In this presentation, I will discuss the use of collaborative improvisation in Synchronicity: An Interdisciplinary Improvisation Research Project, which had its inaugural residency at the University of Texas at El Paso in March 2020. This event brought together artists and scholars in music, dance, and material science and engineering to create spontaneously, interdependently and collaboratively across disciplines. During this residency, research focused on three areas: (1) collaborative improvised performance;  (2) a system of collaborative performance practices called Ensemble Thinking; and (3) a computer code that uses the Kuramoto model to manipulate copies of recorded sound. 

Making use of improvisation at all levels of design and implementation, the collaborative process was framed as an ensemble improvisation. The interdisciplinary nature of this project resulted in the collaboration itself becoming the medium/discipline — collaborators build with what’s available, each ensemble member being responsible for the success of the performance. The outcome of the project was unknown at the outset and the barest of parameters were predetermined — for example, the time and place of the improvised performance, medium of documentation, and minimal scores (limitations on form of individual performance pieces). The collaborative process was developed simultaneously with the designing of the product (performance/documentation) using a tool-and-result methodology, rather than tool-for-result. I will share my experiences from the planning stages, rehearsals, and performances to highlight aspects of collaborative improvisation that were employed during the co-creation of this project, including audio-video documentation from the public performance and recording session. Additionally, I will discuss synchronization as a through-line that connects the performers and the computer program throughout the collaborative process.