immersive VR experience
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A fantastical universe of stars surrounds you. Shimmering Agents of the Wire fly overhead. Chilling figures roll toward and under you. Utopic and dystopic all at once, this immersive virtual reality experience envelops the Witness in a disability-centered, accessible universe. This new project is a reimagining of Kinetic Light's stage production Wired, a potent aerial and contemporary dance experience that tells race, gender, and disability stories of barbed wire in the United States.
Territory offers encounters with boundaries, cosmic figures, dark forces, partnership, and new worlds. Guardians and Agents confront each other among stars, mist, barriers, wire, and flight — a lush combination of immersive cinematography, dance, animation, visual effects, science fiction, fantasy, and even a touch of horror.
Kinetic Light partnered with award-winning XR company Double Eye Studios and producer/director Kiira Benzing to transform live disability arts performance into an accessible VR experience that surrounds the audience in movement, light, vibration, and sound.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will Territory be released?
Release date is expected in 2024. If you are interested in presenting Territory,
email Molly Terbovich-Ridenhour.
How can I experience Territory?
The film will be available via headset and dome installation.
Sign up for Kinetic Light emails or follow us on Instagram or Facebook.
Is Territory accessible?
Aligned with Kinetic Light's artistically and aesthetically equitable approach to access,
Territory will be accessible in multiple ways. Access is in development; details will be shared here once finalized.
Is Territory appropriate for all ages?
Territory is for mature audiences.
How long is Territory?
Territory is a short VR film experience.
How can I support this project?
If you would like to invest in Territory, contact
Alice Sheppard. If you would like to present Territory, contact
Molly Terbovich-Ridenhour.
I am a journalist, how can I connect with the creators?
Email Kinetic Light Publicist Mariclare Hulbert
“a disability arts ensemble whose work is made by and for disabled people, [Kinetic Light] has an ethic and aesthetic of access that is exceptionally thoughtful and thorough.” ~ Brian Seibert, The New York Times
Territory will be available via headset and dome installation. Release date TBD, expected in late 2024.
VR & 360 film access
“Disability-led projects—such as Kinetic Light—offer incredible opportunities to rethink the meaning of access and to explore new ways of presenting it.” ~s.e. smith, The Nation
Access is central and generative in all Kinetic Light projects and practices. For Territory, the team is integrating artistically equitable access practices into VR development and creating full-reality immersive technologies. Access is in development and will include multitrack audio description, haptics, creative captioning, and more.
Alice Sheppard and Kiira Benzing talk as they sit crosslegged on the floor. They are both masked; Kiira is dressed in all black and Alice wears a black hoodie and copper and mesh pants. Alice raises a hand, gesturing as she speaks, and a barbed wire prop, designed by Josephine Shokrian, is in front of her. Kiira is a white woman with long blonde hair; Alice is a multiracial Black woman with bright orange curly hair and coffee-colored skin. The floor in front of them is green and studio equipment appears in the background. Photo by Cherylynn Tsushima.
Alice Sheppard and Laurel Lawson soar in their wheelchairs in front of a bright green screen, each facing the ceiling, arms curved up, holding a white barbed wire prop in the shape of a huge X. Jerron Herman faces the duo, his back to the camera, one leg stretched behind him and the opposite arm out to the side holding a cloth wire prop whip which wraps his body. Alice is a multiracial Black woman with short bright orange curly hair and coffee-colored skin; Laurel is a white person with pale skin and cropped peacock blue hair; Jerron is a Black man with a dark beard and blonde shortcut hair. They all wear copper bodysuits overlaid with black mesh which shimmers in crimson, sapphire, and amethyst, and delicate filigree headpieces of copper and brass with pearl and gold beading. Photo by Cherylynn Tsushima.
Legal
We are thrilled that you like our work, and that so many of you are inspired to explore movement. And: We are trained performers using specially developed equipment and our choreography is executed in a rehearsed and controlled environment. Please do not attempt to duplicate, recreate or copy our choreography or moves at home or anywhere else: you could be seriously (maybe even fatally) injured or you could damage your or someone else's property.
The viewing of the following film is for informational, enlightenment and entertainment purposes only.
