In December last year, while we were preoccupied with preparations for the UpStage 10th Birthday, we learned the sad news that Vivian Kendall, the “real-life typist” of Second Life avatar Osprey Therian, had passed away.

The UpStage community came to know Osprey Therian during 2011, when she hosted a node for the 11:11:11 UpStage Festival in Second Life. This was the first (and to date, only) virtual node for the festivals. Unfortunately, the following year when the 121212 UpStage festival included performances in Second Life and other online platforms, Osprey was already too ill to participate.

Osprey Therian was a signficiant and active avatar within SL, and it was Vivian’s wish that after her death the avatar would live on as a collaborative fictional character; read more about the continuation of Osprey Therian here.

A well-attended performative memorial event was held in SL soon after Vivian’s death; read a review of it here.