33 research outputs found
Strung Together: A Practical Exploration of Music-Cultural Hybridity, Interaction, and Collaboration
Strung Together is a collaborative performance project commissioned in September 2017 by Diaspora Arts Connection in San Francisco, US. Drawing from models of cultural integration and collaborative creativity, this research project enabled the development of a practical methodology through which the improvisatory approaches of non-congruent music-cultures might be combined to create a programme of original, eclectic works, within a limited time frame. Considering the subtle boundaries which lie between coexistence, assimilation, and synthesis within intercultural collaborations, Strung Together explored how different initial musical stimuli might alter the balance, whilst maintaining contextually-relative improvisatory freedom/s; and optimising productivity. Here the blending of three improvisation-based music traditions was investigated – Persian Classical, Arabic traditional and Western contemporary – through a process comprising: continual dialogue; collective composition; coalesced methods of improvisation; rearrangement and refinement; rehearsals; and live performance.
Acting as musical director/performer, I sourced four professional musicians from the San Francisco Bay area – each expert in different traditions of improvisatory music(s) – to form a quintet; and was ultimately responsible for the project’s curation and delivery. I provided various pre-composed musical stimuli, Fragment(s), each of which incorporated influences from the performers’ respective music traditions and served as initial platforms for the development of the final pieces. We gathered together daily for one week, and during this time collectively developed, arranged, and rehearsed a complete performance programme of new, hybrid music. A live performance took place on the final day at the renowned Buriel Clay Theatre, which was streamed live via social media, reaching a worldwide audience.
This presentation will reflect on the creative practice behind Strung Together, demonstrating that by inaugurating a democratic environment, where manifold approaches to music-making are considered and respected at a structural level, music-cultural hybridity is achievable within a limited time frame
Yearning to learn: a pandemic-inspired approach to grief literacy
The COVID-19 global pandemic exacerbated and altered death- and
non-death-related loss, insisting that grief and bereavement adhere to protocols that were
unfamiliar and sometimes even prohibitive to moving forward in a healthy manner. As a
dying, death, and loss educator who explores grief using applied theatre methods with
children and adolescents, I responded to this recommendation by contemplating safe and
novel ways to provide acute support within these new and uncertain parameters. To meet the
long-term needs of the bereaved, development of grief literacy was recommended (Breen et
al., 2022).
When my beloved uncle Chris died unexpectedly on May 17th, 2020, I grappled to
negotiate my own pandemic-restricted grief. This caused me personal and professional angst:
if I, with the appropriate tools and strategies at hand, was struggling, how was I ever going to
be capable of holding space for others? I yearned to learn how to grieve in this new realm to
subsequently hold space for others and enrolled in an online workshop to learn about digital
storytelling.
This autoethnographic study examined my own pandemic-restricted grief experience
through the digital storytelling workshop’s process and product (digital story) as well
ascertaining its applicability in my applied theatre praxis within dying, death, and loss
education. [...
Theatre, Performance and Digital Tools: Modelling New Modes of Political Engagement
This dissertation investigates how theatre and performance artists use new media tools to facilitate political engagement. The chapters cover a diverse range of performancesfrom interventions in video games to mobile phone walking tours to theatre productions that use social media. In contrast to the dominant narrative of intermedial theatre and performance studies, when analyzing these examples I consider intermediality as a political rather than solely aesthetic mode. By explicitly connecting intermedial approaches to political performanceand acknowledging how these two concepts are already always conjoinedthis dissertation works to expand how we might think about intermediality as a lens that covers digital practices as both form and content. I also consider the value, challenges and dangers of asking spectators to interact with performers and digital tools in order to model new modes of political engagement, and question how various artistic choices impact the ways that audiences are activated through these new technologies. As the examples range in form, content and location, this dissertation traverses numerous intermedial modes and political topicsa multitude of approaches that challenge any singular or simple understanding of how intermediality functions in contemporary theatre and performance.
Although there is wariness about overstating the role of new media in creating concrete political change, examples such as the Occupy movement reveal how political discourse is now intricately linked to the digital. In this dissertation, rather than simply reinforcing cyberutopian or cyberpessismistic views regarding the political impact of digital communication, I investigate socio-political contexts and analyze the motivations and receptions of specific projects. I consider a number of questions, including: How are new media performances influenced by the potentially democratizing nature of digital interactions? How do performances integrate with digital media to investigate the ways we connector fail to connectas publics? How does performance also address exclusions related to the digital? Who is the we in the intersubjective relations produced by intermedial performance
"More like a poem than a play" : towards a dramaturgy of performing arts for Early Years
This thesis aims to further our understanding of the emergent phenomenon of Theatre for Early Years (TEY) in Scotland. It interrogates a series of artistic practices – traditional, postdramatic, participatory – with the aim of proposing a possible dramaturgy of arts for the very young.
Practice typically precedes theory in new fields of performance. TEY currently lacks a coherent theoretical framework or dramaturgy, instead drawing on interdisciplinary strands of psychology, pedagogy and existing dramaturgical practices from older forms of theatre for children. This study explores artists’ embodied knowledge as a repository of skill, while also recognising external factors that impact on creative production, from belief systems to training, the search for funding and the struggle for recognition.
Using Grounded Theory as a method to analyse interviews with 26 leading Scottish practitioners, this project undertakes a qualitative investigation of current practice in the devising and production of performing arts for very young audiences. The thesis also considers debates around legitimation and human rights for the very young, as well as cognitive models of infant development from psychology.
The process points towards a Grounded Theory which proposes that Scottish Early Years artists undergo an attitudinal shift towards a belief that children should access high-quality cultural experiences on the same basis as adults. Secondly, it suggests that these artists believe they possess a unique skill-set worthy of recognition. The theory points towards an associated dramaturgy centring on equality, and the generalisability of both is then assessed via an innovatory Practice-as-Research case study converting a TEY production into a digital app.
While the project is geographically limited to Scotland, its findings may have international applicability. This study could contribute to a wider praxis of arts for the very young beyond theatre, giving practitioners across the cultural sphere the opportunity to engage with the proposed dramaturgy
Cultural Policy for Arts Education
Arts Education institutions and programs create an excellent framework for personality development: learning knowledge, learning skills and learning life. Their attainment requires education to be a holistic concept of advancement that includes aesthetic practice and involvement with the arts. It challenges them to use their actions to think about the meaning of life, in as much as everyone can use artistic experiences to affirm and interrogate their self-image. The Research Program of the UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy for the Arts in Development at the University of Hildesheim in Germany brought together experts from the Universities in Dar Es Salam, Kampala, Nairobi, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Casablanca and Tunis and further independent researchers to exchange concepts in Cultural Policy for Arts Education
Playing bilingual : interweaving deaf and hearing cultural practices to achieve equality of participation in theatrical performance processes
This thesis aims to interrogate the potential for equality of participation in theatrical
performance for deaf and hearing actors and spectators. The research builds on earlier
work by the author that reveals that existing methods employed to provide
accessibility for deaf people are widely considered by deaf spectators to be ineffective
in offering equality of participation. It sits within an interdisciplinary theoretical
frame that draws from Deaf Studies, Performance Studies and Bourdieu’s field theory.
Methodologically the research is grounded in Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and
draws on the principles of Participatory Action Research, guidelines for ethical
practice when working with deaf people, and Applied Theatre practice as research.
Knowledge is generated by a group of ten actors, five who self-identify as deaf and
five as hearing. They are tasked with identifying techniques for creating
performances that might be equally accessible to deaf and hearing audiences. Over
five days they devise nine new scenes, the primary data of the project. The scenes are
shown to a mixed deaf/hearing audience, and metadata concerning audience response
to the scenes are generated in focus groups. Further metadata concerning the creative
process are generated by the actors, using reflective diaries and small group reflexive
interviews. Throughout the project, the lead researcher predominantly adopts the role
of participant observer; his field notes also form part of the metadata.
