Mocap Dance with 3D Character Steampunk Costume Ideas (01/15/10):
The mask is collaged with photographs I took of machines at the maker fair and newspaper clippings. I can texture map this onto the 3D mask I'm already modeling for my thesis project. I have to use a black body suit as a base (disregard the tank top in the photo) since that will already be modeled, but by adding metalic spheres (brass painted ping pong balls?) we could get a steampunk mocap suit look, and it would be easy to replicate in the virtual double I will be dancing with. Other accessory options could be wrist and ankle bands, but I want to keep it pretty simple. The aviator head gear and goggles can be cheaply bought on Amazon (about $30 for both), but I would want to cut off some of the flaps that are hanging (so they only have the round ear covers). I think I can model them pretty quickly in 3D if modified a little. Click here for helmet below on Amazon (goggles are an additional link on the page)...
New Video Tests and Script Revisions (01/10/10):
Mocap Dance with Digital Double Choreography (01/10/10):
Here is a breakdown of my choreography ideas for the dance piece featurng interaction between me and a virtual 3D double, so you get an idea of what I am planning to motion capture:
1. Kurzweil closes the blinds on his control booth as a masked ensemble performer (me) walks by, and pauses as he notices an apparent reflection of himself. He waves his arms and mime's around a bit (such as the rope pull trope). The virtual character reflects his movement.
2. The music starts and he starts to dance to it, but notices on one of his spins that the reflection is not following him. This is a variation on the mirror gag using dance. He exposes the reflection again, is delighted, and they begin to do a call-and-response dance with each other, using smooth rhythmic jazz movements, popping and locking, and mime to the music.
3. At some point they start dancing more together, throwing invisible objects back and forth (here is where I would like to insert a few uncanny technological skips or loops in the music, animation, and movement).
4. After the last strange loop, the virtual character holds up three colored juggling balls. He juggles for a bit, and then throws the virtual balls one at a time up out of frame (like he is throwing them to the live performer). Behind the blinds unseen to the audience, and in sync with the animation, Kurzweil throws three real juggling balls up and out to the live performer, who catches them and starts to juggle (I used to be pretty good at juggling... I'll have to start practicing again).
5. He stops juggling to wave to the virtual character, who waves back and starts climbing an invisible ladder up and out of the frame, while the live performer walks off juggling the real balls. Kurzweil opens his blinds and looks out, and up, trying to see where the character went.
6. At some point the audience sees the virtual character still climbing projected on the large screen above Kurzweil's booth (so he moves from one screen to the other as he climbs through virtual space).
**I may use some uncanny movements similar to in these YouTube examples, mixed into a smoother dance matrix:
Latest Ray Kurzweil / Bill Joy Script Revisions (01/05/10, edited by Jim Bierman):
Scene 4. Kurz/Joy #1: Joy Challenges Kurzweil
The scene opens with the lights dimmed down and spots focusing on the press chorus players as they perform the press through modern dance and puppeteer-style manipulations. Frequently looking up towards the space above the press, they move in a mechanical manner. Lights within the press show movement, and occasionally steam comes out. We can also see someone illuminated and moving around behind the half closed blinds, with monitors and other digital technology. At some point a large burst of steam and industrial noises comes out of the press and the Kurzweil video is projected on the balloon, and someone is playing it like a DJ from behind the blinds. The press players react to the video both directly and indirectly through manipulating the press.
During the Kurzweil video performance, an audience member begins talking loudly, and then stands up and yells at the balloon some words that can’t quite be made out. “Hold on Kurzweil!”, “Superior?”, “Exponential?”, Kurzweil!!!” The press players react in confusion, looking around, not sure what is going on. The person behind the blinds makes a noise and parts them to see what is going on as the video sticks in a loop. He closes the blinds and a big 3D eye comes up projected on the balloon, and a voice booms out.
Kurz: @%$&*… Bill, is that you again?
Joy: Who else? But where is this all going?
