Scott Palmer
Deputy Head of School
Lecturer in Scenography (Lighting & Projection)
Programme Manager BA Performance Design

Lighting and Projection for an experimental performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream

Biography

Scott’s research focuses on scenography, lighting design and the interaction between technology and performance. He has collaborated on the AHRC-funded Projecting Performance project with Sita Popat and KMA Creative Technology.  Performance outcomes from this work include the interactive kinetic light installation, Dancing in the Streets, (York 2005,) and experimental productions; A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2007) and The Shakespeare Project (2008) also with Popat and KMA.  This work has contributed to the scenography for DV8 Physical Theatre’s recent International production To Be Straight With You.

Scott has also been part of the AHRC/EPSRC funded Emergent Objects - designing the technological interface through performance research. This project forms part of the Designing for the 21st Century initiative and draws on performance knowledge to explore and articulate the emergent nature of the interface between technological object and human that is fundamental to the development of new design thinking and practices.

Scott has published widely and is currently writing  Light – A  Reader in Theatre Practice  for Palgrave Macmillan.

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Research Interests

• Scenography
• Lighting design
• Technology and performance
• Experience design
• Immersive performance
• Collaborative performance practices

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Research Group

Performance Technologies

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Current Teaching

BA Core Compulsory Modules: PECI 1102 Collaborative Processes, PECI 3104 Dissertation

BA Optional Modules & Elective Modules: PECI 3106 Performance Project (module manager) PECI 1602 Stage Management (module leader) PECI 2405 Theatre, Technology & Performance

BA Performance Design: PECI 1401 Elements of Scenography (module leader), PECI 2402 Individual Project (module leader) PECI 3401 Scenographic Scheme (module manager)

MA Performance, Culture & Context: Individual Project / Research Project

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Current Roles

Deputy Head of School
Lecturer in Scenography (Lighting and Projection)
Programme Manager BA Performance Design

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Supervised MA and PhD students

Rachel Hann  -  3D Visualisation for utopian theatre spaces
David Shearing – Immersive scenography


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Publications

Palmer, S. (under contract) Light – A Reader in Theatre Practice, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Palmer, S. (2000) Essential Guide to Stage Management, Lighting & Sound, London: Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0 340 721138

Book Chapters

Palmer, S. ‘Chapter 2 - Space’ (under contract, publication 2011) in Pitches, J. & Popat, S. (eds) Performance Perspectives: A Critical Introduction, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. This chapter looks at notions of performance space and also incorporates material by Professor Dorita Hannah and Louise Ann Wilson

Palmer, S. & Popat, S. (2010) ‘Dancing in the Streets; The Sensuous Manifold as a Concept for Designing Experience’ in: Collins, J. and Nisbet, A. (eds.) Theatre and Performance Design - A Reader in Scenography, London & New York: Routledge, ISBN: 978-0-415-43210-8

Popat, S. & Palmer, S. (2009) ‘Dancing with Sprites and Robots: New Approaches to Collaboration between Dance and Digital Technologies’. in: Butterworth, J and Wildschut, L. (eds.) Contemporary Choreography: A Critical Reader, London & New York: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-49087-0

Bayliss, A. Hales, D. Palmer, S. & Sheridan, J. (2009) ‘(Re)Searching Through Play: Play as a Framework and Methodology for Collaborative Design Processes’. International Journal of Arts and Technology, pp5-21, DOI: 10.1504/IJART.2009.024054 ISSN 1754-8853

Popat, S. & Palmer, S. (2008) ‘Embodied Interfaces: Dancing with Digital Sprites’, Digital Creativity 19(2), pp.125-137 ISSN 1462-6268, DOI: 10.1080/14626260802037478

Palmer, S. & Popat, S. (2008) ‘Dancing in the Streets: a design case study’, Interactions New York, XV(3), pp.55-59. ISSN: 1072-552   http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1353782.1353797

Palmer, S. & Popat, S. (2007) ‘Dancing in the Streets: The Sensuous Manifold as a Concept for Designing Experience’, International Journal of Performance Arts & Digital Media 2(3), pp.297-314
ISSN: 14794713 DOI: 10.1386/padm.2.3.297/1

Palmer, S. (2006) ‘A Place to Play: Experimentation and Interactions Between Technology and Performance’. in: White, C.A. & Oddey, A (eds.) The Potentials of Spaces : International Scenography and Performance for the  21st Century, Bristol: Intellect Books, pp.105-118. ISBN 1-84150-137-9

Palmer, S. (2006) ‘Dance and Interactive Scenography: Exploratory approaches to making performance with technology’ in: Friedman L. (ed), Connectivity : 10th Biennial Symposium of Arts and Technology, New London, CT:Connecticut College, pp.125-136.

