THE WRITERS CENTRE, SINGAPORE
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    • ABOUT CTT
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    • ACTORS
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  • Poetry Slam™
    • S'pore Poetry Slam™
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Our Address: 
#02-05 Aliwal Arts Centre
28 Aliwal Street
​Singapore 199918

THE VIRTUAL SILK ROAD BLOG

A celebration of the arts and education in two virtual worlds: Second Life and Sansar

The Merlion Portal, Singapore in the Virtual World

8/13/2018

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The Writers Centre, Singapore has launched a virtual world project depicting a 3D model of The Merlion, Singapore's national icon. The innovative virtual world design is located in Second Life as a multi-media arts gallery inspired by the poem 'Ulysses by the Merlion' by Edward Thumboo. The project was officially launched and showcased during the 2018 Lit Up Asia-Pacific Festival.
    There are four sections: the Gallery of Myth, the Past, the Present and the Future. Dr Chris Mooney-Singh of the The Writers Centre, Singapore and Dr Scott Grant of Monash University conceived and designed the Merlion Portal to showcase Singaporean literary talent and the fine arts to show how virtual world design can complement the artistic and educational process. For example, Thumboo's iconic poem has also been turned into a short animated film using the Merlion Portal as a 3D film set and the poet's own voice.

Register as a resident of Second Lifehere: 

Download an SL viewer from here:
Access the Merlion Portal here:
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UWA Machinema Challenge - The Merlion Award from Kaylee West on Vimeo.

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Crap Mariner's Caravanserai Photo Shoot and  100-word story

6/28/2017

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George the Dervish
George was a dervish, but he wasn't a very good dervish. He tried to whirl, but he'd get dizzy quickly, and he'd trip over his own feet. So, he tried to whirl the other way, and he'd trip over his feet even more quickly. That's when George decided to give up whirling, and he'd stand perfectly still. "What good is a dervish who does not whirl?" growled his dance master. "Does not the earth turn?" said George. "And orbit the sun? Which orbits the galaxy?" The dance master pondered this, and then slapped George on the back of the head.
Crap's Caravanserai 1 photo shoot can be found on Flicker here
​

Crap is a long-term Resident of Second Life and micro fiction writer who made a commitment to 'write one a day until the day I die' and runs a weekly podcast 100-word stories here. 

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Caravanserai Noted on SLARTIST - Caledonia Skytower Blogs at 'A Storyteller's Notebook'

6/23/2017

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from SLARTIST.com
Storytelling is a term that covers so many different expressive media. Even within a single platform such as Second Life, you find diverse performances, people challenging the boundaries of visual art as well as refining more traditional approaches.  When we are lucky, several disciplines combine to tell a story greater than the sum of its constituent episodes. That is certainly the case with Carvanserai 1, making its debut this Saturday, June 24th at 7am as part of June's cavalcade of educational workshops and performances known as SL MOOC 2017. Now don't let the word "educational" spook you. This is definitely entertainment as well as enrichment. 
​All the best entertainment also teaches, generally without your ever noticing. Caravanserai is cleverly conceived to celebrate the natural exchange of culture and the arts that took place along the Silk Road, beginning as early as the second century BCE and continuing for over a millennia. "After trading all day in silks and spices, at night travelers were entertained with stories, poetry, song and dance. They learnt each other's languages and became the conduit for the world great ideas in ancient times - from the mathematical zero to appreciation of a cup of tea or coffee." shared Chris Mooney-Singh, producer of the program.

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"This project is an attempt to share the East-West dialogue I have been having for years with my co-organizer Kaylee West, a tertiary lecturer who conceived and runs Chinese Island in Second Life for Monash University. We decided to share our thoughts about East-West culture and created Caravanserai as an occasional artistic and intellectual platform for this," he continues.
Singh narrates the hour long program, featuring his own adaptation of The Elephant and the Six Blind Men, original songs, special musical guest - gypsy violinist Navtali Torok, and James Elroy Flecker's 1913 verse drama The Golden Road to Samarkand.  Singh is joined by actors Pip Albatros, Corwyn Allen, and Mavromichali Szondi.  There will be a screening of a machinima based on the Edwin Thumboo poem "Ulysses by the Merlion" in which the speaker is Ulysses, the Homeric hero. By strange design or cosmic accident he finds himself in Asia, confronting this strange dragon, or naga-like creature and the Asian sea culture that it represents. "Culture travels in the saddle bags of history and in the light of new moves toward the New Silk Road today, perhaps our digital metaphor of barter and intellectual exchange can contribute new dialogue among pixel sand dunes and through virtual avatars on camels well into this millennium," Singh further shared, "In the future, this will be even more dynamic and VR goggles will make this experience far more immersive than even it is at present."

