Mona Bozdog

maker/ writer/ researcher/ player

I am a Romanian doctoral student and theatre maker based in Scotland at Abertay University. My PhD project which investigates the potential of interdisciplinary study in the fields of performance and video games, is a partnership between Abertay University, The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, The National Theatre of Scotland and The Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities. The project draws on both performance and game design methods to develop hybrid forms of storytelling that blend the unique abilities of virtual and physical environments, bodies, and experiences.

Professional History

My Experience

Qualifications

2009-2018

2019 - Abertay University and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Dundee, UK

• PhD. Connecting Performance and Play. Establishing Interdisciplinary design methods for the development of games and performance. (Expecting completion January 2019)

2013 - University of Glasgow. College of Arts. School of Culture and Creative Arts. Glasgow, UK

• MLitt Playwriting and Dramaturgy

2011 Babes Bolyai University. Theatre and Television Faculty, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

• MA Theatre and Film Studies

2009 - SNSPA National School of Political and Administrative Sciences, Bucharest, Romania

• BA Communication and PR

Creative Practice

2011-2018

2020            Overeactor, Team Smash it Open and See What's Inside, hybrid video and physical game. Created during GGJ 2020.

2019             House on Fire, Team Smash it Open and See What's Inside, hybrid video and physical game. Created during GGJ 2019.

2018             Generation ZX(X), large scale mixed-reality event, Camperdown Park and JTC Furniture Group, Dundee.
2018             An Alternative Guide to St Andrews, game created during the Literature and Video Games, Beyond Stereotypes                                Game Jam. Leverhulme Trust, University of St Andrews, University of Glasgow, Abertay University.
2018             Tales of Monstrous InTent, Team Smash it Open and See What's Inside, hybrid video and physical game. Created

                    during GGJ 2018.
2017             Ola De La Vida (The Wave of Life), Team Smash it Open and See What's Inside, hybrid video and physical game.

                    Created during Global Game Jam 2017.
2016             Inchcolm Project, large scale mixed-reality event, Inchcolm Island, UK.
2015             Lost in Transition. Summerhall Edinburgh Fringe, Edinburgh, UK.
2014             Lost in Transition. The Arches Live, Glasgow, UK.                                      
2014             HeteROgeny or the Mathematics of Immigration (staged reading). High Tide, London, UK.
2014             Bin Bags and Flip-Flops (staged reading). Newsboy, Tron Theatre, Glasgow, UK.
2013             Shortcuts (staged reading). Ankur Festival, CCA, Glasgow, UK.
2011-2012    TV for Dummies. A Performance for 100 Remote Controls. The National Theatre,       Iasi, Romania.
2011-2012    Zero Db. The Very Little Theatre, Bucharest, Romania.

Research Experience

2015 - 2018

My research interests are centered around the convergence of performance and video games and the creative potential they hold for the development of hybrid forms of storytelling, mixed reality and immersive experiences, play in public spaces and heritage sites. Having a background in contemporary performance practice, dramaturgy and playwriting, my research processes are inherently inter- and cross-disciplinary.

Refereed Publications

2020           Bozdog, M. & Galloway, D. (in press) Performing Walking Sims: from Dear Esther to Inchcolm Project. Journal of Gaming                        and Virtual Worlds.

2019             Bozdog, M., & Galloway, D. (2019). Worlds at our fingertips: reading (in) What Remains of Edith Finch. Games and         

                       Culture. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412019844631

2018             Love, L. and Bozdog, M., A Three Person Poncho and a Set of Maracas: Designing Ola De La Vida, A Co-Located Social                          Play Computer Game, DiGRA 2018 Proceedings.

2017             Bozdog, M. and Galloway, D., Play between worlds: Inchcolm Project. Scottish Journal of Performance, 4(1) September.

2016             Bozdog, M. and Galloway, D., I Cried to Dream Again: Discovery and Meaning-Making in Walking Simulators,

                      DiGRA-FDG 2016 Proceedings.

Refereed Conference, Seminar and Workshop Presentations

2020             Res/Fest (Courtauld and V&A), Dundee, UK

                     Transnational Scotland,  Fisheries Museum, Anstruther, UKK

2019              DEVELOP Research, Brighton, 9 July

                     Wandering Games, Bangor University, 10-12 July

                     Electronic Literature Organization Conference and Media Art Festival, Cork14-17 July

                     IM/Material Network (University of Glasgow, The Royal Society of Edinburgh) Panel: Virtual Encounters with Material Worlds, Abertay University, 13 May

2018             DiGRA Conference 2018, The Game is the Message, 25-28 July, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.

2018             Literature and Video Games, Beyond Stereotypes, 20-21 June, University of St Andrews, Abertay University and the                              University of Glasgow, St Andrews, UK.

2018             Gaming and the Arts of Storytelling Symposium, 9 May, Abertay University Dundee, Dundee, UK.       

2018             Spring into Methods (workshop), Co-Design and Co-Creation Methods. 25-27 April. SGSAH and Abertay University,                              Dundee, UK.

2017             Research in Practice: A Showcase of Creative, Cultural and Social Methodologies, 21 July, The School of Media Culture                      and Society, University of the West of Scotland, Glasgow, UK.

2017             Game Think 2.0 Conference, 3 February, Glasgow University, Glasgow, UK.

2016             Critical Response Process (workshop), Launch of the SGSAH Practice Research Network, 22 November, Hospitalfield,                          Arbroath, UK.

2016             DiGRA/FDG ‘16 First International Joint Conference of DIGRA and FDG, 1 – 6 June, Abertay University Dundee, Dundee, UK.

2016             SGSAH Summer School. Play as a Research Method (workshop), 22 June, Glasgow, UK.

2016             Audience, Experience, Desire: interactivity and participation in contemporary performance & the cultural industries.                          University of Exeter. 29-30 January 2016.