Internal Noise will premiere its latest production on January 25: ‘Cervantes, enchanted’, a production that delves into the Spanish Golden Age and the work and figure of the author of Don Quixote with a surprising format that combines the physical presence of an actor with virtual reality on stage. It will be at the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria in a double session, at 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
‘Cervantes, enchanted’ is the result of an educational stage research work from a technological point of view. The work fuses the physical presence of Daniel de la Hoz as the main actor with the space-time immersion in the Golden Age through the use of special glasses that allow the public to feel like the protagonist of the story, sharing their emotions with the actors and integrating into the that surprising world halfway between the real and the virtual.
Since its birth, Internal Noise has opted to integrate new digital tools into its productions to generate other ways of creating on stage. 3D projections, videomapping or the use of video images are common elements in its latest releases and, on this occasion, the company takes a big leap by presenting a show where the audience not only looks at the stage, but also integrates into the own dramaturgy.
Although the work, which has the support of the Department of University, Equality, Culture and Sports of the Government of Cantabria, is intended for the general public, it has been designed thinking, especially, of students in the second cycle of Compulsory Secondary Education. , Baccalaureate and Vocational Training. Internal Noise has already included it in its offer for schools, with the advantage that students will be able to enjoy the proposal without going to a theater, in small rotating groups of 25 for each show. Its creators are convinced that it is a highly interesting product to attract young people to the theater and provide them with information about one of the great masters of universal literature in an original and innovative way. The first to verify this will be the 150 schoolchildren who will attend the performance in the six shows scheduled for January 25 and 26 at the Palacio de Festivales on the sidelines of the premiere.
Juan Carlos Fernández, director of ‘Cervantes, enchanted’, considers that if virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality are situations that are taking up more and more space in our lives, the time has also come for them to be considered by the performing arts. “The theatrical formats that are offered to schoolchildren have, on many occasions, expired. They use a discourse that is light years away from reality and, for this reason, I had been thinking about how to present a classic author in a different way for a long time. I think it is necessary to introduce new tools, as powerful as virtual reality, to get their attention, experiment with new sensations and create situations that make them return to the theater”.
STAGING
The public attends the performance sitting on chairs distributed within the stage space itself and the actor, surrounded by music, sound and lighting, interprets his role evolving between them. Next, Meta Quest 2 glasses allow attendees to immerse themselves in stereoscopic VR 360 video, while perceiving other physical sensations capable of generating a totally immersive experience.
The dramaturgy, by Juan Carlos Fernández, has had the collaboration and advice of the Torrelaveguense film director Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón. It has been built from the definition that appears in the dictionary of authorities (1726-1739) of the word enchant: execute something preternatural, regularly using words illegally, or other things together with words, to pretend like real and true what is not, nor is there, or to curse and do other similar evils.
In this way, the montage is presented as a constant game between what the actor, transformed into a charming contemporary, is counting, between what the glasses, as a magical element, are showing and between what the public, halfway between physical and virtual reality, he feels.
The video has been made by the production company Iralta VR, a studio specialized in the creation of immersive experiences and virtual production and has had the help of the Spanish Ministry of Culture and RTVE. Shot in 360º 3D it includes stories, characters, landscapes and cultural heritage with binaural sound and allows you to enjoy the figure of Miguel de Cervantes and the moment of creation of the characters of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza in a virtual, immersive and interactive way.
JUAN CARLOS FERNÁNDEZ, direction and dramaturgy
Bachelor of Fine Arts specializing in audiovisual media. University of the Basque Country. He resides in Cantabria where he has been carrying out his artistic activity. Since 2012, together with Mamen Campo Lacal, he has directed the company Ruido Interno, with more than 20 years of experience in the use of audiovisual tools applied to the scene. He pioneer of video art in Cantabria. He combines his artistic work with teaching at the IES Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón de Viérnoles, Torrelavega, Cantabria, as a professor of the Baccalaureate of Arts, teaching the subjects of Audiovisual Culture, Design and Audiovisual Technology Applied to the Scene.
IRALTA VR
Iralta VR is a studio specialized in creating immersive experiences and virtual production. His works innovate in the generation of virtual content in real time and developing immersive XR, VR and AR experiences for the metaverse.
His passion is to create content with the latest technologies that best suit each narrative and audiovisual format.
INTERNAL NOISE
Internal Noise is a cultural project that emerged in 2012 to develop its work in the field of management, realization, production and promotion of audiovisual scenic activities.
The artistic concern and the professional career of its promoters lead the company to launch activities related to the audiovisual world. Contemporary proposals that are based on the production and exhibition of theatrical and audiovisual works and training focused on the transmission of knowledge, research and dissemination of the most interesting aspects of each of these creative processes.