Abstract
In January/February 2023, staff and students of Florida International University, Miami and Coventry University, UK collaborated on a series of rehearsals exploring the text of Shakespeare’s late (and little performed) masterpiece, Pericles.
Pericles seemed an apt choice as the themes of separation by oceans, death, rebirth, and the transformational and restorative power of storytelling seemed to fit performers separated by an ocean both from each other and from their native countries. In both institutions, the performers come from a range of nationalities and backgrounds – in Florida they are the children of migrants (Mexican, Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican) and in Coventry they are a diverse range of European students (Portuguese, Lithuanian, Romanian, Norwegian and UK).
Working for two weeks online in the Immersive Telepresence space, the actors and directors worked on eight key scenes from Shakespeare’s sprawling drama, taking an experimental approach to depicting the events in the play using whatever materials came to hand in both spaces. There were guest workshops from Joshua Patel of the Fabularium Theatre company and a ‘special guest star’ whose voice you may recognise in the video (coming soon).
After the online sessions, the Coventry cast travelled to Miami to work in person with their Florida counterparts and presented an open rehearsal of the material to an invited audience at Florida International University.
Pericles seemed an apt choice as the themes of separation by oceans, death, rebirth, and the transformational and restorative power of storytelling seemed to fit performers separated by an ocean both from each other and from their native countries. In both institutions, the performers come from a range of nationalities and backgrounds – in Florida they are the children of migrants (Mexican, Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican) and in Coventry they are a diverse range of European students (Portuguese, Lithuanian, Romanian, Norwegian and UK).
Working for two weeks online in the Immersive Telepresence space, the actors and directors worked on eight key scenes from Shakespeare’s sprawling drama, taking an experimental approach to depicting the events in the play using whatever materials came to hand in both spaces. There were guest workshops from Joshua Patel of the Fabularium Theatre company and a ‘special guest star’ whose voice you may recognise in the video (coming soon).
After the online sessions, the Coventry cast travelled to Miami to work in person with their Florida counterparts and presented an open rehearsal of the material to an invited audience at Florida International University.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Media of output | Online |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2023 |
Keywords
- Telepresence
- Telemetry
- Shakespeare
- Pericles
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Visual Arts and Performing Arts
- Computer Networks and Communications