Kurz: (groans) What?
Joy: Where is all this progress leading to?
Kurz: What do you mean, where? To an obviously better place, that’s where.
Joy: But what is going to happen to us?
Kurz: Me and you? We’re going to merge with our technology.
Joy: So I’m going to become that… that thing up there? Or those ghost things moving that machine?
Kurz: I can’t see every minute detail, but the trend is very predictable, a straight line towards a… a singularity. As students at MIT we had to work on a computer the size of this printing press, and now I have a computer in my pants that is a billion times more potent. This press will fit inside one of my blood cells by 2020.
Joy: But that’s only 10 years away…
Kurz: It’s exponential. Look at my graphs and charts. They’re very clear. We modeled it.
Joy: But why would I want that thing in my blood…?
Kurz: Please… sit down Bill. Enjoy the show.
The lights go down, and Bill sits back down in his seat. End of scene.
Scene 8b. Kurz/Joy #2: Kurzweil Feeds Joy to the Press
The second Carousel of Progress scene is interrupted by another section of the Kurzweil video being performed and projected onto the balloon. The press players and other actors look up in rapt attention, and lights and movement are noticeable behind the blinds on the side stage. Once again, Bill Joy stands up and starts to make a commotion, walking out to jump up on the press platform, a spotlight coming on and following him. He begins talking loudly to the audience.
Joy: OK, OK, hold it a minute… time out! Shouldn’t we be considering the dangers too?
(The video stops playing and the 3D eye comes up again searching for the disturbance, with Kurzweil’s voice booming out.)
Kurz: ? Joy! What are you doing? I told you to sit down!
Joy: Shouldn’t we be considering the dangers of unbridled technological progress?
Kurz: Dangers to whom?
Joy: To all of us… to our species, other species, the environment… to everything! What happens if this power we’re unleashing falls into the wrong hands?
Kurz: You can’t cross the street without some dangers Bill. Evolution won’t go backwards, or even slow down. It’s exponential.
Joy: How will we be able to control it? You talk about superior intelligence. How are we going to control something superior… this singularity of yours… when it becomes a billion times more intelligent than we are, and shrinking till it’s invisible to our eyes, to all our human senses... but it will be all around us and within us.
Kurz: Bill, don’t be a killjoy, we don’t have time for speculation. On with my… the… show!
Joy: But I’m not finished yet… I want some real answers…
Kurz: This is not some alien invasion of superior robots from Mars… it’s us. We are merging with our technology. Look at me, after all!
Joy: I am not going to merge with that thing (pointing at the press).
Kurz: Yes, you are… here, take a look… c’mon… don’t be afraid. You said you wanted real answers. Just come a little closer and look inside (the eyeball is indicating the press, as joy walks closer, and the press players gather around). Tell me what you see…
Joy: There’s something moving in there… it looks like…
Kurz: Now! (The press grabs him and feeds him in! Bill Joy continues struggling all the way.) Bill, this will only hurt a little. I’m going to show you how to merge with technology... in you go… (the press makes noises, flashes lights, and blows smoke, then Joy’s head pops out of the top, looking disoriented). Not so bad is it – being one with technology?
Joy: (Bill Joy is obviously reeling. He is unable to move his arms, and just stuttters.) I can’t …. I can’t…
Kurz: Everyone feels uncomfortable with paradigm shifts at first.
The press players are dancing around as Kurzweil is laughing, and the lights go down. End of scene.
Scene 11. Kurz/Joy #3: Joy Breaks Free and Exposes Kurzweil
Since scene 8b Joy has been quietly taking control of his new body, by making the press players move the press. He has also occasionally been making comments on what is going on around him. This scene starts out by the Kurzweil video coming on again. It is clear to the audience that what is being projected on the balloon is being performed by the actor behind the blinds. Joy, looking up, starts yelling at it again.
