Participants developed characters and storylines through a series of collective improvisations and independent projects often involving online platforms (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Google Docs) and consumer technologies (smartphones, laptops) as creative tools. Loosely based on former UH professor Edward Albee’s 1961 play The American Dream, @merican.deformity addresses the enduringly immediate themes of Albee’s original text including conformity, consumer culture, and queerness, but set in a contemporary America suffering through a pandemic of unknown origin. Follow the project: https://www.instagram.com/american.deformity/

Convergence Research at Blaffer Art Museum is a platform for interdisciplinary research, experimentation, improvisation, and performance. Artists and individuals beyond the arts discuss and present projects in a state of becoming. The Blaffer is pleased to extend the platform of Convergence Research to explore virtual participation and engagement. All are welcome to attend, observe, and join the conversation."