Peter A Torpey | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (original) (raw)

Papers by Peter A Torpey

International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, 2012

The opera Death and the Powers by Tod Machover tells the story of a man, Simon Powers, who evades... more The opera Death and the Powers by Tod Machover tells the story of a man, Simon Powers, who evades death by transferring his essence into his environment as his corporeal body dies. To realize the effect of the theatrical environment coming alive as the main character, the Opera of the Future research group at the MIT Media Lab developed new technologies and control systems for interactive robotics, sound and visuals in live theatre. A core component of this work is the technique of Disembodied Performance, a method and associated technological infrastructure that translates the live performance of the offstage opera singer into multimodal representations onstage. The author was principally responsible for the control architecture and Disembodied Performance software implementation, as well as the design of the visual language used to represent Simon Powers. These digitally enabled elements were created in order to support the story of the opera and facilitate the process of crafting and rehearsing the staged experience. This article reflects on the dialogue between the design of the technological systems in conjunction with the development of the story and scenography of the opera. Several design principles are presented for the role of new technologies in digital opera and music-driven performance contexts that arose during the course of this work. The discussed methods of cuing, authoring, organizing and collaborating suggest an approach for scoring the multimedia elements of digitally augmented stagecraft.

In composer Tod Machover's new opera Death and the Powers, the main character uploads his conscio... more In composer Tod Machover's new opera Death and the Powers, the main character uploads his consciousness into an elaborate computer system to preserve his essence and agency after his corporeal death. Consequently, for much of the opera, the stage and the environment itself come alive as the main character. This creative need brings with it a host of technical challenges and opportunities. In order to satisfy the needs of this storyline, Machover's Opera of the Future group at the MIT Media Lab has developed a suite of new performance technologies, including robot characters, interactive performance capture systems, mapping systems for authoring interactive multimedia performances, new musical instruments, unique spatialized sound controls, and a unified control system for all these technological components. While developed for a particular theatrical production, many of the concepts and design procedures remain relevant to broader contexts including performance, robotics, and interaction design.

The live global interactive simulcast of the final February 2014 performance of Death and the Pow... more The live global interactive simulcast of the final February 2014 performance of Death and the Powers in Dallas, Texas made innovative use of satellite broadcast and Internet technologies to expand the boundaries of second-screen experiences and interactivity during a live remote performance. In the opera, the character of Simon Powers uploads his mind, memories, and emotions into The System, represented onstage through reactive robotic, visual, and sonic elements. Remote audiences, via simulcast, were treated as part of The System alongside Powers and the robots. Audiences had an omniscient view of the action of the opera, as presented through surround sound and augmented, multi-camera video. Multimedia content delivered to mobile devices, through the Powers Live app, privileged remote audiences with perspectives from within The System. Mobile devices also allowed audiences to influence The System by affecting the illumination of the Winspear Opera House’s Moody Foundation Chandelier.

Media Scores provide a theoretical and technical means to orchestrate multiple modalities in the ... more Media Scores provide a theoretical and technical means to orchestrate multiple modalities in the creation of expressive works of art and performance. New technologies afford numerous opportunities to tell stories and create expressive artworks through a variety of media. However, the tools of planning, composition, design, and creation of these works remain disjoint with respect to the artwork’s constituent disciplines and from the final experience. Media Scores extend the metaphor of a musical score to other modalities in order to facilitate the process of authoring and performing multimedia compositions, providing a medium through which to realize a modern-day Gesamtkunstwerk. Research into the representation and encoding of expressive intent provides the conceptual underpinnings for the development of novel interfaces for composing and performing with Media Scores. Using such a tool, the composer is able to shape an artistic work that may be performed through human and technological means in a variety of media and utilizing various modalities of expression. Media Scores offer the possibility of authoring content that incorporates live performance data and the potential for audience participation and interaction. This paradigm bridges the extremes of the continuum from composition to performance, allowing for improvisatory compositional acts at performance-time. The Media Score also provides a common point of reference in collaborative productions, as well as the infrastructure for the real-time show control of any technologies used during a live performance.

Early in Tod Machover's opera Death and the Powers, the main character, Simon Powers, is subsumed... more Early in Tod Machover's opera Death and the Powers, the main character, Simon Powers, is subsumed into a technological environment of his own creation. The theatrical set comes alive in the form of robotic, visual, and sonic elements that allow the actor to extend his range and influence across the stage in unique and dynamic ways. The environment must compellingly assume the behavior and expression of the absent Simon.

