Aug. 1, 2008 - The Austin Chronicle

ARTSStriking SparksWhat happens when strangers team upto create a play and a video game in 10 weeksBY HANNAH KENAHTo the average person, “hybrid” refers toa vehicle that runs on gas and electricity.To an ArtSpark participant, “hybrid” meansdouble down.Team Chimera is one of seven teamscompeting in HBMG Foundation’s ArtSparkFestival this year and only the second hybridteam in the competition’s four-year history.Whereas most teams are responsiblefor creating either a theatre piece or a videogame, Team Chimera’s “hybrid” status meansits members are responsible for creatingboth. Why did this group of artists decideto take the most ambitious route? HBMGFoundation founder Manuel Zarate may bepartly to blame, er, thank. Most peopleapply to ArtSpark as part of a fully formedtheatre or video-game team; however, individualartists who want to participate butdo not have a team can apply to the TalentPool. When Zarate addressed this year’sparticipants, he “talked for a while about thefestival and, in particular, about some of theinteresting things that had come out of havinga hybrid team in the past,” says WalterBadgett, the video-game project leader forTeam Chimera. “We liked what we heardand took the plunge.” Chimera’s playwright,Sarah Saltwick, says: “The foundation wasvery excited about the possibility of having ahybrid team. I was a little nervous. It seemedhard enough to create theatre with strangers.But on the other hand, why not try somethingnew and truly challenging?”Chimera and its fellow competitors – fourtheatre teams and two video-game teams –were set up in an office complex in NorthAustin, each team with its own office, computer,software, copier/printer, and budget forcreating a new theatre piece or video game (orboth) from scratch in 10 weeks. “It’s a festivalfor crazy people,” says Bethany Perkins, TeamChimera’s theatre director. “I’ve never seenanyone throw strangers into a room togetherand then give them money.”Ah, but there’s a method to ArtSpark’smadness. Zarate believes that artists mustlearn to make a profit with their endeavors tolead a more sustainable creative life. The festivalis a means of “empowering creative thinkersto understand business concepts.” Thoseare the words of Aaron Sanders, a participantin the first ArtSpark Festival in 2005 andcurrently the marketing director for HBMGFoundation. He explains that each team mustdevelop not only a creative work but alsoa strategy for marketing it. ArtSpark assiststhe teams by holding workshops on topicslike intellectual-property rights, royalty agreements,fundraising, and marketing. At the endof the festival, HBMG Foundation distributes$15,000 in prize money to the teams that havedemonstrated the strongest creative and marketingwork. “The biggest message we wantto convey is that artists are entrepreneurs,”says Sanders, “and with the right knowledge,they can continue to pursue their passion andmake a profit at the same time.”Meanwhile, back in Team Chimera headquarters,sparks begin to fly – as in the“sparks” of artwork and music that will serveas a catalyst for the team’s creative process.Each team is paired with a musician and avisual artist who provide an original piecefrom which the team draws ideas for its newtheatre and/or video-game work. In TeamChimera’s case, the visual artist is Keith Ellis,a professor of graphic design who traveledall the way from Michigan to take part in thefestival, and the musician is Lauren Morris,a Celtic and world-music artist who hasrecently relocated to Austin from California.The artwork they provided for Chimera “hada very mystical quality,” says Perkins. “We allinstantly thought of relics, ancient civilizations,and things lost at the bottom of theSarah Saltwick, Alyssa Borg, and JohannaHerre as the three Sleets in SublimationAs the five differentdisciplines collide inTeam Chimera, one thingbecomes clear: Everyoneenjoys this level of demandand collaboration.ocean.” These “sparks” inspired the birth ofSleet, the main character for Team Chimera’sproject, Sublimation.Sleet is a creature made of water, andher underwater world is dying. The show’stagline reads, “Sublimation explores the choiceswe make and how those choices makeus.” Choice is central to the story of Sleet,and it is also central to the effect theatre andvideo-gaming have had on one another inTeam Chimera’s process. Perkins says: “Thestructure of the play is heavily influenced byvideo-game structure. There are three womenplaying Sleet, and each time