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Cyberformance
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<h2 id="history-and-context">History and context</h2> <p>The term 'cyberformance' (a <a href="/facts/Portmanteau_word/d124JEbz">portmanteau word</a> blending 'cyberspace' with 'performance') was coined by the net artist and curator <a href="/facts/Helen_Varley_Jamieson/1mneBKEA">Helen Varley Jamieson</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> She states that the invention of this term in 2000 "came out of the need to find a word that avoided the polarisation of virtual and real, and the need for a new term (rather than 'online performance' or 'virtual theatre') for a new genre".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> Jamieson traces the history of cyberformance back to the <i>Satellite Arts Project</i> of 1977,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> when interactive art pioneers <a href="/facts/Kit_Galloway_and_Sherrie_Rabinowitz/cYJsvrpm">Kit Galloway and Sherrie Rabinowitz</a> used live video mixing to create what they called "a performance space with no geographic boundaries".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p><p>Online performances or virtual theatre has taken place in a number of the virtual environments that have emerged since the 1980s, including the multi-user virtual environments known as <a href="/facts/Multi-user_dungeon/F6nLmX47">MUDs</a> and <a href="/facts/MOO/0F0Ayd9l">MOOs</a> in the 1970s, internet chat spaces (e.g. <a href="/facts/Internet_Relay_Chat/oDr3VN9q">Internet Relay Chat</a>, or IRC) in the 1980s, the <a href="/facts/The_Palace_(computer_program)/l7mqGYsX">Palace graphical chatroom</a> in the 1990s, and <a href="/facts/UpStage/qtDfNPnU">UpStage</a>, Visitors Studio, <a href="/facts/Second_Life/MNmX14gw">Second Life</a>, Waterwheel Tap and other platforms in the 2000s. Notable cyberformance groups and projects thus far include: </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/The_Hamnet_Players/p85LD2yT">The Hamnet Players</a>. Founded by <a href="/facts/The_Hamnet_Players/p85LD2yT">Stuart Harris</a>, this group performed in IRC; their earliest performance was "Hamnet" in 1993.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/The_Plaintext_Players/Xr9IJbnW">The Plaintext Players</a>. Founded by <a href="/facts/Antoinette_LaFarge/8gHjFXRK">Antoinette LaFarge</a>, this group performs in MOOs and mixed reality spaces; their earliest performance was "Christmas" in 1994.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></li> <li>"ParkBench." Created by Nina Sobell and Emily Hartzell in 1994, this was a collaborative performance and drawing space using live video and a web browser interface.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></li> <li>Desktop Theater. Founded by Adriene Jenik and Lisa Brenneis, this group performed in the Palace; an example of their work is "waitingforgodot.com", 1997.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></li> <li>Avatar Body <i>Collision</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> Founded by <a href="/facts/Helen_Varley_Jamieson/1mneBKEA">Helen Varley Jamieson</a>, Karla Ptacek, Vicki Smith, and Leena Saarinen in 2002, this online performance collective uses <a href="/facts/UpStage/qtDfNPnU">UpStage</a>, a web-based software purpose-built for cyberformance.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a></li> <li>aether9. A collaborative art project exploring the field of realtime video transmission, initiated in 2007 by artists from Europe, North and South America.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Avatar_Orchestra_Metaverse/CyeMKjQY">Avatar Orchestra Metaverse</a> (AOM). A formation in the virtual online environment Second Life (SL), exploring interactive possibilities with avatars.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a></li> <li>Second Front. A pioneering performance art group in the online, avatar-based Virtual Reality world of Second Life.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a></li> <li>Low Lives. An international festival of live performance-based works transmitted via the internet and projected in real time at multiple venues around the world.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="features-of-cyberformance">Features of cyberformance</h2> <p>Cyberformance differs from <a href="/facts/Digital_Performance/TTHLdXR2">digital performance</a>, which refers to any kind of digitally mediated performance, including those with no significant networked element.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> In some cases cyberformance may be considered a subset of <a href="/facts/Net_art/NfXs3cuf">net art</a>; however, many cyberformance artists use what is termed 'mixed reality' or 'mixed space' for their work, linking physical, virtual, and cyber spaces in manifold ingenious ways. The internet is often a subject and inspiration of the work as well as being the central enabling technology. </p><p>Cyberformers often work with the dual identities afforded by avatars, exploiting the gap between online persona and offline self. They can also take advantage of the ease of switching between avatars in a way unavailable to 'proximal' actors.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> However cyberformance has its own unique problems, including unstable technology and "real life" interruptions.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Corcoran, Marlena (2003). "An Internet Performance for the Third Millennium", <i>Performance Art Journal</i> 25(1).</li> <li>Danet, Brenda (2001). <i>Cyberpl@y: Communicating Online</i>, Berg Publishers.</li> <li>Flintoff, Kim and Sant, Toni (2007). <a href="http://www.interactiveimprov.com/onlinedr.html">The Internet as a Dramatic Medium</a> – supplementary article to "Interactive and Improvisational Drama", ed Adam Blatner, 2007</li> <li>Jamieson, Helen Varley (2008). <a href="http://eprints.qut.edu.au/28544/">"Adventures in Cyberformance"</a> - thesis, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.</li> <li>Jamieson, Helen Varley (2008). "Real Time, Virtual Space, Live Theatre" - chapter in <a href="http://www.clouds.co.nz/the-aotearoa-digital-arts-reader/">The ADA Digital Arts Reader</a>, published 2008, Clouds Publishing, <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-9582789-9-7.