Seanchai Library: The Dickens Project Returns for 2022 December 8- January 3

 

Second Life – Seanchai Library is proud to announce the opening of The Dickens Project 2022 Edition. This Second Life winter holiday tradition invites guests to walk in the steps of Ebenezer Scrooge in an environment inspired, in part, by Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella “A Christmas Carol.” An invited community of Second Life groups and organizations will present a variety of music events, dance performances, as well as story presentations. Other Project features include skating, sledding, a balloon ride, a horse cart tour, and plenty of photo opportunities. The Dickens Project regions will open on Thursday, December 8th, and close at the end of the day on Tuesday, January 3rd.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The 2022 Edition features an Experience-based teleport system. Please accept the “Caledonian Studios” Experience in the Welcome Area to fully explore The Project. 

LOCATION: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Dickens%20Project/129/128/1401

"This year we challenged a lot of assumptions about how we configured the land to tell the story," said Caledonia Skytower of Seanchai Library. "So what Dickens Project fans will discover is a layout that is very different from past Projects, but still has a narrative sense. It feels like a lot ‘more’, somehow, and yet will still have the friendly familiarity that many will expect."  The Dickens Project is intentionally designed to follow, as much as possible, the narrative of Dickens’ 1843 work, allowing guests to walk through the Christmas past, present, and future of the story.

The Dickens Project also seeks to promote community - a community of Second Life individuals and organizations which come together for this annual celebration. After a hiatus in 2021, this community includes Virtual Community Radio and Innsmouth in SL. The Community Virtual Library will again provide research and information on Victorian life in the time of Dickens’ works. 

Four dance companies will present unique performances including Idle Rogue Productions, TerpsiCorps Dance, Misfit Dance and Performance Art SL, and Virtuoso Dance. Eclipse Club and Resort will contribute music sets in addition to various independent DJs and musicians.  SL Hawks Aerobatic Team will return for a single performance of their popular “Ghost Flights of Christmas” air show in the skies above Dickens Harbour, this season with wing walkers. These are all in addition to the live story reading programs for which Seanchai Library is known.  

The popular "Carol Week" returns in a revised format this year. The week will begin with The Big Read on Sunday, December 18th at Noon. The relay-style presentation involves a chorus of voices in a continuous reading of "A Christmas Carol" from beginning to end. The week will continue December 19 - 22nd with a section of Dickens' novella presented live each day in a "Story Tour" presentation to the sites in the region inspired by the story. 

Seanchai Library offers its thanks to Linden Labs and Patch Linden, our 2022 Region Sponsors.

There will be additional information available on the Seanchai Library Website, and at the Welcome Area at The Dickens Project.

This press release is available in digital form at https://irelandslstory.blogspot.com/p/the-dickens-project-press-release.html

About the Seanchai Library

Seanchai Library (pronounced Shawn-a-kee, which means "Storyteller" in Irish Gaelic.) was founded in March of 2008 in Second Life. The program remains dedicated to promoting the power of stories to transform and inspire through live voice presentations: "We bring stories of all kinds to life, in Second Life and other virtual worlds."  http://irelandslstory.blogspot.com/

All times listed are SLT/ Pacific.

Images and Project Poster can be accessed from our online image bank which can be accessed via the digital press release on our website.

 Media Contact:

Caledonia Skytower, Seanchai Library

caledoniaskytower@gmail.com

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Seanchai Library Partners With Firestorm Community Gateway for Spoken Word Venture

    

Firestorm Gateway, Social Island -photo by Caledonia Skytower 

Firestorm Social Island, Second Life – Among the longest active literary programs on the Second Life grid, Seanchai Library will be partnering with popular Third Party Viewer developer Firestorm’s Community Gateway to bring spoken word events and content to their ever-growing audience of new users.

The project will begin with the return of the popular Storytellers’ Sandbox series, which Seanchai Library recently launched, producing three sessions as part of their Crazy Eights project with a Linden Endowment for the Arts grant. The series provides a forum for new stories, new storytellers, and new ways to present them. “We have been brainstorming for a home for this event ever since we closed Crazy Eights,” said Seanchai Lead Caledonia Skytower, “It is a great forum for introducing new voices to the virtual spoken story community. It also provides more experienced voices a chance to explore the incredible possibilities for immersion in a virtual performance experience.  Sets, avatars, effects - there is excellent work being done in all these areas, both from the story-initiated creators, and by visual artists sharing the narratives of their work. The limitations are always time, prims, and the ability to draw an audience.”

