Where is this train heading?
Bricolage invites you to explore the intersection of data and privacy in a new large- scale immersive event
Bricolage Production Company is at it again, this time creating a one- of- a- kind experience in partnership with the software engineers at Probable Models.
The Downtown company known for its immersive theater experiences will present “Project Amelia,” written and conceived by Michael Skirpan. The latest event builds on the national acclaim for “STRATA,” a large- scale immersive in 2012, and the eight projects that followed, including “DODO” in 2017 at the Carnegie Museums in Oakland.
“Project Amelia” is described as “marrying innovations in software with theatrical interventions to alter the relationship between participants and technology.” The event offers personalized experiences for up to 60 audience members each night and will run longer than any prior Bricolage production.
Collaborators on the project include Kenny Chen ( executive director, Partnership to Advance Responsible Technology), Lorrie Cranor ( CyLab director) and Eddy Man Kim ( co- director, Computational & Tangible Interaction Design Laboratory, Carnegie Mellon University), and other Pittsburgh leaders in the field of data and privacy.
“The tech train has left the station, and we’re unsure where it’s going or how to stop it,” says Jeffrey Carpenter, Bricolage’s artistic director. “From Theranos to Facebook, Uber to Fyre Festival, products that at first promise to contribute to the common good are having the veil pulled back to reveal a very different story. The questions ‘ Project Amelia’ asks are: Where is this train heading, and who is it for? How do we gather together and take back the reins — or is it too late?”
The premise of the experience is the introduction of a product by Aura, “the brand you’ve come to know and trust.” The roll out at company headquarters is for “an intelligent product” created to replace “all the disparate devices that clutter your life and streamline your physical, emotional, intellectual, psychological, spiritual and time- management needs.”
Participants will be assessed and then “given the opportunity to interact with cutting- edge technologies in order to make your mark on this historic event.”
Details about the site ( rumor has it that it is on the South Side) will be available when you sign up for the personalized experience for ages 18 and older only. “Project Amelia” runs Sept. 20- Nov. 3, WednesdaySunday evenings, with a few exceptions. Details, accessibility and tickets: $ 50-$ 70 at bricolagePGH.org, beginning Tuesday.