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My Neck of the Woods

an online performance

My Neck of the Woods is part of Digital Voices, a partnership between Blast Theory, The Patchingzone (Netherlands) and Translocal (Finland) hosted at The Royal Exchange for their Truth About Youth programme 2013. This project introduced its online audience into the lives of 6 young people as they ambled through parts of Greater Manchester. Viewers were invited into their homes and each young person had a series of questions. Online viewers were asked to take part in more intimate conversations, where these questions could be discussed. This was an online performance that not only allowed the audience to hold a conversation with young people, about their lives and concerns, but also about what it meant to hold that conversation over a live-streaming platform.

As an Associate Artist with Blast Theory I worked closely with young people from Truth About Youth at the Royal Exchange Theatre, on developing information-rich content true to the young person’s own agenda. We selected locations that express their interests whilst considering the tangible and intangible relationships we have with cities our memories and each other.

This innovative participatory performance took place online as well as in a “real-world” urban environment, and was drawn together by the conversations that play out over these two spaces. Workshops covered creative content from story telling, the autobiographical, shaping personal narratives to the series of questions, and asked, “how do performers engage in conversation through the mobile or web interface?” and “how does this performance shape the mobile interface?” The live documentary aspect aimed to explore the delivery of the “live experience” and intimacy via live streaming media.

My Neck of the Woods was visible and interactive to online global networks on 20th and 21st September 2013.