linian society / smyth institute ARG

on april 11, 2009 at the eclectic Velaslavasay Panorama near USC just south-west of downtown Los Angeles, the Society for Linian Studies had what they called an “exhibit debut and lecture presentation”. the exhibit itself was titled “The Cognomi Theory of the Antarctic Interior” and the director of the Society, Lyman Emery, was to give an in-depth lecture to describe their fascinating theory regarding whom they say were inhabitants of the interior of Antartica centuries and centuries ago.

Boing Boing announced it, LA Weekly attended it, hundreds of others came (but don’t tell the fire department). there were picketers out front from some organization that called themselves the Benjamin Smyth Antarctic Institute whom apparently didn’t want people to attend the lecture, but didn’t seem to have much success keeping people away.

during the event, there was a little scuffle and some of the Smyth Institute hecklers in the lecture were removed by security. Dr Emery and the other Society fellas were upset and left during the lecture as well. all in all it was an odd event, but interesting.

the thing is … there is no such thing as the Society for Linian Studies nor is there a Benjamin Smyth Antarctic Institute. all the “members” of each group were actors and the scuffle was rehearsed. while the true brains behind this odd event was a brilliant artist and designer named Benji Schneider (who’s now finding great success by the way as Lord Huron), superfreako productions cast, rehearsed and in all dramatic senses produced the event. chad and kendall were in fact the “security” who were actually giving sign cues to the actors to perform little semi-improvised scenes throughout the exhibit leading up to the lecture.

several months later, the fun continued with a full-blown alternate reality game that began the following fall, was highlighted with two dead drops in New York City and ended shortly after an entire web-site filled with video content of a woman researcher “working” at one of the Smyth Institute’s Antarctic research facilities – all of which was produced by superfreako productions as were content management system based websites.