Future Performance Institute - Artist-centred feasibility programme
Lead Research Organisation:
Royal Shakespeare Company
Department Name: Research
Abstract
We are requesting a grant of £1,165,000 over four years (2023-2027) from AHRC to support a programme of artist-centred feasibility work. This will include a suite of work packages and Fellowships, creating new inclusive opportunities for interdisciplinary practice, research and development, and co-creation - which will attract wide-ranging talent, allow artists to take risks, and enhance the exchange of knowledge and best practice. This work will form the foundation of our business case for creation of a world-class Future of Performance Institute, ensuring the sustainability of, and future growth within the arts.
Funding for artist-led research and cultural leadership is fundamental to set out the possibilities for the future of the arts and live performance. This rationale outlines the case that we must invest in artist-led research now as the sector and artists attempt to manage the combined pressures of the financial impact of Covid-19, reductions to public funding and unprecedented increases in costs - intersecting with pre-pandemic challenges such as fragile business models and structural inequalities. As summarised in the Big Freelancer Survey in 2022, we need "more creative, collaborative ways of working and funding infrastructures to support creative hubs, e.g. for theatre especially, the ability for collectives of artists to band together for single large projects without forming a company, and the flexibility to co-create work."
The RSC is uniquely positioned to respond to these challenges and opportunities as a learning and teaching theatre and as the first performing arts Independent Research Organisation (IRO) - providing knowledge exchange (through R&D, practice, making and sharing) between tech, research partners and the UK arts ecosystem. We are a practice-based organisation with research interwoven into every stage of the artistic process and output, from performance history, to costume making, to harnessing digital technology, to music composition, to audience behaviours. This expertise is coupled with our reputation for innovation and R&D (Dream and The Tempest), national reach through theatre partnerships across the country and outstanding educational work, and international brand profile (including 1.2 million global supporters across our social channels).
This feasibility programme is distinct from other funding opportunities such as AHRC's Convergent Screen Technologies And performance in Realtime (CoSTAR). Our proposal is artist and practice-led, and by putting the artist first we will find the relevant tools for them to make their work, rather than being driven by technologies. We will attract diverse talent, providing space and time for creatives to focus on their practice (including live performance, new media, and other art form disciplines) and interdisciplinary research. Our partners will predominantly be cultural and research organisations, building a field of artists with networks to share knowledge and best practice, whilst putting inclusion at the centre of our plans.
Funding for artist-led research and cultural leadership is fundamental to set out the possibilities for the future of the arts and live performance. This rationale outlines the case that we must invest in artist-led research now as the sector and artists attempt to manage the combined pressures of the financial impact of Covid-19, reductions to public funding and unprecedented increases in costs - intersecting with pre-pandemic challenges such as fragile business models and structural inequalities. As summarised in the Big Freelancer Survey in 2022, we need "more creative, collaborative ways of working and funding infrastructures to support creative hubs, e.g. for theatre especially, the ability for collectives of artists to band together for single large projects without forming a company, and the flexibility to co-create work."
The RSC is uniquely positioned to respond to these challenges and opportunities as a learning and teaching theatre and as the first performing arts Independent Research Organisation (IRO) - providing knowledge exchange (through R&D, practice, making and sharing) between tech, research partners and the UK arts ecosystem. We are a practice-based organisation with research interwoven into every stage of the artistic process and output, from performance history, to costume making, to harnessing digital technology, to music composition, to audience behaviours. This expertise is coupled with our reputation for innovation and R&D (Dream and The Tempest), national reach through theatre partnerships across the country and outstanding educational work, and international brand profile (including 1.2 million global supporters across our social channels).
This feasibility programme is distinct from other funding opportunities such as AHRC's Convergent Screen Technologies And performance in Realtime (CoSTAR). Our proposal is artist and practice-led, and by putting the artist first we will find the relevant tools for them to make their work, rather than being driven by technologies. We will attract diverse talent, providing space and time for creatives to focus on their practice (including live performance, new media, and other art form disciplines) and interdisciplinary research. Our partners will predominantly be cultural and research organisations, building a field of artists with networks to share knowledge and best practice, whilst putting inclusion at the centre of our plans.
| Title | AHRC CounterTenor scheme: "Sons of England" (Reginald Mobley, Countertenor) |
| Description | In response to composer Ignatius Sancho's political significance yet absence in musical history, Reginald curated the programme Sons of England with a selection of Baroque music by English composers, including Sancho. Additionally, he commissioned Roderick Williams, a British tenor and composer, to write a piece set to the text of one of Sancho's letters. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | The programme was successfully executed in collaboration with the Academy of Ancient Music (AAM), a leading British period-instrument ensemble, in a tour of four performances in Cambridge, Liverpool, London, and Bristol throughout May of 2024. |
| URL | https://aam.co.uk/concerts/the-golden-anniversary-sons-of-england/#:~:text=Curated%20by%20American%2... |
| Title | AHRC CounterTenor scheme: Ignatius Sancho at Beyond the Bassline, British Library (Reginald Mobley, Countertenor) |
| Description | As part of the Beyond the Bassline Exhibition at the British Library Reginald Mobley performed Ignatius Sancho, (a British composer born on a slave ship in the Atlantic in the 18th century) on 5 June 2024. Beyond the Bassline is the first major exhibition to document the 500-year musical journey of African and Caribbean people in Britain. It was divided into different spaces that form a loose chronology of 500 years of Black music in Britain. Each section is 'interrupted' by new soundscapes, artworks and films created by artists and community collectives from around the UK. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | beyond the Bassline was the first major exhibition of it's kind and was well received by a diverse and large audience, including students and tourists. It placed Reginald in a space where he could research and explore Ignatius Sancho's work further and, looking ahead, Reginald aims to continue his research by collaborating with Paterson Joseph, an actor and advocate for Ignatius Sancho, who authored The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho in 2022. By combining their voices, this research will serve as a pioneering platform to fully explore and present the life of Ignatius Sancho-not only as a notable composer but also as a key figure who made significant contributions to Black British history. Ben Park, a composer who has collaborated with Paterson on the study of Sancho for over 10 years, will also join Reginald in exploring Sancho's music. |
| URL | https://www.bl.uk/press/beyond-the-bassline-500-years-of-black-british-music-opens-at-the-british-li... |
| Title | AHRC CounterTenor scheme: Irish National Opera, Vivaldi's L'Olimpiade (Meili Li, Countertenor) |
| Description | Countertenor Meili Li played Licida on tour to Ireland, London and Fribourg, Switzerland, from April- June 2024. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | The performance at the Linbury Theatre of the Royal Opera House was recorded and broadcast on BBC Radio 3, on 1 June 2024. This broadcast Meili's work to wider audiences in the UK and Ireland and profiled him to them as an artist, aligning with the purpose of this project as a way to spotlight and include artists of international standing in the performance canon of early western music. |
| URL | https://www.irishnationalopera.ie/whats-on/current-upcoming/lolimpiade |
| Title | Desire Maps (R&D with Projekt Europa) - Akhila Krishnan, Interdisciplinary Fellow |
