I am an Assistant Professor of Digital Media for Live Performance at the University of Iowa. I have a joint appointment in Theatre Arts and Dance and I am a core faculty member of the Public Digital Arts cluster. I serve as the Coordinator for the newly created certificate in Public Digital Arts.

 

I am available for guest lectures, workshops and consulting on how to integrate digital media and new technologies into your curriculum.

 

By sharing my passion and experience with the next generation of digital media creators, I arm them with the skills and artistry they need to succeed in the industry. I teach the practical hardware and software skills and the subtler aspects of aesthetics. I impart to students that it is our main job as media makers to use technology to develop connections between people by focusing on storytelling through technology, not just a focus on the technology itself. My teaching grounds students in the theory and production fundamentals of digital video, new media, interactive media, digital media, and live performance, and inspires them to explore new ways to express their ideas and creativity through emerging technologies.

Courses Taught at University of Iowa

3890: Producing and Directing Digital Video

Develop new course offered for the first time in Fall of 2016

An introduction to the basic concepts, theories and practical applications of digital video production for multiple distribution streams, with a focus on aesthetic and technical principles, that is open to students from any department. The primary focus of the course is for students to develop proficiency in contemporary approaches to digital media production, by understanding the production pipeline, from Ideation to Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production and through to Distribution. Emphasis will be placed on developing skills in writing, producing, directing, shot composition, lighting, location sound recording, non-linear editing and other skills necessary to create a compelling and engaging digital video. Working in groups, students will be assigned practical projects using professional grade media software and hardware.

3880: Installations and Interactive Performance

Develop new course offered for the first time in Spring of 2017

An introduction to the aesthetics, techniques and practical possibilities of fusing together theatre, dance, music/sound, art, design, cinema, gaming, human computer interaction, and engineering. Students will learn the foundations of creating interactive experiences that use digital photos, video, text, real-world objects, sensor data, live bodies moving in space, Kinect 2 sensors, cameras, and multiple video outputs such as projectors and LED displays. The interactive, node-based programming software Isadora, will be used to create immersive mediated performances, interactive installations, embodied user based experiences and user manipulated virtual environments.

Press:

During the course of the first semester the class was run, Iowa Now interviewed students and took photos. Iowa Now wrote and published an article on 10/25/17 that was featured on the main University homepage for about three months.

3876: Video for Performance

Develop new course offered for the first time in Spring of 2018

An introduction to the aesthetics and practical applications of digital media design for live performance, including content creation, system design and content optimization for media servers. Open to students from any department with an interest in designing, creating, and displaying digital media for theatre, dance, concerts, corporate events, gallery installations, VJ sets, and architectural projections. Working with professional software (Adobe Creative Cloud including Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Audition, and After Effects) students learn how to create digital art work and integrate it into live performance and entertainment events via projections, media servers and digital displays.

3895: Performing, Art and New Technologies in Society

Develop new course offered for the first time in Spring of 2019

Survey of major technological innovations that have deeply impacted society and live performance in the late 20th and early 21st century, and the future of the rapidly evolving technological world; students examine theoretical texts and performances that address the impact of technology on the human condition, as well as create original applied live performances and installations; a variety of technologies are explored and adapted for live performance as they relate to the following five categories of original human experience—telepresence and liveness, artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, and transhumanism.

Workshops and Guest Lectures

Projection Mapping Summit.

Live Design International Conference and Tradeshow.

October 2018

November 2017

November 2016

Taught the art of projection mapping and its applications in live performance, public art, corporate events, and architecture. Topics included content creation and delivery, pre-production imaging including laser scanning and models. Systems and process, establishing system requirements based upon needs of event or production; support of the content and production or art program; determining the equipment requirements and client interface.

 

Creating an Engaging Learning/Making Space for Students to Collaborate from the First Day

4CAST'18 (Campus Academic Strategies and Technology) Conference

The Center for Teaching and Learning

University of Iowa

January 11, 2018

Lead a breakout session, which includes a demo of an interactive performance to “demonstrate innovative teaching strategies” that include using technology and rapid prototyping in the Design Thinking process.

 

Interactive presentation about engaging students from day one of class.

Staff Development and Diversity Committee

University of Iowa Libraries

University of Iowa

February 5, 2019

 

Interdisciplinary/Interactive Digital Arts.

DIGA: 2800: Digital Arts: An Introduction.

Fall 2018

 

Interdisciplinary/Interactive Digital Arts.

DIGA: 2800: Digital Arts: An Introduction.

Spring 2018

 

Devising with Technology.

THTR: 3401: Topics in Dramatic Literature.

Spring 2017

 

Alternative Screens: Video in Live Performance.

Spring 2017 Film Studies Colloquium.

April 2017

 

VJ Style and Interactive Visuals.

THTR: 2800 Digital Arts: An Introduction.

February 2017

 

Screen Dance: One Shot Videos.

DANC: 1060: Introduction to Dance Studies.

November 2016

 

New Technologies and the Arts.

THTR: 1000: Freshmen Seminar.

November 2016

 

Digital Media Design for Theatre.

THTR: 5200 Graduate Design Seminar.

October 2016

 

The Stage Manager & Digital Media.

THTR: 6500: Stage Management Seminar.

September 2016

 

What’s on Your Website?

THTR: 5600: Orientation to Graduate Studies.

September 22, 2017

 

Building a Website.

THTR: 5600: Orientation to Graduate Studies.

September 29, 2017

 

Video and YouTube.

THTR: 5600: Orientation to Graduate Studies.

October 27, 2017

 

Networking, Promotion and Entrepreneurship.

THTR: 5600: Orientation to Graduate Studies.

December 1, 2017