Live Theater Comes Online With 35

“The creative aspect of working live is just so much more exciting,” said Kathryn Jones, a stage actor and producer, in a phone interview last night. When she heard about companies offering portable real-time video streaming cameras, “I thought, there’s something in this for me. This is the platform I was meant to work in.” That’s why she started Synchronis.tv, which is launching a live family drama called 35 tonight.

While Justin.tv, perhaps the best-known live video project, isn’t just the one geek with a camera strapped to his head anymore, the chosen art form for live broadcast is still what founder Justin Kan calls “lifecasting.” It’s still could be generally summed up as the “what I had for breakfast” genre. However, Jones, who will be distributing her show via Justin.tv competitor Ustream, is pushing the tools to another place: scripted drama.

Her show, called 35, aims to be “compelling, character-rich, and plot-driven,” said Jones. Ten-minute episodes will air at 9 p.m. ET each night for the next ten days, Sept. 19-30, and afterwards will be archived on Ustream. 35 will enable a cast of stage actors to bring their craft to a real-time global audience — that is if you all tune in.

Here’s the treatment:

On the cusp of their long-awaited success, an unwelcome house guest unearths Christian and Sarah’s deeply-buried skeletons, paving the way for a razor’s-edge triangle of possession, deceit and retribution.

35 will be shot with three Panasonic DVX100s and edited live. All the footage is intended to be released at http://synchronis.tv/ for alternate edits and mashups by viewers. Jones has secured some initial sponsorship, and is co-producing the show with New York City’s Digital Film Academy, but is basically operating on a shoestring and asking her actors and crew to work for free.