Subject:
How We Met
In the fall of 1986, I was preparing to open a contemporary theater in San
Francisco called Life On The Water. An article appeared in the paper about
our efforts, and some time in the month or so around the opening, Dana Atchley
contacted our theater to introduce himself. He was a professional video
producer and, taking an interest in our efforts, he agreed to assist with
the documentation projects of some of our productions.
When Dana introduced himself, he explained to us that during the seventies
he was known as "Ace Space." Ace was a traveling electronic bard who mixed
media together to perform an ongoing road show. Roadshow documented an unusual
slice of American culture, from the wild experiments of avant-garde artists
to an eclectic collection of roadside attractions that Dana had decided
to reframe as "Art." It was Laurie Anderson meets Charles Kuralt. Roadshow
was performed from one end of the United States to the other and in parts
of Canada as well. In retrospect, I guess Dana's point in telling his story
was that he shared a tribal affiliation with me and my theatrical partners,
for our theater was also dedicated to the seemingly incompatible mixture
of experimentation and populism.
Dana had an idea for a new show. He called it Next Exit. I remember visiting
his apartment for the first time and watching him dig out a large three-ring
notebook which he opened before me. In it were two memorable pages: storyboards
laid out as a sequence of cartoon-like illustrations. The storyboards depicted
a stage set, which included a little campfire with a large projection screen
behind.
Dana walked me through the concept: a series of episodic stories he had
collected as a traveling artist and video producer; a multimedia melange
of live music, slide projection, video projection, and performance.
I was interested in helping, but Life On The Water had dozens of projects
in development at any given time and it took a while to percolate. The next
year we attempted to raise some money for Next Exit, but couldn't quite
figure out the right angle. In the meantime, Dana kept right on plugging
along, and each time we would see him the notebook got a little fuller.
Another year or two passed and we still hadn't figured out a way to mount
the work. Now there were two notebooks and a number of video pieces and
original music tied to the show; there were even the beginnings of props.
By the summer of 1990, Dana had built a show, and, in his particularly dogged
way, he convinced us to do the project as a work-in-progress from his studio
as part of our first Solo Mio Performance Festival. I ended up spending
time with him that summer discussing the show. When it came time to have
the workshop production, I went over each night to help out. We ran about
fifteen shows over the course of the fall. On some nights it was painful.
Dana would get lost between
a bulky script and balky technology. On other nights you could see the glimmer
of something completely new.
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Dana went back to work, and I went along. At some point I suggested he
put away the media and focus on telling a story. What was the throughline?
What held the evening together; most importantly, what were we supposed
to be learning about him? Where were the emotional revelations? Dana followed
my advice. He wrote for six months and then recombined the words and video
and music. The next run proved more successful and led to invitations
to perform in various settings, technology gatherings and the like. The
next thing we knew, Next Exit had a life of its own.
Next Exit places Dana as a campfire storyteller. His set piece is a pile
of logs with a small television on top playing a loop of burning fire.
From his stump beside the fire, Dana narrates a series of stories from
the six decades of his life. On the projected screen behind him, we see
him navigate a custom-designed interface that allows Dana, using a wireless
mouse, to choose between an assortment of icons that are then constructed
into a given night's performance. The show mixes stories about coming
of age, romance, his relationship with his father, and a number of his
exploits as a traveling artist and video producer. It works as enjoyable
entertainment but also as a provocation to look at oneีs own stories,
and to mine the personal photographs, letters, and home movies for stories
about one's life.
Next Exit and Dana changed my life. In 1993 a digital media tsunami washed
over San Francisco-the second gold rush. In January of that year, Dana
dragged me to a meeting of the local Interactive Communication Society.
It felt like a nerdy version of a Students for a Democratic Society meeting
in 1968. Instead of the social revolution, they were talking about the
information revolution, but with equal amounts of idealism and passion.
In the next few weeks Dana, programmer Patrick Milligan, and I went down
to the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, where Dana was to perform
Next Exit and conduct a workshop on personal storytelling using digital
video. The workshop went amazingly well, so well, in fact, that by early
summer my partners and I decided to close down our theater, lay off a
staff of 12, and move into a small studio to carry out our various work
interests. Coincidentally the studio next to Dana's opened up, and we
moved in. Within months, Dana and I had fashioned a plan to open a center
dedicated to pursuing digital storytelling. By the spring of 1994, joined
by my wife Nina Mullen, the San Francisco Digital Media Center was launched.
Over the past four years, Next Exit has toured the world and has led Dana
to a number of new ventures in both multimedia production for publication
and into the realm of professional presentations and corporate attractions.
Most recently he designed the Digital Storytelling Theater for the World
of Coca-Cola, Las Vegas. He has also worked on corporate presentations
with Douglas Ivester, the CEO of Coca-Cola, and Bill Dauphinais, a vice
president at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The following conversation covers Dana's work in the corporate arena during
the past few years and his thoughts about the phenomenon of digital storytelling.
Continue
to "Next Exit"
Continue to "Corporate Consulting"
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