dESIGN12+ #1: MICHAEL RAU (Stanford University, USA)

In his guest lecture, renowned Stanford University professor and theater director Michael Rau will bridge the gap between theater traditions and technologies from Silicon Valley. From an AI performance system that creates visual "secondary stories" alongside actors to a computer vision system that recognizes performers' movements for new analytical approaches, this talk will explore ways to integrate technology into storytelling without losing the human heart of performance.

About our guest speaker:

Michael Rau is a live performance director specializing in new plays, operas and digital media projects. He has worked internationally in Germany, Brazil, the UK, Ireland, Canada and the Czech Republic. He has worked in New York City at Lincoln Center, The Public Theater, PS122, HERE Arts Center, Ars Nova, The Bushwick Starr, The Brick, 59E59, 3LD and Dixon Place. Regionally, his work has been seen at the Ingenuity Festival in Cleveland, OH, and the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA. He has developed new plays at the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, the Lark, and the Kennedy Center. Michael Rau is a fellow of the Likhachev Foundation, the Kennedy Center and the National New Play Network. He has been a resident artist at the Orchard Project, E|MERGE and the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. He has been an assistant director for Anne Bogart, Les Waters, Robert Woodruff and Ivo Van Hove. He is also a "New York Theater Workshop Usual Suspect" and Professor of Directing and Dramaturgy at Stanford University (USA) as well as a former Fellow of the Dortmund Academy for Theater and Digitality.

Note: This lecture and Q&A session will be conducted in English.

Additionally, we have the pleasure of hosting special guests afterward, MAR ATZIN and Sophia Schachtner, who will present a video performance piece. Don't miss.