Rebecca Rouse

Rebecca Rouse is an Associate Professor in Media Arts, Aesthetics, and Narration at the School of Informatics, University of Skövde, Sweden. She serves as Co-Director of PlayLab, a high-tech performance space exploring the intersection of games, game technology, and performing arts. Her work bridges academic research with creative practice across multiple domains.

Rouse holds a PhD in Digital Media from Georgia Institute of Technology, an MA in Communication & Culture from York University and Ryerson University (Toronto), and a BA in Theatre Studies and German Studies from Brown University. Her educational background reflects her interdisciplinary approach that combines technical, theoretical, and artistic perspectives.

Her research focuses on theoretical, critical, and design production work with storytelling for new technologies, particularly augmented and mixed reality systems. She designs and develops projects across museums, cultural heritage sites, interactive installations, movable books, and theatrical performance. Her work consistently investigates and invents new modes of storytelling while exploring critical perspectives on technology and design.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on feminist approaches to game design and pedagogy, critical examination of disciplinary formation in games studies, and innovative explorations of materiality in digital contexts. Her work spans multiple publication venues across game studies, media theory, performance studies, and education research, demonstrating remarkable interdisciplinary range.

Rouse actively contributes to the academic community through editorial work, including special issues on doctoral supervision and feminist pedagogies in games. Her PlayLab initiative demonstrates commitment to practical implementation of her research through collaborative projects with researchers, artists, game students, and youths.

Her creative and scholarly output spans artistic production, academic publications, and practical design work, creating a rich ecosystem where theory and practice inform each other. Current projects like PlayLab continue to push boundaries in interactive storytelling and performance technologies.