Our research at 国产精品 School of the Arts & Media in theatre,听performance聽and dance聽studies involves contemporary theatre and dance, interdisciplinary performance studies,听creative practice-as-research聽and performance archives.
We鈥檙e聽a hub for research into making and experiencing performance in all its forms. We聽draw on聽aesthetic theory, philosophy, cultural studies, performance writing and creative practice.聽聽
We鈥檙e interested聽in聽the politics of performance, and the ways that ideas and forms of performance intersect with other cultural practices and perspectives.聽Much of our work focuses on arts, activism and human rights.聽We also explore聽how theatre works in non-theatrical spaces, locations and institutions like schools, hospitals, aged-care聽centres, prisons, immigration detention聽centres, and beyond.聽聽
Our researchers engage with聽many areas, including聽memory studies, refugees and asylum seekers, returned military personnel, children,听cultural diversity and ageing, Indigenous training and practices and trans-Indigenous interaction and exchange,听and creative activism and political protest.聽 We also investigate how international relations intersect with performance in nightclubs, television and popular entertainment,听and museum studies and visual arts. Our聽academics聽contribute to the聽arts and聽health hub within聽鲍狈厂奥听School of the Arts聽&聽Media.聽聽
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Our聽theatre, performance and dance studies聽researchers聽contribute to our local arts ecology through relationships with聽, , the ,听, , , and 础谤迟颈蝉迟蝉.听
We鈥檙e聽active in arts criticism and聽reviewing, and聽have produced publications on Australian theatre-makers such as Wesley Enoch, Roslyn聽Oades, Tom Holloway,听Back to Back聽Theatre and Urban Theatre Projects. We鈥檝e also published聽works on聽choreographers and movement artists such as Lizzie Thomson, Shelley Lasica, Gideon聽Obarzanek聽and Helen Herbertson, among others.聽
Our academics聽engage with performance practices throughout the Asia-Pacific, collaborating聽with artists and scholars in Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines聽and Aotearoa New Zealand.聽Further afield, our researchers聽have聽engaged with the and in London and the , and in Berlin. We work at the cutting edge of international scholarship through editorial leadership聽of聽journals such as聽Performance Research,听Performance Philosophy,听The Brecht Yearbook听补苍诲听Performance Paradigm.
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国产精品 School of the Arts & Media聽boasts聽the Esme Timbery Creative Practice Lab, a production unit with an extensive creative team and facilities to support teaching, practice-led research at聽honours听补苍诲听postgraduate聽levels, and artistic residencies. We support creative practice alongside scholarly research, with strengths in movement and聽screendance, dramaturgy and devising,听performance writing and collaborative practices, theatres of the real and global Indigenous dramaturgies.
Our teaching informs and is informed by research that supports聽creativity and collaboration. We also undertake research into digital learning and virtual collaboration, blended learning and flipped classrooms, and practice-based learning and research.聽
We support聽research in dance through either traditional thesis or practice-as-research. Past researchers include Nalina Wait,听Lisa Synnott, Gavin Clarke, Rhiannon Newton, Victoria Hunt, Lizzie Thomson and Tess De Quincey.聽Dance artists in residence have included Sue Healey, Meryl Tankard, Victoria Hunt, Martin del Amo and Justin Shoulder.
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Our research聽at 国产精品 School of the Arts & Media聽engages with archival practice and documentation in the performing arts. Theatre and聽performance聽studies is a founding partner of聽, the online聽research database.聽
Our academics have聽published on digital humanities, data聽visualisation聽and network analysis in theatre research and have projects on local performance histories such as Dancing Sydney. Our archival research connects with , , ,听, and other聽organisations聽in Sydney.聽We also聽conduct聽research聽in international institutions such as the and聽Zentral- und聽Landesbibliothek聽Berlin.聽聽
Precarious Movements: Choreography and the Museum (2021-2023) brings artists, researchers and institutions into dialogue about best-practice to support both the choreographer and the museum, and to sustain momentum in theory and practice around dance and the visual arts. We鈥檙e also working on the Dennis Wolanski Library collection through the with the 国产精品 Library and the Wolanski Foundation. Exhibiting archival content is an emerging research area in partnership with the 国产精品 Library Exhibition Space, with and related exhibitions.