The MIT Media Lab collaborated with London-based theater group Punchdrunk to create an online pla... more The MIT Media Lab collaborated with London-based theater group Punchdrunk to create an online platform connected to their New York City production of Sleep No More. Online participants were paired with individual onsite audience members, creating a shared virtual and physical live performance experience. Each pair interacted through web-based technologies, streaming audio and video, telephony, augmented masks, and portal objects. This paper briefly summarizes the design and contributions of this collaboration.

The opera Death and the Powers by Tod Machover tells the story of a man, Simon Powers, who evades... more The opera Death and the Powers by Tod Machover tells the story of a man, Simon Powers, who evades death by transferring his essence into his environment as his corporeal body dies. To realize the effect of the theatrical environment coming alive as the main character, the Opera of the Future research group at the MIT Media Lab developed new technologies and control systems for interactive robotics, sound and visuals in live theatre. A core component of this work is the technique of Disembodied Performance, a method and associated technological infrastructure that translates the live performance of the offstage opera singer into multimodal representations onstage. The author was principally responsible for the control architecture and Disembodied Performance software implementation, as well as the design of the visual language used to represent Simon Powers. These digitally-enabled elements were created in order to support the story of the opera and facilitate the process of crafting and rehearsing the staged experience. This article reflects on the dialogue between the design of the technological systems in conjunction with the development of the story and scenography of the opera. Several design principles are presented for the role of new technologies in digital opera and music-driven performance contexts that arose during the course of this work. The discussed methods of cuing, authoring, organizing and collaborating suggest an approach for scoring the multimedia elements of digitally augmented stagecraft.

In composer Tod Machover's new opera Death and the Powers, the main character uploads his conscio... more In composer Tod Machover's new opera Death and the Powers, the main character uploads his consciousness into an elaborate computer system to preserve his essence and agency after his corporeal death. Consequently, for much of the opera, the stage and the environment itself come alive as the main character. This creative need brings with it a host of technical challenges and opportunities. In order to satisfy the needs of this storyline, Machover's Opera of the Future group at the MIT Media Lab has developed a suite of new performance technologies, including robot characters, interactive performance capture systems, mapping systems for authoring interactive multimedia performances, new musical instruments, unique spatialized sound controls, and a uni ed control system for all these technological components. While developed for a particular theatrical production, many of the concepts and design procedures remain relevant to broader contexts including performance, robotics, and interaction design.

Disembodied Performance presents a new way to think about expressive presence. At its core, it al... more Disembodied Performance presents a new way to think about expressive presence. At its core, it allows for the abstraction of a person's emotive gesture away from the human body, allowing for the transmission of a performance across distances and into completely new forms of representation.

Proceedings of the 11th Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology - ACE '14, 2014

International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, 2012

The opera Death and the Powers by Tod Machover tells the story of a man, Simon Powers, who evades... more The opera Death and the Powers by Tod Machover tells the story of a man, Simon Powers, who evades death by transferring his essence into his environment as his corporeal body dies. To realize the effect of the theatrical environment coming alive as the main character, the Opera of the Future research group at the MIT Media Lab developed new technologies and control systems for interactive robotics, sound and visuals in live theatre. A core component of this work is the technique of Disembodied Performance, a method and associated technological infrastructure that translates the live performance of the offstage opera singer into multimodal representations onstage. The author was principally responsible for the control architecture and Disembodied Performance software implementation, as well as the design of the visual language used to represent Simon Powers. These digitally-enabled elements were created in order to support the story of the opera and facilitate the process of crafting and rehearsing the staged experience. This article reflects on the dialogue between the design of the technological systems in conjunction with the development of the story and scenography of the opera. Several design principles are presented for the role of new technologies in digital opera and music-driven performance contexts that arose during the course of this work. The discussed methods of cuing, authoring, organizing and collaborating suggest an approach for scoring the multimedia elements of digitally augmented stagecraft.

In composer Tod Machover's new opera Death and the Powers, the main character uploads his conscio... more In composer Tod Machover's new opera Death and the Powers, the main character uploads his consciousness into an elaborate computer system to preserve his essence and agency after his corporeal death. Consequently, for much of the opera, the stage and the environment itself come alive as the main character. This creative need brings with it a host of technical challenges and opportunities. In order to satisfy the needs of this storyline, Machover's Opera of the Future group at the MIT Media Lab has developed a suite of new performance technologies, including robot characters, interactive performance capture systems, mapping systems for authoring interactive multimedia performances, new musical instruments, unique spatialized sound controls, and a uni ed control system for all these technological components. While developed for a particular theatrical production, many of the concepts and design procedures remain relevant to broader contexts including performance, robotics, and interaction design.

Proceedings of the 11th Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology - ACE '14, 2014