Follow This ‘SCARECROW’ Into the Dark (Review)
The team behind the Sundance hit reimagines their production for VR Chat
Wow. The scarecrow is alive, I think.
And now he’s looking at us.
A strange figure appears before me. He doesn’t appear to be alert. Suddenly, he moves.
My attention is first drawn to his wide eyes, his cartoon-ish mouth, and the deliberate messiness of his straw. Sometimes avatars in VR Chat are too “uncanny valley” for me, but his appearance works well in this world. His comical facial expressions seem appropriate for the folktale we now find ourselves in, as does the swell of the orchestral music around us as the scarecrow crouches and circles the three of us, observant and a bit wary.
He approaches another player. I laugh as he mimics the horns of the bull to the left of me with his hands and the bull responds in kind. The scarecrow then tenderly traces the lines of the adorable antenna on the head of the green fairy to my right. I’m not sure who was in that avatar, but I can almost feel them smiling back. I attempt to applaud in VR to show appreciation. I suddenly feel very conscious of the avatar I’ve been assigned: some sort of blue-ish black humanoid with a glaring hole in my heart. I place the controllers over the gap in my chest as the scarecrow approaches, covering them with my virtual hands. His head threateningly looms over me until I finally realize what he’s doing, his digital arms wrapped around me.
He’s giving me a hug. In VR.
I burst into tears.
(Minor spoilers follow.)
In SCARECROW VRC, participants find themselves in a surreal landscape filled with silent, lifeless scarecrows, heads drooping to the ground. What has happened here? Well, evil firebirds have stolen all the hearts of the villagers in this world. But, not to worry, there’s still hope. There remains one very much alive scarecrow who has been waiting, specifically, for you to help him make things right. And perhaps you can.
The original version of SCARECROW was a hit at Sundance’s new Frontier program in early 2020; lucky attendees experienced a one-on-one immersive theatrical production in virtual reality, where a solo participant interacted with a live performer in the same space using heat and haptics. And, now, creator Sngmoo Lee and the rest of the team has reimagined the experience for a remote audience, currently running as SCARECROW VRC as part of Raindance Immersive. The show is now a three-person experience that can be done remotely using a PC, a VR headset, and VR Chat. The actor performs live as a silent avatar, communicating through body language and pantomime to the rest of the group, who are anonymous and muted. We have no idea who are strangers and who are friends; I in fact mistook a stranger for NoPro’s VR correspondent Will Cherry. As audience members, we can only communicate with each other using gestures, similar to The Under Presents.
And yet, despite the friction of connecting my headset to my PC and following the detailed instructions to log into a different account and enter the private SCARECROW world in VR Chat, I find myself swept away, not only by the environment and story and music, but also the incredible performance from our charming scarecrow. At one point, we all pick up large wooden sticks that resemble pieces of charcoal. After a little bit of fiddling, our scarecrow teaches us how to draw in the air, creating swirls of color in the air or majestic life-sized angel wings. I draw a three-dimensional heart over the scarecrow’s chest; he seems to smile as he draws one over mine.
I weep a little inside the headset. It feels magical: just to play and be acknowledged.
We dance in a circle of wheat, our arms stretched out around us, as the shimmering field bursts into color: pinks, greens, purples. Everything we touch comes alive; everything we can see around us glows with joy. It’s what makes immersive art and entertainment so compelling: to see and be seen; to feel the presence of others and to have your own presence felt in return. At a time when communication over social media seems innately contentious, the inability to gather starves us of much needed contact, and the return of in-person events can seem impossible, SCARECROW VRC takes it back to what really matters: human connection.
And at some point, I noticed I was alone in the strange terrain of the SCARECROW VRC world. The two others were far ahead of me climbing up a hill. I could not see what was beyond but I could see their profiles in the distance.
The scarecrow turned back and beckoned me to follow. In fact, they all raised their arms, waving at me to join them. So I did.
I followed them into the unknown, into whatever was waiting for us just beyond that hill.
And, if given the chance, I would certainly do so again.
SCARECROW VRC continues through November 11. Tickets are free. Access to PC VR is required to participate; this experience is not compatible with standalone headsets like the Oculus Quest.
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