Progress

Kick-off Meeting – Brescia, Italy from 2nd to 5th February.

Thursday, February 2nd, marked the beginning of the highly anticipated Kick-off Day.  The event took place at the Blue Tech Hub, courtesy of Buffoli Industries, Via Ferrini, 36, Brescia, and was marked by the development of the Manifesto and guidelines, the selection of viewers for the experiments, and debates on communication and economic strategy. The meeting also saw participation from various Brescia companies, which assisted and contributed to discussions on the technologies to be used, with the already proposed idea of organizing a second edition involving Robotics.

During the kick-off meeting, we held Spore training session on methodology for the Implementation of a prototype training session as per the SPORES methodology  (Brescia, Italy)

A detailed discussion was held on the new methodology of representation, which is applicable across all artistic expressions and particularly relevant to multimedia, bringing forth innovative significance. This methodology was presented in Brescia on Saturday, February 4, 2023, at the Palazzo Martinengo to a wide and engaged audience. The discussion also covered the relationship between art, science, and new technologies. This was done in collaboration with the Municipality of Brescia and the CTB (Brescian Theatre Centre), showcasing a multidisciplinary approach that bridges diverse fields and fosters innovative intersections in the creative domain.

Spore Sensible Archive       Workshop Apply SPORES methodology; define implementation plan based on Sensible Archive concept note            and the Vernissage of the Augmented Exhibition on Theatre Anthropology Lecce, Italy (Between February 20th and 25th, 2023)

The SPORES contribution to the Sensible Archive of Lecce presents an innovative approach that, using advanced technologies, evolves the very concept of the museum. The content focuses on “Il Baratto,” originated in Carpignano in 1974, considered among the most significant experiences of contemporary theatre by theatre theorists and cultural anthropologists. Anticipating some aspects of the digital spatial revolution, evidenced by the metaverse and web 3.0, the concept designed for the virtual archive of “Il Baratto” is positioned as a distinctive project on an international level. The aim is not merely to sensationalize but to guide towards a new epistemological approach, softer and more open to experimentation as first conceived by Goethe: rooted in a place, open to the unexpected, and to unexpected logical connections.

Between February 20th and 25th, 2023, Andrea Carraro engages with Eugenio Barba and Julia Varley to finalize the project’s practical approach. During these dates, CarraroLAB, in collaboration with sociologist Emanuele Amoruso, conducts site visits in the municipality of Carpignano to take photographs and 360° videos, collecting testimonies from key figures of “Il Baratto.” The archive’s goal is not to describe the historical events related to the story but to bring the event to life through the memories of Carpignano residents who experienced it. These voices will indeed be the background for archive images of “Il Baratto” from 1974, placed within virtual spaces created from the 360° photographs taken on-site.

The intended result is a map of freely navigable virtual places, where the user encounters archive images narrated from the perspective of people who experienced “Il Baratto” not as a historical event but as a poignant moment in their lives.

Intermedial Travel     Performance  Intermedial Travel SPORES experience Goethe Institut Rome, Italy (10th March 2023) and the connected workshop Workshop – Apply SPORES methodology; define implementation plan based on Intermedial Travel concept note led by  Andrea Carraro (9th March 2023)

During the initial experimentation at the Goethe Institut in Rome, the “Appercezioni” project aimed to revolutionize the concept of audience engagement. The audience was placed at the center, with all artists participating in the performance surrounding them. Open rehearsals were conducted during the study period, allowing the public to continuously observe the preparation and study process. “Appercezioni” thus emphasized the importance of the creative journey. Young actors from the Brancaccio Theatre in Rome were invited to participate, providing a platform for the new generation of artists. The performance was a sell-out, benefiting from the collaboration of the German Embassy, the Goethe Institute, and the Italian Cultural Institutes in Copenhagen and Tirana.

Intermedial Travel     Performance  Intermedial Travel SPORES experience – Comune di Tresigallo, Italy (20th May 2023)

“Appercezioni” had the honor of collaborating with the Municipality of Tresigallo for a presentation of our Spores project, in partnership with the Tresigallo cinema. During this event, we delved into and showcased our work in synergy with the Municipality of Tresigallo. The artists involved created an installation inspired by the SOGNI building, marking the inception of the grand project by Flavia MAstrella, later named MEGAPIXEL. Our collaboration was further expanded to include a local brewery owned by active young locals, where we organized a course dedicated to the metaverse.

Intermedial Travel     Performance  Intermedial Travel SPORES experience – Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium (21st september 2023)

In Denmark, “Appercezioni” significantly focused on including local realities by involving the new company at the Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium, led by Alice Occhiali and Valerio Peroni, who were part of the project and included within the experimentation, working on the concept of the analog and the pure. Simultaneously, historical realities of Danish art were engaged through the creation of an immersive video by Iben, one of the founders of Odin Teatret. The primary effort was on immersing the audience in a continually transforming journey, leading to an installation created by Flavia Mastrella: The Megapixel, initially conceived in the municipality of Tresigallo. In Denmark, this creation was further developed, allowing the company to project and make visible video works mounted for the occasion. This provided the audience with the opportunity to step directly into this installation and experience the show in a completely different manner, which is one of Appercezioni’s fundamental goals: reducing the distance between the spectator and the performance. In this Megapixel concept, a long-term mode was also explored, where the Megapixel was present not only during the show but also before the performance, thus offering the audience a chance to enter the immersive reality by wearing headsets and reliving what is inside the show in augmented reality, allowing them to enter this magical box.

Intermedial Travel     Performance  Intermedial Travel SPORES experience    IIC Copenhagen, Denmark (26th september 2023)

The Copenhagen performance was deeply connected to its location. The enduring idea behind “Appercezioni” is to modify and transform the show and experimentation according to the places it inhabits. Consequently, the performance took on entirely different forms because it was immersed in a new space: that of the IIC of Copenhagen. The experimentation was reworked by all artists with great success among the audience and merged with a place rich in meanings. As usual, the fusion between analogue reality and digital reality was crucial, creating an immersive performance for the audience. At the end of the show, like the Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium event, a reception with Italian products was organized, allowing the audience to continue blending with the performers on stage and interact with them even after the performance.

Intermedial Travel     Workshop      Apply SPORES methodology; define implementation plan based on Intermedial Travel concept note            NTL (22nd september 2022)

At the Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium, we had the opportunity to conduct an exciting workshop on intermediality, actively involving local actors. During this stimulating experience, we explored synergies between various artistic forms, blending theater, music, and other expressive media. The local actors contributed their unique talents, integrating their skills with intermedial dynamics. In a collaborative environment, we experimented with new creative perspectives, working together to create a multisensory artistic experience. The Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium proved to be the ideal setting for a fruitful meeting between our intermedial vision and the vibrant talent of local actors, resulting in a workshop that enriched and inspired both us and the local theatrical community. The actors who participated in this workshop were then included in the live performance.

Elsewhere      (Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium) Performance          Elsewhere intermedial experience Holstebro, Denmark (30 novembre 2024)

The experimentation for the Spores Project “Elsewhere Experience” is led by a diverse group, both in terms of geographic origin and technical training. The performance’s director, Alice Occhiali, and the playwright, Valerio Peroni, have been actors, directors, and theatrical educators at the Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium since 2013. The cast is enriched by an international group of young actors in residence at the Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium: Giovanna Zanchetta (IT), Andrea De Robbio (IT/SI), Juraj Benko (SK), Oriane Hours (FR).

Andrea Carraro of Carraro Lab oversees the technological and theoretical approach.

360° Camera Shooting “The Dream”

“The Dream,” echoed in the experimental performance of “Spores Project/Elsewhere Experience” through the actors’ bodies, was invoked in the wild West of Denmark.

For the actors, this means rethinking their relationship with space entirely. They must inhabit the place in a way that narrates the dimension of the dream, thereby considering the spectator’s position and their freedom to observe freely. CarraroLab’s decade-long experience in what the company defines as “spacetelling” starts from space and then falls back on the body, which must be grafted into a place. The atmospheric elements, the actors’ dexterity, and the directorial eye allow for the development of a new approach to performativity, between theatre and virtual reality, between the wind and the sea.

360° Camera Shooting “Prediction of the Future”

The shooting of “predictions of the future” deals with the ultimate purpose of the experimentation. It is not based on the vertical application of digital elements to the performance but on rethinking the theatrical process itself within new technologies. The actors experiment with their bodies, knowing that the spectator equates to the 360° camera, and interacting with it means engaging with a structure of feeling. The audience can be moved, transported; the actor can circle around them, terrify or reassure them lovingly, become enormous or disappear in an instant. The significant opportunity of the Elsewhere experimentation lies not in testing new technologies but in trying new body techniques and a new approach to virtual presence.

Final Opening November 30, 2024 (Holstebro).

The baptism of fire, in our work, is the meet-confrontation with the audience. Translating the experimentation into a live context is perhaps the most delicate part of the entire study process. Our intention was to give absolute priority to the performance and allow for simultaneous observation, in small doses, of our research.

Two individuals per time from the audience were able to wear virtual reality headsets at two specific moments of the performance, letting their gaze be projected onto the walls as they explored the Elsewhere. These technological integrations were thus designed with a dramaturgical sense, inhabiting the show rather than overpowering it.

The Elsewhere Workshop, presented by Carraro Lab for the Spores Project and set to take place online in Holstebro, Denmark, on November 30, 2024, leverages the SPORES methodology to craft an implementation plan based on the Elsewhere concept note.  Antonin Artaud, in “The Theatre and Its Double,” posits that theatre is a form of virtual reality. To understand the correlation between these two complex techniques, we must move beyond the technology itself and start from human perception. The delicate link connecting digital virtual reality and theatre is the art of engaging in “presence.” The audience should not be passive but actively part of a new structure of feeling, whether in a digital place or a theatrical space-river. The immersive turn of the internet, which views the website as an actual site, must reconsider itself spatially and find a new approach in theatrical techniques. Only through this can we achieve an unprecedented dimension, where humans can navigate new spaces feeling at home, rediscovering performative elements that only theatre has truly lived. Elsewhere, also a site to be discovered, is a white door that, once opened, allows us to rethink not just theatre but the role of humans in virtual reality.