Tranquil Artist in Residence Program

An artist in residence program will be offered to starving SL musicians. Please IM Brianna Beresford if you wish to apply or have more questions about the program. The selected artist will be required to perform at the Tranquil Cafe at least 5 hours a week, with one of the hours being Saturday Night at 5:00 pmslt. A furnished apartment, over the Tranquil Cafe for the duration of the appointment will be provided to the artist selected. To apply for the program please complete the application and return it to Brianna Beresford. Applicants will be selected by April 19, all applicants will be notified when the process is completed and an artist has accepted the position. Tranquil Cafe

"Walk to Elea!" Machinima-Film

Myth Guyot and fellow second life resident Laksmi Giha are now presenting only in Second Life, "Walk to Elea!" a Machinima-Film. The film connects Plato's "allegory of the cave" and the idea of life itself. The concepts of "being and existance" and the search for personal reality are explored in the film as the two characters enter a maze from different sides and find each other in the middle. Walk to Elea

On the 18th of May, this film will be presented at 4:00 PM (GMT +1) Klingspor Museum Offenbach am Main Herrnstr. 80, Offenbach , Germany for more information see the 431art Web Site

Cleaning Up Landmarks and Exploring

I’d only had limited time in Second Life these past few weeks, (no it wasn’t because of SL problems) real life commitments allowed me only a few short duration visits. So when an opportunity presented itself for an extended in-world visit, I decided to get out and explore and clean up a clogged and unsorted "LM" folder. There’s no need to mention neglect by its owner as a contributing factor for the disarray in that folder.

1. In error I’d attributed the novel “Wuthering Heights” to Emily Bronte’s sister, Charlotte on a Twitter posting. I’ve since posted a correction. It may very well be that they both would have approved of the Wuthering Heights Ballroom at Wuthering Heights Ballroom I found it to be a great build, with a grand Ballroom having ample space and opportunities for patrons to both dance and enjoy an evening of light romance.

2. A good friend and the decorator of my SL home, Amira Mathilde, has redone her store, ARTDECO Designs *Collection - Interior Design*. I’d stopped over to say hello but had missed her while she was out with a client. ARTDECO Designs

3. I only had time for a short visit to the “Small World Art Gallery” It is as described in the group information a “Fae Spark custom built art gallery done on a scale not often seen in SL.” I saved this LM for a return visit. Small World Art Gallery

4. At the invitation of Cetus Art District President, Tricia Aferdita, I visited the Harmony Cafe at Cetus, where I found a great decor and ambiance. This is a must see and an addition to the “Coffeehouses in Second Life” list. Harmony Cafe

5. I did a live reading of an excerpt of my short story “It’s Time for You to Fly” at the weekly Written Word Writer’s Circle. Information on this and on other programs sponsored by the group can be found at: Written Word

When I had a chance over these last few weeks, I’d started to explore “Virtual Networks” after having joined two others as noted below:

1. The Virtual Shakespeare Consortium is a consortium of individuals and organizations dedicated to bringing Shakespeare and his culture to the Internet and beyond.

2. Second Life Bloggers “Blogging the metaverse one post at a time....”

I’ve also continued to explore Twitter, I’m still feeling my way around the medium. But have established a routine now of opening it while in SL so I can post direct to there and of course have it show up on this page. Besides posting a daily update on the first song in the day’s playlist, I’m following a few people and will be adding more of that and what I discover here in Lane’s List and in my writings.

Exploring Virtualilty

As I'd developed the characters introduced in my story "It's Time For You to Fly", I'd wanted to explore the idea of what's "Virtual" and what's "Real" and what that means in Second Life relationships, both social and business. A good deal of this curiosity had been sparked through recent conversations on how both blend together in an augmented or mixed reality in SL, that along with my own SL experiences. As I further develop the characters and the stories of their lives, I hope to both expand and explore that meaning.

Over the last several days I'd been out exploring the virtual world of social networks. Having been invited by Dana Vanmoer, editor extraordinaire of the SL Newspaper, to the social network she'd established for the SL Newspaper, it'd sparked my inquisitiveness about what else maybe out there. Since then, I'd added myself to twitter, you may have noticed to your left, "Nazz's Updates", which allow my twittering to be posted here as well. From twitter, I discovered the Association of Virtual Worlds, a business and social network and have established a presence there. This past Friday the curiosity had been furthered through a pre-screening of a Machinima-Film by artist Myth Guyot titled, "Walk to Elea!" A fascinating look at both a virtual and real existence and I'm working on a piece for the SL Newspaper about it. On Saturday I exchanged off line IM's with Lauren Weyland and she'd pointed me over to her blog where I found her "Inside Out" posting. It is a delightful read on the nature of both a real and virtual existence and how it affects us while we are away from Second Life.

My wanderings and explorations in Second Life this past week included:

• A tour of Butzbach a delightful build. While there I had a lengthy chat with my tour guide and hostess MarillaAnne Slade. She was kind enough to show me the build and give me insight into her designs and plans for the space.
  

• A conversation with Selina Green at Book Island about the upcoming SL 2008 Book Fair at Book / Publishing Islands. I have my booth "Lane's List" at the Publishing Village there.
  

• A short note to a friend about having found a lost sock.
  

• An introduction through twitter to Inversehelix, we'd begun to follow each others twitterings and he has been contemplating an entry into SL.
  

• Work on my second story continues, although a title for the serial novel of which this will be the second installment, still eludes me.
  

• An interview with an activist organizing a coordinated SL and RL event. Another article in the works for the SL Newspaper.
  

First Publication Release of "It's Time For You to Fly"

Lane’s List Publications is pleased to announce the release of “It’s Time For You to Fly” a short story by Nazz Lane. This is the first story in a to be named serialized novel based on Second Life characters.

"It's Time For You to Fly" is available only at Lane’s List Publications for $75 L. Lane's List Publications can be found at 52 Lovejoy Way—Book Island Publishing Village.

