Dream

October 24 – 26, 2025

“Jewels 1” Juliane Ethel Leilani Miller Studio Theatre

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Clay Hopper
Developed by Clay Hopper, Jon Savage, and James Grady

A collaboration between BU’s School of Theatre, School of Visual Arts, and Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences, this production is fully Shakespeare’s play and not an adaptation. It is also a culmination of 7 years of research and development of a novel design tool, Random Actor, which uses computational vision and machine learning to create and design physically interactive projections within an immersive projected media environment for the actor. Additional technologies we hope to employ are the capturing of 3D images with LiDAR cameras and digital asset manipulation via the previsualization software, both of which was acquired with generous grants from the Shipley Foundation. These grants were written by Jorge Arroyo and Jon Savage.

Program

BU Wheelock Forum Explores AI in Education

The Forum featured a dance performance utilizing Random Actor, a technology developed by CFA faculty James Grady and Clay Hopper that harnesses AI to extend the visual expression of human movement and dance. Photo by Michael D. Spencer

Exit the King, and Enter Random Actor

Behind the theatrical project is a technical one, supported by the Shipley Center for Digital Learning & Innovation and driven by visiting artist Paolo Scoppola. Random Actor began at a CFA meeting, where Clay Hopper started talking about projections in theater with James Grady, BU Spark! creative director and a CFA assistant professor of art, graphic design. They agreed most projections were lacking, not integral to the production, “a TV with a play happening in front of it,” as Hopper says. Instead, they wanted to create projections that were more about what was happening among the actors on stage, “so the environment could change to reflect the interior life of the characters.”