Second Body

How much of a relationship depends on what your senses tell you? What happens when your best friend’s words come out of a stranger’s body, in a stranger’s voice? Challenge your perceptions of communication and identity through this immersive blend of theater and technology.

Second Body is a thrilling new experimental mode of communication that allows people to connect through the use of live human avatars, as opposed to the virtual avatars we use on social media. The event will include an introduction and a live demo with two audience volunteers who will speak to each other through professional actors or “Second Bodies.”

The “Second Bodies” will be played by actors from the company, including Richard III himself, Alex Mills.

Performances Thursdays through Saturday will occur prior to Richard III at 6:15pm and after Richard III at 10pm. Performances on Sundays will occur prior to Richard III at 12:15pm and after Richard III at 4pm.

Click here to purchase corresponding tickets to Richard III.

FAQ:

WHAT IS SECOND BODY?

It’s a performance and demonstration of a new blend of art + technology that allows people to connect through the use of live human avatars, as opposed to the virtual avatars we use on social media. The event will include an introduction and a live demo with two audience volunteers who will speak to each other through professional actors or “Second Bodies.”The “Second Bodies” will be played by actors from the company, including Richard III himself, Alex Mills. At a time when technology pushes people further and further apart, Second Body offers a possible way to bridge this divide, making (actual) face-time possible once again. While this show includes no spoilers for Richard III, we wanted to present this complementary experience as a part of our mission to invest in new artists, voices, and theatrical styles in our community.

SHOULD I PURCHASE TICKETS TO SECOND BODY & RICHARD III?

Certainly! We recommend seeing both and have provided performance times for Second Body that will work with our scheduled performances of Richard III.

Click here for more information about Richard III.

Performances Thursdays through Saturday will occur prior to Richard III at 5pm and 6:15pm and after Richard III at 10pm. Performances on Sundays will occur prior to Richard III at 11am and 12:15pm and after Richard III at 4pm.

The runtime is one hour and the showtimes prior to Richard III allow for time to grab a drink or a bite at SynetiCafe or nearby in between.

WHAT IF I ALREADY SAW RICHARD III?

That’s totally fine too! You’re welcoming to purchase separate tickets to an upcoming performance of Second Body without having tickets to that day’s performance of Richard III.

More about the Second Body experience:

Incubated and developed at Sightline Arts through a yearlong initiative exploring the shifting divide between the virtual and the real, Second Body is a hybrid of communications technology and old-fashioned face to face conversation, in the format of a live performative event. At a Second Body event, the audience is witness to a surreal encounter: two volunteers in two different spaces engage in a conversation through the bodies of two entirely different people. This overlaying of multiple conflicting identities and relationships onto a single pair of individuals creates a strange, disorienting, thrilling, and often unexpectedly hilarious experience—prompting a whole range of social, political, technological, and philosophical questions. Imagine speaking to your friend, your child, your spouse, in a different body.  What impossible conversations might be possible?

More About Sightline Arts:

Sightline Arts builds hybrid, original work across different formats (film, performance, music, audio, digital, installation, etc.) Every project originates out of the impulse to investigate an idea. The resulting work is interdisciplinary, idea-driven, narrative, science-themed, form-bending, rigorous, active, and accessible. Second Body was emerged from Sightline’s st[ART]up 2018, a year-long initiative to prototype interdisciplinary projects. www.sightlinearts.org