Allison Dobbins
Contact Information
Office: 239 Auditorium Building
Email: dobbinsa@msu.edu
Web: alisondobbins.com
About
Alison Dobbins is an Associate Professor of Integrated Performance Media design at Michigan State University. Her recent work includes projection design for Mitch Albom’s Ernie and Hockey the Musical and JinWen Yu’s March Into Sunlight. Alison is a media designer focused on integrating elements of dance, media, music, theatre and computer science in performance.
She is the project director and creator of Theatre Engine: an interdisciplinary project focused on exploring audience engagement in dance through the use of mobile applications. Collaborators on this project are from MSU College of Engineering & Computer Science, Brigham Young University, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, Colby College, University of Oregon, and St. Olaf College. She is a co-principle investigator on Dancing Computer; an interdisciplinary project focused on developing methods to teach dance and computer literacy to elementary school students. A partnership between the Department of Theatre, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, and the College of Education at Michigan State University. Alison is the creator and project leader for the Media Theatre Performance Laboratory; a community based initiative to establish new methods of understanding, teaching, and developing media/theatre productions. A partnership between Michigan State University and Riverwalk Theatre.
Projects
Interactive Performance Creator/Director
Shark: The Musical
Georgia State University, April 2018
Dance Engine
Dance and the Child International Conference, Adelaide Australia, July 2018
College of Arts & Letters Arts Weekend, Mackinac Island, June 2018
Lansing Public Schools, Lansing, Michigan, March – May 2018
MSU Science Festival, East Lansing, Michigan, April 2018
Theatre Engine
ArtPrize, Grand Rapids, MI, September 2015, 2016, 2017
Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland, August 2015
Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, March 2015
St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, March 2015
Michigan State University, East Lansing, April 2014
Media Design for Theatre
Williamston Theatre
Out of Orbit, Williamston, MI May 2018, winner of the Pulsar Award for Media Design
Flint Youth Theatre – Associate Artist
Assassins, Flint, MI November 2018
The Geranium in the Windowsill Died, but Teacher You Just Went Right On, Flint, MI April 2018
Wrinkle in Time, Flint, MI October 2017
Ernie the Play, LLC
Hockey the Musical, Written and Produced by Mitch Albom, Directed by Peter Albom, 2016 – 2017
Ernie, Written and Produced by Mitch Albom, Directed by Tony Caselli,
City Theatre, Detroit, MI
2011 – 2017 (May – July of each year)
Installations
Cultural Rhetoric Conference, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Ambien Cassandra, October 2014
Michigan State University Museum, East Lansing, MI
MASK: Secrets and Revelations, Interactive Exhibit Creator, May 2011
Public Scholarship in Media/Theatre Design
Theatre Engine, Project Director
An interdisciplinary project focused on exploring audience engagement in performance through the use of mobile applications. Partners from MSU College of Engineering & Computer Science, Brigham Young University, University of Wisconsin – Green Bay, and University of Oregon. Projects under this research include Dance Engine and Shark! The Musical.
Dancing Computer, Project Director
An interdisciplinary project focused on developing methods to teach dance and computer literacy to elementary school students. A partnership between the Department of Theatre, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, and the College of Education at Michigan State University. Installations presented to local elementary schools and at Impression 5, Science Museum, Lansing, MI.
Media Theatre Performance Laboratory, Creator/Project Leader
A community based initiative to establish new methods of understanding, teaching and developing media/theatre productions. A partnership between Michigan State University and Riverwalk Theatre.