Joy: Heyyyy! Kurzweil come out here and talk to me man to… uh (looking down at his press body)… … machi… man! (Kurzweil parts the blinds briefly, and Joy notices). Hey, I know you’re in there! Kurzweil… you’re not a disembodied head… yet… (Joy is struggling, making the press players run around, moving parts of the press as if they are the limbs of his body. Noises and smoke are also coming out of the press).
Kurz: (the Eye comes up struggling to look down at Joy) What are you doing now Joy. Stop that… you don’t need a body anymore. Give in to being virtual… we’ll chat for eternity in Second Life. I’ll give you an honorary doctorate degree from my Singularity University to hang on the wall of your virtual home… it’s all environmentally friendly… we don’t even need cars!
Joy: Kurrrrrzzz! (the press players move more frantically. As more smoke spews out, Joy’s head disappears, and then he separates some stretchy fabric on the press to emerge back on stage, and then starts walking towards the blinds)
Kurz: What the… Joy… how? Bill, buddy… now wait a minute… nothing to see over there… disregard that fellow behind the blinds. Let’s talk up here… not… down… there. (Joy exposes Kurzweil by raising the mini-blinds, who stares dumbfounded with his equipment and devices all around him.) Hi Bill, you’re looking good! , I can understand you must be a little put out by my experiment, but we are both intellectuals…
Joy: Yaaaaaahhhhh!
(Joy then chases Kurzweil through the audience, causing all the press players to run around like mad, which leads to the final scene of complete pandemonium)
Set designs and 3D visualizations (11/19/09):
Kurz-Eye projection, Becket Joy, Press, and Press Player 3D visualization:
Press design and video projections:
Old Character and Script Ideas (Fall '09):
The Regard of Joy Flight Through Tomorrowland (Three-act linear storyline within a nonlinear story)by Topher Maraffi 11/19/09 (updated 11/23/09)
Cast of Characters:
The Kurz (Based on futurist Ray Kurzweil, and the Wizard of Oz character, and the western God-king archetype): The natural protagonist of the Joy character, he is the self proclaimed leader of Tomorrowland, and the disembodied oracle of utopian technological progress towards a singularity. An actor, who looks somewhat like Kurzweil and is wearing an OBEY t-shirt, performs the virtual Kurz character through manipulating digital devices from behind a translucent curtain on stage, and his embodied movement will be frequently visible to the audience through back lighting. He occasionally makes staged appearances as the official Spokesman of the Kurz and Tomorrowland (dressed up in a sport jacket, Groucho mustache-glasses, and Micky Mouse hat), to talk about how great the future looks, how smart the Kurz is, and relate projected facts and figures on how fast the future is coming.
Throughout the show Ray Kurzweil’s talking head video is frequently projected on the large balloon above the Press to repeat his canned utopian message (which is remixed and performed behind the curtain using Jim’s Flash keyboard script). At other times the actor behind the curtain will virtually interact with other characters through a disembodied technologically enhanced voice and a projected all-seeing-3D-eye. He uses these devices to command the Press Players below to turn the Carousel of Progress, manipulate the Press, and occasionally lash out against the Joy character. The actor behind the curtain will need to talk into a microphone while manipulating input devices to switch from projected video to an interactive 3D eye, and to also manipulate a surveillance camera mounted at the bottom of the balloon and above the audience. The Kurz-eye-view should also be occasionally shown to the audience by projecting it on the large screens, which creates an interactive technological loop with the audience and other actors, as they see themselves.
When the actor playing the Kurz comes out from behind the curtain as the Spokesman, he will obviously place a cutout or dummy behind the curtain, so it looks like someone is still back there through the translucent fabric, and the 3D eye will go into automatic mode, randomly looking around and blinking. The embodied physical challenge of performing all this technology simultaneously is part of the staged situation designed for the Kurz character. Improvisation and mistakes by the actor playing him are an integral part of the performance.
