SOAP BOX OPERA WORKSHOP is a project developed by the collective Artists Meeting. Honing in on the dramaturgy of theory, the group has adapted excerpts from a variety of scholarly and art-theory-based texts from different eras and genres to a "Soap Opera" filmic format whereby plots are reduced to one liners, drama is played out in an exaggerated manner and scenes rely on emotional turmoil and ambiguity to capture the distracted viewer.

In the SOAP BOX OPERA WORKSHOP, professional actors and Artists Meeting members have thus adapted the texts as scripts for scenes of domestic and personal conflict and intrigue. The filming of these performances follows the parameters of the "affect image," as described in Gilles Deleuze's Cinema 1 and 2: Hence, the capture is restricted to only close-up shots of the performers, with no staging or sets, letting the detailed micro movements of the face, reflecting both external circumstances as well as inner reactions, carry the meaning of the episodes and scenes.

The project draws from the decadence of Rimbaud, the deconstruction and criticism of Derrida and Foucault, and the controversy of Ted Kaczynski and Andy Warhol in order to combine the intellectual tract writing with soap opera-style acting. Taking inspiration from "All My Children" to "General Hospital", "Dark Shadows" and an array of South American soap opera acting styles, combined with the presence of literary criticism and theoretical text, Artists' Meeting creates a new genre: the Interpretive Soap Opera.

During the exhibition at OTO a surprise element will contribute to the distracting nature of the soap opera and will interfere with the audience's reception of these transformed but otherwise scholarly texts.

Project Curators: James Andrews, Raphaele Shirley, Olga Lysenko

Excerpts of Arthur Rimbaud, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault and Andy Warhol directed by Raphaele Shirley

Excerpts of Guy Debord and  Ted Kaczynski directed by Lee Wells

Featuring performances by Caraid O'Brien, Edita Zulic, Aaron Beall, Randolph Curtis Rand, George Spaeth, G.H. Hovagimyan, Lee Wells

Freedom Club, the movie trailer from Lee Wells on Vimeo.

Plazaville is a new media video artwork based on the classic 1965 movie Alphaville by Jean Luc Godard. It is a noir/sci-fi, "no budget"
movie set in 21st Century New York City. Scenes from the original Alphaville are re-enacted, interpreted and improvised by artists,
actors and videographers, directed by G.H. Hovagimyan, and shot in HDvideo.  Video artist Christina McPhee films the ambient POP(publicly-owned private plazas) of Wall Street-- then remixes with retro punk sounds plus "Alpha60" computer voice-overs.

Plazaville is also a variable media artwork and can be viewed in a number of different ways. Separate short scenes that function as mini-
movies were created by Hovagimyan to be downloaded from the web and can be viewed on youTube, iTunes, iPhones and HDTV using AppleTV. For Pace Digital Gallery, Plazaville is presented as a projection/installation piece, and the scenes have been loaded onto a computer that continually re-assembles the movie in a random order. All of the Plazaville short scenes can be viewed via web browser on the
turbulence.org web site.

Plazaville is a 2009 commission of New Radio and Performing Arts,Inc., (aka Ether-Ore) for its Turbulence web site made possible with
funding from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Additional support for Plazaville came from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Swing Space program, created with lead support from the September 11th Fund and space donated by The Sapir Organization. The Hudson River Park Trust, The Emily Harvey Foundation, School of Visual Arts and  Truth & Pride Inc.,  also contributed to the making of Plazaville.

You may access the current scenes of Plazaville via computer at:
RSS feed via web browser: http://transition.turbulence.org/Works/plazaville/index.xml
Computer via internet:
http://transition.turbulence.org/Works/plazaville/index.html
iTunes:
log onto the iTunes store and search for Plazaville Series
YouTube:
 http://www.youtube.com/user/ghovagimyan

Plazaville
by G.H. Hovagimyan with Christina McPhee
Camera, Editing & Sound Design - G.H. Hovagimyan, Christina McPhee
Max MSP programming - Joseph Valle
Starring --
George Spaeth  ............................................................... Lemme Caution
Lanna Joffrey ................................................................... Natasha Von Braun
Bryant Mason.................................................................... Henry Dickson
Victoria Guthrie ............................................................... Seductress #1
Patrick Porter ................................................................... Chief Engineer
Kate Kertez ....................................................................... Seductress #2, Lab Technician
Syrie Moskowitz ................................................................ Seductress #3
Thomas Hutchison ...........................................................  Professor Von Braun
Scott Casper ....................................................................  Professors Heckle & Jeckle
Mark Keaton ..................................................................... Gov't Agent #1
Mitch Corber .................................................................... Gov't agent #2
Kelly Howe ........................................................................  Scientist/Interrogator
Juan Cardenas ................................................................  Hotel Clerk
John-Patrick Driscoll .......................................................  Gov't Agent/ Censor
Raphaele Shirley .............................................................   Lab Technician, Driver
Olga Lysenko ...................................................................  Telecom official, Gov't Censor
Carlos Maura ...................................................................  Gov't Agent #3

Alan Moore ........................................................................Gov't Escort

And also starring - James Andrews, Edita Zulic, Megan Thomas, Colin Reynolds, Leesa Abahuni, Nicole Abahuni, Livia Stofko, Maria Joao Salema, Lee Wells

Production & location Managers - Raphaele Shirley, Mayuko Natsuka, Casey Jones, Olga Lysenko,

Web Interface & Programming Design - G.H. Hovagimyan
Music by -- Bram Barker, Johan Van Barel, Scott Glasgow, Stefan L. Smith, Gasper Gantzer, Scott Starrett, T.I.T.S (2008 live concert in San Francisco)
Synth Voices & Sound Cues -- G.H. Hovagimyan

Makeup - Aimei Hu

 Crowd sounds By Halleck (http://www.freesound.org/usersViewSingle.php?id=6281) crowd-16.flac (http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=18786)
Synth by Plagasul (http://www.freesound.org/packsViewSingle.php?id=1652)