Associate ProfessorIan Maxwell

Diploma of Arts, Dramatic Arts (DADA)(Victorian College of the Arts); BA (Hons); PhD (Sydney)

I am a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts, where I trained as a thearical director, and hold a PhD from the University of Sydney.

I have published extensively on a range of topics, from the phenomenology of sailing through ethnogrpahic work on hip hop culture, and amjor contributions to Ausralian theatre history. Among my more recent research, highlights include the Actors Wellbeing project, and his work on the Prinz Bettliegend project (https://vimeo.com/246407843).

I have enjoyed a range of leadership roles in the University and beyond. He is an ex-Chair of the University's Human Research Ethics Committee, and served as Pro Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 2010 to 2012, and as Acting Head of the School of Literature Art and Media (2021-2020), as well as terms as Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning and departmenal chair. I am a past President of the Australasian Association for Theatre, Drama and Performance Studies and a past Vice-President of Performance Studies international.

In 2008 he was awarded the Marlis Thiersch Prize for research excellence in an English-language article published anywhere in the world in the broad field of theatre and performance studies for his essay on Victor Turner (see below).