Cryptic and Technology

Since the outset Cryptic has engaged in the use of technologies on stage with a view to ‘ravishing the senses’.

Over the past fifteen years Cryptic has explored how technology can enhance performance, both in its immediacy but also in its intimacy, be it large scale projections or small scale monitors.

The multimedia journey began in 1994 with Bonjour Tristesse, when cellist Anthea Haddow played through a guitar effects unit to create live soundscapes on stage. Anthea continued to develop this technique, performing live in both Child Lover and Parallel Lines, and in 1997 she also began composing for the company using a combination of live instruments and electronics.

In 1998 Cryptic used video projection in Prologue, which had been shot on location in Budapest and the Isle of Arran, and by 1999 Cryptic was using live camera footage on stage to portray the character of Orestes in Electra.

Following this, for Each... and Every Inch, the company commissioned 3D video from Brian McClave (The Dell) to represent the garden which writer Elizabeth Smart had cultivated. We also used interactive sound through midi gesture units designed by composer Diane Labrosse.

The next technological exploration looked at how interactivity could work on stage. Through software, designed by Martin Parker, the performer’s voice was able to control how the visuals reacted to it. This was used to portray the chorus in Trojan Women in 2005. This interactive software is also used with orchestras in www.seeingmusic.co.uk

Currently Cryptic is developing new software for 2010 (working title Living Canvas) which will project exactly onto a performer’s body, even an arm, using infra red technology. The Living Canvas technology has been developed by Dr. Martin Naef, as an initiative between the Glasgow School of Art and Cryptic, with additional funding from the UK AHRC.

Bridging the gap between science and art, as part of the Gavin Bryars project, Cryptic worked closely with the pioneering Patrick Hickey from LUX Biotechnology to transfer ‘living light’ from the laboratory to the stage and successfully integrate luminous and fluorescent proteins within the set design.

Having established the use of video projections in performance, Cryptic wanted to move into a more real and immediate visual world. As theatre is a live artform Cryptic has sought to match this by creating not only the sound live but also creating live visuals on stage. This research and development was also enhanced by Cathie Boyd’s NESTA Fellowship which gave the company an opportunity to explore numerous software including Isadora and Keystroke.

This led to many collaborations with new media artists creating real time visuals for Cryptic performances such as Jasch, Cecile Babiole, Guy van Belle and Martin Parker all of whom used MAX MSP to deliver their visual effects, be it live camera capture or creating projected textures live in the space.

Video & Audio

Living Canvas - Reveal

Living Canvas - Text

Martin Parker

The Dell

Guy Van Belle, Locusts