You are hereby notified and advised that choreography you will see in the following film is performed by
experienced and well-conditioned and trained professionals using specially designed, developed, constructed and tested equipment
and other apparatus, as well as highly specialized techniques and know-how, and is performed in a rehearsed and controlled environment.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DUPLICATE, RE-CREATE, PERFORM OR IMITATE IN ANY MANNER THE SAME OR SIMILAR CHOREOGRAPHY OR DANCE MOVES
EITHER AT HOME OR IN ANY OTHER ENVIRONMENT.
Many of the dance moves performed in the film require physical conditioning and involve a risk of serious physical injury and
possibly even death and, in certain circumstances, also may result in damage or other injury to personal or other property.
The producers, directors, performers and others involved in making the film will not be responsible for any such injury or damage.
Credits
KINETIC LIGHT Artistic Director, Director: Alice Sheppard Choreography: Alice Sheppard, in collaboration with Jerron Herman & Laurel Lawson Dancers: Jerron Herman, Laurel Lawson, Alice Sheppard Scenographer: Michael Maag Concept Art: Michael Maag Production Lighting and Projection Design: Michael Maag Post Production Lighting Consultant: Annie Wiegand Access Design: Laurel Lawson and Alice Sheppard Costume & Makeup Design: Laurel Lawson Production Stage Manager: Nykol DeDreu Flight Crew: Stefan Barnas, Chris LaBudde, Ming Lai Wired Live Performance Co-Scenic Design & Prop Design: Josephine Sales Territory props & sculptures inspired by Wired live performance design. Prop & Sculpture Conception: Josephine Sales Interim Production Manager: Delaney Teehan, Aurora Productions Stage Management Fellow: Hannah Bailey Flight Consultation: The Chicago Flyhouse, Inc. Managing Director: Molly Terbovich-Ridenhour People & Company Operations Manager: Morgan Carlisle Access Manager & Cultural Steward: rachel hickman Finance Manager: Alexis Etzkorn Marketing & PR Liaison: Mariclare Hulbert Coordinating Specialist: Adonis Brown AUDIO DESCRIPTION Audio Description Sound Design & Mix: Laurel Lawson Movement & Narrative Description: Scripting: Alice Sheppard Voice Artists: Regan Linton & Christine Williams Movement & Environment Description: Scripting & Performance: Mo Pickering Symes & Tashinga Matewe, The Rationale Method Poetry Script and Performance: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha Character Narrative Description: Scripting: Alice Sheppard Voice Artists: Gregg Mozgala, Thomas Reid, Alice Sheppard, Laurel Lawson Menu & Functional Description: rachel hickman Captions: Alice Sheppard DOUBLE EYE STUDIOS Director, Producer: Kiira Benzing Producer: Erika Barraza VFX Supervisor: Mark Wendell Lead Developer: Elliott Mitchell Post Production Manager & Associate Developer: Katherine Scully Developers: Matt Brelsford, Mars Wong Editors: Hungry Mantis Environment Artist: Rea Goldson Animators: Mark Wendell, Rea Goldson Composer: Dan Wool Sound Designer: Drazen Bosnjak Sound & Haptics Design: Q Department Consulting Producer: Jessica Kantor UX/UI Designer: Antonella Mazzonni Paint Artist: Studio ZANYC Post Production Manager: Katherine Scully Line Producer: Mary Elizabeth Monda Director of Photography: Lauren Mendoza Assistant Director: Johnny Callaway 1st AC & DIT: Scottie Bown Production Coordinator: Sophie Penn Hair & Makeup: Samson Smith Gaffers: Jess Papayiannis, Nelson Smith Key Grip: Hayden Bullard G&E: William Rodriguez, Eli Freireich, Michael Dongo, Rebecca van der Meulen Script Production Assistant: Chelsea Williams Production Assistants: Taylor Doll, Shannakae Larregui, Arora McCargar, Kat Ray, Mike Shokouhi
Funders
Territory is funded, in part, by the Mellon Foundation, the Doris Duke Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Borealis Philanthropy's Disability Inclusion Fund, and the Jeffrey Seller Family Foundation.