Trust Me! It's a Forward
May 2023
Dramaturg
A table-top game and collective performance about trust in the mis/disinformation age.
Trust Me, it’s a Forward!’(TMF) is a table-top game about trust in the mis/disinformation age. The game is set in a fantastical world that is alive and bustling deep under a turbulent ocean hidden under layers of icy crust. Within this world, factions of society are faced with crises, choices, and impossible decisions. There can only be one loser!
TMF turns the disembodied nature of digital messages into a game. This game simulates behaviour that results from our interactions with information manufactured by large data systems that wield the power and resources to bend facts and public opinion. Given our reconfigured ideas of trust and safety, how do we identify fact from fiction to make decisions that allow us to survive the game?
This experience is an inquiry into the changing nature of trust in a time when the information we receive through social media has the power to influence many of our opinions.
Duration: 2-2.5 hours (including a discussion post game)
Language: English
Audience: Groups of 13 people
Trust Me, it’s a Forward! is commissioned by the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore under the aegis of the Goethe-Institut’s Kultursymposium Weimar 2023.
Presented by KathaSiyah in collaboration with Studio Oleomingus
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The project explores the myriad of ways we engage with misinformation, both as information as well as a behaviour. My role as dramaturg in the initial days was to aid the creative team in world building, develop staging formats, explore audience engagement methods as well as contribute to digital production elements.
Creative Team
Karen D’Mello - Director
Studio Oleomingus - Game Authors
Gaurav Singh Nijjer - Dramaturg
Ankita D’Souza - Poster & Publicity Design
Sandeep Krishna - Initial Research and Ideation
Sathwik - Game Host
Anoop Unnikrishnan - Sound Design
Shradha Raj - Production Manager
Samyuktha Manogaran - Production Manager
Sunayana Premchander - Producer
Image Credit: Studio Oleomingus, licensed under Share Alike CC BYSA4.0
Performance History
Trust Me! It's a Forward (TMF) premiered at the Bengaluru International Centre (BIC) on Saturday 6 May 2023. Since then it has had numerous performances in arts venues, libraries, cafes and other intimate spaces in Bangalore, India. It will soon travel to different cities and venues to engage with a wide variety of audiences.
Project Gallery