| Description | Akhila Krishnan, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25. This is an ongoing project that we did our fourth R&D for, at Goldsmiths University - in their theatre space. It is a co-devised and co -authored piece created live with an audience at every performance, around stories of migration and journeys of our ancestors. As an immigrant, it's a work that resonates deeply with me. As a video designer, I wanted to push myself to see how my discipline can be made to work in a format like this - which is actually quite hard for us. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Impact | Another innovation in the piece is the idea of live drawing, which was something I suggested since, at its heart, map making and path walking are core themes of the work. Previously I had been designing, programming and drawing live as well. But this was the first R&D where I advocated for a full time programmer and a live scriber to work with me as part of my team, so I could step back and look at the visual world of the piece as a whole. I'm really proud of the project, we are building it so we can tour it, and every venue will have a local set of performers and a scriber who in some ways will share their own stories with the piece. So at several levels it is an interesting piece in terms of making theatrical work as well as touring it to build on the work itself - so something that keeps evolving and changing whilst holding to it's heart. |
| Title | Dr. Strangelove - Akhila Krishnan, Interdisciplinary Fellow |
| Description | Dr. Strangelove (West End) / Oct 2024 to Jan 2025; Dr. Strangelove (Borgais Theatre) / Jan to Feb 2025 - Akhila Krishnan, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25. A stage adaption of the cult film, supported by the Kubrick Family. Video plays a key role in the show, helping create the war room and various locations, as well the to create the effect of the plane with Kong that flies into Russia. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Impact | The show was made only with projectors and we worked with Panasonic to spec and use a new projector model with a specially made lens (both of which were not on general release in the market yet) to realise the work. We also filmed an NT live of the show in mid January 2025, that will go to cinemas at the end of March 2025. There is also a case study with Panasonic that will be published on their Light Ware website. |
| URL | https://www.lightware.com/en/news/stage-sound-serveces-trusts-in-lightware-to-power-video-for-severa... |
| Title | Hamlet (RSC) - Akhila Krishnan, Interdisciplinary Fellow |
| Description | Hamlet (RSC), February 2025 - Akhila Krishnan, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25. A new staging of the this classic play, set on a ship that suggests the Titanic - with the events of the play taking place over one fateful night at the end of which the ship sinks. In all our creative conversations around the piece, the word installation was repeatedly mentioned as a part of the brief - especially for sound and video. Our video surface includes a curved cyc, which is rear projected onto with 3 projectors, we also have one pointed at a moving roof surface as well as one pointed to the floor of the stage/deck of the ship. Similarly to Dr. Strangelove, I was interested in not only creating a sense of atmosphere but also one of perpetual motion. The audience need to feel the ship is moving and this ups the stakes as we realise it will sink. This sense of motion also foreshadows the tilting of the stage floor, which begins subtly in Act 1 only to ramp up to a full tilt at the end of Act 2, with performers sliding down to a watery grave/the understage. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Impact | We realised the project with only projectors, as well as QLab which is a very cheap but robust media server (that we also used for Sound of Colour) for budget reasons. It was a bit counter-intuitive to work with seascapes on a media server that offered vertical stack programming as opposed to a horizontal timeline (disguise, that is the top of the media server line for the industry, which we used on Dr. Strangelove.) But I am really proud of what we achieved in the end and I think even someone working in the industry will not realise that we used this media server, they will assume given the complexity of the work that it is the higher end one. The piece also has many transitions in between scenes where there are pieces of movement and choreography that play with the idea of the ship rocking or sinking. As we move into Act 2, I also mirror this in the seascape content as specific cues working with sound. This created a real sense of motion for the audience, some of whom have said it made them feel slightly seasick. |
| URL | https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/feb/19/hamlet-review-rsc-royal-shakespeare-theatre-stratford |
| Title | I SEE YOU SEE EVERYTHING (Scarlett Kim, Interdisciplinary Fellow) |
| Description | Scarlett Kim (Fellow) & Anthony Storniolo: I SEE YOU SEE EVERYTHING is a series of experiments on achieving clairvoyance through media apparatus. Comprised of home security system footage, green screen experiments, plant-toy chimeras, analog video synthesis, and paranormal activities on Zoom, this video follows the artists as they commune with inanimate objects and invisible entities, taking turns seeing and being seen. When they embody both subject and object concurrently, they unleash feedback-a portal that allows them to explore the depth lurking inside the screens, and possibilities for simultaneous, plural presence This piece reflects the paranoia and ecstasy of navigating the mirror maze of the hypermediated suburban home during the pandemic. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Impact | I SEE YOU SEE EVERYTHING is currently playing on loop in the lobby for Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University - and demonstrates how Scarlett's unique work has resonated across campus. |
| URL | https://ccrma.stanford.edu/ |
| Title | Kyoto, RSC & Good Chance (Soho Place) - Akhila Krishnan, Interdisciplinary Fellow |
| Description | Kyoto (Soho Place), January to May 2025 - Akhila Krishnan, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25. This is the West End transfer of the show I worked on at the RSC in April 2024. A deeply moving, intelligent and complex re-telling of the events that led to the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, led by a stellar team including Stephen Daldry, Justin Martin and Good Chance Theatre. |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Impact | This play (like Hamlet after it) presents what I am seeing as a new move in theatre to create pieces that are told in the round or the thrust - placing audiences at the heart of the story. In this instance, the set design by Miriam Buether recreates the sense of a giant circular negotiating table, one you can walk over as well as sit under. Another theme of the work is the idea of agreement and disagreement, as well as the question of language within that and the precise negotiation of words and punctuations arrive at consensus. This forms a large part of my work in the show in addition to helping with scene setting as the story moves to various cities across the world, over the course of 10-15 years. We use a transparent LED wall, with a door cut out in it for our surfaces - which is a new development in LED technology. We tested a few different samples for resolution and budget - including a transparent LED tile that could be stuck onto a surface. In addition to this we have smaller screens that move around the central stage in the space - in a ticker screen style that show names of various UN blocs during the seated negotiations amongst other things. In Soho Place, we added a new transparent LED mini surface across the space from the main wall for sightlines for audiences in our new seating layout. |
| URL | https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/reviews/kyoto-review-soho-place |
| Title | Launch of Undershed - Amy Rose, Interdisciplinary Fellow |
| Description | Amy Rose, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25. Launch of Undershed as a space in October 2024. Undershed is a new gallery for Watershed in Bristol, one of only a few places in the UK dedicated to the best immersive and interactive artwork from all over the world. It offers a programme of interactive artworks curated by acclaimed director, maker and Pervasive Media Studio Resident Amy Rose (Fellow). |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | The Interdisciplinary programme has supported Watershed to expand its business model by opening a space dedicated to showcasing interdisciplinary, immersive work and exploring a paid ticketing model for audiences. |
| URL | https://www.watershed.co.uk/undershed |
| Title | Sing the Body Electric - Amy Rose, Interdisciplinary Fellow |
| Description | Amy Rose Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25. Sing The Body Electric Collection 1, November 2024. With four artworks that explore tactile contact and gesture, this unique collection looks at how our bodies engage with the people and environments that surround us. From invisible forms to be found in mid-air to a shifting mirror of many bodies matching your movements, come and explore what it means to find a story with your hands - and imagine your way into the sensation of touching someone else's skin. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | The first collection has enabled Watershed to bring world-class home-grown and international work to Bristol audiences and provide a platform to showcase work that is not always easily accessed elsewhere. |
