Sarah Woodland - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Sarah Woodland
Rural and Remote Health, 2024
This study has outlined how arts and creative activity contribute to holistic regional developmen... more This study has outlined how arts and creative activity contribute to holistic regional development in the Barkly desert region, an area with a high percentage of First Nations peoples. Arts and creative activity were reported to have intrinsic health and wellbeing effects for individuals, which included mental health and mindfulness, emotional regulation, enjoyment, and relief of physical and emotional pain and stress as well as promoting spiritual connection to self, others and environment. Arts activities were also seen to shape powerful determinants of health and wellbeing such as employment, poverty, racism, social inclusion, and natural and built environments.
Listening to Country is an arts-led research project exploring the value of acoustic ecology in p... more Listening to Country is an arts-led research project exploring the value of acoustic ecology in promoting cultural connection, maintenance and wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and groups who experience separation from family, culture and Country. Te project began with a pilot phase in Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre (BWCC), where an interdisciplinary team of researchers worked with incarcerated women to produce a one-hour immersive audio work based on feld recordings of natural environments (of Country). Te pilot was built on several years’ engagement with BWCC delivering participatory drama projects, including radio drama (Woodland forthcoming). Our decision to use acoustic ecology and immersive audio resulted from a direct request from a group of Aboriginal women at BWCC to create a “culturally relevant relaxation CD”—a sound recording for the purpose of reducing stress and connecting to Country
Performance Matters
Listening to Country was an arts-led research project where, as an interdisciplinary team of prac... more Listening to Country was an arts-led research project where, as an interdisciplinary team of practitioner-researchers, we worked with incarcerated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to produce a one-hour immersive audio work based on field recordings of natural environments. The project began with a pilot phase in Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre (BWCC), Australia, to investigate the value of acoustic ecology in promoting wellbeing among women who were experiencing separation from family, culture, and Country (ancestral homelands). The team facilitated a three-week program with the women, using arts-led processes informed by visual art, performance, Indigenous storywork, and dadirri (deep, active listening). The soundscape presented here is a response to the creative process that we led inside the prison and the audio work that the incarcerated women co-created with the research team. The accompanying text describes the background to the original project, the process we...
Cultural Trends
ABSTRACT There is increasing recognition that the creative arts sector has a crucial role to play... more ABSTRACT There is increasing recognition that the creative arts sector has a crucial role to play in supporting and sustaining communities in remote contexts. However, there are still major gaps in understanding how this sector functions in such settings, and few resources to support the design and delivery of arts research in these contexts. To help address these gaps, this article draws on findings from a three-year project, Creative Barkly, the first study of its kind to adopt an ecological approach to mapping how the creative arts sector operates in one of Australia’s remotest regions. The article touches on five core principles that underpinned our approach to mapping creative practices in this region, reflecting a design that was (1) relationships-focused, (2) strengths-based, (3) co-designed, (4) accessible, and (5) community-engaged. Drawing on our experience of conducting this research in a complex remote Australian context, the article raises questions and opportunities for further research and policy making in arts for regional development.
Intellect Books, Jul 15, 2019
Qualitative Inquiry
This is a reflection on The Score, a Research-Based Theater (RbT) project that has just begun, an... more This is a reflection on The Score, a Research-Based Theater (RbT) project that has just begun, and some emerging ethical entanglements surrounding the work. The Score is a collaboration between First Nations and non-Indigenous artists and researchers, produced by ILBIJERRI Theatre Company—a leading First Nations theater company based in Melbourne, Australia. The goal is to create a community-engaged, participatory model for theater in health education that addresses sexual health for First Nations young people, to be delivered in schools, prisons, community centers and community health settings. Drawing on Indigenous and applied theater research methods, our article situates the discussion of ethics in RbT within the concept of relationality. Through a process of yarning (discussion), we explore the complexity of relations within the project and how relationality infuses all aspects of the project design. We argue that this approach is essential in ensuring respectful, accountable, ...
Australasian Drama Studies, 2020
The Creative Barkly team would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on whi... more The Creative Barkly team would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live and work, and the lands on which we conducted this research. We also pay our respect to Elders past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all First Nations' Peoples.
The Routledge Companion to Applied Performance, 2020
Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 2021
ABSTRACT Threatened with ever-increasing levels of surveillance and confinement, this special iss... more ABSTRACT Threatened with ever-increasing levels of surveillance and confinement, this special issue attempts to extend the discussion of Prison Theatre to consider ‘carcerality’ as a pervasive neoliberal strategy. The issue aims to steer the discussion away from considerations of utility and the aesthetics of redemption, towards understandings of the arts in carceral spaces as a fundamental human right. What role can theatre and performance play in highlighting the rights of those experiencing state-sponsored control, confinement and exclusion? And what role can theatre and performance play in challenging the exclusionary structures of carcerality by enhancing freedoms, liberty and inclusion?
