Natasha Tsakos' multimedia theatrical adventure

www.ted.com Natasha Tsakos presents part of her one-woman, multimedia show, "Upwake." As the character Zero, she blends dream and reality with an inventive virtual world projected around her in 3D animation and electric sound.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

[@cavey89]

most amazing thing of 09. her passion makes me giddy. would love to see the show. x

[@jaimeefricklas1769]

Exactly what i am studying right now (MFA in Theatre). How the audience's perception can be manipulated by projection. Perfect!

[@katiuskaazambuja]

Estou simplesmente encantada! Seu trabalho é primoroso... parabéns!

[@spyglass71]

this was amazing! I love these lectures. you learn so much! the dancing was awesome

[@saerain]

It's a beautiful and entertaining show. The aesthetic is to my taste, and I especially appreciate it for not, like too much art (especially theater) today, demonizing technological advancement, but rather celebrating it, by its use in the presentation as well as by the presentation itself. Further, I sympathize with her excitement and resultant over-the-top rhetoric. I'm no longer in theater, largely for the demonization I mentioned above, but I know how it feels to get that kind of break.

[@Claymore84517]

That's my point, I was attempting to point out. Maybe i was thinking to hard and listening to hard of what she was saying, I do like the concept of the play and her idea of what she is doing.

[@user-hb4qd5cd3e]

Your exceptionally inspiring Natasha.. Keep up the great work

[@MannyBombardier1]

I loved this one. An inspiring talk, nothing revolutionary, but definitely something worth spreading. Thanks TED!

[@Desert2GardenLV]

This is really great. I think it should get a feature.

[@ultramurals]

great show......... powerful end speech awesome!!

[@Nurgleprobe]

I would love to see how this could be used with bigger shows. "Bigger" as in more people on stage.

[@tellmewhatsahappenin]

extremely interesting. i bet this would work really awesomely with modern dance pieces as well.

[@SayChickpeas]

Wonderful presentation... inspiring. The message is so clear and powerful. It reminds me that living is an art which is not lost in modern times. We adapt to solve problems with our earth itself. Our technological revolution must bring us closer to the very essence of being human, or die... possibly taking us with it. Our thinking is evolving ever more rapidly and it's brilliant to behold.

[@ratholin]

Well said VoiceDissent. I felt very let down by this too. There was no sense of self discovery or realization of some fundamental truth. This is for the crowd that wants to walk away feeling smug with nothing to show for it. Have you ever read madmen and specialists by Wole Soyinka? That's a hell of a piece of theatre.

[@Reido2828]

Shes just passionate about her work.

[@ericlampham]

i want to see this show.

[@msd5641]

AMAZING...

[@flyingfisbeefilms]

I agree normally I love TED's stuff but this too arty!

[@charevandenheever4460]

Each ted ed is different!

[@bassamry]

totally agree

[@kembstuddert]

Looks amazing. She has a very unusual view of the world. Those of you who say she is pretentious... Maybe she is. She is using her talents and intelligence. She has something interesting and different to say. Some people don't value difference. That attitude is tragic. Who is to say that any one view of life is any more important than any other. I applaud her for trying and for sharing. Just as I applaud any one who is brave enough to share their talents so generously.

[@Truthiness231]

Yeah quite well stated. That origami episode with Robert J. Lang (I happened to remember his name because I had a book for something like 15 years with his name on it) was among the best TED talks I've seen yet. That was art that holds a plethora of potential for future engineers. This is art that... well, might inspire other artists, but these are scientific minds that watch these videos... Anyway, I am in no position to tell TED what they should focus on... but pure art? Eh...

[@lambent77777]

Thank you for a memorable afternoon, usually one must go to a snobatorium to meet a woman of your stature.

[@XxINCHAINSxX]

Even more incredible would be being in that cube with your own custom movies and music playing. On acid. To "Be" somewhere else with custom journeys.

[@brandonmiletta]

I love this idea, I just have a different way that I think it should be incorporated..

