Volunteers needed for Virtual Drama project... PhD research
Wed, 28 Nov 2007, 09:30 pmkimbowa2 posts in thread
Volunteers needed for Virtual Drama project... PhD research
Wed, 28 Nov 2007, 09:30 pmI’ve been trying to drum up volunteers for weeks– and now its getting desperate - I need to run an instance of my Process Drama this week. I cannot run the sessions without adequate numbers - ideally 15-20 but I can probably squeeze something useful from 10.
I was hoping it to be one evening. Here are the options.
Wednesday 19:00 - 21:00 WDT (That's Perth daylight savings time)
QLD 20:00 - 22:00,
NSW/VIC 21:00 - 23:00,
SA 20:30 - 22:30,
SECOND LIFE 02:00 - 04:00,
GMT/UCT 09:00 - 11:00
Or
Thursday 19:00 - 21:00 WDT (That's Perth daylight savings time)
QLD 20:00 - 22:00,
NSW/VIC 21:00 - 23:00,
SA 20:30 - 22:30,
SECOND LIFE 2:00 - 4:00,
GMT/UCT 09:00 - 11:00
I will keep offering these sessions over coming weeks until we can successfully implement the proof of conceot phase of the project. This is a data gathering exercise for me buyt may offer some insights into new performance modalities.
READ ON if you are free those times…
Well, the online Process Drama I’ve been developing is well and truly ready to go. I’ve been trying for a while to drum up a group of interested volunteers to participate in the project. You can read about the successes we’ve been having with bringing Drama to virtual world – Teaching on The Second Life Stage.
Graduating students at Edith Cowan have had the opportunity to explore some of the potential of bringing together Educational Drama and 3D Multi User Virtual Worlds. They’ve also been introduced to the rationale of my research project Drama Teacher as Games Master: developing digital games-based process drama as performance. I’m hoping that there will be a lot of interest from my drama teaching colleagues – as we saw in Hong Kong at IDEA2007 the connection between Drama and Technology is no longer an imponderable – it is imperative to the future growth of our discipline.
Unlike many research projects that simply require delivery of a survey, this project is a bit more complicated. We all know Drama is a social activity – it’s no different when it comes to virtual spaces!
Think of trying to organise a dinner party with 20 guests.. the first hurdle is trying to find a mutually convenient time. Being a drama activity I need 15-20 people at the same time and in this case in the same virtual space.
Further, my volunteers all need to be able to do the basics of movement, communication, modifying appearance and object interaction inside Second Life.
You’ll need to sign a consent form and give me permission to make and use recordings and transcripts of the activities - the rest of the time you get to explore the possibilities of role playing as a way of exploring ideas.
And finally they need to be able to stay around for the entire 2-3 hours of the exercise.
The drama will explore issues relating to governance and regulation of internet and technology use.
The drama to be played out upon Godot begins with the following (FICTIONAL) scenario…
A resident in Lost City is closely related to one of the organisers of an inworld funeral in the World of Warcraft. The funeral was planned as homage to a lost friend and an opportunity to make a memorial video for the grieving family.
The person who died was real, and an avid player of WoW. She was young and enjoyed a rich and varied social life that included her online community of friends in WoW. Those friends thought that a memorial service held inworld would allow those geographically distant friends to have an opportunity to bid her farewell in an environment that they all shared.
The details of the service were advertised through the forum for the WoW server they used. However, other people also read the notices and formulated a different plan for the day.
This video was released after the event. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHJVolaC8pw (Mature Content warning)
The Lost City resident has since established a lobby group called PLATO (People Lobbying for Technological Ordinance) as a response to her feelings about what transpired.
Since that time the PLATO group has grown and there is currently a proposition for a new council by-law that is likely to affect all users of internet and other digital networks.
PLATO have invested a lot of time and resources into identifying examples of internet usage that they see as a threat to community standards. The group is currently very proactive in applying pressure to the members of local government in relation to the proposed change in the law.