After 15 years of running drama workshops in women's prisons, I wish I had a dollar for every... more After 15 years of running drama workshops in women's prisons, I wish I had a dollar for every time a c.orrections officer has joked with me, 'This place is full of drama queens!: These officers are likely referring to the tense, hyper-feminine environment of the prison, or alluding to the 'acting skills' that are brought to bear in the theatre of crime and punishment. I have also heard, for example, the sarcastic comment, 'We've got plenty of actors in here: These kinds of comments reflect (among other things) a trivialization or de-valuing of prison drama programmes that can unfortunately come from some quarters within the institution. But for me, the prison drama workshop rarely elicits the kinds of dramas that these comments imply. It is a dynamic, celebratory, respectful and often-reflective space, where being a drama queen means embracing the art form and all it has to offer in rounding out our human experience. Contrary to the sarcastic gate comments ab...
This report details the outcomes of pilot research into Traction, Queensland Theatre’s outreach y... more This report details the outcomes of pilot research into Traction, Queensland Theatre’s outreach youth ensemble based in Logan City. The goal of the research was to investigate the potential for Traction to promote social cohesion, and was undertaken in partnership between Queensland Theatre and Griffith University’s Institute for Educational Research (GIER). Traction was established and has since been maintained with funding from the federal government’s Department of Social Services, in response to a perceived need in the Logan community for programs and initiatives that would promote social cohesion. Queensland Theatre knew from anecdotal evidence that there were significant outcomes occurring in Traction, and sought to investigate and frame these within credible empirical research. Queensland Theatre also wished to explore how Traction might be facilitating career aspirations and pathways for young people into the arts. For GIER, the research represented an opportunity to investi...
This forum looks at a particular effect that is often claimed both ritual and theatre: that of he... more This forum looks at a particular effect that is often claimed both ritual and theatre: that of healing or reconiclliation, whether social, political, or personal. In thisforum, we bring together artsits who work both inside and outside what might be seen as the ‘applied’ theatre world to discuss what that healing or reconciliation might look like, and the challenges and problems with the way it can be thought about and executed. I would venture that most readers of this forum would be loath to abandon the claim that performance has the potential to offer some sort of social healing, but the critical examination here of just what sort of healing is possible, and how it might operate, can help us make better sense of the limits and possibilities of such claim.
Applied Theatre: Women and the Criminal Justice System, 2020
Rural and Remote Health, 2024
This study has outlined how arts and creative activity contribute to holistic regional developmen... more This study has outlined how arts and creative activity contribute to holistic regional development in the Barkly desert region, an area with a high percentage of First Nations peoples. Arts and creative activity were reported to have intrinsic health and wellbeing effects for individuals, which included mental health and mindfulness, emotional regulation, enjoyment, and relief of physical and emotional pain and stress as well as promoting spiritual connection to self, others and environment. Arts activities were also seen to shape powerful determinants of health and wellbeing such as employment, poverty, racism, social inclusion, and natural and built environments.
Listening to Country is an arts-led research project exploring the value of acoustic ecology in p... more Listening to Country is an arts-led research project exploring the value of acoustic ecology in promoting cultural connection, maintenance and wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and groups who experience separation from family, culture and Country. Te project began with a pilot phase in Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre (BWCC), where an interdisciplinary team of researchers worked with incarcerated women to produce a one-hour immersive audio work based on feld recordings of natural environments (of Country). Te pilot was built on several years’ engagement with BWCC delivering participatory drama projects, including radio drama (Woodland forthcoming). Our decision to use acoustic ecology and immersive audio resulted from a direct request from a group of Aboriginal women at BWCC to create a “culturally relevant relaxation CD”—a sound recording for the purpose of reducing stress and connecting to Country
Performance Matters
Listening to Country was an arts-led research project where, as an interdisciplinary team of prac... more Listening to Country was an arts-led research project where, as an interdisciplinary team of practitioner-researchers, we worked with incarcerated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to produce a one-hour immersive audio work based on field recordings of natural environments. The project began with a pilot phase in Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre (BWCC), Australia, to investigate the value of acoustic ecology in promoting wellbeing among women who were experiencing separation from family, culture, and Country (ancestral homelands). The team facilitated a three-week program with the women, using arts-led processes informed by visual art, performance, Indigenous storywork, and dadirri (deep, active listening). The soundscape presented here is a response to the creative process that we led inside the prison and the audio work that the incarcerated women co-created with the research team. The accompanying text describes the background to the original project, the process we...
