Theatre

Your community, your University

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Sunday Times and Times University Guide 2014

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Welcome

Welcome to the ShowRoom,home of the Department ofTheatre and one of thecountry's best environments formaking new and original theatre.

I've been working here since 2004: previously,I taught in a range of universities, dramaschools and specialist arts colleges and I feelthat Chichester brings together the best ofthese types of education in a unique anddynamic context. Central to our ethos is thenotion of accessible, artist-led and innovativenew theatre.

We feel that our university should be a placefor experimentation, driven by the identitiesand interests of the students, staff andassociates that we attract. Our theatre, theShowRoom, provides a place to explore andto share and has been responsible forproducing some of the best student andprofessional work in recent years.

We work extremely closely with a wholerange of professional artists and organisations,who provide hands-on knowledge, advice andsupport for students. In short, we see ourstudents as the future of British theatre andwe are dedicated to supporting them indeveloping relevant and exciting careers in thearts.

If you are excited by new artistic ideas, havean ambition to develop your own work andwant to spend three years creating countlesspieces of theatre, while developing aprofessional career profile, then we might befor you. Come and join us!

Dr Ben Francombe,Head of Theatre.

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The ShowRoomThe ShowRoom is our maintheatre: a large, technically-advanced, theatre space, whichhosts the majority of studentwork.

The ShowRoom is highly adaptable, withretractable seating, making it an excellentteaching and workshop space in addition toits role as a venue. It is run by our TheatreManager and Department Technician, whoworks closely with you to realise creativeand adventurous ideas. For several years, theShowRoom has also been a professionalregional touring venue, supported by theArts Council and recognised nationally as aplace for radical and challengingcontemporary theatre and dance.

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In recent years we have supported andprogrammed some of the most importantcontemporary dance and theatre artists,including B Group, Station House Opera,Ridiculusmus, Cupola Bobber, Stan's Cafe,1927, Analogue, Stacy Makishi, Little Bulb,Action Hero, Unlimited Theatre and Made inChina. Many of these artists are associatesof the Department and work as mentors forour students.

Alongside the ShowRoom, we haveexcellent facilities for making theatre,including two large rehearsal/workshop

studios, several dance studios and twodedicated production/rehearsal rooms.

We also have cutting edge recording andvideo-editing facilities and access to theUniversity's media-suites. More importantthan the actual facilities is the lay-out of thebuilding, which has a large 'break-out' area,where, on an average working day, studentsfrom all years and courses - as well as staffand visiting artists - can be found practicing,writing, building and discussing all aspects oftheatre-making; it really is a vibrant andexciting working community!

Theatre(BA Hons)

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BA(Hons) Theatre is the leadingundergraduate programme forengaged and practical theatre-making in a university context.

You will be able to create a huge amount oftheatre pieces in a wide variety of contexts.Almost all of these plays and performanceswill be rooted in original ideas that havebeen decided by you and your fellowstudents, emerging from exciting debatesand interactions that form the basis of ourworkshop teaching.

You will present your work in theShowRoom, our professional theatre, and inother highly-specialised spaces, using high-quality production resources and equipment.The ShowRoom forms the hub of a vibrantcommunity of artists – student, staff andprofessional associates – who share ideas,mentor one another, and contribute to whatis one of the most vibrant creativeenvironments for theatre making in thecountry.

Over the last five years, the BA programmehas the most consistent overall studentsatisfaction of any drama programme in thecountry. Dedicated teaching staff andcommitted students make learning atChichester an excellent environment forexperimentation and personal development.If you see yourself creating original theatre,in a wide variety of contexts, as a dynamicand empowering starting point for a careerin theatre then you may be for us!

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What makes us different?• The sheer range, quality and quantity of

performances our students produce:every year well over 200 original theatrepieces are made.

• Our staff include internationally-renowned artists, directors andresearchers, well known for theirpractical and theoretical expertise. Ourpastoral care is exceptional and as aresult we have one of the best retentionrates in the country.

• Our extensive links with a wide range ofprofessional artists who teach, direct,mentor and support our activities.Conversely, we support those artists,making for a vibrant creative exchange.

