The Under Presents: Tempest
Winner of Best Immersive Experience at the Raindance Film Festival and the No Proscenium Award for Outstanding Achievement in Live Virtual Reality Production as well as the audience choice award in the same catagory.
The Under Presents: Tempest Trailer
Deirdre was one of the 11 Prospera/Prospero’s cast in the production. Working essentially like a one person show with six audience members guided through a reimagined telling of Shakespear’s The Tempest that could only be realized with the magic of Virtual Reality.
Synospsis:
Inspired by Shakespeare’s famed tale, audiences joined their intrepid guide Prospera in this intimate, interactive performance. In order to bring Prospera to life, the actor must enlist the help of the audience. The line between real and virtual, and truth and fiction, blur as audience members are "cast" as Prospera's spirits to realize an interactive, virtual version of the story.
All of it was a joy, doing live theater for people all over the world, engulfed in a Shakespearean story that blurred the lines between real and imaginary.
Career Dispatches essay for Backstage
The New York Times
“With VR, you’re just not limited to reality,” Rachitsky said. ‘You’re only limited by imagination. The most exciting stuff is yet to come.”
-Yelena Rachitsky
Spectrum News 1
“The Bard may not recognize his play or the controllers in Lyon’s hands but she thinks he would be tickled to see how his work has evolved from the Old Globe to being performed virtually for audiences around the globe.”
-Tara Lynn Wagner
Raindance Film Festival
The Under Presents: Tempest Winner Best Narrative Experience at the Raindance Film Festival.
Everything from the environments we visited, to the “special effects” we witnessed, to Deirdre’s performance, each and every bit was truly magical…
-Jeff Heimbuch, Horrorbuzz