Saturday, October 10, 2015

Happy EVER After


         When the French invite you to dinner, you'd be crazy not to show up. When they say 'dinner theater', then even more so.  


            Grid EVER is the virtual home of the University of Strasbourg, and the performance was 'Au fil de l'eau' by Ann Rocard, performed by the Adret Theater Players - Jenny Bihouise aka Cheops Forlife and Lorenzo Soccavo are the guys behind the event. The audience was limited to just 15 avatars for technical reasons, and it was the perfect size for the group.

        Au fil de l'eau - literally 'water current' -an also be translated as 'streaming' 'as it happens', 'constantly updated' or even 'randomly' - but there was nothing random about yesterday's first performance, which was a triumph of organization and smooth sailing, puns and poses. There was even a free hat! although no dinner, which was a slight disappointment.
drink break during the performance. This is my kind of theater!

             First off, this event is meant to be accessible to people unfamiliar with 3D worlds, and at the main Welcome sim, everyone was encouraged to show off their walking skills, and to buddy up with another theatergoer in case they got lost.
Cheops aka Jenny Bihuoise in That Hat.

          Why would you get lost in a theater? Well, because this is a walking performance, that orbits around the magical world of French waterways. A charming old batelier led us around the regions, and we were regaled with tales of the riverbank in Voice.
Cheops Forlife: It is talking about the history of the old time of the "house boats" of the rivers in France with winks about the present period and so on.. BUT what can be interesting if not the meaning of the tale, is the new format that we try to experiment for Theater. Jacqueline Barral is the real creator of "theatre promenade" (walking theatre) in France 40 years ago and here with opensim this is a candy to try this format, I don't think to have ever seen such a test with professional actors talking live while their avatar AND the attenders avatar will participate playing with the environment.

         I have a feeling there are one or two theater groups in SL and InWorldz who might argue about any hint that this is the first time such a thing has been tried in virtual worlds, but the event was flawless, lag free, and beautifully planned. Even the distracted found it easy to follow the group and the action as it progressed; everywhere we went there was somewhere amusing and picturesque to sit and listen. And look at Cendre Magic's steely physique.

              This is the beginning of what will no doubt be a long series of cultural events on EVER, so make sure you keep informed about what's going on on the grid. Jenny and Lorenzo will be the first to acknowledge the huge amount of help they have received from other members of the opensim community in particular, but reallty, the night was theirs. Chapeau !

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