• Our professional developmentprogramme, with a range of formalinternships with our professional partnerorganisations, which ensures ourgraduates are well-prepared for careersin the cultural industries.

• Excellent facilities: the ShowRoom is atthe heart of a large suite of studios,rehearsal rooms and editing andrecording facilities.

• The ShowRoom brings the very best ofinternational contemporary dance andtheatre to the campus to help inspire andinform student work.

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The programme in detail

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The programme is committedto working closely with industrypartners to ensure a vibrant andrelevant training for the theatreof tomorrow.

Almost all activity is practical, although thereare extensive opportunities to test practiceagainst challenging critical and culturaltheories, and is based on individual studentneed. We value the development ofrelevant performance skills in relation todiverse production and performanceopportunities, with a constant cycle ofpractical projects, in all years of theprogramme.

You are encouraged to think of your ownfuture in relation to the future of theatre.Your own new work will be stimulated andinformed by a continuous programme ofprofessional performances from a widerange of international artists, many of whomsupport the work of the departmentthrough teaching and mentoring.

In addition to its links with individual artists,we have partnerships with leading theatresand producing organisations, both regionallyand nationally and these provide internshipand work placement opportunities designedto facilitate your transition from student toemergent theatre professional.

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There are four strands of module, shapingyour experience throughout the three yearsof the programme:

Skills DevelopmentYou will receive skills training to developyour voice, movement and compositionalskills enabling you to help build yourtechnical abilities as a performer and maker.

Projects and Productions These projects sit at the heart of theprogramme. Specialist performance projectswill inspire and challenge you towardsmaking innovative theatre. You will havethree major production opportunities, twoin the second year and one in the third year.

Critical and Cultural Studies Alongside typical studies of theatre historyand theory, you will learn about philosophy,sociology, psychology and critical and culturalissues and matters.

Professional Development These modules provide insight into theprofessional sector; preparing you for acareer in theatre and the wider artsindustries.

These strands are explored in more detailacross the following pages.

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Skills Development

We believe that thedevelopment of a range ofspecific performance-based skillsis essential to our students: newand challenging creative ideasdeserve to be shown to a high-quality professional-performance standard and youwill have the opportunity todevelop your own technique ina range of contexts throughyear one and two of theprogramme.

Movement and VoiceIn the first year, you will get weekly classes inMovement and in Voice. Movement classesempower you to extend your own physicalvocabulary and generate innovativeapproaches to how you use your body inperformance. Voice classes encourage youto access your own distinctive voice asperformer-makers: what do you want tosay? How best to say it? Crucial to ourapproach is the notion of individuality andnatural progression: you are encouraged todevelop your own strategy for, and specificunderstanding of, your ‘instrument’ (bodyand voice): this is informed by your ownideas that emerge from your accompanyingproject modules.

Friday ForumAs part of the skills programme, the wholeof the first year comes together in a practicalforum, each Friday. This is a chance to workon micro-projects, removed from yourcurrent production and project work, whichhelps to apply and develop your technique inan intensive devising period. Shortperformances are shared at the end of thesession and your fellow students areencouraged to offer you feedback. Thewhole day is designed to celebrate differentideas and allows you to find a voice andshare your views in a positive, yet challengingmanner.

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Directing ExercisesThe skills programme also gives you theopportunity to take part in up to three newplays a year, directed by third years as partof their final-year assessments. These takeplace throughout the year and are anextremely popular contributor to thedynamic community that helps define thespecial nature of Theatre at Chichester.

Creative Writing and Scene StudyIn the second year, skills development isdesigned as a more intensive process andfocused on the needs of the two keyproduction exercises that help define thesecond-year experience. In the firstsemester, you will work to develop yourcreative-writing skills, in the context ofduologue, character and scene study and thissupports the first production at the end ofDecember.

Non-PerformanceIn the second semester, you develop yourskills in what we term non-performancewhere ideas on movement and on voicestart to blur, new technologies and recordedmedia are experimented with and interactiveconnections are made with audiences. Theseare put to the test in the second production,which has a distinctive experimental feel toit.

