Dr Dan Castro
Job Title
Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Play)
Room number
2.81Building (Address)
OSHResearch interests
Research interests
My research explores play and playfulness in adults, with a particular focus on their impact on creative practice. My PhD thesis redefined the concept of 'plork' - the cultivation of, and conscious engagement with, a playful attitude in service of tangible outputs (e.g. creative work) - arguing that playfulness is something we often taken for granted, but something that requires conscious, personal practice. I have a particular interest in practice-research methodologies, and use auto-ethnographic and arts-based research methods to study and explore the experience of playfulness, as well as using play as a methodology in itself.
I am currently working on the Medicine Without Doctors project, helping to research and design a toolkit that supports playful, interdisciplinary research. This project is funded by the Wellcome Trust.
I am a member of Animation Research Network Scotland, based at the University of Edinburgh, the Society for Animation Studies, and the Playful Learning Association.
Background
I have been a professional designer, animator and educator since 2010, working across a range of commercial industries including advertising and video games. My award-winning animation work (www.castroandfriends.co.uk) has been screened at festival across the globe, and in 2025 I held my first public exhibition Whatever Happens, Happens.
I have an MA in Animation from the Royal College of Art, and in 2025 I earned a PhD in Design from the University of Edinburgh in 2025. My practice-based thesis What the Plork: Playfulness at Work and the Work of Playfulness in Contemporary Independent Animated Film-making generated numerous creative and written outputs, including my research blog www.plork.fun.