| |
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.
|

"swim - an exercise in remote intimacy"
Photographer: Nada Zgank
|
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.
|