All the World Wide Web’s a stage.

At the end of a busy unconference day, it’s time for some entertainment…a trip to the theatre!

Shakespeareoke is a fun way to experience live theatre with your friends no matter where you are.

Participants in this “Play” session perform scenes from Shakespeare’s Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

About Shakespeareoke

Shakespeareoke lets you meet your friends and read great scripts in a Google Hangout App.

• The script progresses Karaoke-style, with a reading highlight and helpful cues. Sound effects bring you into the world of the play.
• Applaud talented performers with the click of a button, and their worldwide ranking improves.
• The director invites the company and casts the show using drag-n-drop.

Remember reading scenes from Shakespeare in front of the class? Now you can get the same learning experience from home, in your pyjamas.

Technical requirements: participants need a desktop/laptop with audio hardware (webcam is very helpful, headset is ideal) and network connection. An up-to-date browser (Chrome or Firefox) and the Google Talk plugin are necessary. Participants use their Google (G+) account to sign into Hangouts.

Shakespeareoke is one of those “cannot be unthought” applications of video/audio chat, especially Hangouts. It’s a project of kirk.zurell.name begun in January 2013.

The brochure site is at shakespeareoke.kirk.zurell.name.

About the session

Take a “backstage tour” of the app’s architecture, and share (hard-won) experience using Hangouts as a collaboration and casual game design platform. The possibilities for your art, communication, and game inspirations are virtually endless, but there are a few surprises along the way.

In any creative challenge, the creator can lose sight of fresh perspectives. I need lots of first impressions to make this product meet people’s expectations.

And it’s just plain fun! Chew up the scenery as Macbeth or Puck! Woo your sweetie as Hermia or Lysander…or Helena! Be the Weird Sister you always knew you were!

Looking forward to sharing my labour of love/obsession in its first public appearance.
Kirk