Crisis and Creativity in Performing Arts Training

Dr Robert Lewis is a Lecturer in Performing Arts at Charles Sturt University, Australia. He previously lectured in the Theatre Program at the University of Tasmania, Australia, and has also taught at St Martins Youth Theatre, VCA, Collarts, and NIDA Open and Studio programs. He has studied theatre at the University of Tasmania (UTAS), earned a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) at Monash University, Australia, Secondary Education at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and a Graduate Diploma of Dramatic Art (Voice Studies) at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). His PhD, from UTAS, focused on integrative practices and intercultural performance training, and also completed a Certification in Integrative Studies at the One Voice Centre, New York. Robert is also the founder and convenor of the AusAct: Australasian Actor Training Conference.

Dr Soseh Yekanians is a graduate from the Australian Academy of Dramatic Art in Sydney, Australia, and The Atlantic Theater Company Acting School in New York, USA. In 2012, she was awarded an Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship to embark on a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in Perth. She is also a published author in children’s literature, and has authored a monograph titled Finding Identity through Directing. Soseh is currently a Senior Lecturer in Performing Arts and Course Director of the Bachelor of Arts (with specialisations) at Charles Sturt University.