PROTOTYPE // Lance Weiler’s “Where There’s Smoke” Live

Opens on November 16

Run Time: 120 min. Rating: PG

In Where There’s Smoke, project creator Lance Weiler unravels the secrets of his enigmatic father — a volunteer firefighter and amateur fire scene photographer — and two devastating fires that struck the Weiler family in the early 1980s. In the final months of his battle with colon cancer, his father invites Lance to interview him, and these conversations reignite 30 years of wondering… were those fires more than tragic accidents?

Join Lance Weiler live as he pulls back the curtain on an immersive storytelling experience about life, loss, and memory that reveals itself to be both deeply personal and universally resonant. He will be making art in real time with collaborator Takaaki Okada. Peter English will perform a live score.

Doors open at 5PM, performance begins at 6PM.

Lance Weiler

Lance Weiler is a storyteller and emerging media artist working in film, theatre, games and code. He is Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University School of the Arts and serves as the director of the school’s Digital Storytelling Lab. An alumnus of the Sundance Screenwriting Lab, Weiler is recognized as a pioneer in mixing storytelling and technology. Wired magazine named him “one of 25 people helping to reinvent entertainment and change the face of Hollywood.” His projects include Collapsus: The Energy Risk Conspiracy, Body/Mind/Change in collaboration with David Cronenberg, Frankenstein AI and Where There’s Smoke.

Peter English

Peter English is a director, producer, and composer based in Philadelphia, PA. He turns surprising and innovative ideas into reality across film, music, and immersive experiences.

Peter composes under the moniker The Sun Line. His work pushes at the boundaries where music, technology, and interactivity collide. In 2017, he collaborated with engineers at Drexel University to create Drumhenge, a new musical instrument that uses electromagnets to transform an array of networked drums into a spatially distributed synthesizer. He was named Maker of the Year by Technical.ly Philly. In 2018, he collaborated with a machine learning algorithm to create a generative score for Frankenstein AI, an immersive experience that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2019, he scored and served as technical director for Where There’s Smoke, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Takaaki Okada

Takaaki Okada is grateful to be able to explore the questions: ‘who am I and why am I here?’ through: art, meditation, filmmaking, writing, design, photography, and immersive experiences.