Cultural Trends
ABSTRACT There is increasing recognition that the creative arts sector has a crucial role to play... more ABSTRACT There is increasing recognition that the creative arts sector has a crucial role to play in supporting and sustaining communities in remote contexts. However, there are still major gaps in understanding how this sector functions in such settings, and few resources to support the design and delivery of arts research in these contexts. To help address these gaps, this article draws on findings from a three-year project, Creative Barkly, the first study of its kind to adopt an ecological approach to mapping how the creative arts sector operates in one of Australia’s remotest regions. The article touches on five core principles that underpinned our approach to mapping creative practices in this region, reflecting a design that was (1) relationships-focused, (2) strengths-based, (3) co-designed, (4) accessible, and (5) community-engaged. Drawing on our experience of conducting this research in a complex remote Australian context, the article raises questions and opportunities for further research and policy making in arts for regional development.
Intellect Books, Jul 15, 2019
Qualitative Inquiry
This is a reflection on The Score, a Research-Based Theater (RbT) project that has just begun, an... more This is a reflection on The Score, a Research-Based Theater (RbT) project that has just begun, and some emerging ethical entanglements surrounding the work. The Score is a collaboration between First Nations and non-Indigenous artists and researchers, produced by ILBIJERRI Theatre Company—a leading First Nations theater company based in Melbourne, Australia. The goal is to create a community-engaged, participatory model for theater in health education that addresses sexual health for First Nations young people, to be delivered in schools, prisons, community centers and community health settings. Drawing on Indigenous and applied theater research methods, our article situates the discussion of ethics in RbT within the concept of relationality. Through a process of yarning (discussion), we explore the complexity of relations within the project and how relationality infuses all aspects of the project design. We argue that this approach is essential in ensuring respectful, accountable, ...
Australasian Drama Studies, 2020
The Creative Barkly team would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on whi... more The Creative Barkly team would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live and work, and the lands on which we conducted this research. We also pay our respect to Elders past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all First Nations' Peoples.
The Routledge Companion to Applied Performance, 2020
Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 2021
ABSTRACT Threatened with ever-increasing levels of surveillance and confinement, this special iss... more ABSTRACT Threatened with ever-increasing levels of surveillance and confinement, this special issue attempts to extend the discussion of Prison Theatre to consider ‘carcerality’ as a pervasive neoliberal strategy. The issue aims to steer the discussion away from considerations of utility and the aesthetics of redemption, towards understandings of the arts in carceral spaces as a fundamental human right. What role can theatre and performance play in highlighting the rights of those experiencing state-sponsored control, confinement and exclusion? And what role can theatre and performance play in challenging the exclusionary structures of carcerality by enhancing freedoms, liberty and inclusion?
After 15 years of running drama workshops in women's prisons, I wish I had a dollar for every... more After 15 years of running drama workshops in women's prisons, I wish I had a dollar for every time a c.orrections officer has joked with me, 'This place is full of drama queens!: These officers are likely referring to the tense, hyper-feminine environment of the prison, or alluding to the 'acting skills' that are brought to bear in the theatre of crime and punishment. I have also heard, for example, the sarcastic comment, 'We've got plenty of actors in here: These kinds of comments reflect (among other things) a trivialization or de-valuing of prison drama programmes that can unfortunately come from some quarters within the institution. But for me, the prison drama workshop rarely elicits the kinds of dramas that these comments imply. It is a dynamic, celebratory, respectful and often-reflective space, where being a drama queen means embracing the art form and all it has to offer in rounding out our human experience. Contrary to the sarcastic gate comments ab...
This report details the outcomes of pilot research into Traction, Queensland Theatre’s outreach y... more This report details the outcomes of pilot research into Traction, Queensland Theatre’s outreach youth ensemble based in Logan City. The goal of the research was to investigate the potential for Traction to promote social cohesion, and was undertaken in partnership between Queensland Theatre and Griffith University’s Institute for Educational Research (GIER). Traction was established and has since been maintained with funding from the federal government’s Department of Social Services, in response to a perceived need in the Logan community for programs and initiatives that would promote social cohesion. Queensland Theatre knew from anecdotal evidence that there were significant outcomes occurring in Traction, and sought to investigate and frame these within credible empirical research. Queensland Theatre also wished to explore how Traction might be facilitating career aspirations and pathways for young people into the arts. For GIER, the research represented an opportunity to investi...
This forum looks at a particular effect that is often claimed both ritual and theatre: that of he... more This forum looks at a particular effect that is often claimed both ritual and theatre: that of healing or reconiclliation, whether social, political, or personal. In thisforum, we bring together artsits who work both inside and outside what might be seen as the ‘applied’ theatre world to discuss what that healing or reconciliation might look like, and the challenges and problems with the way it can be thought about and executed. I would venture that most readers of this forum would be loath to abandon the claim that performance has the potential to offer some sort of social healing, but the critical examination here of just what sort of healing is possible, and how it might operate, can help us make better sense of the limits and possibilities of such claim.
Applied Theatre: Women and the Criminal Justice System, 2020