What if we could hear other people's inner thoughts?
Step into the minds of three unique characters, and join them as they embark on individual and uplifting journeys of self-discovery.
Where We Meet is an interactive and immersive dance theatre performance where you’re in control of revealing the hidden stories behind each character. You are invited to rediscover the joy of human connection as an antidote to today’s increasingly digital - yet divided and lonely - world.
Ahead of a run at London's Cockpit Theatre, we sat down with Co-director & Creative Technology Lead Clemence Debaig to learn more.
What can you tell me about Where We Meet?
Where We Meet is a joyful and communal experience made possible through innovative technology that allows the audience to access the inner thoughts of the characters. Our starting point is that we can really never know what is happening in someone's mind and we wanted to give access to those inner worlds to spark a new kind of empathy. Each character is revealing their own challenges and vulnerabilities as a way to get to the point and connect faster at a deeper level. The audience who pick the Active Participant ticket will move around the space to decide which character to engage with, it's a sort of "choose your own adventure" format. As they approach a dancer, thanks to our spatial audio technology, they will have the feeling of entering the character's mind while seeing them embody that inner monologue through choreography. At first, it might feel like eavesdropping into someone's mind and slightly voyeuristic. But as the piece develops, the dancers can trigger moments of interactions to build a rapport. Those can be gentle gestures, or grounding meditations. This leads to joyful shared moments between audiences and performers and even between audience members themselves.
Where We Meet is a joyful and communal experience made possible through innovative technology that allows the audience to access the inner thoughts of the characters. Our starting point is that we can really never know what is happening in someone's mind and we wanted to give access to those inner worlds to spark a new kind of empathy. Each character is revealing their own challenges and vulnerabilities as a way to get to the point and connect faster at a deeper level. The audience who pick the Active Participant ticket will move around the space to decide which character to engage with, it's a sort of "choose your own adventure" format. As they approach a dancer, thanks to our spatial audio technology, they will have the feeling of entering the character's mind while seeing them embody that inner monologue through choreography. At first, it might feel like eavesdropping into someone's mind and slightly voyeuristic. But as the piece develops, the dancers can trigger moments of interactions to build a rapport. Those can be gentle gestures, or grounding meditations. This leads to joyful shared moments between audiences and performers and even between audience members themselves.
What has inspired your vision for the production?
This project has a slightly unique genesis for Unwired. It was born through the Dansathon 2021, a European dance-hackathon, inviting Creative Technologists, Dancers, Designers and Producers to explore a concept together over 3 days. This is where I met Livia Massarelli, our co-director. But many other brilliant minds contributed to the original concept through the 3-day event. The event took place towards the end of the pandemic. We were (and are still) surrounded by so much technology, giving the illusion of constant communication and connection, and we all wanted to explore ways to reconnect, human to human. Our original idea won the Grand Prize and we started from there.
This project has a slightly unique genesis for Unwired. It was born through the Dansathon 2021, a European dance-hackathon, inviting Creative Technologists, Dancers, Designers and Producers to explore a concept together over 3 days. This is where I met Livia Massarelli, our co-director. But many other brilliant minds contributed to the original concept through the 3-day event. The event took place towards the end of the pandemic. We were (and are still) surrounded by so much technology, giving the illusion of constant communication and connection, and we all wanted to explore ways to reconnect, human to human. Our original idea won the Grand Prize and we started from there.
Then the themes behind the 3 characters we have in the piece are very inspired by the own challenges of the creative team. We've poured our own stories into the piece as a starting point and we're all very much a mix of Becki, Adam and Faith. Additionally, we have also done some research with participants, through Age UK (focusing on loneliness) and Rambert School of Dance, supported by their resident psychologist Kio Tomiyama (focusing on perfectionism) to go into more depth on each of the topics. Our co-director Livia Massarelli is a certified wellbeing coach and has been instrumental in leading those conversations. Then this served as raw material for Emma Nuttall to develop and write each of the stories.
How do you approach bringing that vision to life?
It has been an interesting one to get over the finish line (even if it's an always evolving target!). With a lot of start and stop! Mainly due to funding challenges that are not catered to immersive and XR productions. The core team already had the skillset to picture that vision and understand what was needed to make it happen, especially from an artistic process in terms of understanding how to work between dance and technology. Each time we had an opportunity to progress the work, we organised a series of small R&Ds, with prototypes, even if a bit rough at first, and what we call "tech playgrounds" so that we could explore creatively in the rehearsal studio, with bodies in the space and the raw material. This allowed us to invite participants and run multitudes of playtesting sessions to get feedback on the work, mainly focusing on emotional impact.
It has been an interesting one to get over the finish line (even if it's an always evolving target!). With a lot of start and stop! Mainly due to funding challenges that are not catered to immersive and XR productions. The core team already had the skillset to picture that vision and understand what was needed to make it happen, especially from an artistic process in terms of understanding how to work between dance and technology. Each time we had an opportunity to progress the work, we organised a series of small R&Ds, with prototypes, even if a bit rough at first, and what we call "tech playgrounds" so that we could explore creatively in the rehearsal studio, with bodies in the space and the raw material. This allowed us to invite participants and run multitudes of playtesting sessions to get feedback on the work, mainly focusing on emotional impact.
How has the use of technology helped bring the show to life?
The technology in Where We Meet is at the core of the show mechanics and is instrumental to its concept. The main element being the spatial audio that gives the illusion of telepathy and how we track the audience to enable that. The general show mechanic came as an evidence for the themes we wanted to explore. We want to give access to what is behind the mask and give the feeling of entering someone's mind. And spatial audio was the perfect approach for that. Once we had built the interactive system it allowed us to work WITH the tech and truly make the show around its possibilities.
The technology in Where We Meet is at the core of the show mechanics and is instrumental to its concept. The main element being the spatial audio that gives the illusion of telepathy and how we track the audience to enable that. The general show mechanic came as an evidence for the themes we wanted to explore. We want to give access to what is behind the mask and give the feeling of entering someone's mind. And spatial audio was the perfect approach for that. Once we had built the interactive system it allowed us to work WITH the tech and truly make the show around its possibilities.
How did you settle on the technology that you are using?
The technology needed for Where We Meet was presenting new challenges and it took us a few R&D to get it right. Our first explorations focused on the tracking system. We needed to be able to track individual audience members, in the dark, and to know who's who so each person can receive personalised audio feed. Then we looked into several options for the audio from streaming to distributed devices.
The technology needed for Where We Meet was presenting new challenges and it took us a few R&D to get it right. Our first explorations focused on the tracking system. We needed to be able to track individual audience members, in the dark, and to know who's who so each person can receive personalised audio feed. Then we looked into several options for the audio from streaming to distributed devices.
Our first version was great, but relied so much on tech hire that we realised we could never tour the work. In 2024, we completely re-engineered the project by using technology we could own, so conversation with venues could be easier. We landed on an architecture leveraging consumer-facing XR technology (such as Vive Trackers) and the use of game engines to port our project onto low cost and second hand android devices! More on the tech development here: https://www.unwireddancetheatre.com/in-the-studio-blog/how-we-invented-telepathy
How do you view how technology is and will shape the future of theatre?
Using technology in a live performance context is still very much a big gamble. At the moment it's two separate worlds that don't cohabit very well. One being the robust, well know theatre tech world. The other being more creative tech or XR technologies that come more from a contemporary art context or consumer-facing market. But things are getting more accessible, people are up skilling and technology is getting more reliable and more powerful for real-time needs and systems are more interoperable. For example, it is now easy to use QLab to trigger something happening in Unity, opening the door for shows that want to mix VR and in-venue lighting.
Using technology in a live performance context is still very much a big gamble. At the moment it's two separate worlds that don't cohabit very well. One being the robust, well know theatre tech world. The other being more creative tech or XR technologies that come more from a contemporary art context or consumer-facing market. But things are getting more accessible, people are up skilling and technology is getting more reliable and more powerful for real-time needs and systems are more interoperable. For example, it is now easy to use QLab to trigger something happening in Unity, opening the door for shows that want to mix VR and in-venue lighting.
In the future, I see two trends happening in parallel. I can (already) see Virtual Production techniques being used for large productions in traditional theatre setups for special effects for example. On the other end, new formats will emerge, more towards immersive theatre or playable experiences, and this can reach new audiences and explore new forms of storytelling. At Unwired, we're certainly more excited about the later!
The audience can either become an active participant or can sit an observe, how do you shape an experience so both parties find similar enjoyment from the show?
The two type of experiences cater to difference needs and preferences. We originally designed the show for active participants. This is great for someone who enjoys being part of the action, make decisions, interact with others and physically engage with the work. But we quickly realised that certain audience members might find this challenging. Either from a sensory point of view, mobility challenges or just because they like more passive experiences. So we designed a version that runs on tablets where the audience can still engage with the stories of the three characters. We also wanted to keep the "choose your own adventure" element of the work. So audiences are presented with a top down view and can virtually move themselves in the space with their finger and decide which character to engage with, making the performance unique to them.