they get to a forkin the road, we see them make a choice, andtheir stories split from there.” Aaron Eastburn,a programmer/designer for the team, said,“After numerous discussions, we decided togo with a game that would act as a prequel tothe play and support it in that manner.”Video games and theatre are not commonlypaired together. When asked how ArtSparkcame to be a platform for such disparate disciplines,Sanders explains: “The hope was tocreate an environment where a traditional artform could be influenced by technology andvice versa. Theatre can influence the plotlinesand presentation of video games, and videogames can help move theatre into the future.”As the two forms come from different financialand technological ends of the artisticspectrum, one might well wonder what thevideo-game world and the theatre world thinkof each other. For the video-game side, Badgettsays: “I enjoy the stories and characters intheatre or any media involving storytelling. Ialso like the feedback and audience rapportthat is generated from a live performance.”Eastburn adds, “Theatre has pretty much setthe standard for our media for so long that thechance to work with it and get a better understandingis a big draw.” On the theatre side,playwright Saltwick is curious: “The level ofdetail and invention intrigues and impressesme.” Meanwhile, theatre director Perkins ismore fascinated with the gamers than thegames. “My boyfriend can spend an entireday playing NHL 07 on his PlayStation. Videogameplayers are a total mystery to me.”As the five different disciplines collide inTeam Chimera, one thing becomes clear:Everyone enjoys this level of demand andcollaboration. “Overwhelming,” “crazy,” and“scary” are words used to describe the process.But artists thrive under pressure, as teamvisual artist Ellis explains, “It is noteworthythat the process between all the mediums isvery different, and most of the challenge hasbeen working with people who work in a differentmindset than you.” Musician Morrisis exhilarated: “This feels like one of thosetimes in my life I’ll never forget. The creativityof the people around me is tremendous. Weare all burning it at both ends.” In describingher favorite thing about working with HBMGFoundation and ArtSpark, Saltwick says: “Theforced creativity. The confidence. It’s onething to say you’re a writer. It’s another thingto walk into a room with a group of reallyTheatre ShowcaseAll performances at the Off Center, 2211 Hidalgo.After Life’s Loose LipsThursday, July 31 & Aug. 14, 8pmOphelia, Beatrice, and Juliet – three practitionersof the “oldest profession” – make it as best as theycan until one day, everything changes.Poison Apple Initiative’sUgly Ways: Leaving the NarrowFriday, Aug. 1 & 15, 8pmWith Jimmy’s help, Lauren’s becoming more likeher mother than she expected. Kendra doesn’t knowwhat she’s coming to, and Dorian doesn’t knowwhere to go.Chimera’s Sublimation Saturday, Aug. 2 & 16, 2pmAs her underwater world slowly dies of a terribleand mysterious illness, the water-creature Sleetmust will herself into human form and break thesurface into our strange dry world.Stamp Lab’s HushSaturday, Aug. 2 & 16, 8pmInfluenced by the silences of urban spaces, Hushexplores ways in which matriarchal lineage survivesin the face of isolation, distortion, and confinement.Élan Productions’ di[verge]Sunday, Aug. 3 & 17, 2pmA play with music that looks at crossroads and asksif we ever really accept our present or just continue todream about our past and what might have been.Music ShowcaseFriday, Aug. 8, at Scoot Inn, 1308 E. Fourth. Doorsopen at 6pm.Featuring musical performances by DanielChapman & Adam Kreft, John P. Funk, Lauren Morris,Jonathan Myers, Single Frame, and Ashleigh Stone.Visual Arts ShowcaseSunday, Aug. 10, reception at 6pm, presentationsat 7pm, at Pump Project Art Complex, 702 Shady.Exhibit continues through Sunday, Aug. 17.Featuring artwork by David de Lara, SenalkaMcDonald, John P. Funk, Keith Ellis, VeronicaVasquez, David Ohlerking, and Patrick McDaniel.Video Game ShowcaseMonday, Aug. 11, reception at 6pm, presentationsat 7pm, at ACC Highland Business Center, 5930Middle Fiskville.Alchemic Studio’s EyrusTo get home – if you still want to – you must firstfind your way out of Eyrus, the city of the Sun, wherea broken recording plays a public serviceannouncement commanding residents are to leavethe city immediately.34 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E AUGUST 1, 2008 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m