Storytelling with Code

RailsConf 2016

by Michael Rau

In his talk "Storytelling with Code," Michael Rau explores the intersection of technology and narrative, focusing on how to create emotional engagement through an immersive storytelling experience using digital tools. Rau, a theater and opera director, shares insights from a project he developed, named 'Temping', which reimagines office culture through a unique format that employs emails, voicemails, and printed materials to convey a story without live actors.

Key points discussed include:

- Storytelling and Coding: Rau emphasizes the importance of storytelling in digital formats, explaining that many fail to grasp the nuances of creating a compelling narrative within new mediums even though storytelling is a trending concept in marketing.

- Background in Theater: Rau leverages his experience in theater to shape narratives, expressing that crafting emotions through positioning and design can enhance the audience's experience. He challenges traditional views of theater by exploring storytelling without physical actors.

- Project Development: The project 'Temping' focused on the peculiarities of office communication, creating an immersive experience where the audience member worked within a cubicle environment with no live interaction. Instead, the narrative unfolded through digital communication tools typically found in workplace settings.

- Character Creation: Rau discusses the development of characters through email exchanges, employing a writer to craft distinct personalities and relationships, aiding the participant's understanding of the narrative dynamics.

- Narrative Dynamics: A significant realization was the impact of participant actions on the storyline, particularly through mundane tasks executed in Microsoft Excel, which created an emotional response as they encountered themes of mortality and existential reflection.

- Lessons Learned: Rau concludes with key takeaways about storytelling in digital contexts, emphasizing the importance of a clear narrative arc, effective character development through available mediums, and allowing audience agency and interpretation in non-linear storytelling.

The project exemplifies how digital storytelling can evoke profound emotional connections, even leading to participants experiencing tears during the interaction. Rau's reflections on this process highlight the challenges and joys of crafting an intimate, singular experience within a technological framework, ultimately striving to enhance understanding of mortality and empathy through this innovative art form.

00:00:09.650 My name is Michael Rau, and I'm here to talk to you about storytelling with code. I'm here because storytelling has become the new hot buzzword, often suggested by marketing professionals as a way to solve problems.

00:00:17.160 However, it seems that many people don't actually know how to tell a good story or what storytelling truly means. Today, I'll discuss a project I created last year, which was an immersive experience for one audience member in a standard office cubicle.

00:00:35.820 The piece relied on code to tell a story and create a digital experience. If you're looking for a highly technical talk focused on the code behind it, now would be the time to quietly exit, as I will mostly discuss broader, conceptual ideas rather than a rigorous code review.

00:00:49.020 I want to express my gratitude for being invited here; this is my first time at a conference like this, especially RailsConf. I feel so welcomed by everyone, so thank you all for being here.

00:01:24.150 In terms of my background, I work professionally as a theater and opera director. I got my MFA from Columbia and have been working in this field for the past ten years primarily in New York City and Europe.

00:01:34.960 My focus has always been storytelling, specifically in finding the most effective ways to convey a narrative. Coding has been more of a hobby for me, a way to relax, as I enjoy learning about how computers work. Recently, I've started to blend my skills as a director with my coding skills, although I must admit, my coding abilities aren't incredibly advanced.

00:02:13.330 Still, I created a working application in Rails, which makes me proud. I know many talented programmers could easily achieve the same result, if not better. While I may not have extensive coding knowledge, I have vast experience in storytelling and interpreting narratives for large groups to experience emotionally.

00:02:50.960 When directing plays and operas, often in foreign languages with complex music, my job is to create images that convey relationships and meaning. This often involves positioning actors, setting colors, and choosing costumes strategically to evoke specific feelings.

00:03:02.640 While some might think about theater in terms of basic emotions represented by a happy or sad face, I strive to provoke a wider array of more complex feelings through the arrangement of bodies on stage. Therefore, much of my work revolves around emotions and how to evoke them through storytelling.

00:03:37.650 In recent years, I've challenged myself to explore new formats and methods for storytelling. During a conversation with some actor friends late one night, one of them passionately claimed that the core truth of theater lies in the actor and their physical presence. After a few drinks, I found myself disagreeing and determined to create a project that would prove this notion wrong.

00:04:46.709 The project I conceptualized was what I would describe as a piece of theater, although others have labeled it variously as an installation or a performative reading. I was particularly interested in office culture and modern communication, especially as much of it is increasingly mediated by digital technology. I began discussing with friends the idea of creating a show focused on doing office work, despite pushback from most of them.

00:05:49.510 Eventually, one friend decided to collaborate with me on this idea, which led to the creation of what I called 'Temping'. I explored the idiosyncrasies of office culture, such as reading too much into emails and how voicemails often become passive-aggressive tools. I established a crucial rule: there would be no live actors, and participants would never meet a living soul during the experience.

00:06:58.580 Instead, I would use the equipment typically found in an office to convey the story. I gave myself four tools through which I could communicate with the audience member; I then built what can now be described as an overly complicated backend capable of sending emails, voicemails, and printing materials at scheduled times.

00:07:16.990 We examined the physical environment as well—could there be a desk, drawers, or a bookshelf to enhance the storytelling experience? The show underwent two beta test runs; the first at Dixon Place in New York City, and the second at the University of Maryland in College Park. It eventually premiered at Lincoln Center as part of the 53rd International Film Festival.

00:07:42.820 Although it wasn't a film, the curator who learned about the project was focusing on virtual reality, which I don’t necessarily identify with my project, but he wanted it included. The experience began when participants entered a dimly lit, windowless room in a basement decorated with unattractive institutional carpeting and a low ceiling. At the far end of the room was one of those old, fabric-covered cubicles.

