Philosophy
The computer,
the Internet & digital technology are simply tools—in order
to be used most effectively—need
to be available during all stages of production. The ability to pick up
a projector & experiment at the drop of hat unlocks freedom & creativity.
For this reason, I create or reprogram software on the spot during a rehearsal
& work to create tools & solutions that are affordable & accessible.
The interaction
between animation & theater allows my designs to become more than
just video or just animation. By developing my own custom tools or
systems to manipulate imagery in real time—whether in rehearsal
or during performance—I can make "stage animations" & "digital
puppets" that flow with the theatrical action. These skills provide
the most potential during the creation & rehearsal phase of a production
& for live presentations. Ultimately, when the media offers the flexibility
to adapt to the moods of the actors or the director, it can even become
a character in the piece.
By exploiting
the boundaries of digital media & the visceral magic of physical
presence I feel a personal reconnection to the
stories & art that surrounds us in a mediatized world. I hope to maintain
some personal power over the messages constantly pushed toward me by
advertising & electronic media by creating my own media, & by re-contextualizing
the electronic image into a physically present world.
Biography
(575 words 3726 chars)
For the last 12 years, media
effects artist & computer programmer Hal Eagar facilitated innovation
in live performance technology by putting new media on stage
&
exploring
the
boundaries
between
the freedom of the digital media & the impact of physical presence.
His interest in integrating digital media & live performance began
at Purchase College, where his thesis project Cyberspeare—Web
site & multimedia theatrical event—was staged in 1995.
He joined The Gertrude Stein
Repertory Theatre (GSRT) in 1996 as Technology
Director. In this capacity, he creates content & custom software
for projects
involving streaming media, 2D & 3D animations, interactive environments,
& projection effects.
Eagar has created affordable
tools & solutions,
for multi-screen synchronization, live puppetry animation,
live control of 3D animations, networked video & animation control
including the MediaBeam, a movable projection system with anti-distortion
software
that allows the artist to reshape video images. All these tools are
focused on solving problems in an affordable way,
making them effective & available to artist. The
MediaBeam has allowed nonprofits access to effects that would otherwise
be too costly in productions like Cynthia
Hopkins’s Accidental Nostalgia (St. Ann’s Warehouse, Walker
Arts Center) , director Kristin Marting’s alt musical Orpheus (HERE)
& James Scruggs's solo performance piece, Disposable Men (HERE),
& is also in use in the lobby installation at Dodgers Stages.
In 2003, he created the Digital Performance Institute’s (DPI) equipment
loan & artist
residency programs, which were in response to his 9 years of computer & media
consulting for GSRT & other artists & NY nonprofits. After directing
the DPI programs for 3 years -- providing free equipment to 80 productions & residencies
to 9 media artists -- he was promoted to Associate Artistic Director
in order to focus on the expansion & growth of DPI. Through his consulting,
he aims to share his knowledge with the greater arts community http://digitalperformance.org
Hal also
led the innovative production of Mr. Z: I was a Teenage Cryptologist,
performed at GSRT
& the List Gallery, M.I.T. He co-created two interactive
Web artworks & gallery installations with visual
artist Margot Lovejoy Confess & TURNS—which
has toured internationally, Whitney Biennial 2002, ZKM
(Zentrum für
Kunst und Medientechnologie), the Queens Museum, Media Lab Madrid
& several other museums. He works with digital
artist Marek Walczak on projects such as Adrift, last
shown at the New Museum NY, & TimeMaker, a commission
by the Nabi Art Center Korea. In 2004, Eagar co-created an
installation & performance series with
puppeteer & visual artist Kate Brehm, OnRed, the installation
extended through the entire One Arm Red theatrical space & onto the
Internet. These six projects are a mix of computer, network,
installation & theatrical techniques.
Eagar has also designed digital projections for GSRT (Ubu
Roi, Making of Americans & The Sandman), Dreamweaver
Productions (Continuum), & Mabou Mines (An
Epidog), as well as video projection & special effects for puppet works
with puppet artist & director Erin Orr. He Has worked with Directory
Kristen Marting & Video Artist James Scruggs implementing environmental
projections systems on (Orpheus, Disposable Men, & Lush
Valley.) He also co-created the Video/Puppet piece "My Name is Hal" with
Kate Brehm, which premiered at the Bangkok International Fringe Festival
in 2005.
Hal is currently
touring as Video Associate with The Builders Association's production
of Super
Vision, & developing a Robot Theatre as a Resident artist at
HERE Arts Center.
Find out more about him &
his projects at http://haleagar.com.
Short
--Bio
(theatre) (99 words 702 chars)
Hal
Eagar serves as Associate Artistic
Director of Gertrude Stein Rep, Technology
Director for HERE Arts Center, & Video Associate with The Builders
Association. He focuses on facilitating innovation in live performance
technology, putting new media on stage. He designs digital puppets
& animations for theatrical productions as well as providing technical
solutions & creating innovative hardware & software for multi-screen
projection, robotic projection, & real-time/live animation. He
is currently absorbed in robots, projection, 3d animation, video,
puppetry, & the occasional installation & internet artworks,
sometimes all at once. Find out more about him & his projects at
http://haleagar.com.
Very
Short -- Bio (art) (50 words 363 chars)
Hal
Eagar http://haleagar.com, serves as Associate Artistic
Director of Gertrude Stein Rep,
Resident artist at HERE Arts Center,
& Video Associate with The Builders Association.
He specializes in new media technology for performance by creating innovative hardware & software
for multi-screen control systems, robotic projection, 3d animation, video, & puppetry.
Extremely
Short -- Bio (theatre) (24 words 193 chars)
Hal
Eagar, http://haleagar.com, Associate Artistic Director
for Gertrude Stein Rep he focuses
on facilitating innovation in performance technology using software,
video, puppetry, & projection.
If
Possible Hal should be listed in programs as:
Media Effects by Hal Eagar (Courtesy of The Gertrude Stein Repertory Theatre)
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Creative