Noah Dunbar (BA Performance & Creative Enterprise)

Biography

Situationist Multimedia, Perfomer

Noah J Dunbar is a Situationist multimedia artist and performer, working in comedy, music, film, and game design.

He is currently researching the parallels between Performance and Play, starting a masters in Theatre and Video Games at Goldsmiths.

How do you would describe your practice?

The pursuit of shocking and exposing audiences to radical truths while using entertainment as both vehicle and soothing balm. And with video games specifically to create digital narrative spaces that facilitate players personal, ethical, ideological and political development. All in the name of Equity, Liberty and Fraternity.

What’s one thing that your PACE training has taught you? 

To make work without the spectre of self-doubt and at all costs trust yourself and your process.

What’s one project that has shaped your development? 

The ‘Commission’ module project was a crucible wherein I pushed my body to its limit, while everything that could go wrong did go wrong and yet my work lived up to my ambitions; being entertaining, educational and it validated my theories of the use of game design techniques in theatrical settings. It taught me to trust myself and to be selective in the critical voices I listen to.

How do you think PACE has prepared you for industry? 

I think PACE has prepared us for the professional industry more than any other performance or art course currently available. It has taught us to be able to wear multiple different creative hats, to be our own manager, how to functionally collaborate produce our own work and ethically engage in socially engaged practice.

How would you define the training on PACE? 

Performance art practice, theory behind performance and production, how to devise, construct, fund and produce our own projects. Those are the 3 key tenants of PACE in my opinion.

Is there a particular project or tutor that has inspired you? 

Rick Holland and Justin O'Shaughnessy. Rick has been a sage and mentor to me, endlessly encouraging and validating my sometimes overly ambitious projects, pushing me to push for my ideals and dreams. He's essentially acted as the de facto leader of PACE and has thus had to play dual role of group councillor and icon of the ideals the course represents, and he expertly embodied and acted out both. A master facilitator.

Justin is a firebrand cultural and socio-economic critic who's lessons and conversations have pushed and inspired my own intellectual and political development. His incisive critique also carries over to his role as an expert producer, who is able to drill down a creative concept till it's distilled so that it can be reconstructed while taking in a cultural context. Also Justin's push for pragmatism in art production has pushed me to match my ambitions with what I can physically do and I will carry on this technique of distillation throughout the rest of my career. Both have established the stakes and potential of making art in this industry and world and it's pushed me to think more collaboratively than ever before. Endless love and massive respect to two bald kings.

What are your ambitions for when you graduate and leave at Guildhall?

I'm going to be doing a MA at Goldsmiths in Independent Games and Playable Experience Design, where I'll be able to take all I have learnt in terms of production techniques, performance theory and workshop design and apply it to video game design. Aside from that, I intend on forming a collective/cooperative, releasing an album with my band and editing and releasing my comedy performances and sketches from PACE. Beyond 2020, I'm not certain, but with the tools I've acquired and the community I've surrounded myself with, I have faith I'll keep making cool stuff.

Visit Noah Dunbar's website