BostonFIG, Snowrunner Productions, Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation & Arlekin’s Zero Gravity Lab present a special “GAMER NIGHT” performance of
chekhovOS /an experimental game/
A Live and Interactive Virtual Theater Experience
Conceived & Directed by Igor Golyak
Produced by Igor Golyak & Sara Stackhouse
Hosted on ZeroGravity.ART
MAY 16 | 8:00PM ET (ONLINE)
Starring Jessica Hecht
And Anna Baryshnikov, Anna Bortnick, Darya Denisova, Jeffrey Hayenga,
Melanie Moore, Nael Nacer & Mark Nelson
With Mikhail Baryshnikov as Anton Chekhov
May 7, 2021 – Boston, MA – BostonFIG, Snowrunner Productions, and Arlekin’s Zero Gravity Virtual Theater Lab to host special “Gamer Night” performance of chekhovOS /an experimental game/, a performance experiment in development by Arlekin Players Theatre’s founder and director Igor Golyak, who has been a leading innovator of virtual theater since the start of the pandemic. His recent State vs. Natasha Banina was a Critic’s Pick in The New York Times by Maya Phillips who declared “The verdict is in: the virtual can, in fact, be an effective new stage for theater.” Golyak has been collaborating with Snowrunner’s Will Brierly, game engine and interactivity designer, on the project for several months to create this workshop that fuses film, theater, and video game technology to create a new medium where viewers are able to interact with the performers. Inspired by Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard and drawing from recordings of Chekhov’s letters and dreams, this interactive online theater experience accesses the operating system behind both Chekhov’s computer and the world in which his characters live, searching for happiness.
“The Post-pandemic theater has to reexamine and reimagine itself. Through this experiment we are finding out how humankind can find each other in the virtual while continuing to treasure the in-person encounter, which makes for a new kind of site-specific theater,” says Golyak. “And I find myself in constant dialogue with The Cherry Orchard—during a time of loss and recovery, it helps us explore connection, transition, loss, and the human yearning for happiness. We are excited to share this work with audiences across gaming, tech and theater on the incredible .ART platform. It is thrilling to be developing work in this new genre with these visionary partners.”
Game engine and interaction designer Will Brierly of Snowrunner Productions, who is co-presenting, says, “It’s incredible working on this project. Mixing live performance and video games has been my focus for the past couple of years so when I learned about what Igor and his team wanted to do I was very excited! This has been a wonderful collaboration and I’m psyched for people to be able to see and participate in this latest interaction!”
The cast of chekhovOS /an experimental game/ comprises a cadre of well-known stage, television, and film actors including Tony-Nominee Jessica Hecht, who performs the iconic role of Ranevskaya. Hecht says, “I have been longing to explore The Cherry Orchard with Igor and our company in a way that gives us the most intimate and relatable portrait of a family in crisis. I believe we can create something raw and modern, without losing an authenticity to Chekhov’s vision.”
The presentation also features other celebrated performers, including Anna Baryshnikov (Apple TV+’s Dickinson) as Varya; Arlekin’s Darya Denisova as Natasha Prozorov; Boston’s Anna Bortnick as Charlotta, Jeffrey Hayenga (The Elephant Man) as Fiers; Melanie Moore (Finding Neverland, So You Think You Can Dance) as Anya; Mark Nelson (Angels in America, The Invention of Love) as Gaev; and acclaimed Boston-based actor Nael Nacer as Lopakhin. Baryshnikov Arts Center Founder and Artistic Director Mikhail Baryshnikov makes a special appearance in the role of Anton Chekhov. The work was developed and filmed, in part, at Baryshnikov Arts Center in January with strict adherence to COVID health and safety protocols.
chekhovOS /an experimental game/ is a work-in-progress created during the pandemic, a way for artists to work through the themes of the play, the encroaching virus, and a moment of change in the world around us. The project was developed in the new and emerging genre of virtual theater at Arlekin’s (zero-G) from a small but mighty group of collaborators, helmed by Igor Golyak. This international team of designers and technical engineers collaborated with Golyak both virtually and onsite in Arlekin’s new Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Performance Lab in Needham, MA for several months to create the functionality and online environment for this project, which includes software support from Aximmetry Technologies Ltd., the official software provider for Arlekin’s Zero Gravity Lab and a new platform called “The Soft Layer” from Will Brierly of Snowrunner Productions, with back-end/design work from Vladimir Gusev, Anna Fedorova, and Anton Nikolaev. Tom Abernathy, Studio Narrative Director at ArenaNet in Seattle joined the team in March as Narrative Writer, and will host the special post-show talkback on Gamer Night.
