Multimedia Theatre Art with coolux Pandoras BoxA small rural village is not usually the first thing that comes to one's mind when the topic of high-tech projection technology is raised. In the case of the German theatre company theaterspinnerei, the situation is different. Situated close to the town of Nurtingen, the theaterspinnerei's small theatre offers performances that can easily compete with Germany's bigger stages in terms of technological ingenuity. A central component of their artistic endeavors is a coolux Pandoras Box Version 5 server. The two founders of the theaterspinnerei, Jens Nuessle and Stephan Haenlein, have known one another for more than 25 years. Together with their trusted collaborator Marilena Pinetti, they have created a unique place for those individuals looking for theatrical entertainment that combines a clear artistic vision with modern technology. The theaterspinnerei is located inside an old train station that was painstakingly renovated and refurbished over a period of ten years. The small audience space in front of the stage only allows a mere 70 to 80 seats in total. The current production is a modern re-interpretation of a classic fairy tale, The Empress's Clothes, which tackles postmodern notions of virtual products and the value of shared illusions. All visual aspects of the overall set design are brought to life using projections and the coolux Pandoras Box's realtime compositing features. Other than a curved white screen in the background, there is little else to be seen in the beginning. A small white tower like construction, reminiscent of an altar, dominates the stage. This tower structure is made up of a total of 73 white brick like pieces of various sizes. Throughout the play, these pieces get rearranged and moved to other parts of the stage to form new projection spaces for the custom made content. In addition to this, multiple panorama projections create an unexpectedly deep sense of spatial depth, made possible through compositing media within areal 3D geometry. The theaterspinnerei team evaluated the type of media server to best suit their needs: "We tested a great range of different systems from different makers. We knew from the beginning that it'd be difficult to find one system that would meet all our requirements. What really convinced us to go for the coolux Pandoras Box was the fact that it delivered exactly what was promised to us." The new Pandoras Box Version 5 server will continue to be used for the weaving of new theatrical dreams at the theaterspinnerei for many years to come. See coolux at PLASA Focus: Stamford, November 12-13. 
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