{"id":122,"date":"2026-02-06T16:23:39","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T16:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/act-vi\/?page_id=122"},"modified":"2026-03-26T18:57:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T18:57:29","slug":"blog-week2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/act-vi\/blog-week2\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 2 (Jan. 19, 2026 – Jan. 23, 2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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From Exploration to Possibility<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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As week two approached, our team finalized our name – and it was\u2026 drumroll please\u2026 \u201cACT VI\u201d. The name draws from Shakespeare\u2019s five-act structure, with our team exploring what might come after the fifth act: the next evolution of live performance. It also neatly reflects the fact that we are a six-person team.<\/p>

Week two started off strong with multiple meetings with our instructors, which helped us begin translating our broad ideas into more concrete directions. Over the weekend, the team held a 90-minute working session led by our producer, Aidan, who introduced a structured brainstorming exercise he had learned from a producer at Universal Creative. Given how open-ended our project still was, this exercise was designed to help us narrow down potential pitches.<\/p>

The exercise required some preparation. Each team member brought 80 small pieces of paper (no larger than a business card) and selected a few works of entertainment they loved- films, television shows, games, or plays known for strong performances. From these references, each person wrote 40 nouns and 40 verbs, one word per card. The nouns and verbs were kept in separate stacks and brought to the meeting.<\/p>

During the session, we split into three groups of two. Each group randomly paired a noun and a verb from our stacks and used that combination as the seed for a potential project idea. From these prompts, we generated roughly 18 concepts, which we then narrowed down through voting to our top three. These were presented to our instructors in a short pitch format.<\/p>

Of the ideas we shared, the one that generated the most interest emerged from the pairing of the noun \u201cTelephone\u201d and the verb \u201cWaiting.\u201d This concept opened up discussions around whether the project should take the form of a live performance, a game, a tool, or an immersive installation. Instructor feedback- such as exploring the idea of an AI having an existential crisis, framing the experience as a live performance, or using AI to pose philosophical questions- further shaped our thinking and helped refine the direction.<\/p>

Another highlight of the week was meeting with Charles Johnson to discuss our early design ideas and get additional perspective. It was also during this week we published our initial team core hours. Additionally we also had our \u201cComposition Box\u201d session which was a great way to introduce our project to our fellow students, and get us thinking about the semester’s work.<\/p>

We concluded the week by creating a concrete task list for the team. This included developing concept art, designing storyboards, watching reference films such as The Truman Show and Being There, and preparing materials for upcoming quarters. And with that, we wrapped up week two.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Quarters notes and initial narrative idea drawings<\/h2><\/a> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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Aidan Terry and Sudarshan Choudhari reading through Composition Box notes left by students at ETC<\/h2><\/a> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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Aidan Terry drawing concept art for first iteration of narrative<\/h2><\/a> <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n