00:08:26.160 Upon sitting in the chair, I greeted them: 'Thank you for coming to work today; here's your desk.' After closing the door, the setup functioned exactly like an office environment. The desktop computer ran Windows 8, and participants could use the phone and voicemail functionalities. The majority of the experience unfolded through emails and actual work.

00:09:03.270 This slide shows one of three representations of how the backend operated. I won’t go into detail about it, but the fundamental aspect was that it was a Rails app that conducted various tasks. It sent emails at specific times, controlled hue lights, and managed hidden speakers throughout the room.

00:09:31.500 My friend, an absolute genius whom I adore, built a phone using an Arduino Nano that mimicked the functions of a corporate phone. Participants could pick up the receiver and navigate a standard corporate phone directory. Meanwhile, in the background, we could control the operations, sending voicemails and instructions. After setting up all this technology, we initially faced the challenge of what to do with it. I knew that the core theme was office culture.

00:10:52.840 I wanted to design the experience so that rather than merely observing the action, participants engaged directly with the narrative. I eventually decided they would be treated as a temp; they wouldn’t have to role-play but could simply be themselves. If you have ever worked with temp workers, you know they are often treated as disposable, and that was the attitude we cultivated in the characters interacting with our single audience member.

00:11:56.500 To develop the narrative further, I used email as a vehicle for character development. I commissioned my friend Michael Gates Crowley, a playwright, to craft a cast of characters who all worked for the same company, leading us to create about ten distinct characters and even more in a larger company directory.

00:12:25.290 The emails offered insights into who these individuals were, and the audience member, serving as the temp, would receive copied or forwarded emails, allowing them to understand the relationships and dynamics at play. For example, an illustrative email included a line expressing genuine emotion with 'I'm going to miss you too; I really mean that.'

00:13:01.380 Yet, the narrative experience lacked significant action initially, as it primarily involved looking at emails and hearing voicemails. However, as we progressed, we realized that we needed to assign real tasks to the temp to drive the narrative forward.

00:13:26.670 So we began giving them actual work. This became the third major realization that the tasks determined the storyline, with the heart of the experience centering around Microsoft Excel. My friends humorously joked that I was creating a show set within a spreadsheet, and we embraced this notion.

00:14:28.600 Participants would sit at the desk and receive emails from a boss who might say, 'Sorry, I'm at an off-site today; I wish I could meet you in person, but I believe Sarah Jane has documented her work for you.' They needed to begin executing the tasks assigned to them. This setup effectively created a sense of connection between participants and the scenario, as they navigated a desk they could tell belonged to someone else.

00:15:38.360 To enrich the experience, we included various humorous email interactions about office-related issues, such as the malfunctioning printer and casual breakroom anecdotes. Then, they would be introduced to a straightforward Microsoft Excel task to update client lists, determining who was alive and who was deceased.

00:16:29.580 As participants engaged with this simple task, they would realize their actions had profound consequences. Each time they marked someone as deceased in the spreadsheet, changes in lighting would occur, quiet music would play, and the printer would engage, producing a picture of that person's face along with a personal moment narrated from their life. This juxtaposition between the sterile data of Excel and the stark reality of mortality created a powerful emotional response.

00:17:48.780 Once they completed the task, the environment would return to normal. Subsequent tasks involved calculating life expectancy caused participants to reflect deeply on mortality, leading them to calculate their own expected lifespans.

00:18:03.380 As the show approached its conclusion, after 45 to 50 minutes of deep engagement with the role of the temp, attendees discovered that the desk they had been using belonged to someone who had been fired, and they were to take her place. This twist served as a meditation on time and work while exploring the often peculiar communication dynamics in offices and the recognition of one's mortality.

00:18:57.780 The development process took considerable time, involving numerous iterations to make the experience truly emotional. I initially anticipated laughter and maybe a moment of existential dread. However, what I witnessed was heightened emotional engagement, even leading some participants to tears at the end of the experience.

00:19:54.000 So, here are the lessons I've learned about crafting effective stories from this piece. First, it's important to have a clear narrative arc, as our story was based on user actions, which shaped the exact chain of events leading to different story paths. Careful structuring in this regard was crucial.

00:20:19.440 Characterization proved to be a complex challenge because we lacked visual cues regarding who these characters were. Therefore, we relied heavily on email communication, voice messages, and other text to distinctly portray these figures to the audience. Ensuring that each character had a unique voice, perspective, and motivations deepened the audience's connection and appreciations for their choices.

00:21:45.570 Instead of over-explaining the plot or character backgrounds, we chose to leave deliberate spaces for the audience to imagine and interpret. Similar to ancient Greek theater, we realized the storytelling impact increased by sharing narratives indirectly or through aftermath, inviting audiences to pieces together their interpretations.

00:22:31.220 Finally, we aimed to create a setting where participants had the freedom to explore the story at their own pace and based on their interests. The nonlinear structure allowed participants to engage with varying themes and develop their own paths through the narrative.

00:23:03.429 To summarize: think about the narrative arc when designing a story, focus on character development, and leave rooms for participant agency and imagination. Thank you for listening to my talk!

00:24:07.440 If there are any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Otherwise, please come say hello, as I don't know anyone here.

00:24:57.920 There was a question about the future of the project, including its installation at Harvard University in 2017. Additionally, I discussed my influences and thoughts on creating empathy within this interactive model through director's perspective and audience engagement. I touched on various experiments and the fine balance necessary to ensure participants felt comfortable and able to navigate the story effectively.

00:30:13.790 In concluding, I expressed the challenges and unique joys of crafting work designed only for one person, showcasing how the experience aimed at enriching understanding of intimacy through digital technology, emotional connections, and our perceptions of mortality. Thank you all for your attention!