Sound, Light and New TechnologiesThrough all three years, you will workclosely with our technical and theatremanagement team in developing yourunderstanding and hands-on experience withsound, light and digital media. While thereare specialist modules for those interested innew technologies, we believe all Theatrestudents need to understand how to ‘frame’their work in high-quality technical contexts.

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I found the undergraduate degree atChichester to be hugely valuable interms of the work I am doing now. Iam a semi-freelance workshop leader,teaching drama and music theatre toyoung disabled people. The AppliedTheatre module from my universitycourse, as well as Theatre inEducation prepared me for workingwith such specialist groups.

Being on the Theatre course atChichester gave me the drive to makeinclusive, innovative work of thehighest quality, and the theoreticalknowledge to go with it!

Rachel Peck (Workshop Leader)graduated 2010

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Performance projects

From the moment you join usyou will be devising work to bepresented in the ShowRoom.We believe that all our workshould be tested inperformance conditions and weencourage you to celebrate thisby presenting work of alldifferent shapes and sizes

Crucial to our approach is to encourageprofessional standards from the start of theprogramme, no matter how big or small theevent might be. Indeed, we want todiscourage you from thinking that the ‘bigschool play’ is necessarily the best way toshow your work, at least in your first year,and that getting a large number of smallerperformance events under your belt helps toextend your understanding of the diversenature of theatre.

In the first year, you will take part in fourcore projects:

Narrative TheatreGroup-devised, physical storytelling.

Physical and Visual PerformanceIdeas-driven, visual theatre; finding thedynamic communication in theatre beyondwords.

Text and DeconstructionLooking at established plays, pulling themapart and then putting them back together(often in a different order and with adifferent meaning).

Cultural IdentityTheatre and place. We send you out ingroups to explore and discover a particularcommunity; you return and make work thatreflects that experience.

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In the second year, you have a choice ofprojects in both semesters one and two.These projects are designed to develop yourunderstanding of a particular genre oftheatre-making or develop more advancedunderstanding of how contemporary ideasof theatre are represented in particularcontexts. The modules might include:

Performance and the BodyExploring the dynamics and ethics ofphysical-based performance and anintroduction to solo performance.

Theatre and InterventionYoung people’s theatre, allowing you thechance to make theatre for a school’saudience.

Visual and Technical PerformanceIntroducing you to the ideas of performanceand installations and developing yourunderstanding of digital technology inperformance.

Clown, Comedy and MaskA skills-based performance course, which ischallenging, provocative and, on occasions,funny.

Site-specific PerformanceGiving you a chance to interact withparticular non-theatre spaces.

Performance and InteractivityYour chance to examine how we activelyengage with audiences in all sorts oftheatrical contexts, and introduce you toideas like one-on-one performance.

In the final year, you get the chance tobuild up a ‘portfolio’ of your own originalwork: the project modules are ofstraightforward design leaving your creativepossibilities and ambitions wide open. Youmight build up your portfolio through:

Solo PerformanceA hugely popular chance to represent yourown identity in a large-scale context.

Adaptation and DirectionYour chance to devise and direct a play withfirst and second year students as your cast.

Workshop ProjectA research project, where you developtheoretical ideas through workshop; leadingtowards a piece of experimentalperformance.

Performance WritingA writing course, leading to workshopperformances and rehearsed readings.

Inter-media ProjectAn advanced exploration of technology andhow live performance might work alongsiderecorded and digital media.

Documenting PerformanceAn essential skill for all professional theatremakers: how we articulate and representour ‘ephemeral’ art for the benefit ofstudents, critics and funders.

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Critical and Cultural Studies

We believe that the distinctionso often made in the teaching oftheatre, between practical workand theory, is a false distinction:as university students you will bethe future of theatre and, inorder to shape the way we usetheatre in the years to come,you will need to think about abroad range of critical andcultural ideas that can informyour own sense of identity inthe making of original work.

You will be introduced, not only to a seriesof cultural movements from the past twohundred years, but to a series of practicaland applied methods of using cultural ideasin the shaping of creative work of the future.

