little playful, a little charming, very social, that lends itself to the atmosphere of a good improv comedy show. First and foremost: a chance to try something new and ‘yes, and’ the people around you.

And now, here we are, a few days away from the event. High Fidelity has built us a theater to our specifications, and we’re ready to bring you into the fold, and all it takes is an Android phone or computer (VR headset optional, FYI).

Check out our awesome improv experts:

Kevin Laibson, Improv Director

Ray Cordova, Actor
Katie Hartman, Actor
Jake Keefe, Actor
Tracy Mull, Actor
Sarah Nowak, Actor
Keisha Zollar, Actor

And we wouldn’t be able to do any of this without our kickass crew:

David Gochfeld, Producer
Kiira Benzing, Director
Michelle Thomas, Production Manager

Special thanks to sponsor VRBAR, Brooklyn’s First Virtual Reality Arcade, for hosting the performers live.

If you’re interested in attending or would like to know more (especially about how to get started with High Fidelity), please visit the Eventbrite page here: hubs.ly/H0fMYSb0

Lastly, if you’re not particularly interested in learning improv but love a good show, NEXT next Saturday (December 15th) we’ll have a full on performance. More info here: hubs.ly/H0fGmsG0

Hey you! Yeah, you in the basement. was originally published in Alive in Plasticland on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Our first experiment. A pre-test before the real adventure begins!

Along with my colleagues Alex Coulombe (designer), David Gochfeld (technical director), and Adrian Vasquez de Velasco (production manager/ editor) we set out as a team to run new experiments with actors performing live in VR.

Our actors had experienced some VR narratives but they had never been inside a VR universe where they had agency. Here was our first two-sided coin. The hardest part is getting actors acclimated to VR, and the most joyous part is getting actors acclimated to VR!

This challenge/joy is similar to putting new audiences through VR that have never experienced VR before. If the experience is technical with a high level of skill-learning to master, the audience will need time to adapt. At the same time, the audience will feel exhilarated because of the unbelievable ability to have such powerful agency (as one does in most room scale experiences).

This gamut of emotions ran through our actors. While most had done VR, never had they experienced this kind of freedom to explore a 3D environment and the ability to inhabit an avatar’s body. On the flip side there was a regular frustration using controllers to navigate around, the occasional crashes of our VR environment and acclimating to teleporting.

How I handled this first rehearsal:

I didn’t give the actors a lot of requirements because I wanted them to acclimate and explore. Most importantly I hoped for a sense of “play” for this first session in order for these key pieces to take place:

1) To get used to looking down and seeing an avatar in place of their body

2) To acclimate to their controllers and think of them as hands

3) To learn how to teleport through their environment

3) To feel unencumbered by all of this gear attached to their bodies

Even with the frustrations and motion sickness everyone left in high spirits. The most fulfilling aspect was that when the actors came out of their headsets they were just in awe. Everyone wants to return! I love that! If we can’t give actors a perfect reality, but if we can give actors a new sense of joy — that may be worth more than half the struggle.

OBSERVATIONS

A few issues we noticed:

1) Teleporting — felt very unnatural to our actors. The women in particular experienced some motion sickness after teleporting for longer than 10 minutes.

2) Everyone felt extremely fatigued after being inside a headset. One pair of actors ran a scene for about an hour and they couldn’t believe how much it felt like a full day’s rehearsal to them. This is interesting to consider — there may be additional mental fatigue.

OUR SOLUTIONS / APPROACH:
1) We will experiment with adding trackers to actors bodies to enable them to walk in their room scale environment in 6dof.

2) We will give our actors time to explore and play with teleporting and tracked motion; providing them with options for their scenes and their own inclinations.

3) We will make sure to schedule regular breaks to avoid physical and mental fatigue.

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