Imagine if an animated musical came to life and interacted with audiences in what Fame Magazine calls, 'a flawless blend of Broadway, games, pop, and comedy bliss!' When the hero character of a video game dies, a non-playable character (played by a live, singing actor) turns to the audience for help navigating their grief.
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NON-PLAYER CHARACTER is part live concert, part escape room, part immersive theater. And each performance is entirely responsive to the improvisation and decisions from the audience.
Four audience “players” join me on stage, wearing virtual reality headsets while the virtual world and characters are projected on the big screen for the seated spectators, inviting both theatre and game lovers to a new kind of "play".
We’ll also be live-streaming a digital ticket so anyone can experience NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS from anywhere in the world. Each night, different audience members can join me on-stage and we need your suggestions of your favorite artists and shows attending #EdFringe this year in the comments 💬 so we can beam them to you and signal boost their work!
We’ve workshopped in blackboxes, art galleries, conventions, cinemas, universities and fully virtual. These were one-night-only technical demos and prototypes, each giving us an opportunity to devise new songs, worlds and interactions…but never enjoying a “proper run” or “sit down” to stand up the show.
At each performance, we created an original workshop recording to document the phases of development and slowly expand our story-verse so audiences could follow (and sing) along.
For four years, I’ve created and performed live theatre in virtual reality all over the world…
Releasing a free virtual playhouse for anyone to perform during COVID.
Becoming a Finalist for The Producer Guild of America’s Innovation Award.
Presenting a one-man show showcasing 5 real-time virtual technologies.
NON-PLAYER CHARACTER is the show that made me fall in love with theatre all over again and the reason is… you, the audience.
See, audiences don’t watch #NPCmusical, they play it. Every night is different as I improvise with the “players” and rely on their decisions to determine the outcome of key moments in the performance. Even our spectators have an interactive webapp on their mobile devices that allow them to vote on key decisions, spawn objects in the virtual world and help illuminate the path.
I know there’s a lot of weird feelings about VR. I have also rolled my eyes at terms like “the metaverse” but when you get beyond the hype and gimmick, there is something extremely special about the total immersion that occurs in-headset. The term I enjoy the most is actually XR or extended reality.
I see the technology as merely a tool to extend my performance… the venue… the puppetry of the characters… and the audience experience. But the connection and intimacy achieved by this digital layer is infectious.
Venue, tickets and more coming soon! I hope to see you in Edinburgh or online!
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