Contributors
Boyd Branch is a digital arts and performance specialist focused primarily on developing novel, provocative, and educational experiences for the stage, gallery, and web. A former Fulbright fellow, Professor Branch’s media work for the stage has been produced in the Netherlands, Pakistan (sponsored by the US State Department), major regional theatres throughout the Southwest, and critically acclaimed productions offoff-Broadway. He is an assistant professor at Arizona State University, where he teaches digital media courses for performance and conducts research into the integration of science, technology, and the performing arts. A multidisciplinary artist, he has designed stereoscopic 3D media for planetariums, large-scale architectural projections for festivals, and interactive digital installations for museums. Most recently he was awarded a number of grants to continue developing digital media tools for the recording, cataloguing, and presenting of oral histories from military veterans. He is the cofounder of the Blue Bike Kid Show, which produces original STEM-based material for the stage and web. He holds an MFA in interdisciplinary digital media from Arizona State University, and an MA in theatre studies from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands.
Sherée L. Greco is the production manager for the Department of Theatre at The Ohio State University, overseeing and managing the day-to-day production process in addition to teaching and mentoring those involved in stage management. She has over twenty years of professional live event, theatrical, and television production experience. Sherée received her BA in theatre at Otterbein College and her MFA in stage management from The University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music. In addition to working for various regional theatres, including The Goodspeed Opera House, San Diego Repertory Theatre, CATCO, and Short North Stage, Sherée spent eleven years in Los Angeles working in television production on such shows as CSI, The West Wing, The O.C., Entourage, How I Met Your Mother, and Modern Family. Sherée is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Matthew Ragan, a California native, earned his BA from the California State University in Fresno. After graduation, he moved to New England, where he worked with Keene State College from 2005 to 2012. His time in New England was spent working for Upward Bound, an educational outreach program, and for the Center for Engagement, Learning, and Teaching as a specialist in educational media creation and distribution. Much of his work with academic technology centered on free or affordable online tools for creating and distributing web-based content. During his time in the northeast he also trained with the New England Center for Circus Arts, developing skills in partner acrobatics, static trapeze, and aerial fabric.
In August of 2012 he moved to Arizona to pursue his MFA in the Interdisciplinary Digital Media and Performance program at Arizona State University. Focused on the intersection of digital media and live performance, his artistic practice and research have often explored the complexities of media interactivity in the context of performance.
During his time at ASU he collaborated on the design and implementation of the media in The arsRobotica Project, Orange Theatre Company Spring Mixer, The Veteran’s Project, romeoandjulietVOID, Terra Tractus The Earth Moves, Mantarraya, Wonder Dome, Before You Ruin It, Asylum, The Fall of the House of Usher, Concrete Matters, Soot and Spit, Theatre of Science Presents: Neuro, X-Act, Half-Way House, SparrowSong, and Bocón.
After completing his MFA, Matthew moved to San Francisco to join the Obscura Digital software team. His role at Obscura is largely rooted in the systemic and artistic implementation of creative ideas and concepts. He has worked on projects in a wide range of technical and artistic needs, from single-user experiences to rendering large, distributed, real-time, synchronous digital environments.
His work continues to explore the intersection of digital media and live performance, on scales both massive and intimate.
Ian Shelanskey is a freelance interactive engineer, programmer, and teaching artist. He often works on projects that immerse audiences and push the bounds of current entertainment technology. More information can be found on his website, https://ianshelanskey.com.