Best Festival Ever: How To Manage A Disaster is an interactive theatre performance based on Systems Science that takes place around a table.As human beings, we are surrounded by and embedded within systems, both natural, such as climate and the ecosystem, and human-made, such as the economy or even society as a whole.Many of the significant issues facing us today emerge from the interplay between these two kinds of system. Our decision-making and management systems are frequently based on mechanistic and simplistic representations of the world.Over the last two decades, scientists in the field of Systems Science have gained a new understanding of these issues, creating a toolkit of vital concepts for understanding and grappling with real-world complexity.This project brings these ideas from Systems Science to life in a unique theatrical presentation.Part theatre show, part performance lecture and part board game, Best Festival Ever introduces participants to concepts from systems science, using the example of a music festival. 10-25 audience members are seated around a table and placed in charge of a new festival.Through a variety of interactive games, the audience works together to program and deliver their own unique music festival. Over 60 minutes, they move from planning to execution, doing their best to keep the festival and its audience from collapsing into chaos.Responding to the rapidly escalating challenges of the situation requires cooperation, creativity and communication. Designed for conferences, meeting rooms, corporate training and theatres, Best Festival Ever offers a fun, engaging and creative way to introduce audiences to the insights and ideas from Systems science.
WHAT IS SYSTEMS SCIENCE?Systems science is an interdisciplinary field that studies the complex systems that exist in nature and society. It is a way of analyzing the dynamics of our world by looking at it as a whole rather than separating it into parts. Systems science concentrates as much on the links and interactions between things as it does on the things themselves. Best Festival Ever uses the example of a music festival to introduce audiences to a variety of concepts from systems sciences, including:
- Complex Adaptive Systems - How complex systems from the economy to natural ecosystems-or music festivals-have their own behaviours and properties including the ability to spontaneously self-organize and adapt;
- Interconnectivity - How the different parts of a system are interconnected, and how those links can often operate in surprising and unexpected ways;
- Feedback Loops - The idea that links can form feedback loops –some parts of the system feed into other parts which feed back again, and so on, and how those loops can sometimes get out of hand;
- Tipping Points - How a system can reach a threshold and then suddenly and unexpectedly undergo a rapid transformation into something that looks and behaves very differently;
- Resilience - How some systems can absorb shocks and retain their functioning, while others can suddenly collapse or transform - what is it that makes a system fragile or robust, and what does it mean to be resilient?
- Stakeholders - That a complex system involves different stakeholders who want and value different things and those different priorities need to be kept in balance to keep the system flourishing.
- Trade-offs - Managing a system is all about trade-offs and compromises –squeezing the most out of one part of the system will inevitably involve making sacrifices somewhere else;
- Scales - How complex adaptive systems work on a range of space and time scales – and how dealing with a problem or understanding an issue is often a matter of viewing it at the right scale.
The work draws heavily on our work with climate scientists at the UCL Environment Institute where this work was developed, so underpinning all these elements is a strong focus on the interaction between human systems and natural ecosystems, and in land use management and environmental impacts.
ABOUT THE ARTISTSBoho Interactive is a science-theatre ensemble from Canberra, Australia. Boho produces interactive performances based on sciences including Game Theory, Complex Systems science and Network Theory, working in collaboration with research scientists from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisaton and University College London.Since 2006, Boho has presented work for the Asia- Pacific Complex Systems Science Conference, Battersea Arts Centre, the Brisbane Festival ‘Under The Radar’, the Powerhouse Museum, the ACT Street Theatre and the Manning Clark House Cultural Centre. Boho is represented here by David Finnigan and David Shaw.For this project, Boho is joined by members of Sydney collective, Applespiel. Active since 2009, Applespiel have developed work for Performance Space, Next Wave Festival, PACT Centre For Emerging Artists and Crack Theatre Festival. Applespiel is represented here by Nathan Harrison, Nikki Kennedy and Rachel Roberts.PERFORMANCE HISTORYBest Festival Ever was developed in 2011-13 through residencies at the University College London Environment Institute, the Battersea Arts Centre and Arts House.This work has been supported by UK theatre company Coney, University College London, Environment Institute, Tipping Point, Battersea Arts Centre, NEDNet Foundation, Arts House and Australia Council for the Arts.SPONSOR BENEFITSWe are seeking support to undertake the final development of Best Festival Ever. Working with UK artists Tassos Stevens and Gary Campbell, we need funds to create the final touring set for the show. We are seeking partners to work with us to make this show possible, and who would value the opportunity to see this work presented at their organisation.We are happy to discuss with you any form of support that you may be able to provide. Our basic offers are as follows:$5,000
- One performance of the work for your organisation at a time and place to be negotiated;
- Acknowledgment of support on website and in all press and marketing materials.
