ProfessorRea Dennis

Rea is Professor of Theatre & Performance in the School of Communication and Creative Arts. Her research investigates performance dramaturgies as essential for addressing problems of our time. An international expert in improvisation and interdisciplinary practice research her current projects include – embodied experience and performing outdoor, intra-material encounters with nature, and performing practices, interior sensing, and perceptions of interoception. She has been the successful recipient of multiple national and international research grants, and arts grants including, funding in partnership with local councils, NGOs and an ARC LIEF grant for research on in-kind contribution and uncosted labour within performing arts productions.

Rea is a sought-after expert reviewer for the ARC, and European and Asian grant bodies and she serves on the editorial board of Dance and Somatic Practices journal. A leading researcher within her field, she has published a mix of creative books, peer reviewed journal articles and non-traditional research as live performance, mediated and installed works, and socially engaged works. Rea is active in the discipline and the broader arts sector and is former President and board member of the Australasian Association of Drama Theatre and Performance Studies (2017-2023).

Research Interests

Practice led research

Improvisation
Devised Theatre
Embodied forms of knowledge production
Posthuman dramaturgy and nature-centred performance
Acting techniques and self regulation
Hidden costs/labour in performing arts productions

Creative research and ethics

PhD supervisor in the areas of embodied performance, improvisation, Australian theatre, and performance and environment.