Mouse of Amherst

Mouse of Amherst

This animation was created for a project called The Mouse of Amherst by Jane Franklin Dance in Arlington, VA. The story is adapted from the book of the same name by Elizabeth Spires. This dance is targeting children and imagines a friendship between Emily Dickinson and a mouse. The setting is based on Emily Dickinson’s bedroom in Amherst, MA.

For this piece, I decided to create a new kind of projected work that is not pre-recorded but instead is played in real-time as a video game. Originally, I had wanted to have the choreography of the animation controlled by the dancers, but ultimately we decided to just have the game play itself automatically. This is similar to a ‘cut scene’ in video games, as it is not video but an example of the game graphics presented in a controlled manner.

The piece was recorded and performed in 2011 on the Kennedy Center’s Millenium Stage in Washington DC along with several other pieces choreographed by Jane Franklin. The Mouse of Amherst is performed at the 17:45 time mark and is viewable on the Kennedy Centers’ web site.

media: projection, PC: completed 2010