TURN OF THE SCREW

The work explores the esoteric nature of the opera, The Turn of the Screw, by Benjamin Britten.

As a part of my research at Central School of Speech and Drama, I approached Dutch researcher and educator Joris Weijdom at Augmented Stage, Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU) to complete a residency in his performance lab to further investigate the merging of the body and technology in performance. I had previously been exposed to a "performance engine" he designed in a workshop titled, "The Intersection of Physical and Virtual 3D Space," during the 2011 Prague Quadrennial. Based on my experiences working with Joris in Prague, I saw great research potential for the creative use of the technology he had developed. In addition, I invited fellow CSSD MA Scenography student, Dina Salem-Levy, to join me in a collaborative project building an interactive enviroment where bodies merged with technology.

Our research question: In the context of contemporary performance practice, this research will explore ways to combine virtual and real space as an instrument to create a multisensory enviroment. Our aim is to explore the possibilities of motion and voice tracking in creating a performative environment that engages with the body in submedial space. We would like the landscape of memory to evolve in real time through a mutation of layered projections that is mediated through two bodies. Memories of the same experiences, both present and past, inherently carry different circumstances and meaning to the individuals whom actually experience them. Using technology we can attempt to present simultaneous moments of time and perspective. This investigation would look into how technology can potentially evoke a polysemous impression of moments in varied places in time.

These experiments are initial steps in an ongoing investigation. They are sketches of a larger theoretical research project which is intended to shape the direction of my scenographic practice.

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