Day one

This first lecture was around the concept of "Inside a Live Reptile Tent" and what it could mean. Associating the ideas of "reptiles" and "inside a tent" had the purpose of arising mixed feelings of repulsion and curiosity; a metaphor for being locked in with something freaky, even if this "prision" was made of very fragile materials.

We discussed with Chris and Teijo about what kind of outcomes were expected to emerge from this project, generaly. It was clear for all that it would lead into a narrative under the theme of freakiness, repulsion, curiosity and disgust, presented as some kind of performance, combining computer generated illusion with human presence on stage; it should allow both live and virtual audience.

Ideally there will be interaction between the audience, performers and several technology gadgets. The audience should be encouraged to move through the physical space of this narrative.

Chris showed us some examples of performers/performances related with freakiness, repulsion and digital media:

• STELARC
• Epizoo (Marcelli Antunez Roca)
• Hotel Pro Forma Jesus_C_Odd_Size
• The Resident's FREAK SHOW cd-rom
• Impalpability (Fujihata)
• ConceptLab (cockroach controlled mobile robot)

Some material presented reminded me of the Catalan-Barcelona based theatre group La Fura dels Baus. Their shows have been regarded as violent urban digital theatre. They include unusual music, industrial and natural materials, video projections among other more traditional performance elements. They involve their spectators directly in their live shows, sometimes also through internet connection. The shows are often violent, not only for the performer but also for the audience.