Call for Participation:

Rose Bruford College XR-Research Symposium
June 17, 2026 at 10:30 AM – 5:30 PM
Rose Bruford College
Sidcup, England
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rose-bruford-college-xr-research-symposium-tickets-1987595193729

Reserve a spot at the Eventbrite link above

The XR-Research Symposium at Rose Bruford College brings together academics, artists and technologists using XR technologies for research in theatre and performance.

The use of XR (augmented/mixed/virtual reality) tools and techniques is now well-established in many fields of artistic practice and academic enquiry, from their use to make various kinds of digital performance to VR reconstructions of historic theatres. This one-day symposium brings together academics and practitioners to share, discuss and explore how XR can be used for performance research, to ask questions such as:

• How does research into digital performance that uses XR technologies differ from other kinds of research? What methodologies are useful?
• How can XR technologies be used to investigate performance histories?
• What are the barriers to making XR performances accessible to all users?
• How can artists and technologists working with XR engage with and benefit from research in universities?

Some of the speakers at our XR Symposium include:

Carl Miller, writer, director and XR creator 
“What a Grief is this? Upcycling Kit” 

Ben Turnbull, London College of Fashion 
“The Mark of the Maker: Analogue Practice and Digital Translation in XR Performance Pipelines” 

Stephen Bailey, ASYLUM Arts 
“Underneath the Forest” 

Rebecca Evans, Pell Ensemble 
“Designing the In-Between: Reflections on Choreographic Approaches and Soma Design in Mixed Reality Dance Experience ‘Hinterlands’” 

Lisa May Thomas, University of South Wales 
“Making Bodies Lively in SOMAVR” 

Debbie Bandara, Manchester Metropolitan University 
“Feeling the Algorithm: Somatic Encounter, Affective AI and the Methodological Challenges of Multisensory XR Research in Performance” 

Topher Maraffi, NC State University, USA 
“An Illusion of Liveness: Synthespians in Virtual Production as Hyper-Reality Theatre”

There will also be opportunities to find out about XR-related research at RBC, and experience its Angel VR project, investigating how to make VR more fully accessible.

Looks like we’re in for a fascinating day of great conversations! 

There will also be a BSL interpreters and audio describer.

Reserve a spot at the Eventbrite link above.

This event is free.