The Kurz character references:
Kurz visualization of 3D manipulated video projected on 8' balloon:
Kurz-eye surveillance camera, and joystick control device for the projected Kurz 3D eye:
Example of projected Oz head (...only using McCain):
Big eye projection on a balloon by Tony Oursler:
Reference for Kurz behind-the-curtain projection booth (where he manipulates devices):
The Joy (Based on cautionary skeptic Bill Joy, and a fusion of character's from Bill Irwin’s Regard of Flight, and the western Everyman-hero archetype): The natural nemesis of the Kurz character, he is frightened by the implications of autonomous technological progress, and what it means for our embodiment, and humanity in general. Heckling the Kurz from the audience, asking infuriating questions, he disrupts the smooth operations of the Press and the turning of the Carousel of Progress, becoming an annoyance to the Kurz, and a threat to his plans for Tomorrowland. Joy is wearing a Feel The Joy t-shirt, and throughout the show he struggles against the Kurz and Press Players as he attempts to get his everyman message out about the joys of human bodies, especially for joyful dancing, which is his special love. He frequently breaks out in improvisational dance for no reason at all, which infuriates the Kurz, who wants predictable order. The actor playing Joy should be a good dancer, pantomime, and clown (ala Bill Irwin), and should look a little like Bill Joy. Kurz and Joy are meant to be a comedic duo in the vaudeville tradition of Laurel & Hardy or Abbott & Costello, with Kurz being the straight-man to Joy’s instigations, only with smart dialogue more like Irwin’s.
The Joy character references:
Bill Joy video:
Bill Irwin's Regard of Flight (see heckler-interviewer):
The Press and Press Players (Based of Mummenschantz-style puppetry, corporeal mime, and Blue Man Group): The Press is a larger than life abstract printing press made of wood and stretchy fabric that is manipulated by the Press Players, who are all-in-black mimes wearing neutral white masks. The Press, being located on the Carousel of Progress, represents evolving technology in Tomorrowland, while the Press Players represent ghosts in the machine. The players rotate the Carousel of Progress and manipulate the Press like a big puppet. They are also frequently summoned and directed by the Kurz character to perform mischief against the Joy. Through manipulating the parts of the press and through animated projections on the press fabric, the Press Players visually evolve the press towards autonomous digital technology. A player will always be inside the press, controlling internal lighting, sound, and smoke as an anthropomorphic response to dialogue. This player should become more active and visible as the show progresses, representing the press becoming digital, by pushing the fabric out with their body and face from the inside. Perhaps the Press can be built by the scene shop to have removable pieces, so that as it progresses to be more digital it shrinks in size, like digital printers have done.
Press and Players references:
Some puppetry ideas for the Press & Players (Philippe Genty):
More Puppetry by Mummenschanz:
Blue Man Group:
First Draft of Three Acts:
Act 1: Carousel of Progress Remix or It’s a Great Big Beautiful Kurz Tomorrow (Beginning): The scene opens with a large cloud of smoke coming from the Press and the original Carousel of Progress music begins to speed up and play (like an old record starting taken from the YouTube audio). As the smoke clears, the audience can see some Press Players manually rotating the circular press platform while a YouTube video of Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress is playing. Standing on the press platform is the Spokesman (Kurz in disguise wearing a cardigan sweater, Groucho mustache-glasses, and a Mickey Mouse hat) pantomiming and lip syncing the main Carousel character John. I would like to composite some Kurz dialogue on top of the song, and then dissolve into Act 4 of the original carousel show, so it is being projected onto the sides of the press (see the example, it even has subtitles which adds a textual element). Act 4 is the last act showing the retro future at Christmas, so it seems like an appropriate launching off point for our show. Also on and around the platform are several of the Press Players miming the other carousel characters to the YouTube audio, going way beyond the original animatronics movement, such as when grandma is talking about firing her laser beam (they can just go crazy with it). They can be wearing wigs and using props too, and one of them should play the dog. I think having this live action juxtaposed with the original video and audio will create an interesting layering effect, and is intended to create a tension and dissonance with the nostalgic past. This should state immediately that we aren’t in Kansas anymore.