Popat, S. & Palmer, S. (2005) ‘Creating Common Ground: Dialogues Between Performance and Digital Technologies’, International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, 1(1), pp.47-65.
ISSN: 14794713 DOI: 10.1386/padm.1.1.47/1

Palmer, S. (2003) ‘Making Light Work - Lighting Design in Contemporary British Theatre’ in Hamon-Sirejols, C. & Surgers, A. (eds): Theatre; espace sonore, espace visuel -Theatre: Sound Space, Visual Space, Lyon: Presses Universitaires de Lyon, pp.267-276. ISBN 978-2729707378

Palmer, S. (2001) ‘Virtual Light - Using Digital Technologies in the Process of Lighting Design’ in Wierzchowska A. (ed) Tradition and Innovation in Theatre Design, Cracow:Jagiellonian University, pp.81-86. ISBN 83-916637-0-1

Palmer, S. (2000) ‘Technology & Scenography – Teaching Lighting for Performance’ in Lighting 2000, CIBSE, London:The Chameleon Press Ltd., pp.222-228 ISBN 1903287081

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Projects

Performance Work

Dream/Play, stage@leeds, April 2010

Pandora’s Box, stage@leeds, March 2009

A Light in the Rhubarb Shed, (with McKechnie, K. and Opera North) Light Night, Leeds October 2008

The Shakespeare Project (with Popat, S. & KMA Creative Technology Ltd.), stage@leeds May 2008

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (with Popat, S & KMA Creative Technology Ltd.) Bretton Hall, March 2007
Eurodans. (with Popat, S, Butterworth, J), Project Arts Centre, Dublin, October, 2002Installation


Installation

Dancing in the Streets York, March 2005, Rome 2006.commissioned by York City Council as part of its urban regeneration initiative (in collaboration with KMA and Popat, S.) Featured in Shedroff, N. (2009)

Experience Design 1.1:a manifesto for the design of experiences pp.294-5 Experience Design Books ISBN 978-0-9822339-0-0

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Editorial Work

Editor (2002-06)  Focus,  The Journal of the Association of Lighting Designers, ISSN: 1364-9299

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International Presentations

‘Extending and Disappearing Bodies:Performance in a Mixed Reality Paradigm’, DRHA Sensual Technologies: Collaborative Practices of Interdisciplinarity, Brunel University, 5-8th September 2010 (with Popat, S.)

‘A Stage Beyond: Cultural Impact, Performance and Knowledge Exchange beyond the University Campus’,Third World Universities Forum, Davos, Switzerland, 9-11th Jan 2010

‘Performing Presence in Mixed Reality Performance’ – lecture demonstration and workshop, Performing Presence, Exeter University, UK, 26-29th March 2009, (with Popat, S.)

Dancing Sprites and Digitised Spaces, International Performance Research Seminar & Interactive Performance Series, Brunel University, UK, 25th February 2009 (recorded live broadcast for Dance-tech.Net) (with Popat, S.)

Operator as Performer – Experimental research in projection and performance - Projection in Performance Symposium, Guildhall/Complicité, Barbican Theatre, London, UK, 20th February 2009, (with Popat, S.)

 ‘Projecting Performance’ - Post Me_New ID Forum, CYNETart08, Festspielhaus Hellerau, Dresden, Germany, 29-31st October 2008, (with Popat, S.)

‘Digital Interfaces in Dance Technology Environments’  Panel presentation, DRHA 2008, University of Cambridge, UK, 14-17th September 2008, (with Bailey, H, Popat, S., & Buckingham-Shun, S.)

‘DUET for EYES II: Moving with the Sprites’ Presentation/Performance with SMARTLAB,  ALT-C 2008 Association for Learning Technology - Conference,– stage@leeds, University of Leeds, UK 9th September 2008

Projecting Performance workshop for TaPRA – Scenography Working Group, Leeds University, UK, 3-5th September 2008, (with Popat, S.)

