Woyzeck is the story of a lowly infantryman oppressed by the military culture surrounding him. Life on the army base where Woyzeck lives is characterized by hard physical labor for little pay, exploitation for inhumane medical experiments, and daily humiliation by his superiors. Woyzeck's one solace is the love he has for his girlfriend, Marie. When this small hope is torn from him, what is left for Woyzeck but an existance too bleak to contemplate? Driven to insanity and violence by the military machine, Woyzeck strikes out against hierarchy and hypocrisy and strives to find meaning and agency for himself in a world designed to oppress the individual. However, Woyzeck's search for dignity comes with unthinkable costs.
Woyzeck was written in 1835–36 by 23 year–old German playwright, medical student, and social revolutionary, Georg Büchner. Weeks after he began writing, Büchner died of Typhus, leaving behind the fragmented, un–ordered text that has become the classic Woyzeck. It is remarkable to note that nearly two centuries after its creation, Büchner's story has not lost its edge. Based on a true–life controversial murder trial, Woyzeck continues to be recreated by avant–garde artists throughout the years.
Büchner based his play on the true and widely publicized story of Johann Christian Woyzeck, an impoverished soldier and jack–of–all trades drifter who murdered his female companion in a fit of jealousy in Leipzig in 1821. The real–life Woyzeck was the subject of controversial medical evaluations that unfairly pronounced him sane enough for execution. Woyzeck was publicly beheaded in a Leipzig square in 1824, sparking heated debates about capital punishment.
This Woyzeck project is an experiment in performance and augmented reality (AR) technology. Unlike virtual reality (VR), which uses only computer generated media, AR combines the real world with digital elements. Up to this point, AR has been most often used for military, medical, and other scientific or technical applications. While these traditional AR projects may tell a story, the narrative is generally subordinate to the technology.
This project reverses those priorities and subverts traditional uses of AR to tell the story of Woyzeck, a piece with anti–military themes. AR was chosen as a storytelling method for creating Woyzeck as it enhances major aspects of the piece, such as the role of bodies and gesture in the narrative. This installation includes not only a unique use of AR technology, but also an original English language translation and adaptation of Woyzeck, along with original music, lyrics, and choreography.