Dr. Vanessa Pope, postdoctoral research associate in the ERC COSMOS proejct, will give the next Computational Humanities Seminar at the Department of Digital Humanities of King’s College London on 1 October 2025 at 17:00 BST.
The event is hybrid; to receive the link to join remotely or the details of the location of the seminar roughly one week before the event, register at https://forms.office.com/e/g2U5qErgEw by 24 September 2025.
Timing Structures in Live Comedy: A matched-sequence approach to mapping performance dynamics
Abstract: Live performance is a ubiquitous cultural and social behaviour that has not yet benefited from systematic scientific study. We present a computational methodology that visualises and describes timing structures in live performance, showcasing their engineering. This novel analysis framework, Topology Analysis of Matching Sequences (TAMS), automatically detects matching sequences and maps their timing. Locating material that is repeated across performances reveals the skill behind apparently effortless communication between performer and audience. Applying TAMS to two stand-up comedy tours uncovered structural features at the macro- and micro-levels, including consistently-placed novel material at the beginning of shows and sections dedicated to tightly-timed repeated material. TAMS also provides a new frame of reference for examining audience-performer dynamics through speech micro-timing and laughter. TAMS can be applied to other forms of repeated speech, such as political stump speeches, as well as extended to other types of performance, such as dance.
Biosketch: A theatre director now researching cultural analytics and physiology, Dr Vanessa Pope has 12 years’ experience developing interdisciplinary projects across technology, computation and the performing arts. Dr Pope has overseen technology research at BBC R&D, mentored developers in collaboration with Snap Inc and directed shows at the Barbican and Bush Theatre. Dr Pope holds a PhD in Media & Arts Technology from Queen Mary University of London, an MA in Theatre Direction from the University of East Anglia, and a BSc in Psychology from McGill University. She is fluent in English, French and Turkish.
Event page: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/events/timing-structures-in-live-comedy-a-matched-sequence-approach-to-mapping-performance-dynamics
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