Reading Frankenstein (2003)

Calendar: 2006-07 | 2005-06 | 2004-05 | 2003-04 | 2002-03 | 2001-02 | 2000-01

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Reading Frankenstein is an intermedia performance in which a contemporary scientist named Mary Shelley discovers that one of her failed computer experiments is running amok in her laboratory, at the same time as the novel Frankenstein is haunting her imagination. Using layered digital projections, brain imaging, and a virtual creature interacting with a live human actor, Reading Frankenstein examines the ethical repercussions of scientific research from the creature's point of view. Multiple projection surfaces and surround sound create a shared environment for both performers and audience. Mary Shelley performs live, on stage, while the Creature manifests its presence through live video and data projections. The confrontation between Mary and her Creature culminates in a futuristic gaming environment. Throughout, text turns to imagery, and the reader lives within the story.

Reading Frankenstein is a collaboration between theater director Annie Loui, visual artist and writer Antoinette LaFarge, and Dr. James Fallon, professor of anatomy and neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine. "For years I've wanted to do a piece about the vicarious nature of reading--how the hieroglyphics of text on a page turn into images in your mind," says Loui. "We chose Frankenstein as our jumping-off point because it's the archetypal story of science and ethics, emphasizing the importance of taking responsibility for one's actions."

Adds LaFarge, "Art consists of a long series of attempts to define what it is to be human, what it is to be monstrous, what it is to be alive, and what it is simply to be at all. This piece explores the reality of artificial life and our construction of the world through language, perception, and imagination."

Fallon, who serves as neuroscience advisor to the piece, is particularly interested in how creativity is generated in the brain. "I was able to contribute to the show by explaining and showing what areas of the brain would be involved in creating an artificial person--a virtual one or a real synthetic monster. There's a lot of scientific realism and creativity in the performance."

Reading Frankenstein came into being over a multi-year period beginning in 2001. The concept, text, and visuals were developed by the main collaborators through the support of an Audrey Skirball Foundation (ASK) Script Development Award (spring 2001); and subsequently through Beall Center for Art and Technology Fellowships (2002, 2003) and a University of California Institute for Research in the Arts (UCIRA) grant (2002) to support workshop performances in the Beall Center in May 2002, and final full production in spring 2003. The performances of both the workshop version and the full production drew a varied audience population from both the university and the larger community, and from both the arts and sciences. A subsequent invitation came from Berlin, and a digital presentation of the project during the middle of its developmental phase took place in November 2002 at the Freie University of Berlin under the auspices of renowned performance studies scholar Erika Fisher-Lichte.

Press

• Los Angeles Times
• Irvine World News
• Cal-(IT)²
• Daily Pilot

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