‘Dreams and Visions:Researching with Light’, OISTAT Education/Theory Commission, Theatre Academy, Helsinki, Finland, 5-9th  June 2008

‘Dancing Robots and Digitised Spaces’, Keynote for DigArt Symposium 2008, Aalborg University, Esbjerg, Denmark, 10-11th March 2008, (with Popat, S.)

Hoverflies – Researching through play. Installation and presentation for Emergent Objects, Design for the 21st Century Conference, (with Bayliss et al.) Leeds, December 2007

‘Projecting Performance: Embodied Technologies for Operator and Performer’, PSi #13, New York, USA, 8-13th November 2007, (with Popat, S.)

‘Dancing in the Streets’, DUX07 3rd International Conference on Designing for User Experience, Chicago. USA, 5th-7th November 2007 (with Popat, S)

  ‘ “A Full Innocence”: The Paradox of Stillness in Movement’ Computers in Art & Design Education Conference, Perth, Australia. 11-14th September 2007, (with Popat, S.)

‘Revealing the Wizard of Oz: Interrelationships between performer-dancer, performer-operator and digital sprite’; Re-Thinking Practice and Theory, CORD / SDHS Conference 2007, Paris, France (paper delivered by Popat, S.)

‘Playing with Light – Interactive Projection and the Performer/Operator’, OISTAT, Prague Quadrennial, 14-24th June 2007, Prague, Czech Republic

Emergent Objects, Design for the 21st Century Colloquium, University of Leeds, June 2007, (with Bayliss et al.)

‘Projecting Performance’, Universal Voices International Symposium, Rose Bruford College, UK, 18th-20th April 2007, (with Popat, S.)

‘Projecting Performance HCI’:  Engage HCI: The 1st International Symposium on Culture, Creativity and Interaction Design, QMU, London 12th September 2006, (with Popat, S.)

‘Dancing in the Streets: Interactive play and digital performance’ (re)Actor: 1st International Conference  on Digital Live Art, Queen Mary's University, London 11th September  2006, (with Popat, S.)

‘Dancing Sprites and Digitised Spaces: A collaborative project in digital performance’: 2nd International  Conference for Digital Technologies & Performance Arts, University  Centre, Doncaster, UK 26th -28th  June 2006 (with Popat, S.)

‘Dance and Interactive Scenography: Exploratory approaches to making performance with technology’: Connectivity - 10th Biennial Symposium of Arts and Technology, Connecticut College, New London, CT, USA, March 30th -April 1st  2006

‘Teaching Scenography in a Research Environment’: OISTAT International Symposium on Design for Performance and Interdisciplinarity in Theatre Education. London & Nottingham Trent Universities, 29th November - 4th December 2005 (with McKinney, J.)

 ‘Performing Technology - Explorations in Interactive Scenography’
Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, Research Seminar. 29th November 2005

Collaborative Research Between Performers and Technologists : TaPRA Inaugural Conference, University  of Manchester, 8-10th September 2005 (with Popat, S.)

‘Performing Technology: Explorations in Interactive Scenography’: The Stage and the Visual Arts: Past, Present and Future, International Conference on Scenography, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands,  May 11-15th  2005

‘Technology versus Performance - Destroying the Cohesiveness of Making Theatre?’  Different Directions Symposium  - Scenography and Performance, Loughborough University, July 2-4th 2004

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External Activity / Professional Links

Executive member (Education) of Association of Lighting Designers (ALD)

Consultant : National Council for Vocational Qualifications

Consultant/ Principal Examiner Edexcel, RSA & OCR Examination Boards (1994-2007)

External Examiner 2002-2007 Manchester University, Arden School of Theatre, Rose Bruford College

CLORE Leadership Forum, ‘Managing Capital Projects’

Specialist reviewer for a range of academic publishers

Peer reviewer IJPADM Scenography volume

Programming Panel member/Peer reviewer and Panel Chair, DRHA conference; New Communities of Knowledge and Practice, University of Cambridge, September 2008

Programming Panel member/Peer reviewer DRHA conference; Dynamic Networks of Knowledge and Practice: Contexts, Crises, Futures, University of Ulster – September 2009

Programming Panel member/Peer reviewer DRHA conference;Sensual Technologies: Collaborative Practice of Interdisciplinarity, Brunel University– September 2010

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