Projects
Unsupervised Improv
Unsupervised Improv was a long form, narrative focused imrpov group that performed regularly in the Colorado Springs and Denver area from 2016-2021. I founded the troupe in 2016, along with Jake Zindorf and Ryder Tam, and acted as the primary coach and treasurer for several years, then shared the responsibilities with Ryder Tam, Gabe Valdez, and Archie Rosenkrantz while acting as the Artistic Director to create and manage our shows. During our time together we performed 50+ shows, predominantly performing long for structures such as the Le Ronde, Harold, and Armandos. In the final years of Unsupervised Improv, our work was focused on innovative show formats focused on integrating technology that allowed the audience to participate and engage in the show in more interesting and unique ways.
X
X is an innovative, post-modern, trading card game that is currently in the process of development for official release. The early Alpha of the game was created in collaboration with Unsupervised to create an improv show, however a more official release is on its way. I’m currently in the process of redesigning the cards to a more finalized version, so the documentation is thin at the moment as I don’t want to release images of unfinished cards, but the image to the left is a rough draft of the idea for the finalized version!
Unsupervised X X
Unsupervised X X was a collaborative show between Unsupervised and X to create a unique show that brought the audience into the performance in a new and interesting way., Each card was developed with nods or references to past Unsupervised shows and included an “effect” that it would have on the improv show. The cards included a QR code on the back that could be scanned during the show to display the effect and notify the improvisers as well as trigger lights and sound cues depending on the card played. Each audience member was given 1 pack of 8 cards, with varying rarities, that could be used once each forcing the improvisors to play and respond in unexpected ways while attempting to maintain their narrative. An application, developed wit C# in Unity, scanned the QR codes with a web cam, stored the unique ID on each card (to prevent multiple redemptions) then sent an OSC command to QLab to control various theatrical elements and play a sound effect to inform the improvisers that a card had been redeemed.
One.
One. is a unique take on the current market of comic books & comic book culture that challenges the readers expectations and how they interact with comic book media. Every day a single panel from the comic is released. There is no indication of how or where the panel lies in the larger creation of the comic, and it is up to the reader to interoperate where it belongs and what it means. While One. is currently on a production hiatus until time permits the project be started back up again, it is still on my back burner and will be revived (perhaps with some stylistic changes to make the project more manageable.
Twitch Bot
In 2020, I began streaming in part of an effort to stay connected with the people in my life and have some productive way to enjoy one of my favorite past times on my down time. As I’ve done so, I’ve been trying to create some uniqueness in my streams, and integrate some of my work from other areas. I’ve been working on an ongoing project to up the production of my streams by programming a twitch bot in Unity using the TwitchLib API, combined with OSC commands in order to allow more direct control of my stream via twitch chat, rewards, and other commands. Some of the current features include remotely powering off my computer by viewers, inverting my controls, launching different games and applications, changing my microphone or video settings, changing the lighting in my room, and so much more. The reward system has been designed to randomly reward viewers with different effects and track what they can use between streams. The project is ongoing, but will hopefully be integrated fully into my streams too, with some other features on their way, like a creature collector and more!
Animal Farm
During the height of the Among Us craze, I wanted to find a way to integrate the same kind of environment and gameplay in my streams. I created a pretty simple bot in python that would allow users to play a social deduction game inside of the chat itself. It allows people to join the game with the !join command, then each turn players can choose to use !action to take an action or wait to see what happens. Each player is assigned a random role, either a wolf or sheep (with some other special roles as well). If a Wolf uses !action, a sheep will die that round, if a sheep use !action, nothing will happen. Players must then use the information given between rounds, based on who used !action commands, to try and find out who was the wolf and vote them out!
MAXXYZ “Retrofit”
In an ongoing effort to recycle and repurpose old tech to help prevent tech waste and develop solutions that can be used for little to no cost by repurposing “trash”, I’ve recently acquired an old MaxXYZ console. I’ve been working on reverse engineering the old drivers for it in order to turn it into a simple midi controller that can be used for other, modern, applications such as QLab, DAWS or hopefully even integrate with other lighting software like an ETC Nomad for a cheap, reliable, fader wing!
QLab Show Control Scripts
I’ve written several QLab scripts over the time to help aid and automate various areas of workflow and shows. Seen to the left is an example of an audio monitoring system I’ve been working on to make it easier to see if microphones have gone out or stopped receiving signal. When audio is no longer detected on the channel, they go red indicating that there is a problem. As long as audio is detected, they stay green. Custom groups can be created to track performers who will be/are on stage so you always have immediate access to any information you may need right at a glance! Other scripts and solutions can be seen in my show control tab and on my github (currently a bit out of date, I’ll be updating them soon).
