I am a creative arts researcher. My practice lies between performance, audio-based artwork, and theatre. My work is motivated by a desire to experiment with different modes of participatory encounter, bringing audience members together in order to understand and ask larger questions related to what it means to be human from different political and ethical perspectives.

From my piece entitled ‘Tortilla or No Tortilla’ (2012) in which the audience had to collaboratively cook a Spanish tortilla in 12 minutes, to ‘Five Minutes of Fame’ in which I took to the streets to sing karaoke until I lost my voice, my work continually looks for interesting and unusual formats from which to ask, what does it mean to be together?

Other previous projects have included ‘Ancestral Archive: A potted family history’, an audio-based performance exploring genealogy and the transference of physiognomic traits. More recently for Aberystwyth Arts Centre and Green Man Festival I created and performed ‘Listening to Water’, a performance based on a collaborative investigation into ancient water sources and sites in and around Ceredigion and Powys. My work often combines personal anecdotes and interests with intellectual insights and unusual objects.

I am currently completing a fully funded practice-based PhD at Aberystwyth University investigating listening, the voice, and speech as theatrical modes of being. I hold a Masters in Performance (2007) and a Degree (2004, with hons) in English Literature & Drama both awarded by Queen Mary University of London. I also hold a second Masters in Performing Arts and Visual Culture awarded by the University of Alcalá de Henares.

My work has been shown in the UK, Germany and Spain in festivals and conferences including Performance Studies International, The Reina Sofia Museum (Madrid, Spain), Arena Festival (Nuremberg, Germany), The Arts Depot (London, UK), The Basement (Brighton, UK) and Arnolfini (Bristol, UK). My research has also been disseminated in a peer reviewed online journal.

I am associate artist at Aberystwyth Arts Centre and member of the Yr Odyn Cohort based at Volcano Theatre in Swansea. Check out my profile here http://www.volcanotheatre.co.uk/919/artists/rebecca-louise-collins.html#/image.php?id=671

I am also a member of ARTEA, a creative arts research collective based in Madrid, Spain see http://arte-a.org/node/1019

Follow me on Twitter @CollinsRebeccaL