Recently a grassroots opposition to the proposal has begun to emerge. RASCL (Regional Association for Social and Civil Liberties) has established a small office in the shopping precinct of the Lost City community and has begun promoting a No vote in the forthcoming referendum. RASCL’s arguments include the assertion that such a law will adversely impact upon the democratic nature of the internet and will have dire consequences in relation to education, social action, and privacy.
Interestingly, Lost City has established a reputation in marketing circles as a community whose attitudes closely match statistical data on a national scale. As such, there is a strong media interest in the developments on Godot (the original name of the island community) as rumblings about internet governance begin to emerge on the mainland.
Participant Instructions
You will receive an email from me with these instructions. It is important that you have followed all the steps and are ready to participate in the drama.
1. Read over the brief character outline I send you.
2. Think about the backstory for this character – invent some relevant details that will help round out the character and individualise them.
3. Go into Second Life and modify your character’s appearance.
a. If you have a favourite look for you character go to Appearance – Save as an Outfit (and give the outfit a name such as JohnAvatar-Original).
b. You can then modify your avatar to a more appropriate look for the drama – think about clothes, age, physical appearance, accessories, etc.
c. I have provided a collection of free items on the second floor of the skybox above Godot. To get there, look for the Discussion Zone pads peppered around the island and teleport to the skybox. This area will also be our out-of-role meeting place.
4. Modify your avatar’s profile description with something that is more suited to their new role. (you can save the content of your old description by cutting and pasting it into your profile Notes tab).
5. You may, if you wish, explore Godot Island to familiarise yourself with its layout and the various locations that exist. You will find that there are several places that will direct you to information that relates to the roleplay scenario. Most of the guidelines for the roleplay are embedded in the space.
6. During the roleplay you will need to
a. identify your character’s position on the current legislative proposal;
b. locate allies and discuss the situation;
c. develop a knowledge of evidence to support your position in any arguments and debates that arise;
d. decide upon representatives to be interviewed for a fictional TV show;
e. attend rallies;
f. attempt to sway opinion towards your position;
g. conduct interviews;
h. return to the skybox occasionally for out-of-role reflections on the progress of the drama;
i. cast a vote in a referendum.
If this sounds as though it might interest you - please contact me directly - or join the DEISL group in Facebook or in Second Life.
ALSO – when is the best time for you to fully engage?
k.flintoff@qut.edu.au or k.flintoff@ecu.edu.au
You can find more at the Facebook group or via my blog at http://www.dramanite.com
Cheers and thanks in anticipation.
Kim Flintoff B.A., Grad. Dip. Ed., M.Ed.PhD Candidate
QUT Creative Industries: Performance Studies
Sessional Lecturer/Tutor/University Colleague
ECU School of Education and Arts: Contemporary Performance / Drama Education
---------------------------
mobile/sms: +61 0403 530726
landline/vmb: +61 08 9444 3893
email: k.flintoff@qut.edu.au or k.flintoff@ecu.edu.au
skype: kimbowa
Blog: http://dramanite.com
Employment Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kimflintoff
Second Life avatar: Kim Pasternak
Second Life home: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Godot
Group Owner: Drama Educators in Second Life (DEISL)
project egroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/onlinedrama/
Live Space: http://l224.spaces.live.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/kimboaus
MySpace Group - Australian SecondLifers: http://groups.myspace.com/ausslers
Facebook: http://profile.to/Kim/
CREATEC Profile: http://createc.ea.ecu.edu.au/researchers/profile.php?researcher=ksflinto
Professional Associations: International Games Developers Association - IGDA (Perth),
Association of Internet Researchers - AoIR,
Association of Drama Educators WA - DramaWest,
Western Australian College of Teaching - WACOT,
Australian Network for Arts ands Technology -ANAT
“I believe that education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.”
John Dewey
“We have to think of ways to use games not just to escape reality but to re-engage with reality.”
Henry Jenkins