This experimental sharing constitutes Phase One of a larger hybrid (live/virtual) chekhovOS project in development for 2022, and is made possible with generous support from producing sponsor .ART, ArtsEmerson, Baryshnikov Arts Center, BroadBand Collaborative, Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation, Fooksman Family Foundation, Meghan Coleman, Robin Hanley, ZiphyCare, gifts from Arlekin’s Zero Gravity Kickstarter Campaign and Aximmetry Technologies Ltd., the official software provider for Arlekin’s Zero Gravity (zero-G) Lab.
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AT A GLANCE:
Arlekin’s Zero Gravity (zero-G) Lab & The Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation present
chekhovOS /an experimental game/
Inspired by The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov
Conceived & Directed by Igor Golyak
Produced by Igor Golyak & Sara Stackhouse
Featuring Jessica Hecht as Ranevskaya and Mikhail Baryshnikov as Anton Chekhov
Hosted on ZeroGravity.ART
Sunday, May 16 at 8:00pm ET
Co-presented by BostonFIG & Snowrunner Productions
Followed by live talkback with members of the cast & creative team
Moderated by Tom Abernathy, Studio Narrative Director at ArenaNe
Creative Team
Conceived & Directed by Igor Golyak
Producers: Igor Golyak and Sara Stackhouse
Virtual Performance Technical Director: Vladimir Gusev
Game Engine & Interaction Design: Will Brierly, Snowrunner Productions
Narrative Writer: Tom Abernathy
Assistant Director: Blair Cadden
Virtual Set & Environment Designer: Anna Fedorova
Web Developer: Anatoly Krivonos
Composer: Jakov Jakoulov
Production & QLab Manager: Blair Cadden
Properties Assistant: Irina Vilenchik
Live Production Technicians: Anton Nikolaev and Igor Golyak
Rehearsal Assistant: Mila Peterson
Platform: The Soft Layer by Snowrunner Productions
Cast
Ranevskaya Jessica Hecht
Gaev Mark Nelson
Varya Anna Baryshnikov
Anya Melanie Moore
Lopakhin Nael Nacer
Fiers Jeffrey Hayenga
Natasha Prozorov Darya Denisova
Charlotta Anna Bortnick
With Mikhail Baryshnikov as Anton Chekhov
Film Crew
Director of Photography: Guillermo Cameo
Associate Producer: Joshua A. Friedman
2nd Camera and Editor: Anton Nikolaev
Sound: Sebastian Holst
Gaffer: Sashank Sana
Assistant Editor: Anna Gruman
Production Assistant: Violet de Besche
Arlekin Players Theatre, founded by Artistic Director Igor Golyak, was created in Boston in 2009 and has since toured to New York, Chicago, and Hartford, as well as to international festivals in Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, and Monaco. It’s production of State vs Natasha Banina has received world-wide acclaim, including the New York Times Critics’ Pick. Arlekin has received multiple awards for its work including four 2020 Elliot Norton Awards from the Boston Theater Critics Association for its recent productions of The Stone and The Seagull. Arlekin takes strong pride in their emphasis on self-identity; they are a company of immigrants performing works that play on the ideas of cross-culture, home, and traditions, challenging the idea of nationality, and finding common themes that unite us all. In 2020, Arlekin launched it’s Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Theater Lab to explore new theater possibilities for a new time. The company makes its home in Needham, MA. For more information, visit www.arlekinplayers.com and ZeroGravity.ART.
BostonFIG is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that celebrates independent game development in New England, across the United States, and around the globe. Our goal is to create an inclusive environment for everybody who enjoys and appreciates games in any shape or form. The organization seeks to support and showcase the efforts of independent game developers, as well nurture young aspiring game creators from diverse backgrounds. BostonFIG is a volunteer-operated organization, which means that all of the funds we raise with our programming go back into creating new programs for our beneficiaries– the indie games community, the general public, and supporters. Learn about our programming at bostonfig.com.
Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation (www.CherryOrchardFestival.org), a registered 501c) (3) arts organization, is a leading independent international arts organization with a solid reputation for presenting musical performances, theatrical productions, multidisciplinary performing and visual arts attractions by a stunning array of global artists to audiences in the US. Founded by executive producer Maria Shclover and artistic director Irina Shabshis in 2012, the festival has presented over 60 unique world class events, concerts, and theatrical performances to over 150,000 audience members across the US. The presentation of “Cherry Orchard” at the Baryshnikov Arts Center will be the second collaboration between the Festival and Arlekin Theatre, after the successful online run of The State vs. Natasha Banina in 2020. The ongoing mission of the Cherry Orchard Festival is to introduce and promote global cultural activity and exchange of ideas, aiming to enlighten and engage audiences through educational entertainment programs and events. For more information about the festival, please visit cherryorchardfestival.org.
Snowrunner Productions
Arlekin Players Theatre Press Contact: Mark Soucy, [email protected], 978-289-9887