| URL | https://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/12903/sing-the-body-electric-collection-1 |
| Title | The Sound of Colour: Arrivals (Art House Jersey) - Akhila Krishnan, Interdisciplinary Fellow |
| Description | The Sound of Colour: Arrivals (Art House Jersey); October - November 2024 - Akhila Krishnan, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25. This the second of an ongoing commission with Art House Jersey, located in St. Helier. As part of the project, we projection map the interior roof of 11th century St. Helier Church to create an installation that runs for a week from 10am to 6pm, with free entry for the public. Given the age of the Church and the fact that it is still in use for worship, as well as open as a public meeting place in the town - we had to work with a very light footprint both in terms of equipment we brought in, how it was installed, time needed for get in and get out and overall cost - this is before we even talk about the concept and visuals we created. The work focused on languages in the island, stepping through time to trace the journey of several communities who arrived to settle here. An aural soundscape used traces of spoken voices of people who still lived on the island, interweaved with music. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | This was my first interior projection mapping commission and the fact that the viewer looks up to see the canvas of the work provided several interesting opportunities for designing content. A third commission is in the works with Art House Jersey that will premiere in 2026. |
| URL | https://www.arthousejersey.je/our-work/the-sound-of-colour |
| Description | Interdisciplinary Fellow Tabitha Jackson: For the research project "Structuring Freedom" to explore the themes of AI and Form in the documentary film sector, and provide public access to the research online and through free panels and discussions |
| Amount | $30,000 (USD) |
| Funding ID | 151907 |
| Organisation | Ford Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United States |
| Start | 09/2024 |
| End | 09/2025 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary Fellowship Convenings, 2024-2027 |
| Amount | £150,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 2024/3345 |
| Organisation | Rothschild Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2024 |
| End | 03/2027 |
| Title | Interdisciplinary Programme - Artist-led Research Tracking |
| Description | A dataset of c.300 international artists that applied to the RSC's Interdisciplinary Fellowship 2025/26 intake. It includes data such as what they are working on, what they would like to get out of this fellowship year, links to their work, which research priorities from the Interdisciplinary Fellowships programme their work aligns to (e.g. Creative practice-based innovation, Climate futures, Sustainable creative sector work etc) their location, how they heard about the opportunity, if they identify with or belong to a historically underrepresented group, and which collaborating organisation(s) they would ideally wish to be paired with if successful. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This rich dataset is important because it captures research themes that are important to global artists who are historically underrepresented. We will undertake an analysis of this data before recruiting the 2026/27 cohort of Fellows to ensure we are reaching artists globally who are not represented in previous cohorts (e.g. countries, artforms and their research questions). |
| Title | Interdisciplinary Programme - Theory of Change |
| Description | Theory of Change underpinning the impact and evaluation capture for the Interdisciplinary Programme for funders (AHRC and Rothschild Foundation). Framework for capturing and monitoring expected impacts and funded intervention. This will be used throughout the project duration (2023-2027). |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The formalisation of the Theory of Change for the project gives a more defined framework to monitor the impact, including the outcomes and outputs we are looking for throughout the three cohorts of Fellowships and other work packages. In spring/summer 2025 will continue to define methodologies to capture the various impacts of the Theory of Change, which includes workshops with the project team and evaluators (focusing on policy for new institutional forms; and the counterfactual - what would artist-led research look like if the Interdisciplinary Programme wasn't happening), alongside interviewing the first cohort of Fellows to gather their feedback. |
| Description | BAM - Interdisciplinary Fellowships |
| Organisation | Brooklyn Academy of Music |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Sarah Ellis (PI) and Ruthie Doyle (Co-I) at the Royal Shakespeare Company are leading the Interdisciplinary Fellowship programme in partnership with six cultural and research organisations in the UK and US. These collaborating organisations, alongside the RSC are hosting Fellows. The RSC has supported Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) through: • Leadership and management of the Interdisciplinary Fellowships programme • Meetings - individually for each collaborating organisation and online monthly as a group • Two in-person three-day convenings in 2024 (Stanford Arts in California and RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon) • Managing the recruitment process of the Fellows, with input from collaborating organisations • Designed, built and updated a dedicated website for the programme to document and share learnings https://if.rsc.org.uk/ • Provided access to state-of-the-art equipment provided through an AHRC grant (CResCa) This includes XR headsets, high-spec PCs (for game design and virtual production), and Object & movement capture tools (lidar, photogrammetry and motion capture). A list of equipment was shared with Fellows and collaborating organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) have supported the Interdisciplinary Fellowships programme in the following ways: - Hosting Interdisciplinary Fellow Jemma Desai in 2024/25, including regular discussions and exchange of ideas with Jemma, and visit in October 2024. Jemma's research focuses on artistic process, worker wellbeing and the role of the artist as agent of change in relation to the BAM archive. - Supporting Jemma in the documentation, collation, and sharing of learnings. - Attending online meetings with the RSC and wider cohort. - Sending delegates to two in person three-day convenings in 2024 (Stanford Arts in California and RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon): Coco Killingsworth, Vice President of Creative Social Impact and Interim Head of Virtual Programming and Sharon Lehner, Director of Archives. - Contributing to artist tracking and the recruitment process for Fellows (2024/25 and 2025/26 cohorts). |
| Impact | Ongoing strong relationship between the RSC and BAM, resulting in BAM continuing their commitment to the programme and agreeing to host more than one Fellow during 2025/26. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Stanford - Interdisciplinary Fellowships |
| Organisation | Stanford University |
| Department | Stanford Arts |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Sarah Ellis (PI) and Ruthie Doyle (Co-I) at the Royal Shakespeare Company are leading the Interdisciplinary Fellowship programme in partnership with six cultural and research organisations in the UK and US. These collaborating organisations, alongside the RSC are hosting Fellows. The RSC has supported Stanford Arts through: • Leadership and management of the Interdisciplinary Fellowships programme • Meetings - individually for each collaborating organisation and online monthly as a group • Two in-person three-day convenings in 2024 (Stanford Arts in California and RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon) • Managing the recruitment process of the Fellows, with input from collaborating organisations • Designed, built and updated a dedicated website for the programme to document and share learnings https://if.rsc.org.uk/ • Provided access to state-of-the-art equipment provided through an AHRC grant (CResCa) This includes XR headsets, high-spec PCs (for game design and virtual production), and Object & movement capture tools (lidar, photogrammetry and motion capture). A list of equipment was shared with Fellows and collaborating organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Stanford Arts hosted one Interdisciplinary Fellow in 2024/25: Scarlet Kim - working with Ellen Oh, Director of Interdisciplinary Arts Programs; and Edi Dai, Program Associate. • Access to researchers and expertise: Scarlett undertook a three-week residency at Stanford Arts (one week in October, February, and May) Stanford Arts contributed $10,000 USD towards Scarlett's travel and accommodation and to purchase software needed to test motion capture. She has already connected with faculty from Theater & Performance Studies, Art & Art History, Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, d.school, Library Special Collections and Stanford Medical School. When she returns to Stanford in spring 2025, she will visit Stanford Robotics Lab, and The SRC Dance Studio which is equipped with a high-end motion capture system and body suits for dancers. Hosting a convening: Stanford Arts hosted a convening for the Interdisciplinary Programme 7-9 March 2024, with delegates from collaborating organisations including Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Open Documentary Lab and Co-Creation Studio; The Music Center; Royal Shakespeare Company; TORCH (The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities) - University of Oxford; Watershed; and Stanford Arts. Stanford provided facilities and tours (including the Stanford Robotics Center) inkind. |
