About

The XR-Research Symposium at Rose Bruford College on Wednesday 17 June will bring together academics, artists and technologists using XR technologies for research in theatre and performance.

The use of XR (augmented/mixed/virtual reality) tools and techniques is now well-established in many fields of artistic practice and academic enquiry, from their use to make various kinds of digital performance to VR reconstructions of historic theatres. This one-day symposium brings together academics and practitioners to share, discuss and explore how XR can be used for performance research, to ask questions such as:

  • How does research into digital performance that uses XR technologies differ from other kinds of research? What methodologies are useful?
  • How can XR technologies be used to investigate performance histories?
  • What are the barriers to making XR performances accessible to all users?
  • How can artists and technologists working with XR engage with and benefit from research in universities?

Our speakers

  • Carl Miller, award-winning author, playwright and Research Director at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media (CASM) at DEMOS
  • Ben Turnbull, lecturer in performance technology and design at London College of Fashion
  • Stephen Bailey, theatre director and founder of ASYLUM Arts, focused on advocacy and development of neurodivergent and disabled talent.
  • Rebecca Evans, award-winning XR performance maker and lead for Pell Ensemble
  • Lisa May Thomas, Dance Artist and Research Fellow in Performance and Interactive and Immersive Technology at the University of South Wales
  • Debbie Bandara, director, choreographer lecturer and digital artist from the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Topher Maraffi, Assistant Professor in the Department of Media Arts, Design and Technology in the College of Design at NC State University

Programme

  • What a Grief is this? Upcycling Kit, Carl Miller, writer, director and XR creator
  • The Mark of the Maker: Analogue Practice and Digital Translation in XR Performance Pipelines, Ben Turnbull, London College of Fashion
  • Underneath the Forest, Stephen Bailey, ASYLUM Arts
  • Designing the In-Between: Reflections on Choreographic Approaches and Soma Design in Mixed Reality Dance Experience ‘Hinterlands’, Rebecca Evans, Pell Ensemble
  • Making Bodies Lively in SOMAVR, Lisa May Thomas, University of South Wales
  • Feeling the Algorithm: Somatic Encounter, Affective AI and the Methodological Challenges of Multisensory XR Research in Performance, Debbie Bandara, Manchester Metropolitan University
  • An Illusion of Liveness: Synthespians in Virtual Production as Hyper-Reality Theatre, Topher Maraffi, NC State University, USA
  • The day will include presentations, demonstrations, and a plenary for discussion, as well as an opportunity to network.

 

ANGEL VR

At this event, we will also showcase ANGEL VR, an immersive VR dance experience currently in development at Rose Bruford College in collaboration with AVA Dance Company and supported by UK Research and Innovation.

ANGEL VR is being developed as an accessible and commercially viable VR experience designed with disabled users at its centre. The project addresses the challenge of creating high-quality immersive technology that is genuinely inclusive, ensuring that users with a range of access needs can fully participate.

Read more about this project.

 

Tickets

This free event takes place on Wednesday 17 June, 10:30–17:30.

Join us for this event by registering here.