The Fate of the Online Cow
Theater Production
Presented at Brick Aux, August 25th and 26th, 2023
Art Direction, Software Development and Video, Projection, Branding and Marketing
Written and directed by kanishk pandey
The Fate of the Online Cow is a collaborative theatrical experience directed by kanishk pandey, with art direction by Lauren Serafica. The play was developed over two years, and our greatest challenge was the technical design of the streaming chat, which was written line-by-line in the script. For our production at Brick Aux, we resorted to using projectors to project two simultaneous videos: one of a game of minecraft, and one of a moving streaming chat. The chat was programmed using Javascript, which dynamically separated each line from the script into its own chat line, and gave it a random color to distinguish it from the other chat lines. I then worked with the actors on timing their cues and dialogue with a screen recording of the chat which resulted in a seamless experience that gave the magic of a live technical production.
In our next production for The Fate of the Online Cow, our goal is to completely develop the chat as realistic streaming chat platform by creating a dynamic server where audience members can contribute to the chat. Additionally, we want to cue each chat line live (either when it is submitted by the audience member, or when it’s one from the script interacting with the characters).