Our first module in this ‘strand’ is Theory-Lite, a playful title for a playful introductionto theoretical ways of seeing art. You willattend lectures on a range of importantcritical agendas and cultural artworks (notjust drama). You will be a member of a smallseminar group, led by a tutor, designed toallow you to challenge and question theseideas and artworks. Most importantly, youwill engage in a series of tasks andinteractivities with fellow students that worktowards progressing your ideas in relation toothers.

You then move on to Modernism, a moduledesigned to introduce ideas and art worksthat are shaped and defined by a particularhistorical movement that took place at theturn of the 19th and 20th centuries. You willadopt a similar learning approach of lectures,discussions and practical and reading tasks,but, this time, you are encouraged to focuson particular works and to explore theconnections in a range of challenging andrevolutionary ideas. Some are quite startlingand shocking, but, at the same time,prophetic and important in ourcontemporary world.

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Consequently, it encourages you to considerthe ever-present idea of the ‘shock of thenew’ that is a vibrant and provocative part ofunderstanding any original art.

In your second year you look at two coremovements: Romanticism andPostmodernism. Romanticism exploresthe importance of landscape and narrativeas emergent forces in the making of art andculture. The module aims to explore someof the great core subjects that can stillinform why we want to make art:wilderness, fantasy, nationalism, heroism,ideas that still resonate in the world today.

Postmodernism explores how manycritical ideas have been blurred andchallenged in contemporary artistic contexts,and will encourage you to consider culturalideas through such postmodern practices asintertextuality, metafiction, challengingsubjectivity and the merging of ‘high’ and‘low’ art.

All these critical and cultural modules aredesigned to prepare you for your third yearprojects: both the main written PersonalStudy and the wide range of practicalexercises, when your contemporary ideascan be stimulated by the huge range ofcultural practices you have explored duringthe first two years.

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Full-Scale Productions

Alongside major projectpresentations, you will take partin three public productions: twoin your second year and one inyour final year.

Productions are not necessarily moreimportant than other project module shows,but they are extremely exciting because theygive you the opportunity to create a large-scale original piece of work under full-production conditions, with budgets (whichyou, as students, control) and extensivetechnical support.

In the second year, you will work inprescribed groups of between 10 and 15,with a director, either a staff colleague or avisiting professional, who will guide youthrough the process, without imposing toomany ideas on the work.

One set of second-year shows occur inDecember and follow on from skills work innarrative and character development. Theseshows are a chance to explore narrativestructures in advance form. The other set ofsecond-year shows happen at the end of thesecond semester and are more experimentalin form.

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Both exercises give you a chance to applyskills and ideas developed elsewhere on thecourse, but these second-year productionsalso pave the way for your final-yearproduction, which is a far more independentexercise.

In the third year you work in realisticprofessional contexts, joining forces withstudents who share your ideas and visionsfor future creative work.The staff/team will support you but you areexpected to drive the whole projectyourselves. The exercise can serve as atremendous, high-profile, culmination ofyour three-year experience, but it can alsoserve as a spring board to professional work.A number of final-year productions havebeen taken to external contexts, normallythe Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as an excitingfirst challenge in defining creative careers.

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Careers and professionaldevelopment

The close relationship theDepartment of Theatre haswith artists and artsorganisations, means that, fromthe moment you walk into theDepartment, you are thinkingabout careers and future jobs.

Almost all our modules have specificprofessional contexts, designed to keep theprogramme vocationally relevant. Severaltimes a semester we organise vocationaltalks from diverse individuals working in thearts, giving you living case-studies for careerprogression. In your third year, all studentsmust take a professional developmentmodule in semester two. These modules aredesigned to edge you towards leaving theprogramme and entering the professionalworkplace, in the most positive andproactive manner.

There are three professional developmentmodules to choose from:

Company ManagementDesigned to give you as much understandingof freelance professional development as wecan – perfect for those wanting to work asindependent artists or form theatrecompanies.

Applied ArtsDesigned for those wanting to develop theirown specific creative product that can be‘sold’ to a particular client group: communitygroups; schools; the probation service;special needs groups; charitableorganisations. Perfect for those withinterests in how the arts work in thecommunity.