| Impact | Engagement Activity: Open Studio January-February 2025 at Stanford University's Roble Arts Gym. It encompassed a series of studio visits with students, faculty, staff and other Stanford community members. Scarlett and Anthony Storniolo, the creative technologist of BEASTS were present for the week integrating the live performance and virtual environment aspects of the project. Studio visits consisted of demos, playtests, and artist talks. (See Engagement Activities section of the report). Artistic & Creative Products - Work in development: Scarlett has been focusing on the following creative projects: • BEASTS, an autofictional live digital puppetry performance where a performer and her beastly digital doubles jointly navigate hybridity and liminality in the Korean diaspora. • COMPANY: A MEGAGAME, a large-scale simulation combining tabletop and live-action roleplaying, where each participant plays an artist navigating institutional labyrinths and hero's journey myths. • Furthermore, throughout the fellowship, Scarlett has been exploring how producing and artistic work intersect in her practice at large. She is in the process of building her creative studio, Center for Unclassifiable Technologies and Experiences (C.U.T.E.), and has begun to publicly use this entity as a home for the creative producing, direction, and technology work of mine and my collaborator's. Also, she re-designed and published a new iteration of her artist's website, and is continuing to shape it into an immersive experience in and of itself. • Recording an episode of the 'Art Plus' podcast - which involves conversation with interdisciplinary artists and scholars. A podcast has been recorded with Scarlett and PhD candidate Cyan DeVeaux focusing on digital embodiment, due to be released in spring 2025. • A content producer is creating a short video arc of Scarlett's engagement at Stanford, which will feature on the website (in development). • I SEE YOU SEE EVERYTHING, created by Scarlett, is playing on loop in the lobby for Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford. • Scarlett, Cyan and Prof. Jeremy Bailenson are submitting a collaborative Siggraph submission. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | TORCH - Interdisciplinary Fellowships |
| Organisation | University of Oxford |
| Department | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities TORCH |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Sarah Ellis (PI) and Ruthie Doyle (Co-I) at the Royal Shakespeare Company are leading the Interdisciplinary Fellowship programme in partnership with six cultural and research organisations in the UK and US. These collaborating organisations, alongside the RSC are hosting Fellows. The RSC has supported TORCH (The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities) - University of Oxford through: • Leadership and management of the Interdisciplinary Fellowships programme • Meetings - individually for each collaborating organisation and online monthly as a group • Two in-person three-day convenings in 2024 (Stanford Arts in California and RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon) • Managing the recruitment process of the Fellows, with input from collaborating organisations • Designed, built and updated a dedicated website for the programme to document and share learnings https://if.rsc.org.uk/ • Provided access to state-of-the-art equipment provided through an AHRC grant (CResCa) This includes XR headsets, high-spec PCs (for game design and virtual production), and Object & movement capture tools (lidar, photogrammetry and motion capture). A list of equipment was shared with Fellows and collaborating organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | TORCH (The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities) - University of Oxford hosted two Interdisciplinary Fellows in 2024/25: Stephen Bailey and Amahra Spence. We at TORCH have been heavily invested/involved in the Interdisciplinary Fellowships programme from the outset, as it chimes so clearly and truthfully with our core purpose. As individuals we have spent many hours and travelled far and wide to contribute to the vital work of elaborating the terms of engagement, the ethic of the work, and its historical, ideological and philosophical significance within our various institutions and cultural spheres of operation. This is vital work, and has been inspirational, and/or transformational for many of us involved. Located (like TORCH itself) at the intersection of Humanities research and the practice of meaningful, considered, and collaborative systems change it has already generated a significant legacy in richly inflected, international, and cross-sectoral conversations, at times astonishing in their complexity, compassion, and learning. It has a been a privilege to be part of this network of cultural leaders and to draw on and contribute to the wealth of the experience shared in the work of the programme so far. We remain - as individuals and as an organisation - deeply and excitedly committed to the development of this programme over the next year and beyond. Some of our learnings (both with this year's Fellows, and from the longer engagement with the programme) have translated already into new practices and structures for collaboration, research, and teaching in Oxford (see below). Contributions have included: • Time and expertise of Professors Christine Gerrard (English), Wes Williams (MML), Jonathan Thacker (MML), Gascia Ouzounian (Music), Matthew Reynolds (English) and Dr Minna Jeffery (English) on developing the projects with their research. • Time of Alex Coke (Theatre & Performance Research Partnerships Manager) to support the Fellows on project development and project management, and that of Dr Victoria McGuinness until early 2025. • Access to facilities such as rooms for workshops and meetings connected to the projects. Stephen Bailey (Fellow) and TORCH have explored two key lines of enquiry. One is looking at new approaches to translation and de-centralising and democratising how we approach theatrical translation. This has involved drawing on the various translation initiatives at Oxford, language experts and students. The prime focus is considering Calderon's Life is a Dream through a learning disabled lens. The other was exploring vaccine hesitancy and the impact of Andrew Wakefield and the MMR scare of the late 1990s. This involved meeting a series of academics and attending a symposium day. The decision from Oxford was that there seemed more mileage and academic enthusiasm at this time for the former project. Stephen has subsequently attended a roundtable event and two workshop Labs looking at translation (see engagement activities). |
| Impact | No direct outputs, or outcomes have yet been produced or arisen - but already the 'indirect' effects of the work are properly significant. These include: • The programme has supported real change within our own institution - both in ways of working, and in new structures for collaboration. Witness the establishment of the new TORCH Research Hub in Performance, which brings together colleagues from across the university and a wide range of practitioners with a research interest in performance, broadly defined. This hub is now led by Prof Gascia Ouzounian, in Music, who has collaborated closely with Amahra Spence. • Our participation in the Interdisciplinary Fellowships programme is also supporting/modelling discussion and planning for two new Oxford Masters programmes: one in Performance, and another in Creative Translation - and here the clearest defining point of connection is with the work with Stephen Bailey alongside colleagues and students in Modern Languages and in English. Stephen has completed a draft for a re-adaptation/translation of Calderon's Life is a Dream reimagining it as a learning disabled experience, entitled LIFEdream. Initial draft produced and workshopped, in progress. Stephen's upcoming work includes: - LIFEdream: A more full script including a video capture of a scene. Likely two pieces of reflective writing - one about pre-learning from research one analysing translation choices. - Likely an exploration of AI in translation - VR project - including mocap assets, pitch deck, final experience, captioning visualisation. Likely reflective piece in relation to current academia. - Neurodiversity/4.48: Stephen intends to reach out to Jemma Desai (another Fellow) and the Oxford Neurodiversity Hub to see if useful work can be done in relation to their upcoming associate director job on the show. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Watershed - Interdisciplinary Fellowships |