About two minutes into the video when grandpa is talking about gadgets, the Spokesman should slink off behind his curtain, then a burst of smoke and the carousel theme song begins again as a siren above the balloon starts blaring and flashing to cut off the action, causing the players to jump and look up towards the balloon, and the carousel to stop turning. At that point, the Kurz video remix is projected on the balloon, and the players watch attentively. After a short time, when the video is stating something particularly utopian and futuristic, the Joy starts heckling from the audience. The players are distracted and start looking back and forth from Joy to the balloon as the video gets stuck in a rut, and the Kurz pops his head out from behind the curtain to see what is messing with his mojo. He then goes back behind the curtain, and the all-seeing-eye is projected on the balloon and is looking for the Joy in the audience. A voice booms out “Who dares interrupt the great and wonderful Kurz?!?” The surveillance camera below the balloon is also turned in Joy’ direction, as well as searching spot lights, and the Kurz-eye-view of the camera is projected on the large screens. The Press Players are also running through the audience searching frantically for the source of the disturbance, and pointing towards where the Joy is seated. At some point, when the Joy is found, the voice says, obviously flustered, “Is that you Bill?” When Joy stands up looking defiant, the booming voice curses “Who let the Joy in Tomorrowland?!?”
The players run back to the press and are cowering around it as the lights drop to a single spot on the standing Joy. At that point Aretha Franklin starts singing “I’m getting’ the spirit… spirit in the dark…”, and as the gospel music builds, the Joy starts swaying and dancing. The press players slowly start to sway and dance too, and pretty soon the joy is leading a full blown ecstatic gospel dance around the press. Joy is touching players as they fall into other players arms as healed (we can have audience plants who get up dancing and then fall back into their seats when Joy touches their forehead), and even the Press itself is manipulated to be dancing. Just as the scene is at its most intense, the music is abruptly cut off and the Spokesman comes out from behind the curtain announcing that “By proclamation of the great and wonderful Kurz, there will be no dancing at any time, for any reason… absolutely no booty shaking… ever, in Tomorrowland!” The lights go down. The stage is set for the dance battle for the future of Tomorrowland. The Joy disappears for now, and no one knows where.
Act 2: Hippity Hop Battle of Joy or Everyman Shakes His Booty Like It’s 2012 (Middle) (Note: I have written this part with my interactive dance sequence in mind, not knowing the details of Jessica’s dance sequence. However, since both sequences are going on simultaneously, it can be revised to have Kurz reacting equally to both dances in his world, and blaming it on Joy): At some point in the middle of the show when the Kurz video remix is playing again, one of the masked Press Players starts acting funny. The player begins twitching and moving erratically, bursting out into little dance steps. Another player notices, and starts mimicking the movement. The band also notices and starts playing some music to match the movements, and the two players spin into an embrace. Then the music changes to a modern Tango Nuevo fusion by Gotan Project, and the players rip off their black outfits to reveal a maroon suit and red sparkly evening dress. They proceed to improvise a Swango (Swing-Tango) dance around the press. While they are dancing, the other players pair up and start dancing LaLaLa Human Steps style (see choreographer Edouard Lock). The Kurz-eye eventually notices what is going on in his world, stops the music, and has the players seized. The player in the suit's mask falls off revealing the Joy, at which time he challenges Kurz to a duel. Kurtz thinks Joy is challenging him to a battle of wits, so he agrees, and then learns he is challenging him to a dance battle. Since he has no body, the Kurz is initially upset, but then gets the idea to send a virtual 3D Player to do the battle for him as a digidancer projected on a side screen. Joy thinks twice about his challenge when he sees the virtual character, but the real Press Players won’t let him back out and leave, pushing him towards the digidancer.
