I entered university as most aspiring drama students do, with

the intention of being an actor (and achieving a

personal side goal of breaking the world record for most

Jaffa Cakes eaten in a single bite). However, once I was there,

other elements quickly peaked my interest (the Jaffa Cake

goal still exists). I began to dabble in the technical elements

of theatre, utilising sound and light in order to

facilitate and even tell stories. Through university I have

progressed in nurturing this interest, soon becoming the go-to student for implementing technical aspects into a production.

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The synthesis of technology and storytelling fascinated me and I began to research other possible avenues technology could be used to tell stories. This led me to take the Digital Storytelling workshop with the National Youth Theatre in the summer of 2019 and the experience altered my perception of theatre and what is possible within that space. We experimented with VR headsets and the vast number of programs available for content creation. A new favourite of mine is now the program, Tilt Brush (essentially a 3D paint. .net). The program enables the user to create whatever they can draw, this can then be uploaded into a games engine so someone can walk around and interact with their own creation!

 

From inspiration to volumetric, I was captured and was soon experimenting with immersive technology. So far, I have developed a small VR experience within a wider piece of immersive theatre, that was performed for the Liverpool Horror Society (Check out the Fear Paradigm in my portfolio if you want to find out more!). I have also started the slow process of teaching myself the coding languages C# and C++, which I have no clue about currently but am enjoying the frustration of learning. These two languages are by far the most common for game and app development and, by choosing to learn both of these, I can increase my potential employability and develop the ability for virtual world building. Through this knowledge  I can create more complicated virtual experiences with the games engine, Unity (the industry standard programme for VR development on a small scale). Alongside this, I have been using websites like Coursa and Skillshare along with YouTube tutorials as a potential “in” into the industry. I am also currently partway through a VR game development online course from Goldsmiths, which I hope, will provide some much needed portfolio material.

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In the future, I hope to use my degree theatrical storytelling in conjunction with my love of technology to develop this interest further. There are a number of MA courses offered at universities like LJMU, University of the West of England, Royal Holloway, and University of the Arts London. Each of these courses offer something different for example, Royal Holloway focuses more on the technology (ensuring their students are adept at the coding sides of things) and Uni of the Arts London focuses on the art (nurturing the creative drive through the technology). It would do me well to attend as many open days as possible in order to gauge the feel of the university and determine if it is the right one for me. Currently, I am unsure which direction will benefit me the most, so I am taking a few years out of education to continue experimenting. This time away from an academic institution will allow me to focus my interests and decide which route will best suit my academic and practical needs (and also find myself a little niche I can market myself to).  

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Find a link to all my most recent work below.