The SLURL is: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Book%20Island/122/104/36

Lane’s List Publications: Published in Second Life for the residents of Second Life

The Arts in Second Life Part Three

While reading Kurt Vonnegut’s “A Man Without a Country” recently, I’d come across an interesting comment he’d made regarding electronic communities. The chapter recounts how, in his writing life-time the technological impact had brought changes and, from his view, not for the better. He presents the reader a vignette of his routine in sending off marked up pages to a typist. It’s a delight to read and its theme revolves around the contact and interaction with his fellow New Yorkers. He begins with the picking up of an envelope at a stationery supplier, then a visit to the post office and concludes with his mailing by dropping off the envelope with the pagers. He then tells the reader:

“Electronic communities build nothing. You wind up with nothing. We are dancing animals. How beautiful it is to get up and go out and do something. We are on earth to fart around. Don’t let anybody tell you any different.”

I’m awfully fond of just “farting around” so I’m reluctant to dismiss his statement in whole. I believe that those surveyed for this and previous editions of “The Arts in Second Life” would disagree as each has built a community in this electronic metaverse of Second Life. All are remarkable and every day they get up and go out to do something for us and themselves. And it is something.

This is the last in the series, I do hope you’ve enjoyed hearing from these extraordinary people on what they’ve done and are planning to bring to our Second Lives in 2008. Here is part three of a survey on “The Arts in Second Life”.

Jilly Kidd - Written Word

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the SL Literature community and why were they significant?

The first milestone was the first SL Book Fair in Spring 2007. I helped to organize this with a team of people, the main ones being me researching and finding exhibitors, Selina Greene offering her land as the venue and organizing the event, and Roman Zeffirelli doing the build. This was a milestone because we gathered together publishers, writers and people involved in book design and production, all in one place, in a way that paralleled the London Book Fair. By gathering together, the exhibitors could attract traffic in a way that's difficult if they are in isolated locations only offering their own books, designs and writing. Exhibitors stayed after this event to create what is now Book Island and Publishing Island. This is a commercial area now and I wanted to work nonprofit with writers so I moved on to develop that project.

The development of broadcasting on SL. As part of the book fair, we encouraged authors to make appearances reading from their work using podcasting, but they still had to reply to audience questions in text. Afterwards I started an author interview show called "Meet the Author" which is broadcast on SLCN.tv, Second Life's cable network. SLCN streams this show live and I can talk to authors by phone anywhere in the world while the audience on SL can listen and ask questions by IM. The author reads, is interviewed and replies to questions all in live voice. This makes it like a professional television interview and is well in advance of what was being done for literary shows earlier in the year. The show is also streamed live online and archived for people to see on the website so it can also be seen by people who don't use SL. In this way, SL and RL have merged for this type of show. Another effect is that authors have seen the show online and have been attracted on to SL to join the literary community here. This show is for published authors and you can see it on http://www.slcn.tv/meet-author

The advent of voice. With voice becoming generally available, the types of events I've been describing have become much more widespread. Anyone can hold a reading in voice even if they don't have access to a stream or broadcasting technology - and they can film it and post to YouTube. The move from small isolated writing groups to big events and projects, like the ones I work on, helped get all of this started as we could get the land and the technology. Now I'm very happy to see an explosion of writing and literary events all over SL, with some professional authors appearing in cafes here and there, and writers gathering on beaches and in venues to read out and share their work.

The development of major SIMs for writers and publishers. Growing out of the projects described above, major SIMs have developed for writers and publishers. Book Island and Publishing Island are a professionally run venture with regular events. As a nonprofit organizer, I was surprised to be picked up by two very generous landowners who provided free space for me to work with writers. The first was Johnny Austin at the Joysco Convention Center who provided the venue for me to start my "Meet the Author" show. The second was Thinkerer Melville who provided a large parcel of land on Cookie Island to let me work with writers.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

Things haven't developed how I imagined at the beginning of the year as I only imagined getting the writers' community together to enjoy friendships with writers across the world. The potential of SL has made it a much larger enterprise than I could ever have known.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

I see performance as being the way forward in 2008 and the next trend. We will still have the fairs and exhibitions to let writers display their work in various ways - with virtual books, links to websites, links to audio and live readings. In 2007, we had the largest ever writers' exhibition in SL - the Autumn Writers' Exhibition. We will continue to have these events to bring the writing community together and to let others see all or our work.

I see performance as the next big trend. Writers and publishers are increasingly wanting to have their work displayed not just as text, but brought to life on stage, film and audio. On Cookie Island, we have a team of people under Thinkerer Melville, who are very involved in performance in SL and RL, so we'll be bringing all sorts of performance art to SL. This isn't just literary - I also look for talented comedians and live singer songwriters who perform on our Saturdays Wild show on Broadway Live Island. All of this is to encourage live original writers in all forms on SL.

We also have Written Word competitions every month for L$5,000 prizes and publish virtual books with the winners. Writers here are also published online on our site http://www.writtenword.org.uk/ and can do a free online poetry workshop on my website message board http://www.communigate.co.uk/london/justpoets

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

I was never on virtual worlds before so I had no idea what would be possible. I think coming to a virtual world as a total newbie can make you look at the potential in a totally different way, but I had a steep learning curve. The good thing about SL is that there's plenty of free help available so we learn fast.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

More RL authors and organizations are getting involved with the Written Word and taking SL seriously as a place to have a presence. On January 30th, we're hosting an event for the Poetry International organization (contact Ardor Foden who represents them here). This is a major Dutch poetry organization which also publishes international poetry and has links to national poetry societies. We're helping them make a film of their RL poets reading in SL and this will be shown in the Written Word's Red Sky Club on Dutch National Poetry Day January 30th. The film will be followed by readings by some published poets on SL including a reading from my book. Hope to see you there!

Desideria Stockton - Literature Alive!

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the SL Literature community and why were they significant?

