No Man is the story of three men, each of whom have been convicted of a violent crime against a woman they profess to have loved. The story is designed to challenge the audience’s perceptions of masculinity, gender roles, and encourage them to think about the impact of society on men who find themselves struggling to live up to traditional societal expectations.

Originally intended as a short animation, it wasn’t long before No Man evolved into a one-man show where each of the three male antagonists reveal the truth behind their crimes in emotionally taught twenty minute acts. After filming some test footage for an editing project, Corvus realized he was unsatisfied with even this traditional structure and shelved the show before it was ever performed live. But even as he moved on to other project, No Man was never far from Corvus’ thoughts. He know there had to be a way to increase the effectiveness of the message, to draw the audience in and help them become invested in these troubled characters.

As we began to develop our theories about participatory storytelling and its role in modern culture, an idea slowly began to form, drawing upon the work already done on No Man and incorporating elements that serve to draw the audience into the reality of the show. Now Corvus is seeking funding to stage No Man as a participatory theater experience in which the audience will be asked to decide the fate of the three men after directly interacting with them over the course of the show. The current plan is to stage No Man for the first time in the fall of 2010, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest.