Virtual Theater Experience chekhovOS /an Experimental Game/ with Mikhail Baryshnikov Begins This Month

Arlekin Players Theatre today announces spring dates: May 23 - June 24 for chekhovOS /an experimental game/, the latest production from (zero-G), Arlekin's Zero Gravity Virtual Theater Lab.

chekhovOS /an experimental game/, is a multi-media interactive theatrical experience from Arlekin Players Theatre's founder and director Igor Golyak, who has been a leading innovator of virtual theater. Golyak's latest work fuses theater, film, video game technology, and live interactivity to create a new experience where viewers are able to interact with the performers. chekhovOS /an experimental game/ is produced by Igor Golyak and Sara Stackhouse of Arlekin's Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Theater Lab.

Inspired by Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and drawing from recordings of Chekhov's letters and dreams, this new show portrays all of Chekhov's characters as they are trapped inside Chekhov's worldview, his pysche, his "operating system". Audiences start receiving messages via email and text from the characters before the play begins online, leading viewers to a secret video where the characters beg them to "vote the right way" during the show.

The performance schedule is: Sunday, May 23 at 8:00pm EST, Thursday, May 27 1:00pm EST, Sunday, May 30 at 11:00am EST, Sunday, June 6 at 8:00pm EST, Sunday, June 13 at 8:00pm EST, Sunday, June 20 at 8:00pm EST, and Thursday, June 24 at 8:00pm EST.
Tickets are free and must be reserved by visiting: www.zerogravity.art. Donations to Arlekin's Resilience Fund or special charities are encouraged.

Of Arlekin's previous production of State vs. Natasha Banina, The New York Times raved, ""The verdict is in: the virtual can, in fact, be an effective new stage for theater," and Vulture cheered, "a transfixing, virtuosic piece of performance."

When the show begins, audience members are taken inside the "virtual operating system" on their computers, arriving in an interactive space where Natasha Prozorov from Chekhov's Three Sisters can see and interact with them. Chekhov's letters are accessed and appear on screen and the scenes take place on top of virtual cherry trees, hanging in the air, and walking on the ground as it cracks beneath them. The characters search for happiness and escape. In this mix of theater, film and gaming, the audience is invited to interact and vote on the outcome. Audiences vote via remote control on their phone, are seen on the walls of the virtual space, can unmute to choose what scene is seen next or guess a password, and are active in a lively chat throughout the show. Will the characters be trapped once again in their beautiful, broken world as it devolves to game over?

The cast of chekhovOS /an experimental game/ features Tony-Nominee Jessica Hecht, who performs the iconic role of Ranevskaya. The presentation also features Anna Baryshnikov (Apple TV+'s Dickinson) as Varya; Darya Denisova as Natasha Prozorov; Anna Bortnick as Charlotta, Jeffrey Hayenga (The Elephant Man) as Fiers; Melanie Moore (Finding Neverland, So You Think You Can Dance) as Anya; Mark Nelson (Angels in America, The Invention of Love) as Gaev; and Nael Nacer as Lopakhin. Baryshnikov Arts Center Founder and Artistic Director Mikhail Baryshnikov makes a special appearance in the role of Anton Chekhov. This marks the first time that Mikhail and Anna Baryshnikov have performed in the same production together. "Through this enhanced virtual theatre, we are finding out how humankind can find each other in the virtual while continuing to treasure the in-person encounter, making a new kind of site-specific theater," said director Igor Golyak. "I find myself in constant dialogue with The Cherry Orchard -during a time of loss and recovery, as it helps us explore connection, transition, and the human yearning for happiness. We are grateful to our co-presenters for sharing this internationally with a broader audience and for the opportunity to do so on the incredible .ART platform. It is thrilling to be developing work in this new genre with these visionary partners." chekhovOS /an experimental game/ was developed and filmed, in part, at Baryshnikov Arts Center in January, 2021 with strict adherence to COVID health and safety protocols. Conceived and directed by Golyak, chekhovOS /an experimental game/ has virtual performance technical direction by Vladimir Gusev, game engine & interaction design by Will Brierly of Snowrunner Productions using his platform, "The Soft Layer", narrative by Tom Abernathy, virtual set and environment design by Anna Fedorova, web development by Anatoly Krivonos, music composition by Jakov Jakoulov, and properties by Irina Vilenchik. The show runs on over 10 pieces of software and is powered by Aximmetry, the official software provided for Zero Gravity.

"We are pleased today to announce our new partnership with Arlekin's Zero Gravity (zero-G) Lab. As the world shut down a year ago in the midst of the global pandemic, artists and the creative community, especially the ones in the live arts such as theatre, dance and music, had to reinvent themselves," said Ulvi Kasimov, Founder of .ART and nominee of Observer's ART POWER 50. "Arlekin Players Theatre didn't shy away from the occasion. Instead, they converted their black box space into the Zero Gravity (zero-G) Virtual Theater Lab and they are now a world leader in digital theater innovation."

This production constitutes Phase One of a larger hybrid (live/virtual) chekhovOS project on track for a production in New York in 2022, and is made possible with generous support from producing sponsor .ART, ArtsEmerson, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Broadband Collaborative, Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation, Fooksman Family Foundation, Meghan Coleman, Robin Hanley, Ziphycare, gifts from Arlekin's Zero Gravity Kickstarter Campaign and Aximmetry Technologies Ltd., the official software provider for Arlekin's Zero Gravity (zero-G) Lab. chekhovOS/an experimental game/ is co-presented from May to June by local, national, and international partners from the worlds of theater and gaming, including ArtsEmerson, BostonFIG, UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA), Cherry Orchard Festival Foundation, International Online Theatre Festival (IOTF)/Theatre Times, Portland Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA), ShowOne Productions (Canada), Snowrunner Productions, with special charity screenings in Europe and the US in partnership with the charitable foundation Gift of Life / Podari.Life, founded by Russian actress Chulpan Khamatova, all hosted on

Learn more at www.zerogravity.art.

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