Literature Alive! has really come of age in the last year. It went from a small project, just involving my students, to a grid wide project that targets not just student but also residents. Educational Designer, Eloise Pasteur, came on board as a volunteer early in the year, and, her arrival marks the most significant milestone. In the quest to provide edifying grid content to residents, Literature Alive! seeks to provide immersive environments that allow participants to engage the environment even when classes are not in session. In the past year, we have developed over 27 sites for literature, and we have highlighted the work of about 117 authors. While all of our builds are milestones, the one we are most proud of is a full scale Dante's Inferno used to teach the novel Linden Hills by African American novelist, Gloria Naylor. Designer Eloise Pasteur created an awesome 3D version of Hell based on the text of the Inferno. Another milestone includes winning a Foundation for Rich Content grant to create the Literary Holodeck which allows us to pass out our open access builds to anyone wishing to use them. Additionally, we won a Texture Support grant from the V3 Group which helps offset the costs of texture uploads. Continued support from SLCN.tv allows us to offer engaging prizes to students. Finally, Intellagirl Tulley and Typerwriter Merlin's book, Second Life for Dummies, features Literature Alive! as an example, and that is an excellent milestone for us.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

Literature Alive! has grown in ways that I could never have imagined. It started out as just me and my students. Once Eloise Pasteur came on board, we were able to build engaging environments that moved beyond the "standard" college environment. As we met more and more people and collaborated with more of the educational community, we grew in leaps and bounds. Daliah Carter, a student from the pilot group at LCCC, is now my assistant. We really are blessed by how Literature Alive! has grown, but I think it is truly telling of the desire to have edifying content in the grid. People WANT cool places to go that don't involve money. The sciences have been doing a tremendous job (ISM, NOAA, Genome), and now literature is duly represented.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

I think the educational community is growing exponentially, and there will be more of a call for collaborative projects. In the fall 2007 semester, my students participated in the World University Exchange program headed up by Elmo Wilder. This brought together students from the US, Canada, Korea, France, and Japan. I think more of these partnerships will surface as we learn how to use SL as a collaborative and social educational tool. I also believe that more universities and colleges will legitimize virtual educational tools. In the past year, many of us have faced great resistance on our real life campuses, but as more and more articles are published in peer review journals like Innovate, the more we will find legitimacy for our work. Legitimacy leads to funding in many places, and many people are starving for institutional funding. I think organizations like NMC, ISTE, and Elven will continue to grow as people collaborate with each other and seek professional development. These organizations have been leaders in providing cutting edge development opportunities, and I anticipate that they will continue to grow. Finally, I think more educators will try to utilize the teen grid for high school projects. Fred Fuchs, at FireSabre Consulting, and Global Kids are doing amazing development work and I anticipate they will continue to grow.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

I have toured a few other virtual worlds, and they are OK. If Second Life didn't exist, I would certainly use them, but SL has the best graphics (so far). I do believe that someone will build a better virtual world, so SL has the challenge of keeping up with the competition. However, I believe Linden Lab is full of a lot of heart; this model wasn't built on making money, it was built on a dream to change the world. The philanthropy in SL, the work of the MacArthur Foundation, and the work of residents working together for a cause (breast cancer, Relay for Life, The Virtual Orphanage Project) are all marks of long standing commitment to global service.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

Literature Alive! will be creating a full SIM ghost town for the reading of Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters. Students will be working together to create visual and audio-prim poems by Maya Angelou. Students will be working at the VIT world campus to build a tenement museum and a progressive era timeline. We are still looking for a home for the Inferno, but will be doing a small scale version of it on land donated by MillionsOfUs. I am fortunate to have the amazing Eloise Pasteur and Daliah Carter on staff, and we will work together to create rich environments that provide access to literature. Professionally, I am guest co-editing Innovate on an issue on virtual worlds. Literature Alive! hopes to establish a presence on the teen grid, as well. Most importantly, we hope to maintain our mission: we hope to create a lifelong love of learning through a lifelong passion for reading :)

ItsNaughtKnotty Cannned - INKsters

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the SL Literary world and why were they significant?

Last year, SL saw an explosion of cultural events. Establishment of Cookie SIM and sLiterary sim were key components for authors. At least two other SIMs are dedicated to book-ish themes. The number of periodicals paying for news stories grew. Theatrical groups received the gift of voice chat ... which the rest of us curse! The grid became stable enough to reasonably hold large group meetings without fear of lag or crashing. And, of course, the INKsters was founded and, I might be biased, but we've been digging the authors out of the woodwork all year and have a pretty amazing group together now and we continue to grow every week.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

Things seem to be going about as one would expect. A little drama, a lot of expansion. There's no way to keep up with all the events now. Second Life seems to be growing up. If only we could get the Lindens to give newbies the tools to help them get connected to other people on arrival, rather than worrying about how to alter our appearance, it would do wonders. I tell every new person I meet to join as many groups as possible right off the bat. We're needlessly limited to 25 groups and a meaningful Second Life is all about collaboration and creation. Why the Lindens don't make that more evident to new arrivals is still a mystery to me.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

Ummmmmmm, I expect real world entities will find a way to make Second Life more than just a place for cheap advertising. Big interactive builds with highly creative designs seem to be evolving every day. My hope is the tools will continue to evolve to allow more artists access to easier tools so that people don't have to be professional programmers to create new and interesting things in Second Life. From a literary perspective, I'm betting we'll see "the metaverse" come into its own as a literary genre that is distinct from science fiction.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

I'm a chat room addict. This is a fancy chat room where you look for the LEAST popular rooms, instead of the most popular. Being able to do a 3D web design while hanging out with people who have similar interests is quite charming, too. My experience with other virtual worlds is fairly limited, but I've been to enough of them to know that our ability to create our own content here is unique and quite wonderful.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

Well, I can only speak for the INKsters. We're going to continue the daily competitions. I hope to find the rest of the writers in Second Life and put them all to work. :D We're expanding our critique group, our land holdings, our publications, and probably our workshops. We'll do everything we did this year, on a much bigger scale. Ultimately, my main goal is to find those people who feel a calling to become authors and help them find the tools to make their inner voices come alive. If I can help somebody do that, then I've made Second Life a better place.

Thinkerer Melville - Communication Arts

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the SL Literary world and why were they significant?