The scenes created employ a variety of cross-cultural and bilingual performance
techniques. Despite the ensemble’s view that each scene will be successful in offering
access, the response of the spectators suggests that equality of participation is not
achieved; the societal frames of each group create different expectations and
prejudices that influence the receptive process. Socio-analysis of the metadata
concerning the creative process reveals a similar situation. Examples of practice do
occur, however, in which equality of participation is achieved. This is dependent on
participants over-riding their own ideological positions, particularly those concerning
language and translation, to create a third space where practice is not determined by
field conditions, but instead where participants who draw from both oppressor and
oppressed groups work together to create a utopia of Freirean equality
Animation and Interaction of Responsive, Expressive, and Tangible 3D Virtual Characters
This thesis is framed within the field of 3D Character Animation. Virtual characters are used in many Human Computer Interaction applications such as video games and serious games. Within these virtual worlds they move and act in similar ways to humans controlled by users through some form of interface or by artificial intelligence. This work addresses the challenges of developing smoother movements and more natural behaviors driving motions in real-time, intuitively, and accurately. The interaction between virtual characters and intelligent objects will also be explored. With these subjects researched the work will contribute to creating more responsive, expressive, and tangible virtual characters.
The navigation within virtual worlds uses locomotion such as walking, running, etc. To achieve maximum realism, actors' movements are captured and used to animate virtual characters. This is the philosophy of motion graphs: a structure that embeds movements where the continuous motion stream is generated from concatenating motion pieces. However, locomotion synthesis, using motion graphs, involves a tradeoff between the number of possible transitions between different kinds of locomotion, and the quality of these, meaning smooth transition between poses. To overcome this drawback, we propose the method of progressive transitions using Body Part Motion Graphs (BPMGs). This method deals with partial movements, and generates specific, synchronized transitions for each body part (group of joints) within a window of time. Therefore, the connectivity within the system is not linked to the similarity between global poses allowing us to find more and better quality transition points while increasing the speed of response and execution of these transitions in contrast to standard motion graphs method.
Secondly, beyond getting faster transitions and smoother movements, virtual characters also interact with each other and with users by speaking. This interaction requires the creation of appropriate gestures according to the voice that they reproduced. Gestures are the nonverbal language that accompanies voiced language. The credibility of virtual characters when speaking is linked to the naturalness of their movements in sync with the voice in speech and intonation. Consequently, we analyzed the relationship between gestures, speech, and the performed gestures according to that speech. We defined intensity indicators for both gestures (GSI, Gesture Strength Indicator) and speech (PSI, Pitch Strength Indicator). We studied the relationship in time and intensity of these cues in order to establish synchronicity and intensity rules. Later we adapted the mentioned rules to select the appropriate gestures to the speech input (tagged text from speech signal) in the Gesture Motion Graph (GMG). The evaluation of resulting animations shows the importance of relating the intensity of speech and gestures to generate believable animations beyond time synchronization. Subsequently, we present a system that leads automatic generation of gestures and facial animation from a speech signal: BodySpeech. This system also includes animation improvements such as: increased use of data input, more flexible time synchronization, and new features like editing style of output animations. In addition, facial animation also takes into account speech intonation.
Finally, we have moved virtual characters from virtual environments to the physical world in order to explore their interaction possibilities with real objects. To this end, we present AvatARs, virtual characters that have tangible representation and are integrated into reality through augmented reality apps on mobile devices. Users choose a physical object to manipulate in order to control the animation. They can select and configure the animation, which serves as a support for the virtual character represented. Then, we explored the interaction of AvatARs with intelligent physical objects like the Pleo social robot. Pleo is used to assist hospitalized children in therapy or simply for playing. Despite its benefits, there is a lack of emotional relationship and interaction between the children and Pleo which makes children lose interest eventually. This is why we have created a mixed reality scenario where Vleo (AvatAR as Pleo, virtual element) and Pleo (real element) interact naturally. This scenario has been tested and the results conclude that AvatARs enhances children's motivation to play with Pleo, opening a new horizon in the interaction between virtual characters and robots.Aquesta tesi s'emmarca dins del món de l'animació de personatges virtuals tridimensionals. Els personatges virtuals s'utilitzen en moltes aplicacions d'interacció home màquina, com els videojocs o els serious games, on es mouen i actuen de forma similar als humans dins de mons virtuals, i on són controlats pels usuaris per mitjà d'alguna interfície, o d'altra manera per sistemes intel·ligents. Reptes com aconseguir moviments fluids i comportament natural, controlar en temps real el moviment de manera intuitiva i precisa, i inclús explorar la interacció dels personatges virtuals amb elements físics intel·ligents; són els que es treballen a continuació amb l'objectiu de contribuir en la generació de personatges virtuals responsius, expressius i tangibles.
