We have recently started working with Emma Dorfman, a PhD candidate working on a Collaborative Doctoral Award with the Institute for Design Informatics at The University of Edinburgh in partnership with the Traverse Theatre.
Her research explores data-driven approaches to live performance and theatre-making and what opportunities digital distribution, technologies, and assets can offer to the live performance industry.
Get to know her a wee bit more in our 10 Questions Interview below...
1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what’s lead you to pursue this PhD?
I am a dramaturg, theatre reviewer, and creative facilitator by practice, but I’ve always been in research-led or research-informed settings within my creative practice. In that way, I guess this PhD in particular is pretty much the dream! The topic itself is also one that has been on my mind since I was an undergraduate: my undergraduate thesis – ‘Apart, Together: Networked Spectatorship in a Virulent Age’ - was on social media performance, theatre’s absence of ‘virality’, and networked performance under surveillance, so I’ve been in conversation with the convergence of theatre and technology for a long time.
2. What can you tell us about your research and what you’re looking to explore in your studies?
Right now, I’m in the very early stages of the PhD, so all of this is very subject to change. I’m currently unpacking this term ‘digitally-mediated theatre’ and trying to lineate its history and its future life. I think this is an impossible task without being in conversation with emerging technologies. Right now, the integration of tech such as artificial intelligence, androids, XR technologies, and the metaverse are but a few things I’m keen to explore.
3. What are you looking forward to in working with the Traverse?
The Traverse has such an important history as a hub for new fringe writing in Scotland, and that is what excites me the most. Where I grew up, there was no such thing as ‘fringe’, or even, new performance writing, so there was virtually no inclination to change the status quo. The work that I do with the Traverse and with this PhD will contribute to a much-needed innovation in theatrical form. The Traverse is a venue that has reinvented itself many times, but at the heart of it, it has always been an institution that nurtures new writers and new writing. Without organisations like the Traverse, creatives like myself would have no room to entertain possibilities for change or reinvention.
4. What compels you in your work?
More than anything, I am compelled by new writing and new writers. When I first finished my MA at Goldsmiths, I launched a pro-bono campaign aimed at emerging playwrights looking for feedback on first drafts of performance work, and I received a whopping 51 scripts over the course of two weeks. That shows that there is an insane need for dramaturgical support among this cohort of creatives, and I feel compelled to answer that call. I’ve volunteered as a reader for many new work festivals as well as London Playwrights. At the same time, I have to remember that my work and my time is valuable, and working for free just propagates this model within the broader ‘market.’ But I am always willing to offer a helping hand to creatives trying to produce new writing, even if that’s just connecting them to other creatives or venues or funding schemes that might be able to help.
Without organisations like the Traverse, creatives like myself would have no room to entertain possibilities for change or reinvention.
5. What theatre or cultural experience do you think has most influenced your artistry?
This is a tough one. If I had to pick one piece of theatre, I would have to say the West End production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which I was lucky enough to see in 2015. I recently saw some production photos at the Dundee V&A that instantly took me back to the miraculous scenography in that production. The way they were able to add so many more dimensions to that space, the performers using nothing but their bodies to create that illusion, and all of that working towards a beautiful, moving illustration of the inner-workings of Christopher’s (the main character's) mind. It was all so dramaturgically yummy. I not only connected with the content of the piece - I was diagnosed as on the spectrum as I child, so I really felt for Christopher and his not feeling understood - but, in hindsight, the possibilities of form were opened up for me: that was the first time I had seen projections used as a scenographic technique, and at the time, that seemed like some pretty cutting-edge tech. Now I can’t seem to stop thinking about how technology could enhance already existing storytelling techniques.
But also, ABBA Voyage? Enough said. I still can’t dissect exactly what went on there, but my mind was blown.
6. What has been the most exciting part of your professional journey thus far?
This would have to be my time as a Resident Dramaturg for Life Jacket Theatre Company in New York. In the States, we don’t typically have a budget (and therefore, any time at all!) for research & development. Life Jacket is one of those few companies that puts R&D first. When I joined the company as an intern initially in 2020, they were in their third year of research and development on a new work in production. You’re lucky if you get three days of ‘tablework’ on any theatrical production in the US! That was an amazing experience to move from the research phase into script development and put the research into conversation with the theatrical elements the Artistic Director was keen on exploring through the piece.
7. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given in your career?
This one is from my dad: Don’t let ‘perfect’ be the enemy of the good.
8. Who have been your biggest inspirations?
My parents, my former professors and mentors, Alisa Zhulina, caridad svich, and Travis Russ; Jennifer Parker-Starbuck, Andy Lavender, Maddy Costa, Sam Ward, Louise Orwin, Halley Feiffer, Zadie Smith, Jessica Chastain (I love a bit of redhead representation).
9. You recently came along to the launch of A History Of Scottish Drama In Six Plays; what did you take away from this?
Most of all, that Scottish theatre (and Scottish culture) is currently experiencing the most volatile and uncertain period it has had in recent times. It was affirming to hear from the panellists (Fergus Morgan, Mark Fisher, Gareth Nicholls, Isla Cowan, and Nicola McCartney) that, yes, things have always been tough, but not this tough. I have certainly experienced this first hand as an artist, and it is important to not lose sight of that when considering the future of theatre and of the Traverse as well. Myself - and all academics writing about the cultural and creative ‘industries’ in Scotland - need to bring an awareness of the ongoing funding crisis into any analysis of ‘The State of the Art’.
10. What’s coming up next for you that we should know about?
I have a few things in the works both within and outside my PhD. Right now, I’m working towards a well-developed research plan, which will likely involve some community engagement and/or workshops at the Traverse, so stay tuned for that! I’m also working to develop a dystopic piece about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the Metaverse.
Find out more about Emma and her Collaborative Doctoral Award with the Institute for Design Informatics at The University of Edinburgh in partnership with the Traverse Theatre here. Be sure to also check back on our news stories to keep up with her work.
PhD funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council through the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities.