SYNAPSES EVENTS

SYNAPSES

FROM THE BEGINNING T/F HAS BEEN A FESTIVAL OF IDEAS, found both on screen and off. This year, our examination of complex concepts includes a variety of media. While the Tiger Hotel has become our Synapses HQ, our Forrest’s trees' tendrils extend from the ballroom to 906 Alley A and Columbia Art League. In these silvan locales, we are investigating the frontiers of interactive art with our aptly named Ctrl+Alt+Shift program, showcasing artists and storytellers who permeate the confines of format. Last but not least, we continue to upend the more traditional panel, giving space for more intimate conversations.

CTRL+ALT+SHIFT

Interwoven auditory expressions amplify this collection of intimate, immersive storytelling and projects. Hone your senses and embrace shifting your perspective during these personal journeys that confront unsettled pains, familial relationships, and self-discovery. Free and open to the public, but prior reservations are required where noted; contact ctrlaltshift@ truefalse.org

AS MINE EXACTLY (Map #12)

Charlie Shackleton; 2022; VR Performance Film; 25 min. Fri–Sun: 10am / 10:45am / 11:30am / 12:15pm / 2pm / 2:45pm / 3:30pm / 4:15pm / 906 Alley A

A mother and son revisit the medical emergency that reshaped their lives and the remarkable fragments that remain of that time in this intimate blend of virtual reality and performance film. As Mine Exactly is performed individually for each audience member by writer-director Charlie Shackleton, so no two performances are ever the same. Reservations are required.

THE TELELIBRARY (Map #14)

Yannick Trapman-O'Brien; 2020; Telephone, Interactive; 50 min. Thurs 2pm-8pm / Fri & Sat 11am-8pm / Sun 10am-8pm / Columbia Art League

Playing for waitlist-only audiences since its inception, this telephone adventure is exclusive to True/False for a limited time. An interactive, auditory experience in which your progression through a dynamic phone system is part theater, part game, and part self-care. At over 1,000 performances, it’s a radical experiment in long-form storytelling on the most intimate scale. No two visits are alike, and your experience is a mystery until you pick up the phone. Reservations are required.

TESTING TIMES (Map #14)

Victoria Mapplebeck; 2021; Immersive Audio; 34 min. Thurs 2pm-8pm / Fri & Sat 11am-8pm / Sun 10am-8pm / Columbia Art League

An immersive audio experience depicting an unfiltered and unromanticized portrait of family life during a global pandemic. Crafted from more than 50 hours of phone calls and voicemails recorded during Covid-19 lockdowns, it captures the contrasting experiences of mother-director Victoria Mapplebeck and her 18-year-old son, Jim, quarantining in a shared twobedroom apartment. Despite flaring tempers and monumental showdowns, a story of camaraderie and humor emerges as they live their increasingly separate lives side by side.

UN(RE)SOLVED (Map #14)

Tamara Shogaolu; 2021; Immersive AR Thurs 2pm-8pm / Fri & Sat 11am-8pm / Sun 10am-8pm / Columbia Art League

Say their names. Know their stories. Who are the men, women, and children whose cases were reexamined under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act? In the Un(re)solved installation, explore a living quilt and use augmented reality to bring to life the stories woven throughout. Learn about a federal effort to grapple with America’s legacy of racist killings.