UpStage

UpStage is an open-source server-side application specifically designed for Cyberformance: multiple artists collaborate in real time via the UpStage platform to create and present live theatrical performances, for audiences who can be online or in a shared space and who can interact with the performance via a text chat tool.

[1][2] UpStage was developed in 2003 by programmer Douglas Bagnall to realize the vision of the cyberformance troupe Avatar Body Collision.

The first version of the software was created with a grant from the Smash Palace Collaboration Fund, a joint initiative of Creative New Zealand and the NZ Ministry for Research, Science and Technology; it was launched on 9 January 2004 and began to be used by artists and students around the world, as well as by the originators, Avatar Body Collision.

[citation needed] A second festival was held on 080808 (8–9 August 2008), covering an 18-hour period and involving artists from at least 14 time zones.

[5] As a web-based server-side application, UpStage can be accessed by both performers and audiences from almost any internet-connected computer, using any operating system and browser.

[7] Newcomers to UpStage can learn the basics very quickly, and the fact that no additional software download is required makes it very accessible.

[9] UpStage is an open-source project; it can be downloaded from the GitHub site and installed on a web server, giving control over who has login access.