Leo Gene Peters

Leo Gene Peters, Creative Producer of Death and the Dreamlife of Elephants, talks about how the multiplatform mystery story was created in both virtual and physical worlds.

“The idea is to use all the new media to encourage the audience’s curiosity about the world.  To tell a story in a lot of different ways and allow people to hunt for more.”

You may have come across parts of the story in an installation, a poster image or via ‘some strange prophet on Cuba St’, heard the short stories on Radio New Zealand, interacted with some of the characters on Facebook and Twitter, or viewed the live performance.

The Big Idea Editor Cathy Aronson asks Peters if it is just a marketing gimmick, or part of the work?

What is ‘Death and the Dreamlife of Elephants’?

Essentially it’s a mystery.  The story unfolds and the audience hunts for clues to piece everything together, like any other story.  But with Death and the Dreamlife of Elephants, the form and the content both work this way: the story is delivered across multiple platforms both virtually and in the physical world.  There are different bits of story told in dozens of different ways.  We’re using our website, social networking sites, video, radio/audio plays, email, physical installations in businesses around Wellington, poster campaigns and, of course, theatre/live performance. 

We’re playing at BATS Theatre in Wellington until 21 November at 8pm as part of the 2009 STAB Season.  book@bats.co.nz

The idea is to use all the new media to encourage the audience’s curiosity about the world.  To tell a story in a lot of different ways and allow people to hunt for more.  You  may find some bit of the story in an installation, a poster image or see some strange prophet on Cuba street and go hunting for more.  That can take you to the theatre show.  You may see the show in the theatre as your first encounter with the work and then visit the website or listen to the Radio New Zealand short stories.  You can see different glimpses in any order and it all feeds into this overall story. 

So, you could say, it’s a Theatre Show that’s a part of a greater New Media Event.  The best way to understand it (or at least get an idea) is to go on the hunt: see the show, visit the website, and look for the stuff in the physical world. 

How and when did the idea come about?

After doing Settling for 2007 STAB Season we were cleaning out our storage and realized we had heaps of cheap plastic, so we decided (rather quickly) that the next work would start from there.  We applied for 2009 STAB with the idea of an installation that leads into a live theatre show – so the audience gets bits and pieces of the story outside of the performance space before, during and after the show.  We were going to use the plastic and create a huge physical maze (not a new idea, but a decent one).  

We were short-listed for the commission in April.  I was in Singapore for a couple of months and we did the whole thing via skype – it was very trippy.  Our designer, Tracey Monastra, suggested that we do less of a physical installation on the night and more of a virtual one in the weeks leading up to the work.  We thought this was a great idea and pitched it and got the commission. 

How much has it changed during the process?

Heaps.  And it’s still changing.  We’ve done a bit of research into a wide variety of interactive platforms and technologies.  There’s so much out there – some amazing work.  The world has definitely changed from my childhood and the way stories were told.  With the exception of our Web Designer we’re all really novice in the virtual world.  So we keep learning and adapting as we go.  But the technology allows us to shift quite quickly, even with most people doing other jobs to make a living. 

How do the interactive installations morph into the live performance?

Several work in various forms to tell bits of the story.  Some of the story you’ll see in the theatre, but mostly other bits that connect to the story told in the play.  Some of the installations are more poetic or visually stimulating, designed to provoke the audience’s curiosity.  They all connect to the greater story.  Some bits are more periphery, following characters that have smaller roles in the play.  Some give a broader view of the main characters and the questions they face.  Everything is connected.  It’s one of the most enjoyable things in making the work, trying to feel out how things link up and asking ‘what does it all mean?’  It’s exactly like living. 

How and where did you drip-feed the storyline?

We started with the poster campaign and physical installations around town (there’s a map on the website), and then began to drip feed via the website online.  The Radio New Zealand short-stories aired in late October and that gave a big introduction to the main characters (those are still on the RNZ website).  Characters have facebook pages and twitter accounts, there’s a couple of blogs, a few videos and a number of little audio plays.   We’re now using email to give serial updates.  I lose track of all the different work.  The great thing is that you don’t need to know anything to enjoy the story.  We’ve tried to make it all stand on it’s own. 

How has it been received?

It’s been received really well.  We had friends of ours getting angry at us because we wouldn’t tell them who Julian Gallo was.  People have been very curious and intrigued by the project.  This is what we wanted…of course, we’ll have a clearer idea later in the month. 

