In an attempt to practise our study of the Posthuman synthesis of reality and digital reality we have begun the project Lincoln Noir.  We were inspired by the performance art group Blast Theory, in particular their project Can You See Me Now? (2001).  This project combined the real world, the virtual on-line world through the use of a video game and the digital world through the use of GPS tracking devices:

 Can You See Me Now? takes the fabric of the city and makes our location within it central to the game play. The physical city is overlaid with a virtual city to explore ideas of absence and presence. By sharing the same ‘space’, the players online and runners on the street enter into a relationship that is adversarial, playful and, ultimately, filled with pathos.

( http://www.blasttheory.co.uk/projects/can-you-see-me-now )

This performance exists on three layers of reality.  We sought out to do the same with Lincoln Noir.  For this performance we have the city of Lincoln as our stage.  The performers, armed with smartphones examine the city assuming the role of a film noir style detective, tweeting any suspicious photos, statements or observations made using the hashtag #lincolnnoir.  These tweets are watched as a continuous, refreshing feed back in an internal location, such as a studio by the audience.  You may notice that on the right hand side of this blog’s homepage is that very same Twitter feed, allowing you to see the performance over the internet  (For some versions of WordPress this twitter feed appears on the LEFT side of your screen, at the very BOTTOM & may require you to click “find tweets” to view).  With this performance we create something that also exists on three layers of reality.  The material reality (Lincoln, as seen by those role-playing detectives), The digital reality (Those able to follow the feed over the internet) and the virtual reality (Those situated inside the audience room).  The performance itself has no end, and has no limit as to who can join in at least one of the realities on which the performance is conveyed, anyone can tweet with the hashtag and follow the posts on-line.  This is a Posthuman experience.