Date: 11/19/2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Prospero Lane (inworld support) John Battenfeld tel: 203-207-4617 jlbat@comcast.net (outside support) 'SHAKESPEARE WITHOUT LIMITS'—FROM A COMPUTER SCREEN NEAR YOU The Second Life Shakespeare Company (SLSC) announces the start of a capital campaign to fund virtual reality productions of Shakespearean plays, combining traditional stagecraft and the latest technology to eliminate traditional limits of stage and time. The SLSC operates on the "Second Life" (SL) virtual world platform, and is headquartered in a historically accurate full-size virtual replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The company plans to show an inaugural full length period production of "Hamlet" in late 2008. Various single-scene live previews will be shown in the interim period. "Hamlet" will be staged using a variety of state-of-the-art technologies for its production in Second Life. The virtual world actors will be photorealistic recreations of RL actors dressed in custom-made historically accurate attire -- in the form of "avatars." The principal actors will be controlled by their human counterparts through Real-Time Motion Capture technology, in which the gestures of sensor-equipped humans are mimicked by the avatar actor. Theatrical extras, special effects and other aspects of staging will be controlled by AI and human interaction. Plans are also underway to transform the postproduction lip animation technology already used in traditional 2D "machinima" recordings into realtime lip synch. But, SL also enables performances reaching out to unlimited audiences either "live" or "recorded in 3d"---"Our technology extends Shakespeare beyond the boundaries of the traditional theater and into a limitless virtual reality," said Dahlia Trimble, SLSC Tech Director and CEO of SingulaBotics, a SL bot and AI technology company, "Live audiences, for example, will not be limited by the physical dimensions of the performance space because using bot technology we would be able to simultaneously show the same live play in 3D in affiliate sims across the grid. In addition, every single movement can be recorded to be played back in 3D even after the show's over." Ina Centaur, SLSC Executive Producer and Visual Director adds, "Our sponsors will join an exciting boundary-breaking cultural project blending real and virtual reality. In addition, they would also be able to help us decide how we'd use our technology in wider applications in education, entertainment, and industry." Potential sponsors should contact Ina Centaur for further details. All donations should be made to the avatar Shakespeare Timeless. Second Life, operated by Linden Lab of San Francisco, is a virtual world in which avatars interact in a variety of ways. This interaction, plus computer audio technology, virtual land and buildings, and a large pool of talented participants, has sparked a vibrant artistic and cultural life. SLSC has tapped into this community not only for actors but for backstage operations as well. Costumes, for example, have been researched for historical accuracy but are developed using high-end graphics programs by some of SL's most talented designers. SLSC wardrobes artists have not only created costumes, but also photorealistic skins, shapes, and even eyes for the characters. Albeit avatar representations, the physicality of the actor-avatar aretailored precisely to the role. Staging is also enhanced by Second Life's lack of mandatory gravity—an object placed in the air will stay in that exact spot. Needless are the ropes and ad hoc methods the Bard himself hated-- fantastical leaps, flying and other effects can be made easily. One of the most interesting technologies SLSC wishes to develop, and one with great commercial, artistic and educational possibilities, is Real-Time Motion Capture technology. A human actor is fitted with a number of sensors that transmit his or her movements through a processor to a virtual world avatar. SLSC couples this with sophisticated post-production technology, For further information, please visit the SLSC website: http://slshakespeare.com The SLSC will be showing a "machinima storyboard" screening of Scene 1 followed by live Q&A with the cast and crew on 11/25 at 4 PM SLT (PST) and 12/1 at 11 AM SLT (PST). Attendees can also take the chance to ask about the SLSC Capital Campaign. The SLSC plans to show single-scene live "previews" in 2008 before the full-length live production in November 2008.