</li> <li>LaFarge, Antoinette (1995). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081201093046/http://www.forger.com/leo95.html">A World Exhilarating and Wrong: Theatrical Improvisation on the Internet</a>, <i>Leonardo</i> 28(5).</li> <li>Baranski Sandrine, La musique en réseau, une musique de la complexité ?, Éditions universitaires européennes, mai 2010</li> <li>Papagiannouli, Christina (2011). "Cyberformance and the Cyberstage", International Journal of the Arts in Society, vol 6 issue 4, 2011.</li> <li>Schrum, Stephen A. <i>Theatre in Cyberspace: Issues of Teaching, Acting and Directing</i>. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1999.</li> <li><a href="http://ahds.ac.uk/ahdscollections/docroot/dpa/authorssearch.jsp">Digital Performance Archive</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110927133732/http://www.horizonzero.ca/textsite/perform.php?is=13&art=0&file=0&tlang=0">Horizon Zero issue 13 : Perform</a> Jan/Feb 2004</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.cyberformance.org">cyberformance.org</a></li> <li><a href="http://yin.arts.uci.edu/~players/">Plaintext Players website</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190924045818/http://yin.arts.uci.edu/~players/">Archived</a> 2019-09-24 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190518082912/http://transition.turbulence.org/blog/">networked_performance blog</a></li> <li><a href="http://upstage.org.nz/blog/">Upstage website</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110722045015/http://www.ponline.it/">Performance Online</a> - resesarcher Francesco Buonaiuto's site, includes timeline</li> <li><a href="http://www.cyposium.net">The CyPosium</a> - an online symposium on cyberformance, held on 12 October 2012</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Papagiannouli, Christina (2016). Political Cyberformance: The Etheatre Project. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-57703-0. <a href="978-1-137-57703-0" target="_blank">978-1-137-57703-0</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Jung, Patricia (April 2005). "Performers go web". Linux Journal. 2005 (132): 4. Retrieved 2008-09-23. <a href="http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1053522.1053526" target="_blank">http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1053522.1053526</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Jamieson, Helen Varley. "cyberformance". Retrieved 2008-09-23. <a href="http://www.cyberformance.org" target="_blank">http://www.cyberformance.org</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Jamieson, Helen Varley. "Timeline". Retrieved 2008-09-23. <a href="http://www.creative-catalyst.com/cyberformance/timeline.html" target="_blank">http://www.creative-catalyst.com/cyberformance/timeline.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Satellite Arts Project 1977". Electronic Cafe. Retrieved 2008-09-23. <a href="http://www.ecafe.com/getty/SA/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.ecafe.com/getty/SA/index.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>The Hamnet Players <a href="http://www.marmot.org.uk/hamnet/" target="_blank">http://www.marmot.org.uk/hamnet/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"The Plaintext Players". Archived from the original on 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2008-05-01. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190924045818/http://yin.arts.uci.edu/~players/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190924045818/http://yin.arts.uci.edu/~players/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"ParkBench". Archived from the original on 2019-09-05. Retrieved 2008-05-01. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190905124005/http://www.cat.nyu.edu/parkbench/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190905124005/http://www.cat.nyu.edu/parkbench/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Desktop Theater <a href="http://www.desktoptheater.org/" target="_blank">http://www.desktoptheater.org/</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Avatar Body Collision <a href="http://www.avatarbodycollision.org/" target="_blank">http://www.avatarbodycollision.org/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Neumark, N.; Helen Varley Jamieson (July–September 2007). "UpStage: A Platform for Creating and Performing Online". IEEE MultiMedia. 14 (3): 8–10. doi:10.1109/MMUL.2007.69. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>aether9 <a href="http://aether9.org/" target="_blank">http://aether9.org/</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Avatar Orchestra Metaverse <a href="http://www.avatarorchestra.org/" target="_blank">http://www.avatarorchestra.org/</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Second Front <a href="http://www.secondfront.org//" target="_blank">http://www.secondfront.org//</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"Low Lives". Archived from the original on 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2012-04-25. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190923170618/http://www.lowlives.net/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20190923170618/http://www.lowlives.net/</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Jamieson, Helen Varley (2008). Real Time, Virtual Space, Live Theatre. Clouds. pp. 48–56. ISBN 978-0-9582789-9-7. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help) <a href="978-0-9582789-9-7" target="_blank">978-0-9582789-9-7</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Ptacek, Karla (2003-09-01). "Avatar Body Collision: enactments in distributed performance practices". Digital Creativity. 14 (3): 180–192. doi:10.1076/digc.14.3.180.27873. S2CID 38342687. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Ptacek, Karla; Helen Varley Jamieson (2004-11-30). "Writing 4 Cyberformance". trAce Online Writing Centre. Archived from the original on 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2008-09-23. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081205153856/http://tracearchive.ntu.ac.uk/Process/index.cfm?article=127" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20081205153856/http://tracearchive.ntu.ac.uk/Process/index.cfm?article=127</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>