$10,000
- In-game signage as part of the show, a tent for your organisation as part of the tabletop music festival;
- Two performances of the work for your organisation at times and places to be negotiated;
- Acknowledgment of support on website and in all press and marketing materials.
$25,000
- The artists will create a systems description of your organisation and create a unique, one-off tabletop game based on your company;
- A mention of your organisation in the script of the show;
- A banner for your organisation above the stage in the tabletop music festival
- Four performances of the work at times and places to be negotiated;
- Acknowledgment of support on website and in all press and marketing materials.
Image by Adam Thomas
Image by Adam Thomas
So we're now one week out from opening, and I dropped into the laboratory / performance space to have a look at the bump-in. Jack, Mick and designer Gillian Schwab were working away, and everything is coming together in a sort of terrifying order. Looking around at the extraordinary array of equipment, I thought it'd be a good idea to have a chat about how all this stuff works in practice - what are all the different parts of the Word Play machine and how do they fit together?1. Performers are filmedFirst of all, the audience are in one space (the CSIRO Discovery lecture theatre) and the performers are next door to NASA in the Yarralumla Forestry Labs, performing live on camera. The show uses about eight cameras - action-cams mounted on performers, security cameras that operate over a network, more traditional handicams. As well as that there's an array of prerecorded video and information slides.2. Video is mixed and streamed to the internetAll of these video sources are brought into a controller computer in the Yarralumla labs and director Marisa Martin (with the assistance of an operator) decides which camera is sent through to the live feed and when. There are a selection of visual overlays (maps, diagrams and so forth) which are added to the vision at certain points. Throughout the show, Marisa is live video-mixing (literally calling the shots) based on what's been rehearsed, with some room for improvisation.
3. Video footage is received and audio overlaidIn the biobox of the Discovery lecture theatre where the audience, Jack and Mick receiving the feed from the Yarralumla space over the internet. (This is a nice touch as it means that the show can technically be linked in to from anywhere in the world.) At this point, Mick is mixing the sound effects and his original score into the feed. Jack is in charge of synching up the instructions for the audience, which appear on a second projector screen in the theatre, as well as appearing on the audience's phone app. These intructions inform the audience how and when to interact with the performance.4. Audience interact via phonesThe audience send SMSes using their phones OR they use the purpose-built app (which you can download upon arrival at the show) to enter different kinds of input: text questions, votes and sometimes a joystick controller.5. Audience input transmitted to DirectorMarisa receives the audience input on a separate controller computer which collates the votes automatically. She can choose from the different submitted questions and select which to pass on to the actors and when.6. Director communicates with performersMarisa calls through the instructions to the actors, who are each fitted with a radio receiver and earpiece.7. Performers respondThe actors have rehearsed a wide variety of scenarios responding to different audience decisions. Sometimes, though, the audience will give them something totally unexpected and they'll be improvising something new.
