About Me
I am an artist and technologist combining art and tech to allow new kinds of expression, create new qualities of experience, and tell new stories. I design and implement interactive multimedia systems for live performance and installations, drawing on my background in computer science, theater, choreography, stage and costume design, and choral conducting. I can also be found designing theatrical costumes and wearable electronic art.
I have a double major in Computer Science and Theater and Dance from Amherst College,
and a doctorate from the MIT Media Lab, where I was a member of the Opera of the Future
research group. My research work has explored the intersection of technology, gesture, and voice, with a focus on designing and building systems for the capture, analysis, and extension of expressive voice and movement.
In addition to my independent theatrical work, I work at Google as an Experience Engineer in the Virtual and Augmented Reality division. At Google, I have also developed software and platforms for interactive physical spaces.
Contact Me
Presentations, Panels, and Workshops
- "Exploring AR Interaction," Google I/O, 2018
- "Virtual Reality Panel," San Francisco Dance Film Festival, 2017
- "Smart Exhibits" panel, Association of Science and Technology Centers Conference, 2017
- "Virtual Realities and the Public Sphere" panel, DeVos Institute, 2016
- "Technology in Performance: Expanding the Live," Brown Center for Public Humanities, 2016
- "Scoring the Dynamic Stage" workshop, Prague Quadrennial, 2015
- "Waves" Blikwissling interdisciplinary masterclass, Nijmegen, Netherlands, 2014
- Presentation and performance at Hacking Arts, Cambridge, MA, 2013
- "Augmenting an Art Form: Extending Live Performance with the Opera of the Future Group," at Extended Opera Symposium in Stockholm, Sweden, 2013
- "Abstract Expression, Creation, and Collaboration across Time and Distance" at A New Dawn: Looking for a Spring, ArtEZ in Enschede, Netherlands, 2013
Selected Grants and Awards
- NEA Art Works Grant for Ipomoea, 2016.
- Office of the Vice President for Pilot/Seed (OVPR) Grant from KSU for Ipomoea, 2015.
- MIT Laya and Jerome B. Wiesner Student Art Award for performance and installation work, 2014.
- Council for the Arts at MIT Grant for Bibliodoptera, 2011.
- Council for the Arts at MIT Grant for Four Asynchronicities on the Theme of Contact, 2010.
- Amherst's Alpha Delta Phi Grant for Senior Thesis work, 2007.
Publications
- Jessop, E. "Capturing the Body Live: A Framework for Technological Recognition and Extension of Physical Expression in Performance." Leonardo, Volume 48, Number 1, pp. 32–38, 2015.
- Jessop Nattinger, E. " The Body Parametric: Abstraction of Vocal and Physical Expression in Performance." Ph.D. Thesis. MIT Media Laboratory, 2014
- Holbrow, C., Jessop, E., and Kleinberger R. "Vocal Vibrations: A Multisensory Experience of the Voice." Proceedings of New Instruments for Musical Expression. London, 2014.
- Jessop, E., Torpey, P., and Bloomberg, B. "Music and Technology in Death and the Powers," Proceedings of NIME. Oslo, 2011.
- Jessop, E. "A Gestural Media Framework: Tools for Expressive Gesture Recognition and Mapping in Rehearsal and Performance," M.S. Thesis. MIT Media Laboratory, 2010.
- Jessop, E. "The Vocal Augmentation and Manipulation Prosthesis (VAMP): A Conducting-Based Gestural Controller for Vocal Performance," Proceedings of NIME. Pittsburgh, 2009.
- Torpey, P. and Jessop, E. "Disembodied Performance," Proceedings of ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Boston, 2009.