When I was away at SXSW I used Skype to talk to my dog every night. What can I say except that I love my dog. But while I was at the conference, I learned that there are some very creative ways that Skype can be used for artistic pursuits.



In the session Artistic Collaborations via Skype: Turning Distance into Drama, the presenters Beth Burns, Conner Roche, Derek Kolluri, Mimi Poskitt, Robert Matney and Rachel Watkinson talked about how their two theatre companies- The Hidden Room from Austin and Look Left Look Right from London worked to produce interactive theatre live in both Austin and London and on Skype to the general public.

The play documents the online fictional relationship of the couple, one who lives in London, England and the other who lives in Austin Texas.



The play is about 80% scripted but allows for improv that depends on the interactions created from the live audience and the internet audience who input comments and questions via twitter.

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