Voice. Many literary activities depend on oral communication. Poetry reading, once done in streaming audio, changes from a monologue to a conversation when you have voice. Plays can be more naturally done in voice and really require voice (oral reading) for collaborative development. Even written prose benefits from oral reading in a group.

Other milestones that I would identify are development of live comedy acts (Lauren Live) and live theater (by the Act Up group in July and October). Both of these are in response to the arrival of voice capability.

Possibly another milestone is the appearance of Broadway Live Island, a cluster of SIMs related to Broadway theater. These are being developed by Tom Polum, an experienced Broadway producer/artist. This, along with the ballet production by IBM and the documentary produced by Molotov Alva, mark the entry of real world cultural activities into SL.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

Things move so fast in Second Life that I'm not sure I had a firm idea of how things would develop. I expected that the advent of voice capability would lead to the developments cited above, but I had no idea that things would move so fast.

I started actively using surrogates (Skype, TeamSpeak) for SL voice before the real thing became available. I encouraged both Lauren Weyland and the Act Up players to use the TeamSpeak server to get ready for performances in voice. I suppose others were doing likewise. So I think one of the reasons things move fast in SL is that many people are bringing lots of previous experience with them.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

I think the milestones mentioned above represent "proof of concept" steps in the cultural development of Second Life. As to the greatest impact, that is a judgment call that depends on the viewpoint of the caller. I will pick a sleeper on that. One of the groups I am working with wrote about seven plays last fall. These are all in a series to be called "Tales of the Metaverse." I see this as a demonstration of the potential for collaborative writing in Second Life. Last summer we realized (the Act Up players) that our rate-limiting factor was going to be the availability of suitable scripts with the necessary permissions to use copyrighted material. Now that the INKsters have demonstrated that they can produce the kind of scripts that are needed, I expect that capability to have a big impact.

Another trend I saw start is the development of multimedia art. (That’s the name I made up for it.) It is the combination of several forms of art, such as poetry, music, and 3-d graphics. Elros Tuominen makes some interesting versions of active art. I am now using them in a video I am making and expect to combine one of them with music and voice script I have written to produce a video. I hope to get other people to explore other ways of combining art forms in collaborative art.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

I have not explored other virtual worlds except superficial inquiry. My impression is that SL is the only VR world where I could work with older, professionally experienced people – the kind who would seriously interact with literature and art. I would suggest that art and literature in a virtual village work better than art in a lonely garret.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

Predictions are really hard to make, especially about the future.

I expect to see the development of theater groups, some touring with a repertoire of one-act plays that they can offer to interested theater venues. Some of these plays will no doubt be produced as videos and perhaps even used in ways that generate a little income.

I also expect to see an increase in comedy performances – both solo and skit format.

Molotov Alva’s documentary, “My Second Life” has been sold to HBO and should run this spring. I expect that the production of a marketable video out of Second Life will stimulate much more activity of this kind. More generally, I expect continuing change in the demographics with a substantial increase in the number of people with “grown-up” interests – business, professional, cultural, literary, entertainment – the kind of things people would look for if their company wanted to move them to a town they had never heard about. Such people enjoy and support the cultural amenities of a community and I expect they will do that in the virtual community of SL.

Lauren Canetti - Arts and Literature Group

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the SL Literary world and why were they significant?

I would have to say that in the last couple years that I have been here, I have seen interest groups move from the standard, carefree events and groups, to something more intellectual and thoughtful. The bringing of books into SL and the constant creativity of its own residents provide a huge backdrop for cultural and intellectual discussion of many works.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

I would have to say, with the invention of the voice chat, bringing more feeling and strength into readings, more jazz / coffee shops opening up and theatre coming full fledged into Second Life, there have been wonderful changes. I hope to see more in the future, including widespread discussions and a library of material written by SL residents, for all to share.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

Again, I would point out that the voice chats, along with the larger population of intellectual people seeking intellectual activities would be the largest impact. I personally have 200 people in my arts and literature group just chomping at the bit for more to soak up.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

I have been involved with other virtual worlds, and in all of them I have found myself, not drawn to their tasks and storylines, but drawn to the intellectual conversations among the members... much of my time was spent sitting around a table in an involved discussion. This is what brought me to SL and what fuels my desire to stay here... I am not bogged down with meaningless tasks, unobtainable goals, I am able to enjoy an evening with a nice glass of wine and some strong intellectual pursuits.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

I see the theatre expanding in the next year, and am hoping to get myself involved in that.

I personally am excited to be reformulating my book study group and an art discussion group after a recent illness. Thankfully, I have someone else running the group in another area of the world, so we are hoping to have more participants, expand the views, etc.

I believe that expanding coffee shops to having more poetry readings and, eventually, putting together a library of works from the SL residents themselves will be a wonderful goal to obtain in the future.

Angeline Blachere - Book Island Events and Discussion

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the SL Literary world and why were they significant?

I think the opening of Book Island as a free standing SIM and the subsequent addition of Publishing Island paralleled the growth of the literary scene in SL. The SL literati hunger for places to find books, read books, display their works, and actually publish their work.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

Definitely not the way I thought, but the reality was much much better. I thought that I would open my shop "The Book Doctor" and pick up a few note cards to edit and stories to work on. Instead, I have been busier than I ever imagined with RL work, paying RL dollars all because of my virtual shop on Book Island.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

I think that avatars' thirst for good books to read will continue to grow. I also think that more and more people come to SL as a place to market their work. There are readings and workshops and a thriving literary community.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

I have not explored any other virtual worlds. I consider SL the most serious one for my needs and my market.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

Definitely more events, book fairs, and readings and as the reputation grows others will follow.

My friend and I met again over morning coffee as I was finishing up this last part of the series. She’d commented in surprise at all that had gone on this past year and what was in store for SL’ers this New Year. “Nazz, what will be the next subject for your list?” she asked. I replied, laughing, that I hadn’t even had a chance to think about it. “Well, you’ve been so wrapped up in this and we’ve not had much together time of late. Maybe you could take me … hmmmmmm …..I know! *She puts hands on her hips while turning the upper half of her body slightly to look at Nazz over a shoulder. She bats her eye lashes and curls her lips into a smile whispering seductively *… somewhere romantic,” she said. All I could do was grin and nod my head in agreement.