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“My internship with the Total TheatreAwards at the Edinburgh Fringe Festivalwas the most challenging and rewardingexperience I've ever had! Working withsuch strong and incredible women wasinvaluable, and it's helped me understandwhat I want to do in the future.”

Abi Funnellgraduated 2013

Work PlacementDesigned for those wanting to work withinan established organisation or professionalcontext. Every year students go to workin/for the technical, marketing, or outreachdepartments of our local theatres in artcentres and other venues, theatrecompanies, independent producers,schools/colleges and various other relatedcontexts.

University of Chichester, Department of Theatre Internship SchemeIn addition to professional developmentwithin the programme, each year, we jointogether with a range of our professionalpartner organisations, to provide a number(normally up to ten) of professionalinternships for our graduates. We provideshort-term (ten-week) paid internships thatcan provide serious experience and all-important professional contacts for suitablegraduates. These internships tend to beproject based, leading towards a tangibleend-point and have a direct artistic flavour.We normally link with theatre companiesand producing organisations rather than, forexample, schools. These internships arecompetitive and, if you are interested, youwill be required to put in a properapplication and CV. Support for applicationsand CVs, both for our internships and otheremployment opportunities, can be found atour excellent Career Services.

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We understand the importanceof ensuring that you’ve theknowledge, skills and experienceto compete successfully intoday’s challenging jobs market.

In addition to the work placements andsector-specific employability and enterprisemodules that many of you’ll have embeddedin your course, we’ve developed a studentand graduate internship scheme.

Our commitment is to make sure thatstudents and graduates from all disciplinesthat register on the programme, andsuccessfully complete the necessarypreparation, have the opportunity to applyfor carefully matched internships.

Our students have gone on to work ortraining in a variety industries.

The areas our graduates have progressedinto include:

• Entertainer• Drama Leader• Community Support Work• Performer• Account Manager• Diploma for Children and Young People's

workforce• Advanced Professional Training in

Performance for TV and Film• Professional Acting Diploma and Stage

Combat Diploma• PGCE Primary and Secondary• MA Performance (Theatre Collectives)• MA Performance (Theatre)

What makes us different...our commitment to youremployability

“I’m now working with the ’New Writing’touring company Paines Plough as Producer.My role is really varied, with a balance ofsitting at my desk doing budgets, contracts,tour booking, marketing and funding reports,as well as going out on the road to buildrelationships and develop audiences. There are also creative elements to my job such ascasting, chairing creative chats, supportingprogramming, reading unsolicited scripts andattending play readings, and I see as muchtheatre as I can.

Hannah Streeter, Producer, graduated 2007

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Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey*

* 92.5% of our students who graduated in 2012, after studying with us full time for theirfirst degree, were in full-time employment or undertaking postgraduate studies.

MA Performance (Theatre)(Theatre Collectives)

Our postgraduate degree istailored to consolidate existingpractice for theatre artists at allstages of development.

We provide an unparalleled opportunity foremergent and established theatre groups(and individuals) who want time and spaceto make high-quality theatre work andestablish or refine their professional identity.

Our MA remains open to groupapplications, but also to individualacademic/artists who want to progress theirprofessional development within a leadingacademic community that is dedicated toartist support and development.

Key features include:• A range of internships available• A supportive creative environment in

which your own creative practice canthrive

• Flexible delivery, ideal for distance learningand international students

• Rehearsal and administrative space andaccess to leading theatre technologies

• A programme of external mentoring, withkey international theatre artists

• Postgraduate-level academic development• Opportunity to participate and work at

research laboratory events and as part ofthe ShowRoom’s Formations programme.

• Marketing support for future projects andongoing membership of the University’sGraduating Artists Scheme

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We will give you the space, time andfacilities, coupled with the critical, practicaland business knowledge essential for successin the highly competitive, rapidly evolvingfield of 21st Century theatre. You willprovide the creative energy, practicalapplication and determination necessary tocontinue evolving throughout the degree andpost-graduation.

