WHO I AM
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I'm Mel Frances, a game designer, digital storyteller and creative mathematician. I make interactive experiences - books, performances and games - that travel to unknown places, speculative futures and alternative realities. My work is for people who like adventures, probing rules, and finding hidden possibilities.
I am Joint Artistic Director of Produced Moon: a digital, interactive arts organisation based in Scotland. We create mixed reality experiences, live performance and participatory projects. Produced Moon are Associate Artists at Platform Glasgow. We've been mentored by Punchdrunk, Gob Squad and Coney.
Most recently, I created branch with Modern Art Oxford in my role as Creative Associate (Digital). branch was a digital, participatory artwork where everyone was invited to take part. Fusing game design, interactive storytelling, speculative fiction and citizen science, branch invited audiences to explore what might come next. You can still come explore what's possible.
I'm proudly part of Coney's Guild.
Photo by Willy Corner
WHAT I DO
RECENT PROJECTS
ARTWORKS COLLABORATIONS
Modern Art Oxford
An immersive forest of stories exploring possible futures, alternative worlds and the question 'what if?'. branch was live on the Modern Art Oxford website between 10 Feb and 13 March 2022.
Guild Member
Melanie has worked artistically on a variety of projects for Coney since 2017 as a writer, game designer, artist and facilitator.
donut/moneY
(in development)
Commissioned by the Place, Bedford
An escape-room style experience inspired by Kate Raworth's model of the doughnut economy.
Innovating knowledge exchange
Student Involvement in Delivering Better Patient Experience in the NHS
Digital Theatre Consultant
A collection of digital creative projects for older adults living with Dementia, delivered jointly by practitioners from the Dementia Care Team within Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and RCSSD, and led by Dr Nicola Abraham and Consultant Nurse Jo James.
seer
(IN DEVELOPMENT)
Paper Nations - Beyond the Book
A digital novella investigating the limits of perception, perspective and how we act when truth is unclear. Commissioned as part of the Beyond the Book project, exploring new models of storytelling for the smartphone.
Co-Author
The first in a series of 'escape books' for Ammonite Press, all set in the world of Sherlock Holmes and co-written with Charles Phillips.
KEEP A LIGHT ON FOR THOSE WHO ARE LOST
BUSH THEATRE neighbourhood company
Digital Artist
I worked as digital artist on 'Keep a Light on For Those Who Are Lost' with the Bush Theatre's Neighbourhood Company. I created a digital experience to compliment a physical installation and audio play. The play was written by Titas Halder and Lead Artist was Abigail Graham.
Imitating the Dog, New Adventures in Performance - Artist
I created issue 5 of Imitating the Dog's 'New Adventures in Performance' in which I explored making work at the digital / physical boundary.
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Visiting Lecturer and Digital Consultant
with the Applied Theatre team working to explore and promote best practice in digital interactivity in applied theatre projects.
Alternarration - Peshkar
Digital artwork exploring the tension between knowledge and fear. IMPRINT was commissioned as part of Alternarration which approached the sensitive issue of youth radicalisation with partners in Belgium and Macedonia on a project funded through the Erasmus+ programme.
The Ex-Boyfriend Yard Sale
by Haley McGee
Mathematics collaborator
The Ex-Boyfriend Yard Sale premiered in London at Camden People's Theatre in Nov 2018. This autobiographical work offers eight items “for sale” – all gifts from Haley’s exes – and introduces a brand new formula, developed with math expert Melanie Frances, to calculate the cost of love.
Artist - Heather Barnett's
Crowd Control Festival
Crowd Control explored the mechanisms of collective behaviour through observation, simulation and experimentation. Connecting visual, digital and performance art practices with contemporary scientific research, law and urban design.
Assistant Director - Tortoise in a Nutshell
A brand new piece of exciting, innovative visual theatre co-produced with Figurteatret i Nordland (Nordland Visual Theatre) and in association with Macrobert Arts Centre. I was funded to undertake this role by the Federation of Scottish Theatre.
Photo by Oscar Estrela-Schøtt on Unsplash
Melanie is the Co-Artistic Director of interactive, digital theatre company Produced Moon.
Melanie has co-created all of Produced Moon’s projects, including two sell-out Edinburgh Fringe runs.
Produced Moon are Associate Artists at Platform Glasgow, and were 2019 Accelerator Artists with Boundless Theatre.
CONTACT
If you'd like to get in touch for any reason please email