much on references to primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . february 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message metaverse shakespeare company type private genre theatrical company key people ina centaur visual director website www.slshakespeare.com the metaverse shakespeare company previously known as the sl shakespeare company 1 produces shakespearean and other plays in the second life virtual world . professional and amateur talent is used for productions in a replica of the globe theater . the actors are special purpose avatars controlled by prerecorded and real time live input . 2 the initial program audiences are residents of second life however performances are available outside second life . the first abbreviated performance was of a scene from hamlet in february 2008 under the guidance of ina centaur the company s visual director . the company is funded by donations . contents 1 theaters in second life 1.1 the globe theater 1.2 the blackfriars theater 2 production history 3 technology 4 animation 5 actors bodies and costumes 6 budget 6.1 financial problems 7 footnotes 8 see also 9 external links theaters in second life edit the globe theater edit the globe theater in second life is life size from the viewpoint of a second life user . the reconstruction includes the theater from the outer walls to the inside seating galleries to the stage . it is the most historically accurate 3d rendition of the theater on the internet . 3 all of the building components which are visible to the audience resemble the modern day replica in london . to view a live production a second life avatar stands on the floor or sits in a gallery seat . similar to a non virtual production it is possible to talk with other audience members or to make public comments . this is in keeping with the goal to allow audience interaction with the players similar to that of shakespeare s time . 4 audio dialog is augmented by subtitling which has been available in french german spanish italian and portuguese . 5 the audience is asked to observe other guidelines related to the virtual environment as described in the sl shakespeare company audience guide . 6 the blackfriars theater edit the blackfriars theater in second life is one of two working models in second life . however this reconstruction is just one interpretation of the interior of the building this reconstruction does not take into account the exterior of the building itself . lora constantine quotes blackfriars as the name implies has quite a lot to do with friars . in fact the original playhouse was built inside a building in a centuries old stone friary nowadays we would consider the playhouse just interior decoration or remodeling . 7 production history edit the company s first production was hamlet act 1 scene 1 in february 2008 which was followed by act 3 scene 2 in april . in june 2008 the company took a break from hamlet and started to work on a staged reading not performance of twelfth night . on september 12 2008 the company opened their first modern play one s a pawn of time by mike dedrian . 8 the company then returned to twelfth night and staged the first act of the play starting in november 2008 . no full length shakespearean play has been produced due to funding issues . 9 in december 2008 the company developed shakespeare on ice as part of the second life on winter solstice 2008 . shakespeare on ice was a 24 hour ongoing festival which revived characters and plots from previous sl shakespeare company productions with the aim to entertain and educate . in february 2009 the company started work on twelfth night act 1 the open ended run which premiered on march 1 and ran every sunday and every tuesday until the companies closure on october 29 . ina centaur closed with this statement the shakespeare primtings sliterary and skin city sims will go down on oct 29 or thereabouts . the process in which sims are deactivated is not usually punctual we aren t sure exactly when the executioners would finally pull the plug but when they do it will be the end of our second life . 10 technology edit the technological aspects of the play rely mainly on bot technology which could be categorised in two main groups i.e. infobots that are based on archived data and avabots characterised by some ai which real time live input by actors.the avabots are synched with the actors gestures and animations according to their lines . 11 animation edit avatars in second life move from place to place in real time under human control however body poses and facial expressions are limited to pre defined animations and scripts . metaverse shakespeare company productions augments this including two ways by creating new animations and with post production lip sync . 12 in the second life virtual world one has the ability to either watch events from a static position or to move the view to a place that is away from one s avatar . thus while in second life the viewer can zoom or choose any angle from which to watch the animations . this requires the representations of the stage actors to be viewable even at a close distance . actors bodies and costumes edit the avatar character bodies for hamlet were created to suit each character while a wardrobe resembling historically correct clothing was purpose built or assembled from second life vendors . in twelfth night the emphasis on period clothing was relaxed . 13 budget edit much of the design and production work is volunteer . other expenses for 2009 are l 1 510 000 approximately us 5830 which is largely to pay second life for land sufficient to support large audiences . financial problems edit in may 2011 ina centaur shared her fear in an emotional blog post 14 that two sims from the 4 sim sl globe theatre would be deleted later on in the year and hence the theatre itself would go down as well . her account in second life was already locked and though primting and shakespeare managed to cover their tier costs through donations it was unlikely that the globe theatre would be saved . in an adieu post 15 the metaverse shakespeare company announced that shakespeare primtings sliterary and skin city sims which would go down at the end 2011 due to high tier costs and insufficient fundings . although the company tried to raise enough profit through various sponsorship campaigns season ticket deals and tickets for opening night . increase in revenue in sl as there are only few who pay entry fees for an attraction . further the post depicts reasons for ina centaur s decision to quit . 16 footnotes edit sl company blog 2009 2010 . retrieved 2009 10 28 . the sl shakespeare company tech . retrieved 2009 02 27 . sl shakespeare company sl globe theater overview . retrieved 2009 02 27 . the sl shakespeare company tech . retrieved 2009 02 27 . sl shakespeare company credits as of may 2008 . retrieved 2009 02 27 . sl shakespeare company audience guide . retrieved 2009 02 27 . the world s first complete reconstruction of shakespeare s historic blackfriars theatre . retrieved 2012 10 24 . sl shakespeare company one s a pawn of time . retrieved 2009 02 27 . a note on production serials . retrieved 2009 02 27 . centaur ina . our magic and our passing goodbye from the sl shakespeare company primtings and sliterary sl shakespeare company blog 2009 2010 . retrieved 2012 10 23 . sl shakespeare company technology . retrieved 2013 02 17 . sl shakespeare company animation . retrieved 2009 02 27 . sl shakespeare company blog . retrieved 2009 02 27 . ina centaur blog . retrieved 2013 02 26 . ina centaur s letter to patrons . retrieved 2013 02 16 . ciaran laval on the metaverse shakespeare company . retrieved 2013 02 16 . see also edit second life culture shakespeare s globe a modern reconstruction of the historical globe upon which the second life globe is based . simulated reality virtual world metaverse external links edit official website retrieved from https 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