Last week we reported that the Star Trek Live stage show will be premiering this summer at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Now TrekMovie has exclusive details on the show, including plot information and news of an additional touring version of Star Trek Live.
Star Trek Live – At KSC & a city near you!
Last week it was announced that Star Trek Live, an interactive live stage show, makes its worldwide debut at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on June 11, 2010. The 30-minute show mixes theater, science and special effects to entertain and teach about "living and working in space, modern space travel and the latest in communication and technology" all using universe of Star Trek.
The show is being produced by Mad Science Productions, who have over 10 years of experience in educational stage shows. TrekMovie spoke exclusively with Mad Science Productions Managing Director and Star Trek Live Producer Leonard Lipes about the show, who describes it as a "theatrical interactive adventure".
The first big news that Lipes revealed is that in addition to the show that will be at the Kennedy Space Center all summer, there will also be a touring version of Star Trek Live. Starting in early June, the touring show will visit dozens of cities it its first year. In the summer the show will focus on theme parks, and for the rest of the year it will play at performing arts centers. The theme park shows will be like the Kennedy Space Center show, and last around 30 minutes and be included in the admission price to the park. The performing arts center shows will have their own price and the show will be extended to a bit over an hour, to include more educational content.
Audience as Academy cadets – Help fight time-traveling Romulan
Lipes also revealed details on the plot of the show. Star Trek Live takes place in present day, with the premise of it being the first class for a new ‘Starfleet Academy,’ with the audience being the cadets. The class is being briefed by a Commander. During the show a time-traveling Vulcan from the "Temporal Time Police" will be introduced, who has come back to stop a time-travelling Romulan from nabbing a member of this first Starfleet class, and changing the course of history. Apparently one member of your class is very important and by removing this person (called "The Core"), the Romulans will dominate the Federation in the future. The Starfleet Academy commander and the Vulcan time-traveler will appear on stage, while the Romulan (who is in orbit in a ship) and other characters appear in pre-taped segments. Members of the audience are also brought up on stage to get involved in the show.
CBS and Mad Science are still working on details, like what specific era the Vulcan time cop comes from, and what the uniforms and ships (seen on screen and behind the stage) look like. The plot seems to borrow from Voyager’s ‘Temporal Integrity Commission’ Enterprise’s ‘Temporal Cold War’ and of course the recent Star Trek feature film. Lipes notes:
The premise is not that dissimilar from the 2009 JJ Abrams Star Trek movie, but we have some creative leeway, because it is a live theater show and because it is a Mad Science Production. So they know we are going to put the educational twist on it.
Science!
Mad Science does have an educational focus and they try and gear their shows (and the learning materials that go along with the show) to the National Science Teacher standards. However, Lipes says that the shows are for all ages. He explains:
We’re hitting elementary to middle-school aged children, but that being said, if I didn’t know as much as I did and didn’t have a passion for space travel, I would learn a lot at my age, and so might any mom or dad in the audience, whether they are Trekkie fans or not. There is some real science in this show that everybody can learn from.
Although the show incorporates elements from the future, the education is grounded in 21st century science. This is done with interactive experiments with the audience. For example, part of the show will teach a lesson on communication, through helping repair the Vulcan shuttle, using modern cell-phones. Another part of the show will have the audience help locate the Romulan ship using the Hubble and Webb space telescopes. There will also be learning moments dealing with space debris, wormholes, black holes and more. Lipes notes:
We try and bridge the similarities of what used to be science fiction and is now closer to reality, and there is a definite synergy with that and Star Trek.
Star Trek Live premieres at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on June 11th, with five stage shows planned each day over the Summer. The show is included in the price of admission to KSC ($38, adults; $28, children 3-11, plus tax. Younger children enter free).
The traveling Star Trek Live will begin its tour in June in Southern California. Mad Science will soon announce the list of destinations for the Summer.
Nice! Like That! And… aehm… first?
First is overrated…
No You-Tube vids or park listings yet?
the article states that the parks list will be available shortly
as for youtube video, we will have video when there is something to video. There is nothing to video yet so there is nothing to put on youtube, the show doesn’t go up for two months
Ahhh, come to Houston, please!
Those actors are going to have so much fun!!! I envy them…Playing Star Trek all day is definitely the best job in the galaxy…;)
Nice. Southern California in June!
60 days and they don’t have costumes yet! They’re cutting it a little close.
shame they dont take it to vegas convention kinda like the experience auction should have waited for the con they would have had better luck
Oh great… so they basically hijacked the plotline of last year’s trek movie and the theme/premise from both Power Rangers SPD and Power Rangers Time Force and rolled tehm all into a big ball of well, T’arg droppings… THIS IS GREAT… (rolls eyes)… couldn’t they, oh, IDK, think of something ORIGINAL???
Will it be TOS-themed?
Sat on one fake bridge. Time to go sit on another.
It also rips off the klingon encounter plot at star trek the experience-sheesh–original they aint–
#8 There will be an auction of Experience items to be held during the Vegas con. Last weekend’s event was a sale, not an auction; and they did very well. You will be able to bid online as well as in person, I think. Check the Propwerx website in the upcoming weeks.
Sounds a bit like a rip-off. It will probably be $20-$30 a person and in the end not be worth it. Just like the Trek Exhibit that came to Philly last year. What P.O.S. that was. Total letdown.
I think this can be positive for dads like me who want to bring their kids into the “Trek” fold. Trek09 didn’t really do it for my 7 and 9 year olds. Though, truth to tell, if I take ’em to an amusement park this summer, the last thing they’ll want to do is sit still for a play. Oh, well….
Mhm… sounds nice… sadly they surely won’t come to Germany… ^^
#11 Aren’t all the Star Trek bridges “fake”?
Not the one in my attic!
Does Roger live up in the attic as well Justice Boy? He would make a good Spock since he is an alien n everything eheheh
What this really reminds me of is the Star Trek Adventure that ran at Universal Studios in the 80s–live and taped elements, got audience members pulled out and into the “show.” All pre-Vegas/Experience. … even before Paramount bought some theme parks of its own. Format is partly by necessity: only so much you can do as a constant show, considfering makeup/costume factors, audience interaction…. especially once it tours.
I work at KSC and have read the entire Star Trek Live script & stage notes (I have a copy right next to me) it is interesting; should be fun for most, but it does borrow heavily from the movie and shows’ past plots, as well as has some plot holes that one can fly a Narada through. But it is meant to teach and inspire children… much like the Mad Mission to Mars attraction that used to be at KSC until last year.