| Organisation | Watershed |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Sarah Ellis (PI) and Ruthie Doyle (Co-I) at the Royal Shakespeare Company are leading the Interdisciplinary Fellowship programme in partnership with six cultural and research organisations in the UK and US. These collaborating organisations, alongside the RSC are hosting Fellows. The RSC has supported Watershed through: • Leadership and management of the Interdisciplinary Fellowships programme • Meetings - individually for each collaborating organisation and online monthly as a group • Two in person three-day convenings in 2024 (Stanford Arts in California and RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon) • Managing the recruitment process of the Fellows, with input from collaborating organisations • Designed, built and updated a dedicated website for the programme to document and share learnings https://if.rsc.org.uk/ • Provided access to state-of-the-art equipment provided through an AHRC grant (CResCa) This includes XR headsets, high-spec PCs (for game design and virtual production), and Object & movement capture tools (lidar, photogrammetry and motion capture). A list of equipment was shared with Fellows and collaborating organisations . See note below - the RSC loaned kit to the Undershed gallery team supporting the first exhibition in the space. |
| Collaborator Contribution | • Hosted Interdisciplinary Fellow in 2024/25: Amy Rose • Opened a new gallery space at Watershed and promoted the RSC partnership as supporting Amy Rose's (Undershed Curator) Fellowship within this. • Participated in convenings (online and in person), bringing knowledge, ideas and connections to the programme. • Hosted an online convening, encouraging participants to explore the why in the work we are doing. • Hosted fellow Interdisciplinary programme participants Scarlett Kim (Fellow) and Sharon Lehner, Director of Archives at Brooklyn Academy of Music on visits to Watershed. Also hosted a visit from the University of Oxford, sharing the Pervasive Media Studio business model to inform their new building development. • Provided space, immersion within a community of practice and undertaken regular catch up sessions with our Fellow. The aim of the catch up sessions is to share thinking, questions, talk through lines of enquiry and share any concerns that might arise. The catch ups give space to co-reflect on progress, understand needs and address any barriers to moving forwards. We create actions for us all within the conversations, which might include for example, making connections or pursuing a particular line of enquiry. An example of this includes an enquiry into the space where practice and academic research meet one another, and what the expectations of research within the context of an AHRC funded programme might be. • Connected our Fellow with a local, experienced academic researcher and artist, who provided mentoring and support around this topic. • Proactively working to develop an ecosystem for immersive exhibition, conversations with RSC and MIT in particular have been very valuable in this work. We were awarded £350k from Arts Council England to lead a national network of immersive galleries. Inkind support: • Staff time; supporting our existing Fellow, contributing to recruitment of the next round and in delivering the engagement activities listed in this section of the report . • Space and Facilities; for our Fellow to base themselves during their research and in hosting the engagement activities listed below. Network; brokering new connections for our Fellow across our programmes and partnership. We have particularly focused on connecting Amy's practice led research into more academic research happening within the Immersive Arts programme. |
| Impact | • The RSC loaned kit to the Undershed gallery team supporting the first exhibition in the space. • Watershed supported the RSC to bring a film crew to the opening of Undershed, contributing to a film made about the programme. • The exhibition outputs are multidisciplinary, spanning art and technology (moving image, VR, dance, documentary, photography, and sculpture). |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | AI Workshop with Tender Claws (Sarah Ellis, RSC and Scarlett Kim, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Workshop with Sarah Ellis, Director of Creative Innovation at the RSC; Samantha Gorman and Danny Cannizzaro at Tender Claws (an award-winning art and games studio); and Fellow Scarlett Kim on a new AI-powered participatory performance project on collective grief and the future of AI-human collaboration. Hosted by the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon, August 2024. Future plans for Tender Claws to present as part of the Interdisciplinary Programme's Festival of Ideas in July 2025. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Arts Council England Visit (RSC Sarah Ellis, Ruthie Doyle and Akhila Krishnan, Fellow) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | Visit to Stratford-upon-Avon 4-6 December 2024 by Arts Council England representatives Nema Hart, Director, South West and Inclusive Innovation and Alison Gagen, Relationship Manager for Theatre. Hosted by Sarah Ellis, Director of Creative Innovation and Ruthie Doyle, Artists, Fellowships, and Research lead. The purpose of the visit was to welcome Nema and Alison to Stratford-upon-Avon to hear more about research at the RSC and key strands - especially Interdisciplinary Fellowships. Meet with Akhila Krishnan (Fellow), the RSC's co-Artistic Directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey, Executive Director Andrew Leveson and Director of Development Stephanie Hensen Dittmer. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Birmingham University AI panel (Sarah Ellis, RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Up to 1500 people attended for this panel, in which Sarah Ellis gave a 20 minute presentation with the purpose of sharing information about the project. From this, we improved the wider knowledge about and understanding of the project, and helped it to find a wider audience within the academic community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Black Bar Social Podcast - Dancing with the Ancestors (The Music Center and Interdisciplinary Fellows 2024/25 Janice Duncan and Nami Weatherby) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Dancing with the Ancestors Black Bar Social Event - July 9, 2024, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m at The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Sounds of the Black Bar Social, is a monthly speak easy style gathering at The Music Center Los Angeles which took place during summer 2024. Artists, community members and taste makers to engage in big ideas. Each month the featured artist or provocateur poses a question and curators an experience to spark creativity, curiosity, imagination and conversation about the evolving cultural landscape in Los Angeles. Podcast hosted by Janice Duncan (Fellow). Provocateur: Sultan Sharrief. Featuring the premiere of the AR piece Dancing with the Ancestors, a performance viewable with custom AR masks exploring ancestral themes through movement. Complementing the performance are dance workshops connecting participants to their ancestry, an interactive worldbuilding workshop, and a collaborative exercise in which participants model and engage with the narrative potentials and social impacts of generative AI and decentralized technology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3z8ytT90tc |
| Description | Black Bar Social Podcast - Palace of the People (The Music Center and Interdisciplinary Fellows 2024/25 Janice Duncan and Nami Weatherby) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Palace of the People Black Bar Social Event - Tuesday, June 11, 2024, 6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m at The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Sounds of the Black Bar Social, is a monthly speak easy style gathering at The Music Center Los Angeles which took place during summer 2024. Artists, community members and taste makers to engage in big ideas. Each month the featured artist or provocateur poses a question and curators an experience to spark creativity, curiosity, imagination and conversation about the evolving cultural landscape in Los Angeles. Podcast hosted by Janice Duncan (Fellow) with contributors Nami Weatherby (Fellow) and Kamal Sinclair (Senior Director, Digital Innovation, The Music Center). Provocateur: TEC Leimert featuring The Afrokosmic Ark of Ben Caldwell. Focus: From AI-powered music technology to immersive gaming, sneaker culture and virtual hip-hop cyphers, the event pulses with innovation and creativity, offering something for everyone to enjoy. Experience the magic of KAOS Theory through The Leimert Park Phone, a piece inspired by Ben Caldwell's profound legacy chronicled in his book, KAOS Theory: The Afrokosmic Ark of Ben Caldwell. This unique device blends analog with digital, allowing you to call and record messages for the people of Leimert Park, contributing your voice to the ever-evolving story of community, resilience and creativity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_57tWNX3Vk |