The two type of experiences cater to difference needs and preferences. We originally designed the show for active participants. This is great for someone who enjoys being part of the action, make decisions, interact with others and physically engage with the work. But we quickly realised that certain audience members might find this challenging. Either from a sensory point of view, mobility challenges or just because they like more passive experiences. So we designed a version that runs on tablets where the audience can still engage with the stories of the three characters. We also wanted to keep the "choose your own adventure" element of the work. So audiences are presented with a top down view and can virtually move themselves in the space with their finger and decide which character to engage with, making the performance unique to them.
Where did your arts career begin?
I have a bit of a weird background... I started dancing since I was 4 years-old. And I trained while studied to be an Engineer. This led me to be a UX designer and digital consultant as a day job for many years while performing as a dancer in my spare time, and also making work with collaborators when I could. I created my first dance company in 2011 called the Atelier du Lampadaire (The Streetlight Workshop in French), which was setup as a collective of artists who were interested in making interactive performances between dance and technology. Fast tracking to 2018, I decided to give more space to my art practice and left my day job to become a full-time artist. Went back to school to do an MA in Computational Arts at Goldsmiths University in order to acquire new technical skills for myself so I could apply them to my dance practice. And then built-up my current art practice from there.
I have a bit of a weird background... I started dancing since I was 4 years-old. And I trained while studied to be an Engineer. This led me to be a UX designer and digital consultant as a day job for many years while performing as a dancer in my spare time, and also making work with collaborators when I could. I created my first dance company in 2011 called the Atelier du Lampadaire (The Streetlight Workshop in French), which was setup as a collective of artists who were interested in making interactive performances between dance and technology. Fast tracking to 2018, I decided to give more space to my art practice and left my day job to become a full-time artist. Went back to school to do an MA in Computational Arts at Goldsmiths University in order to acquire new technical skills for myself so I could apply them to my dance practice. And then built-up my current art practice from there.
How do you reflect on your career to date?
After a few years of battling with imposter syndrome, I wouldn't change much to be honest. I always find it difficult to justify where I have built my career from as some people might judge the school or type of formal training I had or the fact that I was working in a more corporate setup for years, etc. But I actually thing that the diversity of my background is what makes my profile unique and what allows me to design crazy multi-modal and immersive experiences. My dance background helps me understand digital embodiment and how people move in the space. My creative technology skills allow me to make work with the tech directly and understand how it affects the experience for audiences. And my UX background makes me strong on usability considerations and the importance of user testing, as well as designed participatory experiences.
After a few years of battling with imposter syndrome, I wouldn't change much to be honest. I always find it difficult to justify where I have built my career from as some people might judge the school or type of formal training I had or the fact that I was working in a more corporate setup for years, etc. But I actually thing that the diversity of my background is what makes my profile unique and what allows me to design crazy multi-modal and immersive experiences. My dance background helps me understand digital embodiment and how people move in the space. My creative technology skills allow me to make work with the tech directly and understand how it affects the experience for audiences. And my UX background makes me strong on usability considerations and the importance of user testing, as well as designed participatory experiences.
What was the first piece of theatre you saw that had a big impact on you?
Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake in 1996 when I visited London for the first time with my parents. I was young and already dancing. Changed my perspective on dance forever.
Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake in 1996 when I visited London for the first time with my parents. I was young and already dancing. Changed my perspective on dance forever.
What keeps you inspired?
Mainly the people I interact with and their own stories. But also enjoying and celebrating other people's work. I go to exhibitions a lot, see a lot of shows, read a lot of books, etc.
Mainly the people I interact with and their own stories. But also enjoying and celebrating other people's work. I go to exhibitions a lot, see a lot of shows, read a lot of books, etc.
I would also say that my students inspire me a lot. I am now a lecturer at Goldsmiths University. I teach modules around Motion Capture Techniques and another one on Immersive Theatre. Seeing how they look at the world and what type of work they are excited about is really inspiring.
What do you hope an audience member takes away from seeing Where We Meet?
We want audiences to leave the space having found a renewed joy for reconnecting with others. And feeling that sharing more about our vulnerabilities is what can help us empathise and relate to others. We also believe that the technology we use every day can give us this constant illusion of being connected but to truly connect with someone it requires active engagement.
We want audiences to leave the space having found a renewed joy for reconnecting with others. And feeling that sharing more about our vulnerabilities is what can help us empathise and relate to others. We also believe that the technology we use every day can give us this constant illusion of being connected but to truly connect with someone it requires active engagement.
Where can audiences see the show?
From the 28th of February to the 2nd of March at The Cockpit Theatre.
From the 28th of February to the 2nd of March at The Cockpit Theatre.
We have 16 performances throughout the 3 days but with limited capacity each, so highly recommend booking early! https://www.thecockpit.org.uk/show/where_we_meet
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