[@The1chipdude]

awesome idea with zero

[@abyssquick]

since when did TED become TAD? Or (TEAD perhaps...)

[@BinaryReader]

kinda agree

[@BridgeMakes]

Most entertaining, zero is a hero.

[@FTLNewsFeed]

When was the last time you went to a play? Theater is supposed to take us to the world the playwright makes for us and pull us to a different time and/or make our own time fly by.

[@Truthiness231]

No, the "E", I thought, is for "Entertainment", and for the science, progression, and innovation of entertainment at that (i.e. not meaning that we're necessarily going to be entertained by the show, though I usually am ^.^).

[@Claymore84517]

not a real big deal really, but she refers to zero as not being Male or Female, but when she first talked about the character of ZERO, she referred to Zero as HIM. Just a minor detail i thought i would point out. Yes, she is hot.

[@FTLNewsFeed]

Art inspires different people differently, you see trite while others see genius. Learn this fact.

[@straightd0pe]

Word.

[@AerocK]

hey is that Lisa Nova?

[@thunderpants10]

Theatre is good helping to find moose and squirrel

[@saerain]

The pretentiousness of people calling it pretentious is pretentiously pretentious. Dawg.

[@pimpolinka69]

Brilliant. This wants me want to go to theatre in about 10 years... When there'll be more of such plays. :)

[@CameronZimos]

Thank god this didnt become popular

[@Atomsk]

pretentious = creating an appearance of often undeserved importance or distinction. this totally applies.

[@kopoleba]

Wow. She is intense.

[@Chemicalogic]

Meaning what? That you didn't understand it? Or that you refused to think about it?

[@bellsTheorem1138]

It should be, pick seven minutes at some random time to shut down.

[@postal2600]

I start getting annoyed by people who think almost random is art. Like those painters who splash paint on the canvas and then pretend they worked ages on it and thought deeply before putting the brush on the canvas, when where my bet is they've brushed randomly, stepped aside, then tried to find a meaning to the doodle. But back to theater: I have this kind of shows in my town, and I went to them out of curiosity: annoyingly senseless. I, personally, start hating this kind of art. But that's me

[@theendofconfusion]

It was a metaphor.

[@nema151]

Technology, ENTERTAINMENT, Design T.E.D.

[@harryjay246]

"2000"

[@Atoyota]

LOL exactly what I was thinking

[@Shan224]

Anyone else getting a huge vampire vibe from this chick?

[@Terrible_Peril]

it's an entertainment art form. science has proven play and creative work are essential for humans. so what's your hard on about it?

[@ninawillams]

Laurie Anderson anybody?

[@horny4bears]

hmm perhaps TED could sub-channel up a bit, I'd op into both, as I never know what connections may unfold in my minds I(magination)

[@allurbase]

will let you know xD

[@ratholin]

You probably laugh along with laugh tracks on sitcoms too.

[@ratholin]

I think you mean the "ED", Truthiness But some of this art has been awesome just not this lady did you see that piano virtuoso last month or the guy with the flying art ball?

[@nema151]

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON.... maybe its just over my head.... is there a way to understand? i think those kids were so attentave because they were trying to figure out what the heck was going on...

[@Mattmlo]

a little too weird for me...

[@kopoleba]

Barjo.

[@ratholin]

Yeah I thought you were suggesting taking out the entertainment bit. I really enjoy a lot of the entertainment ones though. Like that emanual jal one recently. Or that one about origami which actually bridged into technology. It's just this pretentious stuff. I actually trained in mime as a youth under a student of marcel marceau. That lady isn't very good at it. I know street performers that would trump her in an instant.

[@Atomsk]

i wouldn't say fuck ALL art. there is a pretty compelling argument that art is a kind of cultural immune system. that art explores future technologies and ideas that if just dropped into the mainstream consciences all at once would most likely tear society apart. that kind of pave-the-way-art is great. this art however, seems completely void of any substance. and it really doesn't even look that cool.

