Portfolio Category: RESEARCH

🇳🇱 In early 2025, I had the opportunity to conduct an artistic research project in Berlin, exploring the role of digital technologies in contemporary German theatre. Supported by Culture Moves Europe and in collaboration with the Ernst Busch University of Theatre Arts, I attended 33 performances across 8 theatres and spoke with 16 theatre makers—ranging from Ernst Busch…

Elsbeth wrote the essay “A robot in its natural habitat: The performativity of a believable robot character.” (2023) during her master’s programme. In this essay, she argued why the concept of performativityis essential to consider when designing a believable robot character. To support this argument, she analysed two case studies in completely different contexts. The…

“If you ask me, the application of smell should at least put a smile on people’s faces, just like the thought of a smelly robot.”   Elsbeth wrote the essay “Imagining the power of a smelly robot” (2023) during her master’s programme, inspired by a Meet the Makers session hosted by Utrecht University. In this session,…

Elsbeth wrote her master’s thesis, “Embodied Empathy Explored: Unravelling Our Perception of Robots” (2023), as part of the Contemporary Theatre, Dance and Dramaturgy programme at Utrecht University. This research lay at the intersection of performance and robotics. She investigated how dramaturgical insights from performance might be relevant to the field of robotics, analysing two robots:…

Elsbeth wrote the study “Am I my data?” (2022) during her pre-master’s programme at Utrecht University, building on the themes of her bachelor’s thesis. In this research, Elsbeth analysed the performance #2 BIAS (2021) by the theatre collective playField. Central to her study was the way algorithms, due to the subjective nature of data, can produce perceptual…

Onbezonnen: An exploration of the outdated nature of our brains.   “We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.” Elsbeth wrote the bachelor’s thesis, “Onbezonnen” (2021), at ArtEZ University of the Arts. This research focused on the influence of social media algorithms on the human brain and examined their impact. It advocated for…