“The Performance (Theatre) (TheatreCollectives) MA programme has reallyhelped me develop myself as an artist.The course helped generate new ways ofdevising materials, refine mymethodologies and helped me creatework within a professional context. Oneaspect of the course that has helped medetermine who I am as an artist was thementoring programme. This was a uniqueexperience that gave me the opportunityto work closely with professional artiststhat are best suited to the work I createin order to support me and my practice.”

Aaron Reeves current MA student and digital artist.

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Professional partners

The ShowRoom and thedepartment of Theatre has ahuge number of professionalpartners: associate artists whoare as much at home in theShowRoom as we are and whoare supported and assisted bythe University in their ownmaking processes.

In return, these artists mentor and teach onall programmes; they also provide real linksand points-of-contact for graduatingstudents as they set out on their own career.Currently, our leading associates artists are:

The Paper BirdsLeeds-based female collective, The PaperBirds strive to create and share importantdevised work that is culturally, socially andpolitically aware. Their productions emergefrom a female perspective and oftenprioritise stories of women. Three coremembers of the company are Masters'graduates of Chichester and several of theirmajor works have been technically-design atthe ShowRoom. Artistic Director, JemmaMcDonnell, regularly teaches and directs atChichester.

19271927 are an award winning theatre companywho mix live music, storytelling andperformance with animation. 1927 create astrange theatrical experience and tourextensively and internationally. In 2010, theShowRoom, with the support of the ArtsCouncil, commissioned their show TheAnimals and Children took to the Street andwe provided much needed technical andliterary support. The show went on to bean international smash-hit, seen in Paris, Rio,Sydney, New York, Moscow and has been aNational Theatre Christmas show two yearsin a row.

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Main image: Suzanne Andrade (1927).Above Paper Birds.

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‘The University of Chichester theatredepartment has been enormouslysupportive of 1927; from providingrehearsal space to giving usinvaluable technical advice andconstructive criticism. They havebeen fantastic.

Suzanne Andrade (Artistic Director of 1927)

Main image Helena Hunter, above Bootworks.

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Helena HunterHelena Hunter is a UK artist based in London and herpractice spans live performance, photography, film andvideo. Her work is body- based and addresses culturalissues relating to the politics of the body and theformation of desire. She is a formal Artist Associate ofthe Department and is a lead mentor for the MAPerformance (Theatre/Theatre Collectives). Helenaregularly gives talks and workshops in the Departmentand we have supported her recent work, particularly inthe early stages of production.

BootworksBootworks are resident artists at the ShowRoom: theyare a group of artists who work in a variety of disciplinesand contexts. They make a varied spectrum of workfrom children’s shows to live art. They are driven by adesire to bring unusual work to unconventionalaudiences. All three core members of the company workeither as lecturers or producers within the Department,including Senior Lecturer, Rob Daniels (see over).

Action Hero Bristol-based performanceduo, Action Hero makelive art and performancethat seeks to useaudiences as collaboratorsand co-conspirators, andare interested in creatingwork that links audiencestogether and unifies themas part of the live event,building a temporarycommunity. They havebuilt-up a hugeinternational following and work with the Department asa key International Exchange Associate, leading keyinternational projects, particularly in our American base,San Francisco.

Action Hero performing in the ShowRoom.

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Search Party PictureCredit - Gemma Paintin

People you’ll be working with

Over the page we have profiles of all full-time academic staff,most of whom are leading academic experts or artists in theirown right. Indeed, we are privileged to have, as core-teammembers, several internationally-renowned artists. Here,three of the team, Brian Lobel, Pete Phillips and Robert JudeDaniels, talk about being part of the Chichester Theatrecommunity, not only as teachers, but as leading artists.

Dr. Brian Lobel Chichester is an inspiring community of artists and thinkers. Sincejoining the faculty in 2012, I've been astounded by the energy,commitment and excitement made around making and creatingnew theatre and performance. And it's not just me who notices:every one of the artists who visits campus tells me that Chichester is rare and incredibly special. Ifind the environment supportive but rigorous, thoughtful but not pretentious, daring but considered.

