Sketching interactions for young audiences

With: Hannah Perner-Wilson and Mika Satomi (collective KOBAKANT),
Anna Vera Kelle (Regie Theater Strahl), Anja Kerschkewicz (Guestprofessor for ‘collective work’), Joanna Mandalian (Theaterpädagogin Theater Strahl)

This project is led by Director Anna Vera Kelle from the theater STRAHL and Mika Satomi and Hannah Perner-Wilson of the artist collective KOBAKANT. The work takes place within the framework of a JUPITER grant – aiming to raise awareness about theater for young audiences.

Young theater audiences enjoy participatory forms of theater that allow them to engage with content in interactive and playful ways. We want to get to know this young audience and understand how they engage with interactive technology and live actors in theatrical settings.

Over the course of a 3-day kick-off workshop, 4 weeks of exploration and 1 week of rehearsal, students will work together with the art collective KOBAKANT to produce three participatory sketches – “Three Perspectives” – that explore what roles interactive digital technologies and live actors can take on in participatory performances.

We will be working with a cast of 2-3 live actors and explore human touch and sound as primary forms of input and output to a digital system. We will receive input on ‘collective work with interviews’ from Anja Kerkerschkewicz and make a short research with school pupils. We will have access to a “Premierenklasse” of school students who will accompany our process and join multiple playtests to give us feedback on how our creations are experienced and perceived by young audiences.

The sketches will be presented at the bat Studio Theater on June 5th and 6th, and at Theater STRAHL’s opening event on June 17th at their new location at Ostkreuz.
Following the Hybride Formen project, KOBAKANT will continue working with theater STRAHL to produce a full scale performance for young audiences. “Three Perspectives” (or documentation thereof) will be presented at the premier of this production in October 2023.

==LINKS==
https://www.kobakant.at/
https://theater-strahl.de/projekt/look-no-screens
https://www.kulturstiftung-des-bundes.de/de/projekte/buehne_und_bewegung/detail/point_of_presence_oder_look_mom_no_screens.html

==SCHEDULE==

===Kick-Off Workshops===
17.04. 11:00-17:00 Introduction to collective work with Interviews
18.04.-20.04. Day1 (10-16:00): Introduction to youth theater (STRAHL)
Day2+3 (10-15/16:00): Introduction to technology (Ladenlokal)

Pure Data Code

Link to Pure Data sound player code >> https://github.com/mikst/samplePlayer

you can download pure data from here >> https://puredata.info/downloads

and the Teensy Arduino sketch is posted here >> https://github.com/KOBAKANT/TeensyTouch

Teensyduino >> https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/td_download.html

Fast Touch Arduino library from Adrian Freed >> https://github.com/adrianfreed/FastTouch/

Online Synthesizer

MIDI(Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a protocol that is used for communication between electrical musical instruments. It contains notes between 0-127, velocity 0-127.
Many software and digital instruments understands MIDI signals. In this workshop we used the below online synthesizer that can also accept MIDI signal.
Cardboard synth (online synthesizer, only works on Chrome browser)

https://www.gsn-lib.org/apps/cardboardsynth/index.html

and here is how to enable USB MIDI interface on Chrome

https://www.audiotool.com/product/function/midi/

The keys are now programmed to play midi note 60,62,64, 65,67,69,71,72 an octave from C3.

===in between===
21.04.-26.04. optional: Augenblickmal Festival – Festival for Young Audiences
augenblickmal.de
21.04.-07.05. two weeks to collect interviews

===Exploration Phase===
08.05.-08.06. S&&O Ladenlokal (Hannah u. Mika, Mo+Di.10:00-16:00, Mi-Fr eigenständig)

===Rehearsing Phase===
01.06-08.06. bat Studio Theater
31.05. visit by Feedbackseminar

===Shows===
09. + 10.06. Final “Playtest” / Showing (bat)
17.06. Theater STRAHL opening event (Ostkreuz)
Oktober Theater STRAHL Rahmenprogram (Ostkreuz)