In Development: "The Surrija Project" For XR
Coeurage partners with Google Spotlight Stories Alumni for Immersive Extended Reality Project
STORY:
Coeurage is excited to announce that we are partnering with HAIBA, a technology platform and storytelling lab focused on the next generation of immersive, mass-market entertainment. Together we will be developing a live, digital-theatrical experience inspired by Coeurage member Jane Lui’s (aka Surrija) recent self-titled album, in partnership with acclaimed writer Meghan Brown. The experience will be created for both immersive viewing in XR as well as online.
XR, or “Extended Reality,” is a broad term for emerging, wearable computing platforms. The devices are worn by users in the form of headsets and smart glasses, and have broad implications for the future of communication, enterprise and entertainment. This includes Virtual Reality, in which the user is completely immersed in a digital space, and Augmented Reality, where digital imagery is mixed with the real world. Companies like Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, HP and others are making rapid advancements in both comfort level and manufacturing costs, and are investing heavily on the future of these platforms.
The project is inspired by Jane’s recently released album “Surrija,” which explores her relationship with her father in juxtaposition to the experiences of Pablo Picasso’s painting subjects.
Jane is an American songwriter, recording artist, multi-instrumentalist and actor, with four studio albums and 4.3m views on YouTube Channel Luieland. She has been featured on Virgin America In-Flight, Huffington Post, Make:Mag. Most recent credits include Cambodian Rock Band (Off-Broadway Signature Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, & South Coast Repertory) Vietgone (East West Players), and musical direction and composition for Coeurage’s The Secret in the Wings. She most recently released SURRIJA, her fourth full-length album funded on Kickstarter ($40K) with resounding reviews from Earmilk, Audiofemme, and Bearded Mag among others. The album is available on all major platforms.
Meghan Brown writes plays about dangerous women. Her work has been produced or developed at Lincoln Center, Victory Gardens Theater, Portland Center Stage, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Getty Villa. Full-length plays include The Tasters (Rivendell Theater, upcoming Milwaukee Rep), The Pliant Girls (Fugitive Kind, winner of the Ovation Award for Playwriting for an Original Play), Cowboy Elektra (with Rogue Artists Ensemble, music by Z. Lupetin) and These Girls Have Demons (music by Sarah Taylor Ellis). She is a member of the 2020-2021 Geffen Writers' Room.
HAIBA, headed by Rachid El Guerrab and James Ritts, built the technology and content for Google’s award-winning Spotlight Stories mobile and VR platform.
While downloading the Google Spotlight Stories app is the optimal method of viewing the content, theatrical versions of a few examples are below, and 360 degree viewing is available via YouTube:
Pearl
Duet
Age of Sail
Rachid El Guerrab is an Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated Executive Producer and former Engineering Director at Google. His previous startup, Human Engines, was focused on tools and technologies for mobile and web, later acquired by Motorola Mobility. Prior to that, he had spent over 16 years creating award-winning rendering and interactive pipelines for every SONY console since the PlayStation, as well as Nintendo and Microsoft game systems, for companies like Midway, Ubisoft and Ready At Dawn.
James Ritts has created high performance technologies at all levels of the software stack, from graphics and audio hardware, to artist tools, back-end systems, and web-based applications. He led teams at Qualcomm, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and finally a Google Staff Software Engineer.
Coeurage is thrilled to be partnering with HAIBA to formally launch our XR immersive performance developments.