Pete Phillips (one half of performance duo Search Party)The relationship between the staff and the students at Chichester feels more like a vibrantcommunity of artists than an institution. The informal conversations over coffee or in the corridorscontribute to this dynamic, these social interactions supporting, developing and nurturing good ideaswhenever and wherever they occur. We're a small community of makers, making together, curiousand inspired by each other.

Robert Jude DanielsI came to Chichester in 2006 as a relatively new artist andacademic. Since then, Bootworks, my company, has grown frombeing a modestly successful young theatre company into aninternationally-renowned touring collective. My teaching andresearch has massively improved too. Chichester is an excitingplace to work and teach. Always moving, and evolving with theindustry and world around it, and always centred on empoweringand equipping students (and professional artists) with the skillsand resources they need to make original and new work.

Brian Lobel

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Rob Daniels

Professor Jane Bacon

Specialism: practice asresearch in dance andperformance, self ascreative source,documentation andethnography, Jungian and post-Jungianapproaches to working with creative practice,Authentic Movement and other somaticpractices.

Jane Bacon joined Chichester in April 2012to head up research in Dance andPerforming Arts. Prior to this she was Headof Department and Research Leader,Performance Studies at the University ofNorthampton (2007-2012). She is part ofthe Arts and Humanities Peer ReviewCollege and has been on numerous AHRCpanels as member and chair. She taught atthe University of Northampton from 1995 -2012 as part of the team that wrote andimplemented the first ever PerformanceStudies degree in the UK. She is a FocusingTrainer and is currently completing herstudies to become a Jungian Analyst. She isan Authentic Movement practitioner withthe continued support of the renownedJanet Adler.

Dr Ben Francombe Head ofDepartment

Specialism: PerformanceMaking, DevisedDramaturgy, ArtistSupport andDevelopment, Marginality and Post ColonialDiscourse, Professional/Amateur.

Ben Francombe has been head of Theatre atChichester since 2004. Previously he taughtat the Royal Scottish Academy of Music andDrama (1993-5). Liverpool John MooresUniversity (1995-7), and BretonHall/University of Leeds, where he washead of acting (1997-2004). Ben served asan elected member of the Governors of theUniversity of Chichester between 2008-11.Ben is Dramaturg for three separateperformance companies: The Paper Birds,Search Party and 1927.

Ian Hornsby Senior Lecturer

Specialism: Modernliterary and CriticalTheory, Historical andTheoretical Film Study,Continental andContemporary Philosophy, Post Structuralismand Anarchy Aesthetics.

Ian received his BA Honours degree inEnglish Literature and Related Arts fromChichester. His M.Phil thesis, written in 1998

Meet the team

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is entitled ‘On Quality’ and investigates theblurring of boundaries between literatureand philosophy. Ian is currently researchingthe ‘Novel of Ideas’ in Walter Pater’s Mariusthe Epicurean and Thomas Mann’s MagicMountain. He is also continuing his researchinto Politics, Philosophy and Aesthetics in thework of twentieth century thinkers: T.S Eliot,Martin Heidegger and Theodor W.Adorno.

Dr Andrew WilfordSenior Lecturer

Specialism: Event,Biopolitics and RoguePerformance

Andrew has been acore member of the department since 2003.He has recently completed his practice-as-research PhD on biopolitical performativityand the Dubrovka Theatre event. Andrew isa member of the American Society ForTheatre Research (ASTR). As a performanceresearcher, he has contributed to workinggroups on biopolitical performance inNashville (2012) and traumatic/post-traumatic performance for a practiceresearch project in Dallas during the 50thyear commemoration of the J.F. Kennedyassassination. Andrew has also presented onrogue performance as part of thePerformance Society InternationalBiopolitical Temporalities panel at the PSI19conference in Stanford University, California(2013). Andrew is a member of theUniversity's Ethics Committee and the ArtsResearch Committee.

Twitter: @WannabeWarholYouTube Channel:www.youtube.com/BornRosca

Louie JenkinsSenior LecturerApplied Theatre,Performance Writing,Directing, Acting, SoloPerformance.

