workshops
Troika Ranch offers a wide-array of workshop experiences. Some are designed as residency activities linked to our performances, others as standalone events that allow us to share our broad experience as creators of interactive performance. If you are interested in bringing us to your institition to teach a workshop, please contact us.
TROIKA RANCH LIVE-I WORKSHOP
Composition for Media and The Stage
Two Week Intensive
Dates: Mon - Sat, June 13 - 17 and Mon - Thur, June 20 - 23
Hours: 10a-4p dailyZoomtopia / the mOuth studio, 810 SE Belmont St. Portland, OR 97214
Fee: $1,000
Applications due to Troika Ranch by 13 May, 2011
(For information on Portland housing, transportation and more, click here.)
GENERAL INFORMATION
Troika Ranch's Live-I Workshop is an intensive session that explores the creative potential of computers and related digital technology. Workshop topics range from practical lessons on working with software and hardware, to theoretical forays into algorithmic thinking as it can influence live mediums.
Each day, Troika Ranch Co-Founders Mark Coniglio and Dawn Stoppiello will introduce a new compositional problem revolving around the integration of media and live performance, discuss various strategies and approaches towards the problem, and, send the students off to creatively address that problem through the creation of a short study.
Topics to be covered include:
* Effectively integrating live performers and video imagery on stage
* Using live video/audio feeds to amplify or re-contextualize the performer, and the themes
* Applying notions of film grammar to on-stage imagery
* The use of reactive/interactive systems as an intensifier of liveness
* Considering alternative projection surfaces and/or materials
* Using computer systems to disturb and inform the creation of live mediums
Throughout the workshop, students will be introduced to Isadora¨ -- the user-friendly, real-time media manipulation tool created by Mark Coniglio. Instead of an exhaustive approach, the focus will be on introducing key features that allow the students to address the compositional problem at hand. In so doing, the students will leave with a basic, solid knowledge of the software that can be put into practice immediately.
Troika Ranch Co-Founders Mark Coniglio and Dawn Stoppiello taught their Live-I Workshop annually in NYC from 1999 - 2009. Starting in 2010, Portland, Orgeon became the location for these annual workshops. Using technological tools and techniques developed by Troika Ranch over the past 20 years, the participants learn to use their movements and vocalizations to interactively control computer based media, such as sound synthesizers, video playback devices and theatrical lighting in a performance or installation setting.
Isadora¨ is being used by hundreds of artists worldwide including the Royal Shakespeare Company, Mort Subotnick, Rosemary Lee, Three Legged Dog, Christopher Kondek, Maya Ciarrocchi (for Bebe Miller and Merce Cunningham), VJ Solu, Lingo Dance Theater, Gretchen Schiller, Hans Tutschku and others.
Application Procedure
Applications due by 13 May, 2011 (please do not apply before April 1, 2011).
Send applications to info [at] troikaranch [dot] org
NOTE: If we do not receive at least ten applications then we may choose to cancel this workshop and would do so by May 27, 2011.
Include one paragraph explaining why you are interested in attending the workshop and one paragraph describing the kind of work that you make. You should also briefly tell us about your level of expertise with computers, and whether or not you will be able to bring your own laptop and/or digital video camera. Please include your name, address, telephone number and email address.
Applicants must have a basic understanding of using a computer, i.e., opening and saving files, copying and pasting information, basic navigational skills, etc. Applicants must also have gone through the Isadora Tutorials 1-6 before the workshop begins.
A Note About the Selection Process: Please know that, beyond your application information, an important factor in choosing the participants is how the group fits together as a whole. When the skills of those participating vary too widely, it means that someone ends up either bored or overwhelmed. So please understand that if you are not chosen it is not a reflection on your abilities or your skills as an artist.
Required Equipment
Computers: We generally require that you bring your own Mac or PC laptop. (See the hardware requirements below.) We have a limited number of computers for use by the workshop participants; if you need a computer please let us know in advance. Those bringing their own computers may be required to share with another participant.
Macintosh Requirements: Intel based computer with a bus speed of 1.8 Ghz and 2.0 GB of RAM; Mac OS X 10.4.0 or greater; QuickTime 7.0 or greater must be installed. (G4/G5 computers will work, but they do not perform nearly as well as the Intel machines.)
Windows Requirements: Intel based computer with a bus speed of 1.8 Ghz and 2.0 GB of RAM; Windows 7, Vista or XP; QuickTime 7.0 or greater must be installed.
Video Camera: Some means of capturing live video is required. The best option is a Digital Video (DV) camera with a FireWire output. (Make sure you have the required cable to connect it to your computer.) A second option is to purchase a composite video-to-USB adapter like the Daystar Technology XLR8 Interview (Mac) or the Pinnacle Dazzle DVC-100 (Windows). A third option is to use a web cam, either an external USB model or the one that is built-in to your laptop; this latter option offers the least flexibility however.
Microphone: For those whose computers do not have an integrated internal microphone, an external microphone compatible with the microphone input of your computer is also recommended.
Sensory Systems: Users may also bring MIDI input devices or other sensory systems if they have prior skill in connecting and using those systems with their computer. Isadora can receive input from MIDI and Serial devices as well as software that supports the Open Sound Control (OSC) protocol.