| Description | CCIXR Workshop, University of Portsmouth (Stephen Bailey, TORCH Interdisciplinary Fellow) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Stephen attended a workshop hosted at the University of Portsmouth. The workshop took place over 2 days and included a tour of the Centre for Creative and Immersive eXtended Realities (CCIXR) Motion Capture studio and Volumetric Capture studio with the aim to explore new techniques of motion capture for disabled artists. There was also discussion about project ideas and ambitions, and Virtual reality/Tech demonstrations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Careers Talks and Workshops (Watershed) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | In June/July 2024 we delivered two weeks of Watershed's in house work experience, hosting 36 students spanning years 10-13 who joined us from schools across Bristol. Students participated in careers talks and workshops and were supported to develop collaborative, interdisciplinary works which they shared at the end of the week. Staff, Studio, Studio Residents, teachers and the families of students joined us at the end of each week to experience an interactive action film, a game on rewilding and considering the world post climate apocalypse, an installation of robotic national flowers, an educational experience on mountain climbing safety, an 'Escape from Primark' experience and a murder mystery. The students developed their individual practice whilst working within interdisciplinary teams, practicing key skills of collaboration, prototyping, problem solving, resilience and presentation, and understanding the career paths available to them. 100% of students reported increased skills and knowledge as a result of the programme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | CoSTAR Talk, York University (Sarah Ellis, RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 150 students and industry academics attended this talk at York university, delivered by Sarah Ellis and covering a decade of innovation at the RSC, including discussion of the Future Performance Institute feasibility study. It was an hour long lecture that increased awareness of the programme, and led to our partnership with XR stories. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Coronation Challenge Advisory Board (Sarah Ellis, RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This engagement made for the final meeting of the Coronation Challenge CreaTech advisory board. They discussed arguments for CreaTech and assembled a paper which was presented to DCMS and advocated for doubling investment in UKRI and CreaTech. It also highlighted R&D tax relief which was pertinent on Audience of the Future and a way we could explore an additional tax relief benefit for further projects. This advisory board created a multi-organisation network of shared knowledge and practical expertise, creating work which was received by government (DCMS). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | CounterTenor Project: Event at King's College London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | CounterTenor is an artists' residence programme supported by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), hosted at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-Upon-Avon, in academic partnership with the Department of Music, King's College London. On 16th October 2024, King's College London held a colloquium, with Meili Li and Reginald Mobley who shared their professional journeys and their plans within the CounterTenor scheme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/countertenor |
| Description | CounterTenor Project: Reginald Mobley Workshops, December 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | - CounterTenor is an artists' residence programme supported by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), hosted at the Royal Shakespeare Company, in academic partnership with the Department of Music, King's College London. - Reginald Mobley has been involved with CounterTenor since 2021 and is researching Ignatius Sancho. While his musical contribution was largely overlooked in the history of English Baroque music, Sancho was known as an avid writer and a supporter of the abolitionist movement who later became the first British African voter in England. - Following on from workshops in October 2024, further workshops were held in Stratford-upon-Avon 9-12 December. This included Reginald Mobley (countertenor and researcher), Paterson Joseph (actor and advocate for Ignatius Sancho, who authored The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho in 2022) and Ben Park (a composer who has collaborated with Paterson on the study of Sancho for over 10 years). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | CounterTenor Project: Reginald Mobley Workshops, October 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | - CounterTenor is an artists' residence programme supported by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), hosted at the Royal Shakespeare Company, in academic partnership with the Department of Music, King's College London. - Reginald Mobley has been involved with CounterTenor since 2021 and is researching Ignatius Sancho. While his musical contribution was largely overlooked in the history of English Baroque music, Sancho was known as an avid writer and a supporter of the abolitionist movement who later became the first British African voter in England. - Between 14 and 18 October workshops were held at the RSC in Stratford-upon-Avon with Reginald Mobley (countertenor and researcher), Paterson Joseph (actor and advocate for Ignatius Sancho, who authored The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho in 2022) and Ben Park (a composer who has collaborated with Paterson on the study of Sancho for over 10 years). The visit included time with RSC's Head of Music, Bruce O'Neil, a visit to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and music workshops. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Exploring Leadership Lecture (Sarah Ellis, RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 150 people attended this hour long lecture on undertaking research in and with cultural and heritage organisations. Delivered with the purpose of knowledge sharing and spreading awareness of the programme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | FIELD BUILDING - TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CULTURAL WORK, IDFA docLab summit 2023 (Ruthie Doyle and Sarah Ellis, RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a roundtable held at the IDFA DocLab R&D summit, held on 12th November 2023, exploring answers to the question "What do we need as cultural workers as we imagine and build the next cultural era?". In attendance were workers from cultural institutions in South Africa, Zimbabwe, the UK, the USA, Sweden, and Poland. The roundtable was facilitated by Ruthie Doyle of the RSC. Topics were raised such as the need for early intervention and mentorship in R&D; the fact that analogue R&D is still progress and innovation, and is underscored by those in the global majority; institutions need to be more mindful of who is in the conversation; strategies towards societal moments and political climate, and what our constituencies need. This was chance to share knowledge and strategy with one another, and led to change in/development of opinion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Figurative Roundtable (Sarah Ellis, RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | A gathering of 30 people, made up of fundraisers and charity sector workers, philanthropists, high level funders, and government workers attended a roundtable discussion with the goal of bringing thinkers to the table to share their expertise. From this, a paper was produced which outlined possible future models for the charitable sector. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Gensler Workshop, San Francisco (Sarah Ellis, RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 20 members of the local Los Angeles community, along with some professional practitioners, attended this 2 day work shop with a focus on collaboration and knowledge sharing. From this, we established a relationship with Anne Morrow Johnson of Gensler, who has since worked with us in an advisory capacity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | IDFA 2024 Film Festival Industry Talk (Tabitha Jackson, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | An Industry talk and facilitated discussion called 'Finding the Compass' at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in November 2024 focusing on some of the challenges currently facing cultural institutions. It followed a closed door symposium held in Amsterdam earlier that year so the session was also part of reporting out to the wider field. Impacts included increased awareness and engagement with of the complex questions facing cultural institutions and their staff in a fractured political and social moment. The session was attended and written up by Screen Daily, the online counterpart to Screen International, a print magazine focused on the international film business. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.screendaily.com/news/theres-a-crisis-in-self-censorship-by-documentary-institutions-says... |