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Sited in a desert oasis skybox on Monash University's region, Singh notes, " Kaylee and I have been able to a create digital desert way station on the virtual Silk Road like a theatre or film set for an event that includes storytelling, theatre, a machinima screening debut with intellectual discussion, a spoken word offering and a live gypsy violin performance. Executing that in real life can be challenging. In virtual worlds, there are many human resources available to make this a reality without any real budget, except ones time." Yet, this virtual way station is by no means a permanent feature. They are ready to take their show on the road!  "We hope to reprise this first show for new audiences in the future, create new ones, and perhaps develop this occasional platform into a larger festival or Caravanserai Fair, spread over 2-3 days like any other festival in real life. Join us.
​The camel train is waiting," invited Singh. In addition to being a part of SL MOOC 2017, Carvanserai 1 is also a benefit for Feed A Smile (Kenya), another of Second Life's great philanthropic success stories.  100 Lindens pays for one child's meal in the German-based Feed a Smile charity's school in Kenya. One third of the school's monthly food budget is raised by virtual events in Second Life. More information about this program at 

​http://www.thewriterscentre.org/caravanserai-project

Check out the Teaser Trailer here on SLArtists!  

Caravanserai 1 At Monash University in Second Life Saturday, June 24th at 7am slt

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Monash%20University/142/140/2490

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The new Caravanserai 1 Trailer has left the Camel-lot!

6/16/2017

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Here is the Caravanserai 1 trailer for the upcoming SL MOOC 2017 programme at 7am SLT, 24 June. Please share it with your friends. Many thanks to Caledonia Skytower for video work and editing and the Caravanserai crew. 
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CARAVANSERAI 1 - A Virtual Performance​ for Virtual World MOOC, 2017 and Moodle 4 Teachers,​ 7am SLT, June 24, 2017

6/15/2017

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The desert sands lead on, but look around -
at a city of bright tents and green date palms.
Here camel backs can crumple knee bones down.
An oasis waits beneath the desert moon.
                                                                            - Chris Mooney-Singh
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The Virtual Caravanserai in Second Life designed by Kaylee West and Singh
PictureThe ruins of a caravanserai in Iran
Virtual worlds such as Second Life and online learning portals like MOOCS and MOODLE sites have become oases for writers, poets, musicians, actors and other performing artists. ​Join us and be transported back in time to the period of the Old Silk Road where way stations or 'Caravanserais' became the crossroads of East and West that contributed to cultural understanding, especially through stories, songs, music and dance. Visit a 3D re-creation of such a place and watch a real time event in the comfort of your own home.

Staged as part of SL MOOC 2017 we will be reaching out to an international community of literature and theatre lovers, as well as teachers and students from Spain, Italy, Canada, USA, Britain, France, Singapore, India, Thailand, Australia, Argentina and other countries. As Caravanserai creative director and spokesperson Chris Mooney-Singh (Singh Albatros in Second Life) says: "Through arts programmes in virtual worlds people from across the globe can meet in a virtual space to enjoy a staged event in the same way as if they were going to the theatre." 

The programme comprises dramatised storytelling by a team of professional actors, along with song and an animated film debut of Ulysses By the Merlion, based on a poem by Singaporean poet Edwin Thumboo filmed in Second Life. The event will be followed by a panel discussion about the positioning of the arts in virtual education and may broach geo-political and cultural implications of The New Silk Road. Watch this blog for video excerpts from the show.

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The performance area
Benefiting 'Feed a Smile', (Kenya), a registered charity providing food and education
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HOW TO ATTEND THE VIRTUAL EVENT?
How​ can you attend this event while sitting at home? If you have not experienced a virtual world. click below on the orange link and you will be led seamlessly to the virtual location. First, you will be invited to download a SL browser and to choose a suitable avatar for the occasion. 
Feel free to pre-set your visit any time before the assigned time so that you will not have problems on the day/night of the show:
SLURL: Caravanserai SL Event (MOOC 17)
And here is an international clock link to check showtime around the globe:
Time and date world clock for Caravanserai
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    The Virtual Silk Road Team:

    Dr Chris Mooney-Singh is the co-director of Caravanserai, a virtual lit-heatre arts project and The Merlion Portal working together with  Dr Scott Grant (Monash Uni) founder and coordinator of the Monash VEL project and Chinese Island in Second Life.

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  • Home
  • CRASH TEST THEATRE (CTT)
    • ABOUT CTT
    • Playwright Submission
    • ACTORS
    • DIRECTORS
  • LIT UP ASIA-PACIFIC FESTIVAL
  • VIRTUAL SILK ROAD PROJECT
  • Poetry Slam™
    • S'pore Poetry Slam™
    • JUMP Slam™