Narrative Generator (for Living Machine)

Most performance situations today separate the performers and the audience, casting the performers as the source of the music and the audience as passive spectators. This does not need to be the case. Narrative Generator (for Living Machine) is a rule-based improvisation where a narrator and a group of musicians improvise an emergent narrative and soundtrack, with the audience shaping the story as it unfolds. Each instrument represents the thoughts, feelings, and action of a specific character, with a keyboard and sample pad creating the atmosphere of each scene. A narrator brings all of this to life in evocative detail through completely improvised spoken word. None of the performance is pre-planned, the audience suggests a genre and the performers begin improvising. Throughout the performance, audience members play "cue cards," cards, that when held up to the performers, cause them to initiate whatever narrative event is written on the card. The result is a collaboratively created story, accompanied with perfectly appropriate music, that is more engaging and immersive than your average storytelling experience. Narrative Generator (for Living Machine) debuted late-2017 at IO Myers Theatre in Sydney, and has since performed at a variety of venues around Sydney, including as part of the 2018 Sydney Fringe Festival. Made up of some of Sydney's best improvisers, with narration by Australian Poetry Slam two-time state finalist Lewis-Alan Trathen, Narrative Generator (for Living Machine) is a performance unlike any other. We firmly believe in the enhanced power of audience-interactive performances, and after attending a Narrative Generator (for Living Machine) show, you will too.