Helen is a theatre and digital media artist, and an internet professional. A diverse career has led to her current experimental work in the use of the internet as a venue for performance, specifically in bringing remote performers together in live theatrical events. She calls this new art form cyberformance. She is a founding member of the globally dispersed cyberformance troupe Avatar Body Collision.

Helen created her first web page in 1994, and has worked professionally in the internet industry since 1997 doing web site construction and maintenance, web copywriting, consultation and project management.

She also teaches workshops and gives lectures and presentations about her work, and writes all kinds of stuff.

Online

• UpStage - open source software developed to create a web-based venue for cyberformance;
• founding member of Avatar Body Collision - globally dispersed cyberformance;
• contributing writer for Rhizome and Furtherfield;
• "a gesture through the flames" for season 2 of Breaking Solitude, January 2008;
• contributor to 1001 nights cast, disturb.the.peace: angry women and gender[f];
• cyberformance lecture/demos at universities and arts organisations in New Zealand, Australia, the USA, UK and Europe;
• design, construction, content creation and maintenance of this site, the Magdalena Aotearoa web site and the Magdalena Project web site (since 1999) and the Magdalena Australia site (2003);
• freelance web site maintenance, copywriting and consultation, since 1997, for clients including Media Catalyst, AMP, @URL, Heritage Retreat and Synergy International;
• the[abc]experiment: instigator of a research project exploring the meeting points of performance and the internet;
• assisting with the development of an online database of performance art videos for Franklin Furnace Archive (New York, Feb. 2001);
• online project manager, KLP Euro RSCG (Edinburgh, Scotland, 1999-2000);
• online performance in graphical chat rooms with Desktop Theater (since 2000);
• coordinating the development of an online database of arts resources for the New Zealand Ministry of Education (1999);
• designing and teaching a four month full-time course in web development and maintenance at Outlook Resources (Wellington, NZ, 1999);
• proposal writing, content creation, HTML formatting, site maintenance, and project management for CWA New Media (Wellington, NZ, 1997-99);
• creating content for web sites including Encyclozine (USA), Hyperzine (issues 4-12), the No Bully web site and Writerfind (1997-99).

Offline

• exile. in Skin by Shelley Jackson (December 2007);
• attending arts festivals around the world as a participant and arts writer (some articles are available on this site);
• articles published in The Open Page (2001, 2003, 2006);
• researching the New Zealand digital animation sector (2003) and film and multimedia industry (2001) for Industry New Zealand scoping documents;
• weekly column in the NZ Infotech (2001-02);
• project managing Nice Little Learner, a CD-ROM produced for Financial Education in British high schools (2000);
• researching and writing the content for the CD-ROM Creative Explorer for arts education in New Zealand schools (1996-97);
• writing, producing and directing theatre and video productions in Dunedin and Wellington, NZ;
• coordinating Artslink, an arts information service, for the Wellinton Community Arts Council (1994-95);
• marketing assistant for the Royal New Zealand Ballet (1995-96) and editor of Dance News magazine (1996-97);
• founding editor of DANZ magazine (1996);
• setting up and teaching Career Ys for the Wellington YWCA (1996);
• library assistant, Otago University Law Library (1993-94) and Medical Library (Dunedin, NZ, 1988-92);
• President, Otago University Students' Association (1991).

OnStage

• "Women With Big Eyes" - ongoing collaboration with artists of the Magdalena Project: January 2007 (Odin Teatret, Denmark); January 2008 (Estudio Teatral, Cuba);
• "Demeter's Dark Ride - An Attraction" - producer; BATS Theatre, 2005.
• Water[war]s - a performance installation directed by Jill Greenhalgh; participation in 3 of the 8 events (Brisbane 2003, Belgrade 2002, Holstebro 2001) involving cyberformance, text, images, research and performance collaboration.
• "swim - an exercise in remote intimacy" - stage performer and concept.
• playwright: "Phone Jam" (professional workshop, NTI, Auckland, 2002); "Between" (BATS Theatre, Wellington, 2001); "Risky/Risque" (BATS Theatre, Wellington, 1995); "Women Like Us" (Taki Rua Theatre, Wellington, 1994 and Globe Theatre, Dunedin, 1993); "The Benefits of Sex" (Allen Hall Theatre, Dunedin, 1991); "Coffee & Cake" (Allen Hall Theatre, 1989); "Mind Boggling" (Otago One Act Play Festival, 1982).
• director:"the[abc]experiment" (BATS Theatre, Wellington, 2002); "The Debate" (BATS Theatre, Wellington, 1994); "The Winter Wife" (Allen Hall Theatre, Dunedin, 1992); "The Benefits of Sex" (Allen Hall Theatre, Dunedin, 1991); "Mind Boggling" (Otago One Act Play Festival, 1982).
• producer: "the[abc]experiment" (BATS Theatre, Wellington, 2002); "Risky/Risque" (BATS Theatre, Wellington, 1995); "Women Like Us" (Taki Rua Theatre, Wellington, 1994 and Globe Theatre, Dunedin, 1993); Hersterix women's comedy group (Dunedin, 1991-92).
• Women's Performance Art Collective, Dunedin, 1987-88: devising and performing in "Death in Namibia" (Chippendale House and Allen Hall Theatre, 1987-88) and "Reigning Tampons" (Allen Hall Theatre, 1988).

OnScreen

• "rings" (2007) - digital video collaboration with Igneous.
• "Openings" (1992), a docudrama about the alternative art scene in Dunedin, NZ; co-writer (with Karen Nobes), director and producer; screened in Dunedin and at the 1992 Canterbury Short Film Festival.
• "Sex, Lies and Shepherds Pie" (1992), director; screened at the Mothra Student Video Competition and nominated in numerous categories, winning Best Actress.
• editing video for inclusion in performances and video documentation of performances, since 1987.

what | did | you | expect

© Helen Varley Jamieson 1999-2008