La navegació dins dels mons virtuals fa ús de locomocions com caminar, córrer, etc. Per tal d'aconseguir el màxim de realisme, es capturen i reutilitzen moviments d'actors per animar els personatges virtuals. Així funcionen els motion graphs, una estructura que encapsula moviments i per mitjà de cerques dins d'aquesta, els concatena creant un flux continu. La síntesi de locomocions usant els motion graphs comporta un compromís entre el número de transicions entre les diferents locomocions, i la qualitat d'aquestes (similitud entre les postures a connectar). Per superar aquest inconvenient, proposem el mètode transicions progressives usant Body Part Motion Graphs (BPMGs). Aquest mètode tracta els moviments de manera parcial, i genera transicions específiques i sincronitzades per cada part del cos (grup d'articulacions) dins d'una finestra temporal. Per tant, la conectivitat del sistema no està lligada a la similitud de postures globals, permetent trobar més punts de transició i de més qualitat, i sobretot incrementant la rapidesa en resposta i execució de les transicions respecte als motion graphs estàndards.
En segon lloc, més enllà d'aconseguir transicions ràpides i moviments fluids, els personatges virtuals també interaccionen entre ells i amb els usuaris parlant, creant la necessitat de generar moviments apropiats a la veu que reprodueixen. Els gestos formen part del llenguatge no verbal que acostuma a acompanyar a la veu. La credibilitat dels personatges virtuals parlants està lligada a la naturalitat dels seus moviments i a la concordança que aquests tenen amb la veu, sobretot amb l'entonació d'aquesta. Així doncs, hem realitzat l'anàlisi de la relació entre els gestos i la veu, i la conseqüent generació de gestos d'acord a la veu. S'han definit indicadors d'intensitat tant per gestos (GSI, Gesture Strength Indicator) com per la veu (PSI, Pitch Strength Indicator), i s'ha estudiat la relació entre la temporalitat i la intensitat de les dues senyals per establir unes normes de sincronia temporal i d'intensitat. Més endavant es presenta el Gesture Motion Graph (GMG), que selecciona gestos adients a la veu d'entrada (text anotat a partir de la senyal de veu) i les regles esmentades. L'avaluació de les animaciones resultants demostra la importància de relacionar la intensitat per generar animacions cre\"{ibles, més enllà de la sincronització temporal. Posteriorment, presentem un sistema de generació automàtica de gestos i animació facial a partir d'una senyal de veu: BodySpeech. Aquest sistema també inclou millores en l'animació, major reaprofitament de les dades d'entrada i sincronització més flexible, i noves funcionalitats com l'edició de l'estil les animacions de sortida. A més, l'animació facial també té en compte l'entonació de la veu.
Finalment, s'han traslladat els personatges virtuals dels entorns virtuals al món físic per tal d'explorar les possibilitats d'interacció amb objectes reals. Per aquest fi, presentem els AvatARs, personatges virtuals que tenen representació tangible i que es visualitzen integrats en la realitat a través d'un dispositiu mòbil gràcies a la realitat augmentada. El control de l'animació es duu a terme per mitjà d'un objecte físic que l'usuari manipula, seleccionant i parametritzant les animacions, i que al mateix temps serveix com a suport per a la representació del personatge virtual. Posteriorment, s'ha explorat la interacció dels AvatARs amb objectes físics intel·ligents com el robot social Pleo. El Pleo s'utilitza per a assistir a nens hospitalitzats en teràpia o simplement per jugar. Tot i els seus beneficis, hi ha una manca de relació emocional i interacció entre els nens i el Pleo que amb el temps fa que els nens perdin l'interès en ell. Així doncs, hem creat un escenari d'interacció mixt on el Vleo (un AvatAR en forma de Pleo; element virtual) i el Pleo (element real) interactuen de manera natural. Aquest escenari s'ha testejat i els resultats conclouen que els AvatARs milloren la motivació per jugar amb el Pleo, obrint un nou horitzó en la interacció dels personatges virtuals amb robots.Esta tesis se enmarca dentro del mundo de la animación de personajes virtuales tridimensionales. Los personajes virtuales se utilizan en muchas aplicaciones de interacción hombre máquina, como los videojuegos y los serious games, donde dentro de mundo virtuales se mueven y actúan de manera similar a los humanos, y son controlados por usuarios por mediante de alguna interfaz, o de otro modo, por sistemas inteligentes. Retos como conseguir movimientos fluidos y comportamiento natural, controlar en tiempo real el movimiento de manera intuitiva y precisa, y incluso explorar la interacción de los personajes virtuales con elementos físicos inteligentes; son los que se trabajan a continuación con el objetivo de contribuir en la generación de personajes virtuales responsivos, expresivos y tangibles.
