Disembodied Performance: Abstraction of Representation in Live Theater PDF
Preview Disembodied Performance: Abstraction of Representation in Live Theater
D IS E MB OD IE D P E R FO R M A NC E Abstraction of Representation in Live Theater PETER ALEXANDER TORPEY Bachelor of the Arts in Media Arts University of Arizona, 2003 Submitted to the Program in Media Arts and Sciences, School of Architecture and Planning, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology September 2009 © 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All rights reserved. Author: PETER ALEXANDER TORPEY Program in Media Arts and Sciences 7 August 2009 Certified by: TOD MACHOVER Professor of Music and Media Program in Media Arts and Sciences Thesis Supervisor Accepted by: DEB ROY Chair, Academic Program in Media Arts and Sciences D IS E MB OD IE D P E R FO R M A NC E Abstraction of Representation in Live Theater PETER ALEXANDER TORPEY Submitted to the Program in Media Arts and Sciences, School of Architecture and Planning, on 7 August 2009, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology A B S T R AC T Early in Tod Machover’s opera Death and the Powers, the main character, Simon Powers, is subsumed into a technological environment of his own creation. The theatrical set comes alive in the form of robotic, visual, and sonic elements that allow the actor to extend his range and influence across the stage in unique and dynamic ways. The environment must compellingly assume the behavior and expression of the absent Simon. This thesis presents a new approach called Disembodied Performance that adapts ideas from affective psychology, cognitive science, and the theatrical tradition to create a framework for thinking about the translation of stage presence. An implementation of a system informed by this methodology is demonstrated. In order to distill the essence of this character, we recover performance parameters in real-time from physiological sensors, voice, and vision systems. This system allows the offstage actor to express emotion and interact with others onstage. The Disembodied Performance approach takes a new direction in augmented performance by employing a non- representational abstraction of a human presence that fully translates a character into an environment. The technique and theory presented also have broad-reaching applications outside of theater for personal expression, telepresence, and storytelling. Thesis Supervisor: TOD MACHOVER Professor of Music and Media Program in Media Arts and Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology D IS E MB OD IE D P E R FO R M A NC E Abstraction of Representation in Live Theater PETER ALEXANDER TORPEY The following person served as a reader for this thesis: Thesis Reader DAVID SMALL Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences Program in Media Arts and Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology D IS E MB OD IE D P E R FO R M A NC E Abstraction of Representation in Live Theater PETER ALEXANDER TORPEY The following person served as a reader for this thesis: Thesis Reader WHITMAN A. RICHARDS Professor Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology D IS E MB OD IE D P E R FO R M A NC E Abstraction of Representation in Live Theater PETER ALEXANDER TORPEY The following person served as a reader for this thesis: Thesis Reader ALEX MCDOWELL, RDI Production Designer DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.
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