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<p>More than 100 performance artists from around the world come
together in December for the 121212 Upstage Festival of
Cyberformance – a festival of innovative live performance all
created and performed online.</p>
<p>Attending the 121212 UpStage Festival of Cyberformance is
completely free for anyone – but it costs money to produce, so
organisers are <a href="http://upstage.org.nz/blog/?page_id=278">seeking
donations to help make it happen</a>.</p>
<p align="LEFT">The annual festival, now in its sixth year, is
organised by artists Vicki Smith and Helen Varley Jamieson, with a
team of dedicated volunteers in New Zealand and around the world –
online meetings of the team cross multiple timezones and
languages.</p>
<p align="LEFT">The festival takes place online from 5-13 December,
during which 38 innovative live performances will be offered via a
variety of online platforms – all free of charge and accessible
via a standard internet connection and browser.</p>
<p align="LEFT">A Creative New Zealand grant provides some
assistance, however additional funds must still be raised to cover
the organisational costs of the festival. Anyone planning to
attend the festival is invited to donate in lieu of buying a
ticket: <a href="http://upstage.org.nz/blog/?page_id=278">click </a><a
href="http://upstage.org.nz/blog/?page_id=278">here </a><a
href="http://upstage.org.nz/blog/?page_id=278">to donate</a>
with your credit card or Paypal.</p>
<p align="LEFT">The UpStage Festival of Cyberformance has increased
in scope and quality every year since 2007. This year, recognising
the growth of cyberformance as an artform, the festival includes
work in other online platforms; performances in Second Life,
Waterwheel Tap, Visitors Studio, Icecast and Mosaika.tv feature
alongside UpStage shows.</p>
<p align="LEFT">The festival takes place in two sections: <a
href="http://upstage.org.nz/blog/?page_id=3430">Walking
Backwards into the Future</a> from 5-11 December and <a
href="http://upstage.org.nz/blog/?page_id=3447">Testing 1 2, 1
2, 1 2</a> on Wednesday 12 December.</p>
<p align="LEFT">Walking Backwards into the Future is a retrospective
of 19 remounted cyberformances celebrating the large and diverse
body of work that has been generated through the past five UpStage
festivals. Testing 1 2, 1 2, 1 2 includes 19 new shows that
experiment with real-time performance in a variety of online
environments.</p>
<p align="LEFT">The selected cyberformances and further details can
be found on the UpStage website at <a
onclick="javascript:window.open('http://www.upstage.org.nz/');
return false;" href="http://www.upstage.org.nz/">www.upstage.org.nz</a>.
During the festival, the website becomes the hub, providing links
for audience members to the stages or other platforms for each
performance.</p>
<p align="LEFT">Running alongside the online festival are a series
of ‘real life access nodes’ – physical venues that screen sections
of the festival for locally gathered audiences. So far nodes have
been confirmed in Argentina, France, Germany, New Zealand, Norway
and Portugal, with more to be announced soon.</p>
<p><a title="Free Online Performance Festival Seeks Donations"
href="http://upstage.org.nz/blog/wp-content/uploads/121212_donations.pdf">Download
the full media release</a>, and <a title="Donate!"
href="http://upstage.org.nz/blog/?page_id=278">click here to
make your donation</a> – contributions of any amount are
gratefully appreciated!</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
____________________________________________________________
helen varley jamieson: creative catalyst
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:helen@creative-catalyst.com">helen@creative-catalyst.com</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.creative-catalyst.com">http://www.creative-catalyst.com</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.make-shift.net">http://www.make-shift.net</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.upstage.org.nz">http://www.upstage.org.nz</a>
____________________________________________________________
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