[@ansbanana1949]

КУ КУ ЕПТА

[@ratholin]

Well to be fair she used sound effects and stage lights something that's never been used before um well even the ancient greeks did that. Nothing special really.

[@bridobrido]

and that much hotter for it!

[@Atomsk]

um, a what? is that like the circus? :)

[@millamulisha]

haha ur funny... i agree

[@frio109]

scary

[@redloriyellowlori]

this is drag

[@Chemicalogic]

This keeps getting better and better. Pretentious people pushing unwanted sex? Really? You would draw a comparison between this piece of hi-tech theater and snobby rapists. Wow. Dude, open a window and put the bottle of glue down. Nope. You straw manned my argument by trying to apply what you thought was my logic to a rape scenario (very creepy, by the way). All I was saying is that blindly condemning her as pretentious is a simple-minded cop out.

[@Treknologist]

Hard to not watch a video of a pretty lady saying intelligent things.

[@smartiboi]

TED -Theater, Entertainment, Dance bahahahaha jk this video failed to impress me

[@hughtub]

She's not bad looking but the character "Zero" looks too manly.

That mime talks too much.

[@ningendono]

i couldnt agree more. art has become rotten.

[@DIProgan]

Theatre-people...nope doesnt do it

[@blueorangelettuce]

what a weirdo performance. The tech factor sure doesn't make me like theater any more.

[@Truthiness231]

Please, no more art at TED. The "D" in TED is for engineering design, not the artists... When you can apply math to beauty, fine. Until then, art should be 100 meters away from science at all times.

[@Snowflake70]

NO MORE GE SPONSORING

[@ratholin]

You misused the phrase straw man when I was showing a correlation between pretentious people pushing unwanted art and pretentious people pushing unwanted sex. I explained your misuse. Then I explained how people aren't going to enjoy bad theatre no matter how many times you say "you just don't get it." It's too poorly performed to be liked for it's qualities and too dull to be taken as satire of legitimate theatre. It's dull, unimaginative and deserves credit only if done by a 5th grader.

[@Peridactyloptrix]

Actually, it's called "theatre". Anyway, there's nothing wrong with theatre or "modern art" (whatever that is). I would advise you against making such sweeping statements. That would be akin to saying "All music is shit and a waste of time". In any artform there is good and bad. This performance, for example, is pretentious, over-indulgent and meaningless.

[@Chemicalogic]

Dude, give up. Technically you straw manned my argument and then did your own reductio ad absurdum. Who introduced the rape scenario? And WTF does that have to do with people being intellectually lazy? Seriously, you ought to stop huffing the glue, or gas or whatever it is that makes the lights all pretty and the brain all fuzzy. Again, all I said was that I thought people were being lazy by refusing to intellectually engage with the piece, no rape, no clowns. Smell a straw man?

[@Peridactyloptrix]

This is the most pretentious thing I've seen in quite a while.

[@alejosky]

Too bizarre, abstract and random for my taste. Don't like this "revolution"

[@Chemicalogic]

Nice straw man. Aaaaaand back to reality. 95% of the comments left here are not from critics, but lazy morons who refuse to have to think about the artistic expression they just witnessed, or the idea of theater mixing with technology. Like I said, I think people would be much happier with this kind of artistic output if they had someone to hold their hand and talk in little, simple words to explain it all. Scurry off, there is a rerun of Friends waiting for you.

[@ratholin]

well this was about the most boring thing I've seen at ted talks and that includes the barking piano player. Just because something is useless doesn't make it art. Art inspires this is just poorly rendered mime with sound effects. A good mime wouldn't need the sound effects.

[@Trazynn]

I'll give this video two mehs.

[@sdaciuk]

Let me start with this: I like theater sometimes. I've seen some good plays, even operas can be good without knowing the words. But this... this is an unoriginal annoyance that could be replaced by Mickey Mouse and have had the same effect. How many times do I need to hear about a character trapped between waking and dreaming? What a waste of money.

[@val0312]

wow... that was by far the least interesting TED I ever saw....