Last Friday we were treated to a very special Lunchtime Talk by our lovely Studio residents Stand + Stare Collective. Producers of interactive and immersive theatrical experiences, Lucy and Barney Heywood applied for a residency two years ago because they wanted to fuse theatre and pervasive technologies to create a device that played interactive stories, the Theatre Jukebox. Joining the Studio on a 6-week micro-residency, they rapidly developed their concept from a pencil sketch to a functioning prototype. Using RFID technology hidden inside postcards to trigger individual stories, the Jukebox uses animation, projections, and binaural audio to fully immerse you in its world. You can watch a video of the Jukebox here.

Since finishing their residency scheme, news of their innovative and enchanting Theatre Jukebox has spread far and fast and they enter 2013 with a line up of commissions set to take the Jukebox to the next level.

This January, Lucy and Barney headed to Stratford-Upon-Avon to install a special version of their Theatre Jukebox in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theatre. Commissioned to offer a new way of engaging with the Theatre’s programme, the unique collection of postcards takes inspiration from the RSC’s current programme, as well as its Archive and Collection, to deliver a set of captivating stories connecting Shakespeare and Galileo Entitled 'Theatre Jukebox presents: A World Elsewhere’, you can watch a video about the project here.

In March, Lucy and Barney headed to Austin in Texas for the South by Southwest festival, where their Jukebox was nominated for the SXSW Arts Interactive award. Although they didn’t win in their category (it went to Lost Arts, a Tate/Channel 4 collaboration) they were delighted to be nominated and had a brilliant experience at the festival. Lucy also spoke on the REACT panel ‘Platforms for Haunting.’ You can read a post Lucy made about her SXSW trip here.

Earlier this month Stand + Stare Collective lead Watershed’s annual Grundtvig workshop with older learners from across Europe. This year’s workshop, Digital Dishes used our relationship with food and the memories it evokes to create a new collection of food-related stories for the Theatre Jukebox. Working with Stand + Stare, the workshop gave participants the unique opportunity to learn about new technologies while exchanging stories and meals with new friends. You can follow the participant’s blog here, and also come and listen to the stories they created on the Jukebox which has be installed in the Watershed café/bar until the 16th May.

They are now spending the next few months working on a variety of commissions for the Jukebox. They are making a Jukebox for Oxford City Council to permanently keep and creating three new postcard collections themed around Oxford icons including Morris Cars, Alice in Wonderland and the cities sporting heros for their Jukebox. Alongside that they are creating a set of postcards for the launch of new Library of Birmingham, making fictional narratives based on a collection of beautiful 1930s tickets. Lastly they are working with MOSI -Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry to create an exhibition piece that uses the same principles as the Theatre Jukebox but is on a much larger scale using objects to trigger stories instead of postcards.

As well working on their wonderful Theatre Jukebox, the duo are developing a new project commissioned as part of Watershed’s REACT initiative. Collaborating with academic partner Tim Cole, their project Turning the Page will bring the pages of well-worn travel books alive with stories, soundscapes and projections. You can find out more about the project here, and experience it for yourself at Bristol General Library during Mayfest.  

With such an exciting year planned we can’t wait to hear what they get up too next, follow them on twitter and check out the Stand + Stare blog to keep up to date with their progress.