Emeritus Prof. Victor Emeljanow

Biography

My career as a Drama academic started in 1965 when I was appointed to the Department of Drama at the University of New South Wales. My dilemma at the time lay in how to maintain an academic career that demanded a dual proficiency: a professional credibility as a theatre practitioner and as a theatre scholar. The historical circumstances suggested that my first challenge should be to bring the worlds of the academy and the theatre profession together, a rapprochement that was regarded with considerable scorn at the time by both communities. I determined to lead by example and this lay at the basis of my tenure as the artistic director of the Bondi Pavilion Theatre (1974-8), my period as theatre critic for the "National Times" (1979-80), and my assumption of the role of vice-president of the Producers and Directors Guild of Australia (1987-95). These activities were all conducted while I held a full-time position at the university. Nevertheless, the demands of the creative output were extremely onerous and totally different from those of the academic researcher. Initially, the requirements of the tertiary sector did not suggest a sympathetic attitude toward what has latterly been identified as practice-as-research. Indeed creative efforts were simply regarded as spare time activities; the real scholarly endeavours were identified with the conventional norms of academic outputs - books, articles and the like. I would have appreciated the developments in performance studies that have taken place in the last 10 to 15 years. Nevertheless, in my scholarly output I attempted to relate my interests as a theatre director to publications: my book on Chekhov (Routledge 1981) and my articles on the career of the Russian director Komisarjevsky ("Theatre Notebook", 1983, 1987) substantiate this. These are all regarded as seminal works: the book which captures the reactions to Chekhov in the English-speaking world from 1909 to 1945; the articles as the first scholarly investigation of a highly influential director in is life outside Russia.

The consequence in terms of my own career has been to try to maintain credibility along two parallel lines that might have benefited from intersections. When I was appointed to the chair at the University of Newcastle I was asked to develop a sense of theatrical professionalism as well as lead by example in scholarly endeavours, a bifurcation which continued a career path I had commenced in 1965. I was also very aware of the fact that Drama at the university in the Newcastle context had emerged as a result of direct community pressure so that highly visible productions were expected. As a consequence, over the last 20 years I have attempted to maintain a professional visibility in the community while addressing the matters of academic rigour in publication and international recognition. This has proved extremely demanding: a dedication to focussed academic outcomes without the pressures of creative outputs would have been so much easier. It has, however, involved a juggling act which has precluded me from producing the volume of research work that I might otherwise have achieved.

That said, I am particularly pleased with the recognition that I have received at a local level for my directorial efforts (four City of Newcastle Awards for Professional Excellence) and the fact that my research into popular theatre, especially into theatre audiences, has met with international favour. I regularly am asked to give papers at international conferences (International Federation for Theatre Research; the American Society for Theatre Research) and serve on the editorial advisory board of the premier British theatre journal New Theatre Quarterly. I also convene a Working Group of the International Federation for Theatre Research on "Popular entertainments: variety, circus and the allied arts", which meets annually. Equally important has been the invitation to direct plays over the years in other countries:

Qualifications

• PhD, Stanford University
• Master of Arts, University of New Zealand

Research

Research keywords

• Chekhov
• Victorian and Edwardian popular theatre
• audience research
• employment of children in theatre
• melodrama
• prisoner of war entertainment
• theatre directors

Research expertise

In Drama and Theatre Studies my interests lie in the rise and development of the director from the 19th century onward, Chekhov on the English stage, the emergence of melodrama as a popular form from the 19th century and its persistence in today's media, modernist developments in dramatic forms and theatrical technology especially in the Victorian and Edwardian periods and finally, the role of the live theatre audience especially its responses to the creation of dramatic meaning. Theatrical autobiography and biography as historiographical artifacts are not only significant in themselves but also parallel my interests in the use of musical and dramatic performances in prisoner of war camps during both World Wars where auto/biographical documents provide the evidence.

Collaboration

I am the General editor of the international, peer-reviewed e-journal "Popular Entertainment Studies." This is published twice a year and complements my work with ther IFTR's Popular Entertainments Working Group. I have a particular interest in late-Victorian and Edwardian theatre.

Fields of Research

Memberships

Editorial Board.

• Editor - Popular Entertainment Studies

Awards

Book Award

Distinction.

Recognition.

Invitations

Administrative

Administrative expertise

My expertise goes back to my employment at the University of NSW where I was Head of Department from 1979-1982. From 1986 to 2001 I was Head of the Department of Drama at the University of Newcastle and additionally was Dean of the Faculty of Arts from 1987 to 1990 when I chaired the Faculty Board. In these capacities I served on all the major university committees including Promotions, Research and Research Training, Since 2002 I have continued to serve on the university's Promotions Committee. Also I have been the Faculty of Education and Arts Assistant Dean (Community Relations) and am currently the Research and Research Training Convenor for the School of Drama, Fine Arts and Music.

Teaching

Teaching keywords

• 19th century popular theatre
• Chekhov
• audience composition and reception
• directing for the stage
• farce
• melodrama
• popular theatre forms

Teaching expertise

I have taught widely across the Drama and Theatre studies spectrum from year 1 tutorials to post-graduate supervision. My teaching is informed by my professional practice as a theatre director and by my research interests especially into popular theatre forms. Similarly my background as an actor allows me to understand the process of personal creativity and development as well as to inculcate best practices in inter-personal communication.