Figments

Figments is an original, experimental performance commissioned for the 2013 inaugural The Other Festival, a showcase and celebration of the arts and design at the MIT Media Lab. This theatrical event tells a story inspired by a variety of source texts including Dante Alighieri’s prosimetrum La Vita Nuova. Framed by a woman's accidental discovery of the compelling journals of the Dante-archetype, three inner vignettes reveal the timeless tribulations of the memoir's author(s).

Figments was created using Media Scores, a framework developed to facilitate the composition of Gesamtkunstwerk using parametric score-like visual notation. The Media Score for Figments is realized in this production through the performance of actors, light, visuals, and the generation of musical accompaniment in response to the expressive qualities represented in the score. The score served as a reference during the creation and design of the piece, a guide during rehearsals, and as show control for the final production.