| Description | Interdisciplinary Fellowships Launch Video |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Video accompanying September 2024 press release, announcing the first cohort of nine Interdisciplinary Fellowships. Received more than 500 views to date. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_blYh7yK04 |
| Description | Interdisciplinary Fellowships website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dedicated Interdisciplinary Fellowships website to share learnings and case studies over the duration of the project (2023-2027). Information about Fellows and collaborating organisations is also included. In November 2024, the applicants for the second cohort of Fellows in 2025/26 were also able to apply through a link on the website. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://if.rsc.org.uk/ |
| Description | Interdisciplinary Programme Convening, July 2024 (Hosted by RSC, Stratford-upon-Avon) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Between 17 and 23 July 2024, the Royal Shakespeare Company hosted a convening at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon. The convening was attended by the nine Fellows and 17 staff representing the eight collaborating organisations. Sharings - 18 and 19 July: The first two days were focused on the Interdisciplinary Fellows and their host organisations sharing their areas of expertise and practice with the group. Representations from the funders Arts & Humanities Research Council and the Rothschild Foundation attended these sharings. Thursday 18 July 2024: (See recording: https://vimeo.com/989599537/c1a75ea172?share=copy) Practice shares: Amahra Spence (Fellow); Stephen Bailey (Fellow); Akhila Krishnan (Fellow); Amy Rose (Fellow); TORCH (The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities) - University of Oxford; and Watershed. Friday 19 July 2024: (See recording: https://vimeo.com/988999224/4e6a386f57?share=copy) Practice Shares: Jemma Desai (Fellow); Scarlett Kim (Fellow); Nami Weatherby (Fellow); Janice Duncan (Fellow); Tabitha Jackson (Fellow); Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM); Stanford Arts; The Music Center; Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Open Documentary Lab and Co-Creation Studio. Convening sessions - 20 and 21 July: A range of sessions were delivered over the weekend by Fellows, collaborators and guests, including: - Creative Translation: Scarlett Kim (Fellow) gave examples of scoring, archiving and graphic notation (as an act of script making and archiving). - Creative Investment & Evaluation: Guest speakers Professor Jonny Freeman (University of Goldsmiths/i2 media) and Fran Sanderson (CEO at Figurative) led a session on creative investment and evaluation with Alex Coke (TORCH) and Josephine Ramirez (The Music Center). - Inua Ellams, writer and curator, led a 'Name Game' session. - Kat Cizek (MIT) led a Manifesto/Statement of Principles session, joined by Scarlett Kim and Ruthie Doyle (RSC). Areas of Inquiry sessions: The Fellows shared their intentions for the Fellowships and broad research areas. The impact of the convening included welcoming and onboarding the first cohort of Fellows, creating a community of Fellows, and building relationships between Fellows, the RSC and their host organisations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://vimeo.com/988999224/4e6a386f57?share=copy |
| Description | Interdisciplinary Programme Convening, March 2024 (Hosted by Stanford Arts, California) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Stanford Arts hosted a convening for the Interdisciplinary Programme 7-9 March 2024, with delegates from collaborating organisations including Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Open Documentary Lab and Co-Creation Studio; The Music Center; Royal Shakespeare Company; TORCH (The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities) - University of Oxford; Watershed; and Stanford Arts. The RSC's Co-Artistic Directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey also attended. Stanford provided facilities and tours inkind. Key discussion areas included narrowing research topics and questions. The impact of the convening included building relationships with project partners in the UK and US, scoping how the Fellowship programme will be managed, delivered and funded, and planning for a small cohort of Fellows to start in summer 2024. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Interview, Wired Magazine Japan (Sarah Ellis, RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | An interview in Wired Magazine Japan about the RSC's approach to digital performance innovation, and the importance of collaboration in this space. The purpose was to generate interest in the RSC's work, and communicate our commitment to innovation to a global audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | LIFEdream Workshops (Stephen Bailey, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | LIFEdream: Scene draft for a re-adaptation/translation of Calderon's Life is a Dream - reimagining it as a learning disabled experience. Initial draft produced and workshopped. Workshop Labs: Two engagements with (total) 12 attendees looking at various translations of the original text and their relative merits and methodologies. Applying prismatic translation theory. Readings and discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Lecture, Manchester University (Sarah Ellis, RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A lecture attended by around 60 undergraduates studying Digital Culture, delivered by Sarah Ellis. Outcomes included widening knowledge of the project, and an increased understanding of the work in a real world context. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Open Studio at Stanford University - Scarlett Kim (Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | From January 31 to February 9, Scarlett hosted a pop-up open studio at Stanford University's Roble Arts Gym. It encompassed a series of studio visits with students, faculty, staff and other Stanford community members. Scarlett and Anthony Storniolo, the creative technologist of BEASTS were present for the week integrating the live performance and virtual environment aspects of the project. Studio visits consisted of demos, playtests, and artist talks. The open studio sparked discussions on transmedia definitions of theatre, and interdisciplinary perspectives on research around embodiment and liveness. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://scarlett.kim/ |
| Description | Panel and Launch of Interdisciplinary Programme, SXSW (Sarah Ellis & Ruthie Doyle RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 80 people attended the UK Immersive Arts Takeover event at South by Southwest festival, a panel and workshop led by the delivery team of the project along with its partners. The event acted as the public launch of the interdisciplinary fellowship programme, and acted as advertisement for the project. From this, there were requests for further information and increased interest in the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Press Release: Launch of 9 Interdisciplinary Fellows |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | 19 September 2024: Press release announcing the Interdisciplinary Fellowships Programme, nine Fellows and collaborating organisations. The release was sent to 653 media contacts with an open rate of 278, which is 43% overall. It was featured in The Stage, AHRC website, Theatre Full Stop, Midlands What's On, TORCH website, and in the UK Creative Sector Briefing newsletter. It was featured as a News story on the RSC website, with an accompanying video on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_blYh7yK04, which has been viewed 500 times. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.rsc.org.uk/press/releases/rsc-launches-international-research-project-to-explore-the-fut... |
| Description | SXSW, March 2024 (Watershed) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | SXSW BFI delegation: Jo Lansdowne, Executive Producer at Watershed attended SXSW Austin in March 2024 alongside a number of other venues who are exhibiting immersive work, selected by BFI. She had a number of conversations and discussions exploring the future of immersive exhibition. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Social Media - Interdisciplinary Fellowships Launch |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Social Media activities accompanying the Press release for the Interdisciplinary Fellowships Programme, 19 September 2024. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DAGAAvgtXlN/ X/Twitter thread: https://x.com/TheRSC/status/1836698519819678165 - 13.9K views to date. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.instagram.com/p/DAGAAvgtXlN/ |
