Willa Barnett is a comedian and coder based in Brooklyn, New York.

“Can I quote myself? Is that allowed? Oh am I quoting right now? Wait,”

— Willa Barnett

RECENT PROJECTS

The Daily Northwestern: Student-Designed Avatar Makes Public Debut at Panel, Theatrical Production Is Next

“The decision to make Elizabeth look digital was intentional. The avatar does not have hair. It’s also gray and lacks an eye color.

‘It's not a human,’ Barnett said. ‘It's a different being that is like an amalgamation of human conversation and thought. But it doesn't have to be a fake us.’”

Hello SciCom: What the Hell is VR Comedy?

by Willa Barnett

“Putting on a Virtual Reality headset and flailing about in your living room is embarrassing enough. Try doing a standup routine at the same time. As ridiculous as that may sound, stand-up comedy has grown to be one of the more popular activities within the metaverse…”

Skip Skip Comedy

Follow along on our Instagram to watch sketches and clips from the show!

Skip Skip is a New York based improv and sketch group made up of me, Justin Kuhn, Kaela Rosenbaum, and Sasha Rechler.

THE CROWDPLEASER

A two night pop-up nightclub located in an Evanston basement where student artists came together to produce an elevated clubbing experience for Northwestern students. This project was a chance for us to explore what makes a successful sensory experience that relies on technology and live performance.

My focus was The Chill Room, a spot down the hall from the dance floor where partygoers could rest and relax. The room aimed to provide stimulating visuals and interactive experiences.

Most of the images I created for this space were AI generated through Google Colab notebooks featuring VQGAN and CLIP algorithms. I fed these algorithms phrases like “dali inspired sunset” to create the visuals.