My special thanks to each of you who contributed to this edition and Parts One and Two, from me, the humble recorder of your activities. And, also, a thanks to all whom I didn’t touch for this series of articles that are building communities in Second Life.

The Arts in Second Life - Part Two

Live musical performances have been woven into the fabric of Second Life so tightly now that even the Lindens have posted a message letting us know how to find out what is happening as we log into SL, suggesting we seek out a concert or performance to attend. Whether it’s the sweet voice of a jazz vocalist’s rendering of a standard, or that of a ballad, or the delicate pirouette of an SL ballerina, or actors on a stage, there is something for all residents of this metaverse. This edition is Part Two of “The Arts in Second Life”. Part one focused on the visual art community with contributions from artists, gallery owners and promoters. Part Two will follow in a similar vein with the perspective of performance artists, group owners and venue owners.

After assembling the list of people and then disseminating, collecting, reviewing and consolidating note cards, here is Part Two of a survey on “The Arts in Second Life”. Part Three, the last of this series will follow soon and its focus will be on Literature in Second Life.

Joy Ash – Mediaculture Group

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the performance arts world and why were they significant?

I think that the milestone was that more and more really remarkable musicians came into SL, if you look at the biography of some: Siham Palmer, Napthali Hawks, Cyberpiper, MoShang and a lot more. It’s just I can’t count everyone, the list would be too long *smiles* and I don’t want to hurt any other musician I didn’t count.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

I didn’t think of how I should come or go into the Music business. I took it how it came but I had my line where I wanted to go and everything was just awesome.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

I see that more and more classical musicians are coming into SL and that’s really great. I know of so many great opera singers, classical musicians, and they are really great.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

I’m not in any other virtual worlds because I have so much work in RL and SL with Mediaculture, so there is no free time for other virtual worlds.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

A lot of new musicians, really great musicians and bands will enter SL. Mediaculture has two projects going on in RL and that will be really a big thing with Second Life. Also next will be the copyrights about music in SL.

Yavanna Llanfair - Classical Pianists

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the performance arts world and why were they significant?

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra playing live in Second Life in October - the first orchestra to give a live performance here. Also, Origin Rang's live piano performances - a true virtuoso, and a truly amazing experience.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

I opened a classical ballroom back in September, because I felt there was a lack of true classical music places in SL. Despite widespread interest in classical music, I am still surprised at how few places there are streaming good classical music.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

Hopefully, more top quality performances from the likes of Origin Rang, the Schumanns and other excellent classical performers. I started the group "Classical Pianists", which now has 76 members, with the intention of getting classical pianists together, and so that event organizers have a forum where they can advertise for performers, and advertise performances. There are some top class pianists in the group, some of whom are willing and keen to perform live in SL, and I hope that event organizers will use this increasingly as a source for contacting willing performers.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

Not recently, no. I was a Cybertown resident, but SL is just so far beyond that technology that it is not really comparable on the same scale.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

Hopefully, an expanding of classical music events and places, I'd love to see my own ballroom in Basilisk being more used, where anyone can select from a range of classical streams.

Inarra Saarinen - Second Life Ballet Founder and Artistic Director

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the performance arts world and why were they significant?

Well, the founding and first performances of Second Life Ballet *smiles* As far as we know, this is the first and only performing ballet group in virtual space.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

Yes and no. Yes, in that I did have the goal to have choreography in progress, an active performing company, and to start being seen in First Life publications by the end of this year. This has happened. No, in that I did not foresee this kind and amount of success! Six hundred members, a large company, a 6 month run of our first ballet "Olmannen", demands for Euro and more performances.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

Well, again I have to point to dance performing art that is truly art and does not rely on pose balls or HUD’s. We are moving beyond sex, gambling, and club dances in SL and towards the arts.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

I have worked with the Internet and performance a great deal in the past. I worked simultaneously with performers at geographic distances. I also worked with the ability to dance with images.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

Again, speaking for Second Life Ballet, we are looking forward to some First Life/Second Life collaborations and explorations.

Cher Harrington - Audio Consultant

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the performance arts world and why were they significant?

Key milestones for me on a personal level in the performance arts world were:

· Fox 11 News Los Angeles Interview: http://www.dublinsl.com/media.html
· Newsweek Interview
· Entertainment Director for iCommons Summit 2007 in Second Life: http://www.icommons.org/isummit07/ , 15-17 June, Dubrovnik, Croatia, REAL WORLD, 15-17 June, Ilha de Intercambio, Second Life, VIRTUAL REALITY. PURPOSE: To create a parallel iCommons Summit 2007 conference in virtual reality in Second Life, sponsored by iCommons, USC Center on Public Diplomacy, and Linden Lab. Success indicators were:
o Mixing the Two Worlds (Real and Virtual)
o Reaching More People via Second Life
o More Awareness and Use of Broad Sharing Vision, Principles and Methodologies
o Successful SL Conference Experience for iCommons and USC

Audio Consultant, DJ, MC for PHILANTHROPY IN VIRTUAL WORLDS EVENT, USC ANNENBERG PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ISLAND: Philip Rosedale and Jonathan Fanton conversation about philanthropy in virtual worlds. Combining USC staff, MacArthur Foundation staff and Philip Rosedale into one stream via Skype and Winamp to 4 joined SIM’s while MC’ing the event and DJ’ing SL Live Artists songs - each approved by Jonathan Fanton, MacArthur Foundation President.

Hostess, MC, Coordinator: Streaming seminars with MMAC - STREAMING AUDIO IN SECOND LIFE SEMINAR: How to stream audio to SL community. "Again by popular demand, given the number of queries by people seeking how-to info, Dash Renoir, Director of the Multi Media Arts Center (the MMAC), has set up another tutorial seminar, STREAMING AUDIO IN SECOND LIFE. He has asked SL audio consultant Cher Harrington to arrange and moderate the next panel."

