Contact details

• Ph: +64 9 414 0800 I Internal ext. 43342
  Location: AT2.62, Atrium.
  Campus: Auckland

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Arts - University of Queensland (1998)
• Master of Arts - La Trobe University (2004)
• Doctor of Philosophy - La Trobe University (2009)

Certifications and Registrations

• Licence, Supervisor, Massey University

Prizes and Awards

• Massey University Strategic Research Excellence Fund (SREF). ‘Precarity, Creative Arts and Well-being. The project explores how participatory arts might enhance aspects of well-being and help ameliorate experiences of precarity. - Massey University (2023)
• Massey University Strategic Research Excellence Fund (SREF). ‘Theatre, Creative Arts & Justice’. Awarded NZD $20,000 to deliver a pilot research project in 2019 exploring the role of theatre and the creative arts in transforming criminal justice systems in Aotearoa and other settler-colonial nations. - Massey University Strategic Research Excellence Fund (SREF). (2020)
• Massey University Research Fund (MURF) Grant. COHSS-13-024, 13-025. Palestinian Theatre: Performance, Conflict, and Peace-Building - College of Humanities and Social Sciences (2014)
• Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) Grant EE#7: Theatre Lab Collaboration: Massive Company Performance Season, Workshops and Forum. - Strategic Innovation Fund (2013)
• Cultural Leadership Development Grant. The grant supported the realisation of The ‘7arakat’|‘Harakat’ Project which seeks to develop a series of theatre and performance related initiatives between Australia and Palestine. - The Theatre Board, Australia Council for the Arts. Australian Government Arts Funding Body (2011)

Research Interests

• Arts and Citizenship
• Arts and Social Justice
• Applied Theatre
• Decolonial Theatre
• Palestinian Theatre
• Prison Theatre
• Refugee Theatre
• Participatory arts and Wellbeing
• Performance as Research and Arts-Based Research Methodologies

Thematics

21st Century Citizenship

Area of Expertise

Field of research codes
Applied Ethics (220100):
Creative Arts, Media and Communication Curriculum and Pedagogy (130201):
Cultural Studies (200200):
Curriculum and Pedagogy (130200):
Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies (190404):
Education (130000):
Human Rights and Justice Issues (220104):
Languages, Communication And Culture (200000):
Performing Arts and Creative Writing (190400):
Philosophy And Religious Studies (220000):
Postcolonial Studies (200211):
Studies In Creative Arts And Writing (190000)

Keywords

Arts and Social Justice

Global Citizenship

Participatory Arts

Refugee Theatre

Completed Projects

Languages

• Arabic
  Last used: 2011
  Spoken ability: Average
  Written ability: Needs work

Teaching Statement

My teaching is informed by a decolonial approach that connects racial and cultural disadvantage to wider historical processes of colonialism. My teaching seeks to enhance forms of collective reflection and action to address cultural exclusion and disadvantage associated with colonial legacies and the privileging of Western epistemologies embedded in curricula and pedagogy. My teaching aims to cultivate a sense of community to address social problems and catalyse change. My knowledge of theatre theory combined with my practical experience as a theatre practitioner and facilitator ensures that I bring a developed awareness of ‘practice’ into the seminar room and of ‘critical thought’ into the studio. My theatre expertise means that I often employ ‘experiential pedagogies’ in my teaching which encourages students to ‘learn by doing’. My teaching approach is also informed by a critical pedagogy following Freire (1970) which is particularly sensitive to relationships of power and knowledge between teacher and student and which highlights a shared responsibility for learning. As a teacher employing critical pedagogies in drama-based instruction I always try to encourage students to be co-constructors of knowledge and allow for a variety of viewpoints and engagements by creating a safe environment. Since joining Massey University in 2013, I have developed and coordinated several courses. I was previously appointed as the Course Coordinator to help design and deliver the 2nd year Bachelor of Arts (BA) core citizenship course 230.210 Tu Rangaranga: Global Encounters.

Graduate Supervision Statement

I am committed to collaborative working methods and to providing opportunities for graduate students to enhance their research skills and expertise. My research interests lie in Applied Theatre and in theatre that intersects with issues of social justice. I am interested in the role of theatre and creativity in engaging with issues of human rights, citizenship, and justice. I am interested in supervising scholarly theses and PhDs with Creative Practice that employ Performance as Research methodologies. 

Current Doctoral Supervision

Main Supervisor of:

• Tingyu Liu - Doctor of Philosophy
  How to effectively re-enact performance archives in the museum

Completed Doctoral Supervision

Co-supervisor of:

• 2022 - Ammar Sultan Abdullah Al-Maani - Doctor of Philosophy
  “Inbetweeners": Dialogic Strategies and Practices for Writing Arab Migration Through Intercultural Theatre"

Media

• 29 Jun 2017 - Online
  Theatre workshop “outside the box” for prisoners
  A media story published on the Massey University website about the David Diamond workshops and performances offered to inmates at Paremoremo prison through a partnership between Massey and Auckland Pr
• 25 Jul 2013 - Newspaper
  Tales of Iran to be Highlighted, North Shore Timte
  Iranian folktales given new life at Massey University's Theatre Lab in Albany
• 23 Apr 2015 - Newspaper
  Comedians Adrienne Truscott and the Naked Magician
  A newspaper article comparing and exploring the political efficacy of nudity as part of recent comedy shows.
• 19 Mar 2013 - Newspaper
  'Theatre a shared space', North Shore Times
  Creative minds from diverse multicultural backgrounds are encouraged to come together once the new community theatre at Massey University’s Albany campus is complete.
• 17 Aug 2014 - Television
  University play aims to combat workplace bullying
  Along with the university's theatre students, they're devising a play with bullying scenarios to then take into workplaces.
• view more...
• 16 Sep 2013 - Radio
  Drama in Dramatic Places: Interview RNZ 'Nights'
  An interview with Bryan Crump on Radio New Zealand National's 'Nights' programme broadcast live on Monday 16 September. The importance of theatre for refugees and asylum seekers is demonstrated by Han
• 16 Jun 2015 - Newspaper
  Paper Puts Dementia On Stage
  Featured as part of a newspaper story covering the delivery of the course ‘139.333 Creativity in the Community’ and the partnership with Aria Gardens aged-care facility. The course encourages students
• 15 Dec 2017 - Online
  Greek Tragedy Performed with Puppets at Prison
  A media story about the production of Puppet Antigone by inmates of Auckland Prison at Paremoremo, partly funded by the Auckland Council’s Creative Communities Scheme (CCS). The production was staged
• 14 Aug 2014 - Newspaper
  Drama places work bullying in the spotlight
  Expressive arts students work with Theatre Lecturer Rand Hazou and Management Lecturer Margot Edwards
• 07 Jul 2015 - Television
  New Dementia Research Focuses on Art
  Featured as part of a newspaper story covering the delivery of the course ‘139.333 Creativity in the Community’ and the partnership with Aria Gardens aged-care facility. The course encourages students
• view less...

Other Links

• LinkedIn Profile
• Academia.edu Profile
• The 7arakat Conference E-Proceedings