For anyone who skipped to the end of all that, the short summary is: There's a lot going on in this show. Now come along and 
David: Why did you decide to go with smartphone interactivity for this show?Jack: Everyone has a phone. It's an interactive device that's hugely powerful, that everyone knows how to use, and that fit really nicely within the world of the play.Mick: The whole show is operable by SMS, with the intention that the play is accessible to as many people as possible, regardless of the handset they own.Jack: But we have a good relationship with a local iOS developer, 
David: What impact does this have on the characters and the show?Jack: We use interactivity to give an audience the opportunity to explore the work from the direction that they're interested in. They can ask us things directly about the world we're presenting, or vote to hear about one thing or another, or even pilot actors around the space. This is hopefully all part of a richer experience for the audience - it adds a liveness and an immediacy to the performance when you know that what the character does next is wholly dependent on your input.David: How do you think this will feel for the audience?Mick: Hopefully it's an intuitive experience for them. It's an unusual format to view a show in, to be sitting in one place and to see it all unfold on the screen, performed in a totally different building, but the interactivity with the audience is crucial - it's really the difference between a live performance and what may as well be prerecorded film. The interactivity makes it theatre again.Jack: I think that when the audience are all huddled together in the darkened theatre, sitting amongst a sea of bottom-lit faces and doing what they can to keep our characters alive, I reckon it's going to feel pretty damn special.Where: CSIRO Discovery Centre, Clunies Ross street, ActonWhen: 7:30pm Wednesday – Saturday 15-18 May, 22-25 May, 29 May-1 JuneTickets: $20 – 
Boho Interactive has been creating interactive theatre since 2006, but the company's new show brings a whole new element into the picture. Word Play is a 'live cinema' experience, which means that the show is performed live in one location and streamed via high-speed video broadband to the audience, in a totally different location.This is not just an exercise in videoconferencing, however. Rather than a static shot of three performers in a room performing to a fixed camera, the show is more like a movie which is being performed, filmed, edited and screened in realtime. The actors will switch between performing and filming, and the vision will switch between a huge array of cameras as the performance moves through a series of disused CSIRO laboratories.Add to that the fact that the audience will be interacting live with the performers via mobile phone, asking questions, making decisions and in some instances directly controlling the performers in live video-game sequences, and the result is a genuine hybrid of film, theatre and video gaming.A 'live cinema' work demands a very different approach to making a work of theatre, and so Boho is excited to welcome filmmaker 
I asked Marisa a few questions about her previous work, and about the challenges of creating a live interactive film experience.David: Word Play is the story of a disease that infects language and ideas, and the consequences of a widespread outbreak. I believe you've touched on similar themes in some of your previous work?Marisa: That's right - One If By Will was a short film I made in 2006 set in a post-apocalyptic society where people were afraid to communicate with one another. It asked the question 'What happens when people stop talking?' Within that world it was the story of a couple, and how quickly relationships erode, dissolve and disintegrate when communication breaks down.David: What are the biggest differences in creating a work on screen versus live on a stage?Marisa: One difference is that in theatre there's a much stronger focus on actors, whereas in film I find the focus is much more on the production team. In theatre it comes down to the actors on stage to make it work - they can't just say 'can we do that again?' In film there's a greater focus on the camera and the design. With Word Play, both of those elements are critical and pretty inseparable.One thing that film can do that theatre can't is to invite the audience to focus on particular things, because we can use the camera to direct what the audience sees. In the theatre it's always a wide shot. With Word Play I'm going to mix up the vision - we'll use wide shots, mid-shots, close-ups, point-of-view shots.It also means that we'll be able to play on nuance much more - when the performer's face is as big as the screen, you can do more with less.David: How will the performers respond to the questions, decisions and instructions made by the audience?Marisa: A lot of that will be filtered through me so that's something different to film and TV again because I will be in their ear. I can tell them to tone it down, to move their head because the camera's not in the right spot. It's going to be a different challenge for them. And the second half of the play is going to be nuts - the show becomes a survival horror game.For me it will be like live TV. For them it will be like a mixture of theatre and film-making. For the audience it will be the most unusual experience ever. It will be the unique.Where: CSIRO Discovery Centre, Clunies Ross street, ActonWhen: 7:30pm Wednesday – Saturday 15-18 May, 22-25 May, 29 May-1 JuneTickets: $20 – 
