• Section 1: Design for Virtual Performance

• Section 2: Design for Real Life through Virtual Planning

• Section 3: Design for Entirely Virtual Environments

SECTION 1: DESIGN FOR VIRTUAL PERFORMANCE

ARCHIDANCE - BALLET PIXELLE 2011 - Ballet Pixelle is considered to be the first virtual dance company in history. In 2012 it reached its 6th anniversary. The company and dancers come into the virtual world to perform from about 8 different countries including Estonia, Bahrain, Japan, Canada, USA, Spain, Portugal. In may ways the process of preparation for production is the same as in real life though when I mentioned this observation to company founder and Artistic Director, Inarra Saaren, her response was: "Yes but in real life I have never had to give a note to a dancer to 'hover a bit higher' ".  The modern dance piece depicted in these first few images traces the development of dance in its form (like architecture) through the ages. It is a 3-act dance. Much of the design and choreography in the work is in homage to the work of Rudolf Laban.  

WINDOWS - BALLET PIXELLE - 2012 - This production was a revival with all new scenery, of a virtual dance piece that had its debut in the early days of the company. The modern ballet is in three acts, each telling an un-related story involving the human condition.

Section 2: Design for Real-Life using the Virtual Reality  
of Second Life

For decades, literally, I have been designing scenery aided by computers and 3-D visualization. While this has afforded some interactivity, this is at a primitive level where one sits with a director and manipulate an image on a flat computer screen.  One remarkable difference in Second Life is that through the use of avitars, it is possible for the director to come INSIDE the visualization to interact in a more meaningful way with the proposed environment. My experiment was to apply the skills I learned in designing for virtual performance to my work in real-life stage design. Below are examples from the two productions that I have designed in this manner: Our Country's Good, and A Servant of Two Masters. Both productions have their own pages on this website if you would like to learn more. The first images depicted here though, are of the virtual recreation of the real-life venue, the new Forbes Center for the Performing Arts at James Madison University.

Section 3: Virtual Design for Virtual Worlds

Outside of my stage design work, I am now a Master Builder in the virtual world of Second Life. In addition to creating architectural builds in the virtual arena, I also operate two shops where my furnishings and design elements are for sale. Additionally I use Second Life now extensively as a teaching environment.  Below are a few images from my shops along with some examples of my virtual builds.

A few samplings of furnishings that I manufacture and sell in my Second Life stores. Half of my furnishings are totally original, while other items are derived from historical example.