IDEAS Performance: Ad Infinitum3

Guest Speaker: Andy Muelhausen, UC San Diego 2nd Year MFA Student Date: May 18th, 2013 Time: 7-8pm Location: Calit2 Theater, Atkinson Hall, UC San Diego Host: IDEAS [event website]

DESCRIPTION/ABSTRACT: This performance work by interactive media and sound artist Andy Muehlhausen, a second-year MFA student at UCSD, is part of the IDEAS series of the Qualcomm Institute. Ad Infinitum³ is a 55-person video game built as a theatrical group experience. Any HTML5-enabled device (smartphones, tablets, ipods) can be a controller (smaller is better), and each player fully controls their own visually and aurally unique in-game character. It is a three act game, with each act being a different game that explores the notions of individuals, families, and societies, and the journeys and relationships between each of these things. Audience members team up or against each other, and then face greater challenges than themselves. Together they live or die. Seriously, the audience can lose the game. All this with a live DJ playing originally-scored music created through 4 Gameboys. The entire show runs about 45 minutes. SPEAKER BIO: Andy Muehlhausen is an interactive media and sound artist. His main interest is in creating experiential pieces with viewers as the narrative protagonist. His previous works include: augmented-sound ping pong, tiered projected video playback based on user position with granulated sound, arduino-controlled puzzle box with live-updating clues via html, speaker/mask with built in microphone that changes real-time voice based on hand positioning, audio triggered Kinect-tracked visuals for dance pieces, and 50-person videogame/theatre where each audience member controls their own character in the story via html joystick controller. He is a second-year MFA student in Sound Design for Theatre at UCSD, and graduated in 2010 from Purdue University with a B.S. in Computer Science. Other collaborators include: Richard Thomas: Purdue Theatre Head of Design: Co-Director Liz Cai, UCSD UG Visual Artist Dylan Phan, UG Computer Science: Lead Programmer Patrick Trinh, UCSD Alum ICAM: Music/DJ Alyson Van, UCSD UG Dance: Dancer/Creature Walter "Bo" Tindell III, UCSD Theatre MFA, Lighting Designer Eric May, Projections Designer Michael Wilga, EA Audio Artist: Gameplay Consultant MORE INFORMATION: Admission is free, open to the public.