The Joy and virtual Player as digidancer face off with a bow as the music starts, and the dancing begins with the Joy doing a few tentative dance moves while the Kurz watches from above with his all seeing eye. When he pauses, the digidancer responds in kind, then adds some more confident moves of his own, and poses provacatively like a hip hop dancer. Taking up the challenge, Joy responds, and the action goes back and forth with a call-and-response type dynamic. Eventually both dancers are obviously having fun, and the Players around them actually start joining in the dancing game. The actor playing the Kurz sticks his head out from behind the curtain exasperated, and goes away. Again, right at the height of intensity in the dancing, the music abruptly stops, as the booming voice of the Kurz rings out “Stop the dancing!” The Spokesman appears looking disheveled grabbing the nearest players and pushing them towards Joy. “Seize the Joy! Seize him, he has broken my law…our law… the proclamation of the great and splendiforous Kurz…he is not one of us… seize him and feed him to the press!” The press players surround Joy, lift him up over their heads, his arms outstretched, and carry him over to the Press. One of the players holds open the press mouth while the others stuff him in. The press smokes and makes noises as it eats him. The Kurz video remix plays again from above.
As the video is playing, the head of Joy pops out of the top of the press, through a slit in the fabric, and he starts talking like a Becket head, again heckling Kurz. The all-seeing-eye comes up again looking down at Joy’s head sticking out of the Press, and begins cursing. The actor playing Kurz looks out from behind the curtain again. Joy notices him, and questions it, so that the actor yells “Nothing to see here!”, and the booming voice says “Ignore that buffoon behind the curtain, he’s nobody…” To distract Joy and turn the situation back in his favor, the Kurz voice gloats at his obvious superiority, as he is above Joy in space and in life, and will always be looking down on Joy in his sad bodiless state. “Why don’t you show me a dance step now Joy? Come on… I’m dying for a little soft shoe… just a step.” Joy concentrates and the press players move the press a little, but then shrink back when Kurz notices them. The show continues with Joy’s head occasionally commenting on the action, and mimicking the Kurz whenever he speaks by repeating what he says in an annoying manner.
Act 3: Exposing the Kurz or Mad Cow Dancing In the Streets of Tomorrowland (End): As the show progresses, Joy continues to heckle Kurz, and eventually gains control over the Press Players so that he increasingly gets them to move the parts of the press to music, using puppetry to make it dance. After one such infuriating Press dance sequence, the Spokesman comes out from behind the curtain with a large roll of plastic wrap, and forces the players to wrap the press to keep it from moving (some players also get wrapped in the process). Joy struggles as the press smokes and makes loud noises. As the smoke is clearing, we see the head of Joy is gone. The press is still making moaning noises, and lights flashing inside it, when a knife cuts through the plastic and Joy comes out. His clothes have been transformed into some kind of steampunk super hero outfit with large fake muscles, and he has LED lights flashing Joy on his chest. Just then the actor playing Kurz sticks his head out again, forgetting to put on his Spokesman disguise, and Joy spots him. He screams and closes the curtain but Super Joy runs over to tear open the curtain as Kurz is trying to put on his disguise. He screams again (only higher in pitch), and covers himself like he is naked in a changing room. Joy reacts instinctively embarrassed and closes the curtain, “Oh, pardon me…”, but then thinks about it and yanks it back open. “Aha!!” Kurz tries to play it off like he is the Spokesman, and there has been a misunderstanding “Good evening, how can we help you?” Joy says “We?”
