Frankenstein 2029

an emergent adventure....

More than a thousand people descended on the Lafayette College downtown Williams Arts Campus in spring 2015 to secure tickets, don requisite surgical masks and silently explore a groundbreaking multi-venue, multi-era, multimedia infused performance piece.

Based on Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, Frankenstein 2029 explored the eroding boundaries between man and machine through cross-disciplinary learning, interactive art and theater, and one ultra-cool (albeit fictitious) neurotech company. Over 18 months, 80+ students, faculty, staff, visiting artists and community members brought the production to life.

The challenge

• Promote Lafayette’s innovative and interdisciplinary learning opportunities to internal and external audiences
• Encourage donor funding for additional Arts Campus buildings
• Showcase the new downtown arts venues through this inaugural use of the space
• Build community with residents who both participated in and attended the performances

The work

I was responsible for the creative marketing and cross-channel promotion of this project. I worked with a visiting digital artist on the development of three WordPress sites, Frankenstein 2029, Victor NeuroTech, and SAViN, and related Twitter accounts. I also collaborated with print and editorial content creators, photographers, handled publicity and promotion, social media marketing, and related event planning.

The results

The creation of art professor Ed Kerns and English/theater professor Suzanne Westfall, Frankenstein 2029 embodied the College’s mission to infuse the arts across the curriculum as well as drive true cross-disciplinary collaboration and community connections.

• More than 1000 college and community audience members saw Frankenstein 2029 over a four-day period, including 60 prospective students visiting campus.
• Nearly 14,000 pageviews on the three Frankenstein-related websites over a three month period. Several related stories ran on the main Lafayette website and in the print and online magazine.
• The cutting-edge publication SciArt in America tweeted “Just 1 hour outside of NYC is the multimedia event of the year” and called Frankenstein 2029 a "wonderfully wild testament to cross-disciplinary collaboration and inventive pedagogy". Other media coverage: PBS Ch. 39 (at 13:28), WFMZ Ch. 69, and more. 
• The social media campaign, coordinated with the main Lafayette accounts and including a college-produced video, reached thousands.
• This innovative project helped potential donors and community members envision the full potential of the Williams Arts Campus and helped spur further philanthropy.