2 Dudes 1 Guy
Two Duds 1 Guy was a long form musical improv act performed by myself and Jake Zindorf, from 2017-2020, accompanied by our guitarist Dylan Osgood. During our work we performed over 15 shows across various venues in the Denver and Colorado Springs area and regularly live streamed performances as well. Our house format, influenced by the ideas behind La Rondes and Harolds, created a unique, narratively driven show that ensured every performance was unique, fun, and engaging for the audience. For more information on our format see here!
Stalemate
Stalemate is currently in development, but testing files are going to be made public soon! The game seeks to redefine an old classic and bring modern elements of gameplay to the game of chess. It utilizes a deck/drafting mechanic that allows every piece in the game to move uniquely every turn, creating a lot more depth, variance, and strategy than your average game of chess.
Adventure Dice
Adventure Dice are a work in progress theatrical presentation of a D20 rolling systems designed to be used for live performances that use dice a means of storytelling or performance. Currently the system is working correctly, but I’m working on ways to reduce the cost, weight, and storage of the dice. Each die is controlled by an app that contains information of up to 3 characters stats, allows for random numbers to be rolled corresponding to the dice values, and displayed to the audience by a physical representation of the dice. The current iteration is designed to allow the DM to also play cues, or integrate the rolls into show control software, to allow lights, sounds, or other theatrical elements to be played during rolls as well via OSC commands sent to a configurable IP address for each dice and value rolled. The LED’s are controlled using an ESP8266 and the program WLED. Each side is configured with a group of 7 addressable RGBW LED’s and the effect for “rolling” flashes each side randomly for a few seconds, then turns the side with value rolled solid green. All of the effects and LED patterns are stored in local JSON files that the user can
Improvisors Guide to the Galaxy
Improvisors Guide to the Galaxy is a tongue in cheek improvisors compendium written to contain every conceivable bit of knowledge one might want tor need in the performance of improv. The book is still in the works, and, quite honestly, given it’s scope may never be truly finished. My current draft is sitting at ~100 pages, with another 100 or so outlined. A public copy will be made available soon for those interested in seeing what is coming, or providing any feedback, as it is always welcome!
Fermi Paradox
Fermi Paradox was a piece developed for the Excellence in Arts Endowment Award in 2020. The goal was to explore the use of OSC controls through Unity in order to allow the audience to have greater control and involvement in the performance. Relying on performers with strong improvisational skills, the performance uses a guided narrative structure and multiple “events” triggered by the audience playing a networked game similar to Pipe Mania. There success or failure in the game triggers OSC events, that cause the lights, sounds, and set to change, effecting the outcome of the show. Unfortunately the show never got a formal production as a result of Covid, but it still serves largely as a proof of concept for the types of work I am continuing to pursue developing.
Gameboy Color Interactive Piece
A new idea I just started working on after discovering a few old Gameboy Color’s in my storage. I’m currently working on modifying the Gameboy to send all the user inputs over OSC to QLab (or other show control software) by monitoring the button presses using an ESP8266, stored in a game cartridge. There’s still a lot about the project I need to work out, but ideally the goal is to allow the audience to move around in a space while playing a custom designed Gameboy game, that causes the world around them to react and respond to their inputs as well. Once I’ve finished developing the proof of concept, I’ll be working on developing the game itself and script for the performance/live aspect, but it’s still very early in development.
Protogen Mask
Protogen Masks are highly technical masks worn by members of the furry community as part of their fursonas. My long time friend, and active member for the community pointed out to me some of the issues with these masks. They are often incredibly expensive, hard to maintain, and aren’t really created to be user friendly, customizable in any way, and all together have a huge barrier of entry between cost and the expertise required to build or change them once built. We wanted to make it easier and more accessible for members for the community, so we have been collaborating with each other to create an open source, user friendly, easily adjustable mask that people can purchase, build, and change on their own without needing much knowledge of programming or electronics. I’ve been developing a simple “pixel mapping” app that can allow the users to adjust the displays, save and create effects, and jump through their created looks easily. It connects to a RaspberryPi that is the brains of the mask, that controls the LED lights, some motors to move scales/ears, and an NFC scanner that can be used to create custom effects and responses to interacting with the mask.