Sally-Jane Norman
Visiting Professor (Sussex Digital Humanities Lab)

Research

As a performing arts historian I am interested in art and technology with a strong focus on sound and embodiment, in the history of performance architecture, and in the new kinds of performance inherent to interactive and distributed technological systems. My work engages with collaborative practice across disciplines and sectors, and is strongly informed by engagement with experimental practice; overviews of some theatre and performance technologies workshops I have led or participated in can be viewed at sallyjanenorman.net.

I frequently advise on research and cultural policy frameworks, and review publications and creative commissions for national and international academic and cultural bodies. Amongst RCUK funded projects, co-investigator input to the "Motion in Place Platform" (AHRC DEDEFI strand) led by Sussex colleague Kirk Woolford has extended my practice and theory-driven research on expressive gesture. At Sussex I was strongly engaged in the CHASE (Consortium for the Humanities & the Arts-South East) initiative, contributing to doctoral student led AHRC-funded collaborative workshops.

I have supervised and examined PhDs on improvisational and collaborative performance, distributed creative systems, and embodiment related to technological development.