LEVEL UP is a four week symposium of live video conference sessions that will connect theatre artists of diverse disciplines to engage in meaningful collaboration and conversation on how digital tools and resources can augment live performance, and help artists present their work within a reality of COVID-19 restrictions (and beyond).
Hosted by The Associated Designers of Canada, this symposium consists of a series of presentations and moderated discussions between presenters and attendees which will actively bring together collaborators from across the country in an online platform that is safe and without risk, an absolute necessity for the success of our Canadian performing arts ecology at this time. With the insight of leading industry experts and attendees like you we will deepen our community’s understanding of how visual design, interactive technology, social media, and online broadcasting tools can support live storytelling and will provide a platform to establish flexibility and allow stalled projects to pivot into suitable formats for the current COVID-19 era (and beyond).
When: January 18th, 2021 to February 15th, 2021
Event website: levelup.designers.ca
Cost: All events are free to attend!
Sign up for sessions: levelup.designers.ca/schedule
Presentations and discussions will be presented in the following formats:
Past Production Presentations
By creating opportunities for attendees to learn from the successes of past productions and the existing technologies used, we will help theatre makers internalize a wider sense of possibility in terms of applying digital tools to their current and future work.
Critical Conversations
Adding critical conversations as a key component of the Symposium will make room for a spirit of reinvention, and reinvigorate our community’s understanding. This will open a pathway to new opportunities of theatrical practice through strategic thinking.
Live Design Experiments
Finally, an experiment component followed by peer based analysis will allow us to try out possible artistic hypotheses and discover what can and cannot work in an environment designed for creative risk taking. Focusing on what can be achieved ‘long distance’ with collaborators, presenters, and attendees all connecting remotely through video conference will make this Symposium an effective environment in which to explore the ways in which accessible technology can become a vehicle for creating contemporary performance, while also presenting in depth on the most cutting edge technological advancements to inspire and enlighten our attendees to possibilities for theatre making, and connecting with audiences in a way that is safe and remains impactful.
Outcomes
COVID-19 has displaced our live performances from stages and public venues to homes and onto computer screens. As a result our entire sector is in crisis. The issues at hand are nothing short of a near-complete halt in theatre production and theatre creation opportunities nationwide. While daunting, this also creates an enormous opportunity for us as live performance artists and makers to invest in our personal and professional digital literacy and capacity for digital production.
This Symposium is a sorely needed opportunity for artists in our community (like you!) to learn from those with existing knowledge and experience working with digital tools and techniques to glean their wisdom and contribute to an expanded digital literacy across disciplines and generations.