Louie Jenkins leads on modules relating toPerformance Writing and Theatre inIntervention. She is working towards herPractice as Research PhD at the Universityof Chichester. Louie has worked as aprofessional actress, director and playwrightin the UK and USA. Her main researchinterests are in autobiographical soloperformance with specific reference todeath, mourning and shame. She is exploringbio-politics, Affect and Shame Theory withspecific interest in notions of queeringnarratives. Louie has won awards for herwritten research papers at Brunel UniversityPostgraduate Conferences (2009-10) andhas presented work at TaPRA (Leeds,Plymouth, Glamorgan and KingstonUniversities). Louie is a founding member ofFactory Floor, a national network of solofemale performers. She is currentlycoordinating a series of internationaltheatre/ performance/dance projects inCalifornia and Oregon.

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Robert DanielsSenior Lecturer

Specialism: PerformanceStudies, Practice asResearch, Live Art,InterdisciplinaryPerformance, DanceTheatre, Street Theatre and Site Specific Art,and devised theatre performance.

Robert is founder and co-artistic director ofBootworks Theatre; which receives regularproject funding from the Arts Council andtours internationally with support from TheBritish Council. Bootworks produces streettheatre, installations, devised theatreperformances and solo ventures thatexplore interests in interdisciplinarycomposition, live art and DIY theatrepractices. Independent projects include DIY,a book project, and Tiny Live Art, adocumentation project, recreatingperformances in HO scale models. His firstsolo project; Playing with MySelf in 2003 wasACE funded and supported by TheBattersea Arts Centre. scorezer0, its sequelwas also funded by ACE and supported byRALP funded Choreographic Lab. Otherwork includes collaborations with JaneBacon (and red leaf dance videos) on twoentries for the Video Place’s One MinuteWander dance video competition (winners2000), premiered at Cinemarket 2001 by theDanish film institute and Bodyworks 2001festival in Melbourne, and various work andtraining with a number of artists, includingSally Dean, Trestle, New Art Club, NicolasNunez, The New World PerformanceLaboratory, Goat Island, Xavier Le Roy, andV-Tol dance.www.bootworkstheatre.co.uk

Dr Brian LobelSenior Lecturer

Specialism: SoloPerformance, Live Art,Interactive Performance,Performance and Illness,Gender and Sexuality.

Brian creates performances about isolatedbodies and the dilemma of community andinteractivity. After having cancer as a youngadult, he became fascinated by unique bodilyexperience and how it is discussed andwitnessed by others, leading directly to hisperformance practice and his PhD, whichwas entitled Playing the Cancer Card:Documentation, Illness and Performance(Queen Mary, 2012). Brian has shown workin a range of contexts, from medical schoolsto galleries, cabarets to museums. Hecontinues to perform extensively throughoutthe UK and internationally, showing workmost recently in Tokyo, Chicago, Austin,Bangkok, Paris and San Diego. Publicationsinclude: BALL & Other Funny Stories AboutCancer (Oberon, 2012) and a DVD entitledCancer Cancer Cancer Cancer Cancer:collected cancer works (Live ArtDevelopment Agency, 2012). Brian is aCore Artist with Forest Fringe and AssociateArtist with Clod Ensemble's PerformingMedicine. www.blobelwarming.com

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Pete PhillipsSenior Lecturer

Specialism: Live Art,Site-Based Performance,InteractivePerformance,Documentation, Sportand Performance.

Pete’s practice is undertaken as part ofcollaborative duo Search Party who createperformance for studio, gallery and publicspaces throughout the UK andinternationally. Search Party are committedto making immediate, hopeful performancesthat engage broad and diverse audiences.They are particularly interested in ageing,sport and the relationship between peopleand places. Pete is working towards aPractice-as-Research PhD at the Universityof Chichester, and leads modules on site-specific theatre and performancedocumentation. Pete has also worked as anoutside eye for live art duo Action Hero ontheir performances Watch Me Fall (2009)and Frontman (2010).www.searchpartyperformance.org.uk

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Find out moreContact: 01243 816002Email: admissions@chi.ac.ukWeb: www.chi.ac.uk/theatre

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