La navegación dentro de los mundos virtuales hace uso de locomociones como andar, correr, etc. Para conseguir el máximo realismo, se capturan y reutilizan movimientos de actores para animar los personajes virtuales. Así funcionan los motion graphs, una estructura que encapsula movimientos y que por mediante búsquedas en ella, los concatena creando un flujo contínuo. La síntesi de locomociones usando los motion graphs comporta un compromiso entre el número de transiciones entre las distintas locomociones, y la calidad de estas (similitud entre las posturas a conectar). Para superar este inconveniente, proponemos el método transiciones progresivas usando Body Part Motion Graphs (BPMGs). Este método trata los movimientos de manera parcial, y genera transiciones específicas y sincronizadas para cada parte del cuerpo (grupo de articulaciones) dentro de una ventana temporal. Por lo tanto, la conectividad del sistema no está vinculada a la similitud de posturas globales, permitiendo encontrar más puntos de transición y de más calidad, incrementando la rapidez en respuesta y ejecución de las transiciones respeto a los motion graphs estándards.
En segundo lugar, más allá de conseguir transiciones rápidas y movimientos fluídos, los personajes virtuales también interaccionan entre ellos y con los usuarios hablando, creando la necesidad de generar movimientos apropiados a la voz que reproducen. Los gestos forman parte del lenguaje no verbal que acostumbra a acompañar a la voz. La credibilidad de los personajes virtuales parlantes está vinculada a la naturalidad de sus movimientos y a la concordancia que estos tienen con la voz, sobretodo con la entonación de esta. Así pues, hemos realizado el análisis de la relación entre los gestos y la voz, y la consecuente generación de gestos de acuerdo a la voz. Se han definido indicadores de intensidad tanto para gestos (GSI, Gesture Strength Indicator) como para la voz (PSI, Pitch Strength Indicator), y se ha estudiado la relación temporal y de intensidad para establecer unas reglas de sincronía temporal y de intensidad. Más adelante se presenta el Gesture Motion Graph (GMG), que selecciona gestos adientes a la voz de entrada (texto etiquetado a partir de la señal de voz) y las normas mencionadas. La evaluación de las animaciones resultantes demuestra la importancia de relacionar la intensidad para generar animaciones creíbles, más allá de la sincronización temporal. Posteriormente, presentamos un sistema de generación automática de gestos y animación facial a partir de una señal de voz: BodySpeech. Este sistema también incluye mejoras en la animación, como un mayor aprovechamiento de los datos de entrada y una sincronización más flexible, y nuevas funcionalidades como la edición del estilo de las animaciones de salida. Además, la animación facial también tiene en cuenta la entonación de la voz.
Finalmente, se han trasladado los personajes virtuales de los entornos virtuales al mundo físico para explorar las posibilidades de interacción con objetos reales. Para este fin, presentamos los AvatARs, personajes virtuales que tienen representación tangible y que se visualizan integrados en la realidad a través de un dispositivo móvil gracias a la realidad aumentada. El control de la animación se lleva a cabo mediante un objeto físico que el usuario manipula, seleccionando y configurando las animaciones, y que a su vez sirve como soporte para la representación del personaje. Posteriormente, se ha explorado la interacción de los AvatARs con objetos físicos inteligentes como el robot Pleo. Pleo se utiliza para asistir a niños en terapia o simplemente para jugar. Todo y sus beneficios, hay una falta de relación emocional y interacción entre los niños y Pleo que con el tiempo hace que los niños pierdan el interés. Así pues, hemos creado un escenario de interacción mixto donde Vleo (AvatAR en forma de Pleo; virtual) y Pleo (real) interactúan de manera natural. Este escenario se ha testeado y los resultados concluyen que los AvatARs mejoran la motivación para jugar con Pleo, abriendo un nuevo horizonte en la interacción de los personajes virtuales con robots