CyberSImps Improv Performance Event

Stanford University's CyberSImps performance connected five theatrical improvisers 
at Stanford with four performers at UCLA for a live, distributed improv event. 
Interacting over low-latency, high-bandwidth audio and video streams, the improvisers 
created live scenes with performers more than 400 miles away. 
    Over the course of the performance the group improvised several radio plays 
with voices from different stages and with live sound environments provided by 
UCLA's Visualization Portal. All of the scenes involved characters in both locations. 
In the spirit of an improv show, the audience was also asked for suggestions and 
audience volunteers were invited on stage to perform with the improvisers. 
    Daniel Walling, a member of the SoundWIRE research group at the Stanford University 
Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), directed CyberSImps 
as part of his honors research. According to Walling, "Transmission technologies 
prior to Internet2 have been unable to support the sensitive communication that 
enables theatrical improvisers to work together."
    The audio connection for CyberSImps was supported by the StreamBD software, 
created by the SoundWIRE research group at CCRMA; the video was supported by 
OpenMash. SoundWIRE receives funding and support from the National Science 
Foundation. 

Daniel Walling, a member of the SoundWIRE research group at the Stanford 
University Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), 
directed CyberSImps.