In a new direction that should surprise no one, Georgia Tech is about to fully embrace technology in its arts programming.
Hologram concerts, dancers wearing 3D-printed costumes and a video game played to live music are some of the performances slated for the upcoming Arts@Tech season in January. The lineup celebrates the "high tech intersection of art, engineering, science, design and media," a press release said.
For the first time in 27 seasons, the schedule consists solely of artistic performances featuring new technology. In 2015, for instance, performances included traditional musical acts alongside an artist who dances with robots.
Madison Cario, director of Georgia Tech's Office of the Arts, joined the university's Office of the Arts in 2014. She said she believes the school is "unique in the nation in presenting a performing arts season exclusively" where art meets technology.
“Offering these exciting and innovative performances ... is something we hope Georgia Tech students, Atlantans and visitors will share and enjoy,” Cario said in the news release.
The season will take place in the Ferst Center for the Arts, 349 Ferst Drive NW. The theater space will be freshly refurbished after a fall renovation, which is to include upgrades such as new seating, lighting and carpeting.
Discounted ticket packages and individual tickets will be available in August from the Ferst Center Box Office at 404-894-9600.
The new season includes:
Jan. 12 at 8 p.m.; $36
The presentation, which features a five-piece band, "cinematic shadow puppetry" and "lo-fi live video," is set in a post-industrial Rust Belt city in the 1990s. The production "explores the quest to find meaning amidst a constant barrage of commercial images."
Jan. 25-26 at 8 p.m.; $30
Komansé Dance Theater takes a look at homelessness and gentrification in the metro Atlanta area and beyond. Using set design and 3D printed costuming by designer Danit Peleg, the “production brings together dance and technological innovation to embody the human connection between art and social justice.”
Fifth House Ensemble: Journey Live
Feb. 8 at 8 p.m.; $36
A video game will be screened as the backdrop to a performance from the Chicago-based Fifth House Ensemble and composer Austin Wintory. The ensemble will perform the game's soundtrack, as audience members play the game.
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Feb. 1 at 8 p.m.; $28
Comedian and inventor Mark Nizer uses technology to add a unique element to his performance. As he juggles items such as ping pong balls, hoops and flaming sticks, guests wearing specialty glasses will see images fly out at them.
Callas in Concert: The Hologram Tour
Feb. 23 at 8 p.m.; $45, $60, $75
Callas in Concert brings the late opera star Maria Callas (1923–1977) back to the stage as a hologram, accompanied by the Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra. Digital and laser projections will aid the show along with remastered original recordings.
Robbie Lynn Hunsinger: Music Technologist in Concert
March 8 at 8 p.m.; $22
Atlanta native and current Nashville resident Robbie Lynn Hunsinger, a classical oboist turned composer, will perform original multimedia works with live sampling and an interactive installation.
Maya Kodes: The Virtual Singer
March 30 at 8 p.m.; $36
Maya Kodes — a singing, interactive hologram — is the creation of Neweb Labs in Montreal. Kodes has a song on iTunes, an EP and has performed more than 30 concerts. She’ll be joined onstage by real, live, breathing local dancers.
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