Production coordinator of “Catch A Rising Star” for Dublin with artists such as Johnny99 Gumshoe, UFS Hyde and Matthew Perreault performing for the first time in SL. Catch a Rising Star was a showcase for upcoming Live Artists, new or not so well known in SL, from the first time portraits, installing audio programs to a successful two hour show in the Dublin SIM.

Manager: SL Live Radio: First dedicated all SL Live Artist Station: http://www.slliveradio.com. Courtesy of SL Live Musicians, Radio Cher, and PickSL Dublin Services: (http://66.34.54.162:8014 ). Pick SL Dublin Services and Radio Cher have been providing SL Live Artist recordings online since September 2006 and July 2007, respectively, and have combined forces in November 2007 into one SL Live Radio service to make more music available to artists and listeners.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

Things are growing at a fast pace in SL - I hear complaints about only 25 group and TP issues - when I remember one TP point per SIM and 10 groups per avatar. I see this with the influx of live artists into SL - the number has more than doubled in the past year. Everyone has such wonderful ideas and there is a place for all in Second Life, it truly is a community. I believe that this community spirit will carry over and expand - designers, artists, scripters, venues, educators and more - all working together more efficiently to produce outstanding products, services, entertainment and talent that will become known beyond SL to the real world.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

One trend I see that I believe will have an impact on 2008 is Simulcast streaming - where the artist streams from a real life show into a Second Life venue.

Simulcasting began in the Dublin SL SIM over a year ago by simulcasting live shows weekly from The Bedford in Greenwich, UK into the Blarney Stone: http://www.thebedford.co.uk/ . The Bedford (also known as The Bedford Arms) is an English public house situated in Balham, London. It is a well known venue for weekly live music nights, featuring acoustic sets from up-and-coming new artists and established acts. This year, Dublin will be simulcasting biweekly with two additional venues streaming into the Blarney Stone. Simulcasting is about finding new talent in local regions and getting them heard worldwide, getting them into SL when they weren't already big famous stars, either, but regular talented musicians.

Additionally, musicians such as MidKnight Auer, Tone Uriza and Forsythe Whitfield are seeing simulcasting as a way to combine SL and RL effectively - sales and promotion to two worlds at once. MidKnight Auer streams from Stingaree in RL San Diego, into SL's Diegoland Club Wicked weekly, using a soundman and two microphones, as does Tone Uriza with his band, Tony and the Torpedoes, from the Boondock's Lounge in Arizona once a month.

Also, Forsythe Whitfield is planning to take his RL show from Montreal, Canada, and simulcast - announcing the brand-new CD while performing to both SL and RL audiences at the same time - on February 29. He is selling the CD to in-world audiences through an mp3 kiosk and then to the RL audience in person.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

I was a beta tester for The Sims Online, and promotions director and DJ for a radio station there. To ask someone to listen to your station, they needed to have an outside audioplayer and paste the URL in the player. Each listener was a chore to get - many did not have Winamp, MediaPlayer, etc! Tip jars and pay were unheard of, we did it for the love of music. When I came to SL and saw you could step into a parcel and automatically hear music, this amazed me. But most of all, what changed my life was hearing RL musicians play live and streaming into a virtual world. I DJed for a while in both worlds, but I found that SL with its "advanced" streaming technology and live artists, was the place I wanted to be.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

I see more SL-RL interaction in the form of simulcasting, cd sales, artist promotion and a closer interaction between real world talent and SL Live Artist talent, as well as in-world collaboration.

· Biweekly simulcasts into SL Dublin from the RL United Kingdom, with new talent showcases

· Forsythe Whitfield will be releasing a new CD in Montreal, Canada and at the same time performing in SL, to both SL and RL audiences on February 29

· The expansion of SL Live Radio from inworld into the real world, as well as more real world radio stations streaming into SL, such as liveireland.com into Dublin

· More mega events such as the Philanthropy in Virtual Worlds event and the iCommons, combining 4 SIMs and speakers reaching out to audiences inworld and worldwide

· More educational groups in SL, offering classes inworld such as the San Diego Community College's graphic arts class being held in Diegoland SL on January 19 http://www.theseventhsun.com/0108_SDclass.htm
· More musicians creatively collaborating using programs such as Ninjam, like Komuso Tokugawa and MoShang Zhao. They recently joined together to bring SL the MoKo LoCo Ambient Blues Trance project, called "SynaesthAsia"

· In 2008, the Cruise ship "Galaxy", owned by Bill Stirling, will be on its "Grand Voyage 08 - A Celebration Around the World". The ship will "dock" at various locations, such as Dublin, Diegoland and Zurich, each month, for an exchange of cultures, ideas and activities.

Upo Choche – Act Up Theatre Company

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the performance arts world and why were they significant?

I would venture to say that the grand-daddy of all milestones in Second Life is the introduction of voice to SL. Having founded Act Up just before it was introduced, we had the unique opportunity of seeing the difference between streaming a play and actually performing it 'live' with voice. One of our patrons commented on the difference it made in the production of our shows. While we were quite pleased with the results, it was nice to have a viewpoint of someone who attended both of last year’s performances to get feedback. Voice in Second Life makes live theater possible in SL. Before that we could only mimic it as best we could by streaming the actors’ lines in and choreographing the movement of the actors to the lines.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

Short answer, yes, and no, *laughing*. But, in all honesty, I did not know what to expect or how live theater performances would be received in SL. With the feedback that I have received, I can safely say that there is definitely a place in SL for live performances and the general public loves it. One of the things we set out to do was to see if theater in SL would be possible and to see how receptive performers and patrons alike would respond. The response has been overwhelming and the support has surpassed any expectations or visions I may have had.