Dialogue continues as Joy messes with the devices, causing the Kurz video to play, and finds the Kurz Dummy. At that point Joy puts it all together and rips off the Groucho glasses and Mickey Mouse hat. Kurz bolts and Joy begins chasing him all through the theatre (ala Regard of Flight)… over seats, through the audience… up on the catwalk. All the while, the band is playing out of control, and the Press Players are going crazy, throwing newspaper out of the Press, blowing it around with leaf blowers… sheer pandemonium. Eventually Joy catches Kurz, struggling with each other, locked arm in arm. The Kurz is trying to strangle the Joy when they start moving in unison to the music. Joy starts feeling the rhythm the band is playing, which morphs into samples and rhythms from David Bowie's harsh and sarcastic Fame, and Joy begins moving Kurz in time to the beat with Argentine Tango leg movements, and pretty soon they are dancing across the stage to the real song (I really like the idea and layering aesthetic of the band playing with a recorded song). When Kurz realizes what is happening, at first tries to get away “What are you doing? Stop that… I….cut that out… hey! I don’t swing that way…” Again the Press Players are doing LaLaLa Human Steps style dance improvisation. The dancing is only generally choreographed, but mostly improvised. At the end of the Tango sequence, Joy spins Kurrz around and dips him.
When he comes up from the dip, Kurz has a big dreamy smile on his face. “Don’t stop…” The band and players all pause and look at each other in dead silence for several seconds, then everyone breaks out in a big music and dance finale, 80’s dancing in the streets style (Perhaps the band could play a version of the more happy "Fame! I wanta live forever... song from the popular musical. On a music note; I would like to have the band play samples of the original song much as Kurz plays the Kurzweil video, to create a performed remix while the live musicians impprovise, to create a live-media fusion collage). During the big dance number, Kurz runs over to his exposed devices and yells into his microphone in his best Rodney Dangerfield style (ala Caddyshack) “Everybody dance!” The press players and all the other actors go out into the audience and pull people up into the dance party. Some players are throwing newspaper confetti from the catwalk (ala Blue Man Group). Live video of the party from the Kurz-cam, and other cameras on stage, is projected onto all the large screens and the press, placing the entire cast and audience into a virtual 80’s feel-good movie finale. To end the production inside the live movie, the projection screens fade to black, while production credits start to scroll. The band fades out as the Carousel of Progress theme song begins to play ”It’s a great big beautiful tomorrow…”, while some of the players start bringing out drinks and finger food for the after-party and talk-back.
This ending is designed to be conceptually ambiguous, to make the audience leave the theatre feeling good, but also cause them to think through the dissonance. By layering live action and media the play uses technology to blur the lines between real life and nostalgic media memories, and comments on our media saturated and driven lives. The feel-good 80's still exist in media, and we can get that feeling by mimicking it, or by acting it out. Through media fame we can live forever, as the Kurz desires, but what does it mean for our bodies? It is unclear in this ending whether Joy or Kurz won, or even if there is a winner in Tomorrowland. These are some of the concepts that can be discussed in the talk-back after party. While doing the talk-back, we could project video shot randomly during the show by the players with small hand-held digital cameras, as well as other cameras up in the catwalk and in the audience. We could buy some small Aptek (less than $200) cameras for this purpose. I really like the idea of later cutting all the footage together into a movie version that we post on YouTube for posterity. This would complete the conceptual statement by making the Kurz and Joy live forever in cyberspace, and be great documentation for our demo reels.
End.
More Scene References:
Carousel of Progress Theme Song:
Carousel of Progress Act 4 (a future Xmas with subtitles...):
Here is me and my previous partner dancing Swango (I could either train the dancer playing Joy, or I could try out to play the part myself as I have the dance and pantomime background, and I think I could pull off Joy if I shave my beard. I could also try to get my new dance partner to do the second act tango dance as a player. Her styling is even more intense Tango, and we can improvise together really well, as we will be doing Swango demos and classes in the Santa Cruz area at the time of the show in March):
Angry tango dancing for act 3:
More dancing reference for act 2 and 3 of LaLaLa Human Steps Amelia by choreographer Edouard Lock:
David Bowie's Fame with La La La Human Steps:
Becket heads:
Blue Man Group Paper Finale:
Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack:
Now this is a big dance finale! ("Fame" would ironically suit Kurz, since he wants to live forever...):