| Description | Speaker, National Theatre Director's Course (Akhila Krishnan, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Akhila Krishnan, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25. I was an invited speaker for the NT Director's Course in November 2025. It was my second time on this course, and I do a video master class as a part of it having 3-4 sessions with the Young Director's Cohort (15-20 up and coming Directors in theatre) talking my practice and how I prefer to collaborate and work with directors and wider creative teams to realise the shows I work on. A lot of my sessions also involve speaking practically about the technology that drives my practice and explaining how it is different from conventional film, and the complexities and innovations we work through even for a simple show. I feel passionately about speaking about this because the performance industry is still hierarchical and directors are often tasked to make decisions on departments they have no experience in. So I advocate a lot about consulting a video designer and being open about the parameters, challenges and the time it actually takes to do the work. I always show them the complexity of a cue sheet or a system design for shows I do, and seeing the back end of the work we do to keep video in shows running smoothly always blows them away. Many of them do not even realise that we are often triggered by lighting for shows, which means we essentially also work to fit the logic of our cues into a totally different logic system (for lighting for example) and when they hear about this, they acknowledge that is very complicated to work through. Some directors on the course have told me that my session has made them look back on their previous work with video designers on tech differently and they've left to call and apologise for their behaviour in realising a show. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Stakeholder Meeting, Glasgow University (Sarah Ellis, RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 20 academics gathered to assess connection points between their institutions, looking at the their approaches to virtual production and infrastructure. From this, work has been shared and Glasgow University have been advisors for us on this project. It confirmed the technologies that we need to put in place, and supported staffing and delivery structures. It also allowed us to test prototype ideas in a real world context. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Storytelling Workshop, UAL (Sarah Ellis, RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 30 artists, researchers, technologists, and creative practitioners attended this series of labs, workshops, and presentations, with Sarah Ellis leading and acting as a mentor. From this, there was discussion and knowledge sharing and outputs on work and research, leading to new forms of knowledge and practice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | TORCH's Performance Research Hub event (Stephen Bailey, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On Friday 7 February, OCCT and TORCH's Performance Research Hub hosted three practitioners to bring their personal and professional insights into theatre translation. We welcomed Tzen Sam (DPhil candidate, English), Dr Minna Jeffery (Rosemary Pountney Junior Research Fellow, English) and Stephen Bailey (theatremaker and TORCH RSC IF Fellow 2024-24) in a conversation moderated by Dr Helen Dallas (English). Each speaker gave insight into three main themes which emerged from the discussion: Fidelity - or infidelity - in theatre translation; The lost translator; and 'Speakability' and reactions against it. This was a thought-provoking discussion on translation and adaptation in theatre. The conversation about who 'owns' translations let to one attendee rounding off the event by asking: "Can there be ethical polyamory in translation?" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Talk to students of Digital Media and Communications, University of Birmingham Shakespeare Institute (Sarah Ellis, RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A lecture to 30 students and staff members, delivered by Sarah Ellis, covering the work and strategies employed within this project and within digital innovation at the RSC/in general. The university board were interested in our strategies, and reported applying them to their own decision making. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Undershed First Friday (Amy Rose, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Undershed First Friday: On 6th October 2023 we hosted a special version of our First Friday social event in Undershed attended by 64 people. These events are somewhere between the last meeting of the week and the first event of your weekend. The event introduced participants to Undershed as a space to test and share new forms of interdisciplinary storytelling that don't fit traditional stages and cinema screens. This new pilot has funding from AHRC and leadership from architect George Lovesmith and Amy Rose (Fellow). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/12210/first-friday |
| Description | Visits to the RSC (Tabitha Jackson, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | In 2024, Tabitha Jackson, Interdisciplinary Fellow based at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Open Documentary Lab and Co-Creation Studio, visited the RSC. Hosted by Sarah Ellis, Director of Creative Innovation and Ruthie Doyle, Artists, Fellowships, and Research lead. Tabitha said: b) As part of my research and during two additional visits to the RSC (August 24 and March 25) I was able to experience work from the RSC's current season(s) including The New Real, Kyoto, Othello, Edward II and to explore, along with the creative team, the process of innovating new work in a new form (Lili) c) Being able to deepen my understanding of how a cultural institution navigates this unprecedented political-technological-cultural moment through candid background interviews with people including Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer, Artistic Director, Director of People. d) I was invited to observe, through a series of internal strategy meetings, how a cultural organisation thinks about its approach to and communication around Artificial Intelligence - its potential impacts (positive and negative) on creativity, productivity, security/privacy, and people (staff and audiences). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| Description | Workshop, the Music Centre Black Bar Social (Janice Duncan, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Janice led a series of workshops, conversations, and labs at The Music Centre Los Angeles as part of her Fellowship output. The intended purpose (and outcome) was to share knowledge, and network/engage with the LA creative community. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Workshops at IDFA 2024 - MIT Open Doc Lab and Scarlett Kim (Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | MIT Open Doc Lab's New Research Initiative into XR Distribution. • At the IDFA DocLab R&D Summit 2024, MIT launched the Independent XR Distribution Coalition. The coalition will bring together an international, interdisciplinary group of artists and culture workers in a participatory research process to radically co-create, support and connect independent and inclusive XR distribution initiatives and ecosystems that counter the big tech agenda. • As part of the research, Sarah Wolozin, Julia Scott-Stevenson and Scarlett Kim (Interdisciplinary Fellow) hosted five roundtables during breakout sessions about immersive distribution with different stakeholders (XR artists, curators, exhibitors, distributors, scholars and funders). • Sarah and Julia presented some of the preliminary results of their research phase conducted during the second half of 2024 that synthesized trends from different reports on XR distribution. The outcome was to present at the leading international documentary institute (IDFA), which reaches a huge number of people online, and also via their newsletter. MIT were able to connect with people afterwards and discuss further participatory research opportunities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://opendoclab.mit.edu/mit-open-documentary-lab-co-creation-studio-winter-2025-newsletter/ |
| Description | Workshops, Coronation Challenge (Sarah Ellis, RSC) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A series of workshops led by Sarah Ellis and attended by up to 60 people. Sarah shared expertise and on the work done within the project. From this, Sarah was invited to speak more broadly in the sector, and attendees reported it had a tangible impact on their own practice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Your RSC Magazine: The Magic of Theatre (RSC and Akhila Krishnan, Interdisciplinary Fellow 2024/25) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Supporters |
| Results and Impact | Your RSC Magazine, Spring 2025 sent to c.8,000 Royal Shakespeare Company supporters (members and patrons). Article about the 'Magic of Theatre' featuring Akhila Krishnan (Fellow). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |