Make Friends with Live Writers:

Statement

Johan Huizinga writes, "Let my playing be my learning, and my learning be my playing." Taking Prelude’s staging of the ‘play beforehand’ into the realm of Textus Ludens, a postlude in media processing is performed by our Writers across a variety of media formats on a diverse array of platforms. Rather than offer staid performance criticism or removed creative responses, the Prelude Writers enact a playful learning by reprocessing the live events of the festival: presenting the works performed anew, translated into the digital media that facilitates the learning of everyday life. From Second Life machinima to text-to-speech recognition scripts, from Google algorithms to live Max/MSP/Jitter patch processing, the Writers will port the liveness of Prelude performance into the playful reconfigurations of a highly mimetic textual condition.

Composing poems, reconstituting scores, and restaging virtual performances, the Prelude Writing component applies the tactics of this century’s innovative writing practices to the emerging theatrical arts of this year’s festival. In the tradition of Gertrude Stein’s Word Portraits, Frank Kuenstler’s Lens, and YouTube user sleepybum682’s recomposition of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” in The Sims 2 HD, the Prelude Writers engage in a creative ekphrasis freely employing the wealth of writing technologies of network culture. Look for writings in the form of Facebook status updates, poems that resemble inventories and databases, critical essays spoken by virtual avatars, and audio-visual recompositions that return the theatrical works to the social networks and digital systems from which they emerge.

Works, Day 1

SZ's statement re: the first day of live writing

Is he really a poet, can he recite something?

Day 1 of My Critical Response to the Performances at Prelude.10, with the Content of My Dislike Redacted

Three Things the Apparently Famous Director Behind Me Said After the First Performance of the Evening

Because I Haven’t Liked the Music So Far at Prelude.10, Even When It’s Been Performed with Much Enthusiasm and Skill, Here are the Lyrics to Steely Dan’s 'Bad Sneakers' in All Caps

Music of the People

Joyce Cho performs @ Prelude.10 + Keyboard Cat

What's happening now? Joyce Cho

The TEAM performs @ Prelude.10 + Crotch Shot + Keyboard Cat

Works, Day 2

Day 2 of My Critical Response to the Performances at Prelude.10, with the Content of My Dislike Redacted

Four Things Overheard in the Lobby After the Second Night of Performances

Jim Findlay's piece @ Prelude.10 + Keyboard Cat

Listening to interviews from HERE's "Lush Valley Camera's Eye" at a distance of approximately twelve feet

From Four Gchat Conversations I Had During the Second Day's Roundtable

Works, Day 3

Poem for Reid Farrington, Written During the Performance

Poem for Reid Farrington, Written During the Performance

Poem for Andrew Schneider, Written During the Performance

Poem for Andrew Schneider, Written During the Performance

Poem for Reggie Watts, Written During the Performance

Poem for Reggie Watts, Written During the Performance

Poem for Not DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, Written During the Performance

Poem for Not DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, Written During the Performance

From an Email Exchange Made Over the Course of Tonight's Performances

Overheard on the Toilet between Performances and Roundtable

SZ's comments re: the end of live writing

Day 3 of My Critical Response to the Performances at Prelude.10, with the Content of My Dislike Redacted

Andrew Schneider performs @ Prelude.10 + Keyboard Cat

Reggie Watts performs @ Prelude.10 + Keyboard Cat