What were the trends that begin last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

The utilization of voice in SL will, undoubtedly, have the biggest impact. Some other things that will have an impact are the cracking down of casinos and removal of gambling devices. General chit chat that I have with friends and colleagues is that clubbing is becoming stale. I think that we will see a decline on the clubbing/sex scene and there will be a shift to other forms of entertainment for the residents. One of the outcries that cropped up with the internet when it first started out was all this pornography that was all over the place and the easy access to it all. Second Life seems to be in direct parallel to the internet when it first came into being. As the internet matured and people matured with this new medium, the waters settled down a bit and the internet has become a positive force in the lives of many. In 2008, I believe we will start to see the signs of Second Life maturing, as well as the residents maturing a bit (myself included, I'm not exempt LOL), and realizing how it, too, will be a more positive force.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

I have dabbled a bit in other virtual worlds and read up on different ones. I have never taken the time to fully explore them outside of your typical MMO such as WoW, FFXI, Guild Wars, etc....

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

I think 2008 will offer residents new forms of entertainment that were not possible before. Since the founding of Act Up, I have seen standup comedy and variety shows surface. To help with this driving force, Act Up will be holding workshops at the beginning of this year to help educate and get people involved in performing live over the internet. One of the shows we have planned is “Midsummer Night’s Dream” to open in, well, midsummer.

Astrin Few – Live Music Enthusiasts and Jazz Enthusiasts

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the performance arts world and why were they significant?

I can't think of any key milestones this year. I had hoped that the live music portion of SLCC07 might be a milestone, but I don't believe it was. There's been steady growth of the live music community, but no major watersheds that I know of, which is fine.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

I had no preconception of how SL live music would evolve in 2007 or any previous year. I just sit back and see what happens.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

Again, I know of no significant new trends in 2008.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

No, I have not.


What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

Singing Arc, at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas on March 1st: this will be the largest, dedicated live music event to date and, essentially, the second of its nature since the much smaller event in Philly in March, 2006. It is a significant venue (400+), has sponsorship, and 11 outstanding SL musicians and is, therefore, a big step in the area of RL/SL music events.

Slim Warrior - Independent Musicians Group

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the performance arts world and why were they significant?

When you say milestones, what do you mean because there is a lot happening? I’ll assume you mean significant activities in the music community. Well, for example, there are now 200-plus live musicians in SL, I remember in 2005 there were only 8. So, from last year to now, there has been a steep growth in the music community and 45 of the 200 plus are women. There are also a number of bands now in SL, several of which I use. I won’t talk about the celebrity band appearances in general. They have no bearing on the SL music community. They are PR splashes, basically, and one doesn’t ever see that celeb in SL again. Then there is the pulling out of corporate sponsors for live music, namely Pontiac and Ratepoint. At the moment, running a live music venue does not generate income, certainly not of any significance to the venue owner, hence the pull out of a few corporate sponsors. Although events such as Secondfest (award winning festival in SL by The Guardian and Intel) did create opportunities for SL musicians and media attention. Also, the opening of the Orange Island which aims to support the music community, too, was important. I set up a Forum for SLMC (Second Life Music Community) which has brought many people together, DJ’s, venue owners, musicians, etc, so we can discuss all matter for music in SL that’s done really well. We have also seen a great increase in the number of SL radio stations, i.e., SL Live which now has over 2000 listeners and they only play music from SL musicians.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

Yes, it has been wildly exciting, not to mention the diversity and talent that I hear every day in SL. It’s a fabulous place to be *smiles* and to be part of it is inspiring.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

Trends that we will be seeing will be, finally, the education of the audience on how they need to support live music in SL by donation of Lindens to artists, rather than leaving the brunt of all costs to venue owners, as has been the case for the last two years. It is not sustainable as it runs now. We will also need more user based systems whereby we can eliminate the need for a middle person booking an artist and charging astronomical fees to book gigs. Lastly, the realization from many musicians that they cannot continue to charge RL prices for playing a gig in SL. It will be about teamwork between venues and musicians. There are some people who feel they can hop on the bandwagon and charge both venue and musician. And many musicians who come into SL under the impression they are going to get rich which, of course, is not the case. The introduction of voice in SL has meant another avenue for musicians to use as a method of performing, too. We also see NInjams and multi-jams occurring, not on a regular basis, but slowly growing. That’s been a wonderful thing. The first instrumental duet was with Astrin Few and Flaming Moe and I did the first singing duet live with Melvin Took, Melvin lives in Texas and I am in London.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

No, I don’t really explore other virtual worlds. I have looked at many but I do think, at the moment, SL is certainly leading the rest in terms of immersive and interactive experience for live music and visually, as well.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

There has been a great deal of interest, RL media-wise, in online virtual performances, especially in the UK, and we are beginning to see RL labels and PR companies scouting in here. I had a 4-page article out in Performing Musician and, since then, I haven’t stopped answering mails. RL/SL crossover is occurring already but I’m sure we will see more of that this year. As any online community grows, it goes through phases and what most people don’t realize that, as a music community, we are very small in the big picture but it is gaining more impact in RL than ever before. We are all pretty loud when we want to be *smiles* and better as a group voice than only one. I do think 2008 is going to be a very exciting year. In June, I am planning a seminar in London on music on virtual platforms which, of course, will concentrate on SL as a showcase. The response has been tremendous.

Preciousse Moody – Second Life Music

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the performance arts world and why were they significant?

Although I have no basis for comparison, for me, SL music was the best in 2007. The best quality of musicianship SL has to offer... I found the talent from the UK and Canada to be particularly awesome!

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

Not really, because I didn't really expect anything from the start.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

I don't know if this is a 'trend' but, towards the end of the year, I noticed more all day events. I really like that back-to-back kind of event, great lineups of talented people, one after the other, is great.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

No.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

The music scene is ultimately what keeps me here in Second Life. I think, in 2008, Second Life will start to show its true potential when the music industry gets more involved than they already have. Not just as a place to come and listen to people but, also, as a place for people to collaborate, network and make important real world contacts. SL live music rocks! May influence travel scenarios and crossover concerts and events into real life. A good example of this is the recent news of the SL music performance in Vegas...look it up.