Was it a marketing gimmick or part of the work?

It was never a marketing gimmick.  Of course, we had to get more savvy with the world of marketing.  There is so much media out there and we had to ask all the marketing questions about brand-recognition and cutting through all the noise.  But we’ve got some strong rules about wanting everything delivered to have some substantial connection to the world of the story we’re trying to create. 

I’m agreeing with a lot of people that marketing and storytelling aren’t separate things.  There are a lot of people looking into multiplatform storytelling.  It’s been billed (probably accurately) as the future of entertainment.  We’ve got so much marketing thrown at us – it’s overwhelming and we’re numbing our senses just to not drown in it.  I love all the clever street graffiti, the knitting in random places, the ‘everything will be okay’ that was painted on that wall in Newtown.  It’s such a cool thing to discover some secret message.  It’s like the universe is speaking to you.  I believe in synchronicity.  I think things are connected, but have no idea how.  The media can work like that, to encourage people’s imaginations rather than dull them. 

What has been the most successful element?

The theatre show has been the most successful element, I’d say.  Most of us come from theatre backgrounds and so that’s where our training lies.  The work is really strong and it’s been great to see it meet and audience and feel the buzz as that meeting occurs.  It’s palpable.  That’s one of the easiest things to gauge for us because that’s a public interaction – when the audience leaves the theatre you can feel in the air whether they’ve engaged or not.  Most of the internet stuff is private interaction with the work that people tend to have alone. 

What challenges did you face?

We’re pretty grass-roots and it’s just been exhausting keeping up with the work load.  People have done a phenomenal job, but we need a much bigger team and a much bigger lead-in time.  We were commissioned in May and are performing now.  It takes ages to build something like this, especially working the way we do.  We had some fairly tricky personnel issues that delayed a lot of the work until late August, but we’ve bounced back really well.  I’m incredibly proud of the team and the work we’re doing.  We’ve definitely put something beautiful into the world. 

We believe in storytelling and theatre as a process of reflection, where the creators come together and build the work from questions we have about the world.  It’s a long process, but absolutely crucial if you want to start touching something that’s truthful and sophisticated.  If that doesn’t happen (and it rarely seems to happen) then the work feels empty, like there’s no relationship between the creators and the content. 

How many people are involved and what was the range of roles?

There’s about 20 – 25 of us, working part-time but intensely on the project.  We have designers in various roles, 8 performers, a dramaturge, a graphic designer, 2 producers, a technical director, a publicist, and me directing.  We’ve had a number of people come and go – heaps of consultations, and lots of people folding origami elephants. 

What’s your personal background?

I graduated from the Masters of Theatre Arts (Directing) course taught by Toi Whakaari and Victoria University Wellington in 2004.  I’ve worked in every area of the theatre for the last decade and a bit (with the exception of costume).  I directed Strange Resting Places for Taki Rua Productions from 2007 – 2009 (we’ll see what the future of the work is, it’ll probably keep going).  And I started a slightly isolated dog in 2005 when we began making Settling.  We’re a performance company looking to expand our process and interrogate the purpose of what we make and storytelling in people’s everyday lives (and it kind of has to be funny). 

What is your role in the work?

I’m the director of the Theatre show and the Creative Producer of the overall event/show.  I drive the vision of the work and lead the overall process – with lots of other leaders working in various areas throughout. 

What’s your personal highlight so far?

Sitting with these big questions around death and our purpose in the world and then seeing the work meet an audience and feeling how they sit with them.  I’ve been moved on a number of occasions by how touching and how funny the work is. 

How was opening night?  Will the work continue to change?

Opening night was fantastic, a great buzz.  Heaps of audience talking about the show after, all curious.  A very big success.    The work will definitely continue to change throughout the season and in the future.  Keep checking online and definitely go see the show.  Then look for it in 2011. 

What does the title ‘Death and the Dream life of Elephants’ mean?

That’s the question we’re all asking ourselves…what do you think? 

What’s your big idea for 2010?

A hugely reflective event that uses New Media to bring people together for a day long show and keeps echoing out into their everyday lives: the next incarnation of Settling.  And to carry-on work for the next incarnation of Death and the Dreamlife of Elephants (probably for early 2011).  The big idea is the long process of the work meeting the company and then that work meeting the audience…