19 June - 1 July 2012, Drama Workshop 2, Jack Mann Auditorium
Winner, BEST THEATRE, 2012 Christchurch Press 'Best of the Year'
I Sing the Body Electric is a Free Theatre production in collaboration with the University of Canterbury's innovative HITLab NZ (Human Interface Technology Laboratory). Based on the infamous Don Juan legend, I Sing the Body Electric is a live exploration of the seductive nature of technology in modern life. 

Through experimentation and exploration in the theatre and in the lab, we explore how the parallel creation of technology and of women from male desire can become beautiful and seductive, but at the same time may become repetitive, obsessive and self-destructive. The idea of the women in the play is derived from archetypes found in myths and fairytales: SIren (The Odyssey), Lorelei, Rapunzel, The Black Widow, Medusa.

Set design, costume design and technology have been integrated to create an activated performance environment that responds to the actors. All sound effects and music within the scenes are produced live in the moment by the bodies and voices of the actors. The interactions progress from relatively simple technologies - microphones surfaces and costumes; live camera feeds and projections - to more sophisticated devices - two-way mirros; lasers; movement sensors that transform the actor into an audio waveform generator; and colour detection whereby the position and movement of certain colours within a video frame trigger and manipulate the playback of recorded sounds. The piece culminates in an immersive virtual reality environment that an actor can participate in through the use of motion tracking cameras.

I Sing the Body Electric was preceded by a work-in-progress titled 'Passion, Pulse and Power', which took place in the same venue for an invited audience in November 2011.

Reviews

...a rare visitation of exceptional theatre
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A rare visitation of exceptional theatre
Lin Clark, Theatreview
...you'll be gutted you missed out
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I Sing the Body Electric
Erin Harrington, CANTA, June 2012
Mindblowing, disturbing and enigmatic. A must see
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Eerie, ti-tech tale of seduction
Georgina Stylianou, The Press, 21 June 2012
...theatre for all the senses. Outstanding
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I Sing the Body Electric
Elizabeth O'Connor, Arts on Sunday, RadioNZ

Articles

High voltage theatre
The Press, GO Arts, Friday 1 June 2012

Trick for new players: issues and opportunities for theatre in digital age
Peter Griffin, Playmarket Annual Journal, No. 47, 2012

Publicity

Passion, Pulse and Power
George Parker interviewed by Eva Radich, RadioNZ
See film of work-in-progress Passion, Pulse and Power here.