Katie Reve – Pilot Theatre Company

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the performance arts world and why were they significant?

The Performance Arts World, which encompasses live theatre, is a wide and varied stage. Large commercial production playing in London's West End, plays at the National Theatre, regional repertory creating new works every 3 months, concert halls and opera houses receiving one night gigs or weekly programs hosting productions, bring theatre to towns and cities across England. Arts centres with smaller capacities. Then there are the companies that tour and have no permanent venue fueling the physical venues, commissioning new writing, touring to schools, to prisons, to village halls and community centres, even outdoor venues.

This is true of theatre in the UK.

Pilot Theatre is a mid-scale national touring company, partly funded by the English Arts Council. They are in residence at the Theatre Royal in York, which has its own repertory company. Pilot Theatre opens its production there before going on tour or transferring to London. Pilot Theatre does have a national profile and has won awards and much critical acclaim for their work.
Marcus Romer, the Artistic Director takes the company in innovative directions engaging, particularly, in new technologies, not for gimmick but in ways that evolve expectations and drives narrative within the company's work redefining what live performances can achieve. The use of projection is not new, but the projection of active MySpace content adds a new feature. Pilot Theatre's latest work is for audiences 13 – 18, but is enjoyed by teens and adults alike, had its script developed in MySpace in collaboration with MySpace users.

In answer to your question about 'significance to the performance art world', it is difficult, as being at the eye of your own storm often prevents us, as active practitioners, evaluating our work in context with our contemporaries and the bigger picture. There is work emerging which combines live performance with the notion of how the digital world is influencing our lives. I saw Facebook, the musical, last year at the Edinburgh Festival. There is theatre exploring arts and science, bringing together future concepts and using IT and performance to engage its audience. Unlimited Theatre has looked at the subject of quantum physics and teleportation, informing and entertaining audiences. Again I saw them at the Edinburgh Festival and continue to follow their work. The power of theatre to politicise and inform was part of the 20th Century's dialectic. I think our evolving digital world, and the creative input it desires and necessitates to be vibrant and engaging, is part of the 21st Century dialogue, arts and science, voyages of discovery, a new renaissance. Pilot's presence in Second Life is part of that awakening. A new realm, a new interaction and new ideas exchange, a new format. But all connected to live performance.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

I, at PCM, and my avatar, Katie, discovered Second Life in Dec 2006. I think the collaboration of new media with live performance and its implications on how society will see itself and respond to the world around us in the future is profoundly linked. The tradition of theatre to educate, inform and reflect society's challenges is key to understanding cyberspace and bring people on board to engage with technology and consider what it means, whether it’s necessary, and whether it's good or bad, is part of social drama. The questions and debates I don't think happen enough. I was looking for people sharing this IT and theatrical vision. Pilot Theatre is part of that journey. Established in July 2007, Pilot Theatre's home hub was intended to hold a simulcast in Second Life of our opening night of 'Looking for JJ' at the end of September, giving us the opportunity to invite an audience not usually able to see Pilot's work. Being an arts company, the financial weight of such a project was enormous. My first job was to research and bring in quotes for the project. Expenses aside, the overriding problem, even if we had the money, was the real world infrastructure of uploading a live media stream on to the internet from locations without dedicated upload access. Domestic wi-fi or networked business infrastructure, not specifically IT focused, would prove inadequate and the solution was going to be hard and impossible to install in the time we had. So we decided to establish what we could with the resources and finances we had. Having a presence in Second Life was seen as an important step for the company. What we have today has come from this original concept. The emphasis, however, is always on the live event. We, now, at the beginning of 2008, have a Second Life presence and its future is very fluid and integral to Pilot Theatre's future work as a promotional tool or a delivery platform.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

We are still looking at simulcasting a live show. We have a live collaborative project in July, looking at new media and the arts called 'Shift Happens' taking place in UK and Second Life and a storytelling project with a 3D realisation yet to be fully conceptualised, but I am very excited about working with the writer, Richard Hurford, and Marcus Romer to make this happen.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

I am excited about myrl.com's notion of being able to take AV's to other worlds. I want the constant of being able to take Katie with me to explore other virtual worlds. Identity and SL are of interest to me also. I haven't had my curiosity spiked enough to check any others out. I know they exist. Pilot is interested in establishing a presence in the Second Life Teen Grid in the future.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

2008, we have the 'Shift Happens' event on July 3, much planning still to be done. A potential simulcast from New York to Old York! and SL with the next production of Catcher in the Rye, and the storytelling inworld collaboration details of which are in the brain-storming stage.

Circe Broom – Circe’s Circle of Sound

What were some of last year’s key milestones in the performance arts world and why were they significant?

The proliferation of venues gave musicians a far wider choice, and the opportunity to reach a wider audience. More people learned about live music in SL.

Looking back to the start of last year, have things evolved the way you thought they would? Why or why not?

Well, I think that when the floodgates opened to the free accounts, the entire world here changed. A lot of that is for the worst. Anonymous griefers haunt the venues now, and are replaced with another as soon as they are banned. It is an ongoing problem which I hope Linden Labs finds a resolution for. As for live music in SL, more and more musicians have discovered that performing in SL is a good way to gain fans for their RL careers, or to help get started in a RL career. It is good for audiences in SL, as there are far more musicians in here per capita.

What were the trends that began last year that will have the greatest impact in 2008?

*Laughing* The population in SL skyrocketed this past year.

Have you explored other virtual worlds and has that had any influence on what you've done in SL? If you have, has what you've done there been influenced by what you've done or not done in SL?

Well, I've seldom found a dragon to slay in SL; most dragons I know are friends of mine. Yes, and nothing compares to SL, even with all the bugs.

What can we look forward to in 2008? (Events, openings, influences etc.)

Last year, I would have said that more and more RL corporations would be funding the arts in here, but I no longer believe that. I have seen corporate funders come and go, and the one thing they have in common is that they all seem to go, they have not found a way to make SL pay off enough.

Many thanks to those who contributed and to Tini Jewell for her work in editing this and other editions of Lane’s List.