 

Firestorm Viewer Project Logo - provided by Firestorm Project

On Sunday, August 7th at 3pm slt, the first Storytellers’ Sandbox at Firestorm Social Island will mark the launch of this new partnership with six voice performers presenting a mix of original tales and short stories in a showcase of live virtual storytelling.  Long-time voices, such as Dubhna Rhiadra and Shandon Loring, will present tales, along with the relatively newer voices of Bryn Taleweaver and Hana Hoo. “This first session is meant to accent the variety of tales and possibilities,” Skytower explained, “ so we have deliberately chosen to avoid a theme.” 

 

Seanchai Session Audience View (png) - photo by R. Crap Mariner

“Crap Mariner and Caledonia have been around forever, are so well-connected in their community, and their skills compliment each other. They are the perfect team to be leading this.” added Firestorm Founder, CEO & Project Manager Jessica Lyon. “We really want to expose new residents to the broad possibilities of what they can be involved with in Second Life: music, role play, art, and of course spoken word is a part of that.  I am really excited about what Seanchai Library, with these two coordinating this particular effort, can bring to our Gateway.”

 

Seanchai Session with Kayden Oconnell (png) - photo by R. Crap Mariner

Seanchai Library has been an active presence in Second Life since 2008, with Caledonia Skytower and Shandon Loring as its Lead Staff since 2012.  In addition to Seanchai, Caledonia also produced StoryFest Events, which presented four annual festival style live story events: StoryFest, Bard on the Virtual beach, BOOFest, and The Dickens Project.  In 2015, StoryFest Events was merged into ongoing Seanchai programming.  Skytower has worked with Fantasy Faire,Magicland Park, Avatar Repertory Theater, the University of Washington iSchool, and was the chief architect behind the recent Crazy Eights project at Linden Endowment for the Arts region 9.  She works with Shandon Loring in developing the Library’s branches on InWordz and Kitely, taking the lead on the “Explore” projects which partner with real world organizations to develop virtual learning tools for audience augmentation of performing arts experiences.

The Firestorm Community Gateway userbase poses a new challenge for the Seanchai storytellers. “Most of the audiences at our events are veteran Second Life users, who have to deal with the occasional frustrations of Voice issues in Second Life. Firestorm Community Gateway introduces hundreds of new and inexperienced users to Second Life. We’ll find ways to leverage the power of Second Life and the skill of the ever-present and patient Firestorm Support Staff to quickly diagnose and assist these users with Voice so they can enjoy these performances as part of their early Second Life experience.”

Longtime Second Life resident, spoken word veteran, and Seanchai Friend and Performer R. Crap Mariner of the 100 Word Stories Podcast joins the partnership as an organizer, planner, and all-around grunt-of-all-trades. “I heard Jessica Lyon in an interview at the 13th Second Life Birthday, and she called for performers and events at Firestorm’s Community Gateway. She even invited me to perform there, but my material doesn’t quite fit the G-rating of their regions. I turned to my friend Caledonia Skytower and suggested that we put together a greater Spoken Word Project. We both look forward to bringing workshops and other events that will introduce the new users to spoken word, and introduce spoken word communities to new audiences, members, and participants.”

 

Seanchai Library @ Bradley University (png) - photo by Derry McMahon

Plans for additional events that introduce poetry, writing, and other spoken word and literature opportunities are in development. More details will be available on this partnership over the next several months.  Seanchai Library will continue to present their weekly story sessions, Monday through Thursday at 7pm slt, and in various weekend sessions on their home parcel at the Community Virtual Library on the Bradley University sim (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bradley%20University/100/209/28) as well as their branch on the InWorldz grid, and on the Kitely grid on the open metaverse. R. Crap Mariner will continue to produce his daily 100 Word Stories Podcast and conduct readings inworld at his Clocktree Reading Room (http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Edloe/128/128/29)

Information on Firestorm Viewer, as well as links to their social media presence can be found online athttp://www.firestormviewer.org/

Information on Seanchai Library schedules and programs, as well as links to their social media presence can be found online at http://irelandslstory.blogspot.com/http://irelandslstory.blogspot.com/

Information on R. Crap Mariner and the 100 Word Stories Podcast, as well as links to his social media presence can be found online at http://oneadayuntilthedayidie.com/

Storytellers’ Sandbox at Firestorm Gateway, Social Island http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Firestorm%20Social%20Island/71/127/32

MEDIA CONTACT

Caledonia Skytower, Seanchai Library
thedede@comcast.net

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