Star actors and management in Australia 1880s-1920s. The project studies early twentieth-century star actors who worked for Australian commercial managements, in order to locate how the cultural impact of theatrical performers was mediated by their immediate industrial situations and their artistic profiles. It selects four significant male and female touring stars who performed in spectacular costume drama, in association with JC Williamson's Ltd and other entrepreneurial organisations. The in ....Star actors and management in Australia 1880s-1920s. The project studies early twentieth-century star actors who worked for Australian commercial managements, in order to locate how the cultural impact of theatrical performers was mediated by their immediate industrial situations and their artistic profiles. It selects four significant male and female touring stars who performed in spectacular costume drama, in association with JC Williamson's Ltd and other entrepreneurial organisations. The investigation relates the negotiations between both managerial and labour structures involving actors to their artistic opportunities and repertoire. It will produce a materially-informed account of the social presence and cultural meanings embodied by the glamourous theatrical star in Australia.Read moreRead less
Australian Stage Comedians 1915-1930: Configuring a Comic National Identity. This project aims to make a major contribution to Australian cultural history by examining the origins of what has often been described as the distinctive Australian sense of humour.
While elements of this national characteristic emerged in colonial times, including an emphasis on stoicism, self-deprecation and the contradictions of existence (e.g. in Steele Rudd's and Henry Lawson's stories), this project will incre ....Australian Stage Comedians 1915-1930: Configuring a Comic National Identity. This project aims to make a major contribution to Australian cultural history by examining the origins of what has often been described as the distinctive Australian sense of humour.
While elements of this national characteristic emerged in colonial times, including an emphasis on stoicism, self-deprecation and the contradictions of existence (e.g. in Steele Rudd's and Henry Lawson's stories), this project will increase community awareness of how stage comedians during and after the First World War focused these tendencies into a distinctive emphasis on the comedy of everyday experience, and on maintaining a tough-minded optimism in adversity. Read moreRead less
The Two Frank Thrings. A study of two lives in the context of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia. This dual biography of F.W.Thring (1882-1936), stage and cinema entrepreneur, and his actor son Frank (1926-94), will explore two remarkable lives in relation to their performance culture and society. It will provide the first scholarly biography of both men, and through them will illuminate the history of Australian cinema and musical theatre, investigate issues of distinctively n ....The Two Frank Thrings. A study of two lives in the context of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia. This dual biography of F.W.Thring (1882-1936), stage and cinema entrepreneur, and his actor son Frank (1926-94), will explore two remarkable lives in relation to their performance culture and society. It will provide the first scholarly biography of both men, and through them will illuminate the history of Australian cinema and musical theatre, investigate issues of distinctively national iconography and voice, and examine the complex interactions between industrial/economic forces and artistic vision. Its principal outcome will be a book that should add significantly to our knowledge of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia, and to continuing debates in the arts.Read moreRead less
SPEAKING WOMEN: ACTRESSES' ROLES IN ENGLISH DRAMA, 1737-1800. This project continues the internationally celebrated tradition of Australian scholarship in English Restoration and eighteenth-century drama, a period which is of particular interest because it coincides with the originary moment of our modern nation. As a mode of popular culture, drama offers a rich source of common ideas and attitudes (for example, about gender and class), which the project will explore. Many popular eighteenth-cen ....SPEAKING WOMEN: ACTRESSES' ROLES IN ENGLISH DRAMA, 1737-1800. This project continues the internationally celebrated tradition of Australian scholarship in English Restoration and eighteenth-century drama, a period which is of particular interest because it coincides with the originary moment of our modern nation. As a mode of popular culture, drama offers a rich source of common ideas and attitudes (for example, about gender and class), which the project will explore. Many popular eighteenth-century plays were performed in the early days of white settlement, and this project will, among other more general outcomes, investigate whether these works might be capable of successful and illuminating revival on modern Australian stages. Read moreRead less
A cultural and historical analysis of Australian live theatre recordings preserved in the archives of ABC Television and Channel Nine. This project aims to enhance the study of Australian theatre history with two PhD theses identifying and analysing the motion-picture records of live theatre in the archives of ABC Television and Channel Nine. At a time when Australian theatre practitioners are gaining worldwide recognition, this project will assist scholars to analyse Australian theatre history ....A cultural and historical analysis of Australian live theatre recordings preserved in the archives of ABC Television and Channel Nine. This project aims to enhance the study of Australian theatre history with two PhD theses identifying and analysing the motion-picture records of live theatre in the archives of ABC Television and Channel Nine. At a time when Australian theatre practitioners are gaining worldwide recognition, this project will assist scholars to analyse Australian theatre history with a focus on live performance and production. The project will result in a detailed database/directory of material showing Australian live theatre on film and video, as well as two dissertations providing an in-depth scholarly description and cultural analysis of that material.Read moreRead less
The role of piano music, and the piano manufacturing industry in Australia's cultural history. This project aims to re-examine Australia's cultural heritage through a study of the history of the piano. The study will research the Australian piano manufacturing industry; the piano roll recording industry and a significant group of pianist composers.
Rediscovering Australia's Musical Achievements: Creating Critical Editions of Significant Scores. Many Australian music manuscripts languish in archives and collections unperformed, unrecorded, and little known. The project aims to create critical editions of selected manuscripts, consolidating and making available work I have already done. Scholarly editing of manuscript scores is not copy editing, but a highly skilled process requiring extensive knowledge of musical styles and an informed abil ....Rediscovering Australia's Musical Achievements: Creating Critical Editions of Significant Scores. Many Australian music manuscripts languish in archives and collections unperformed, unrecorded, and little known. The project aims to create critical editions of selected manuscripts, consolidating and making available work I have already done. Scholarly editing of manuscript scores is not copy editing, but a highly skilled process requiring extensive knowledge of musical styles and an informed ability to interpret composer's intentions. The need is urgent. Many manuscripts are in a serious state of deterioration. It is through the dissemination of our music in printed form that performers, scholars, and educators - nationally and internationally - can give it deserving attention.Read moreRead less
Performing Indigenous Sovereignty: Aboriginal Australian commercial performances 1800-1949. This project strengthens our understanding of Australia's place in the world and enhances our capacity to interpret ourselves by substantially enriching knowledge about Australian race relations in the nineteenth century. This new knowledge about Indigenous participation within the material and cultural economies of Australia adds significant new dimensions to Australian cultural history. This also contr ....Performing Indigenous Sovereignty: Aboriginal Australian commercial performances 1800-1949. This project strengthens our understanding of Australia's place in the world and enhances our capacity to interpret ourselves by substantially enriching knowledge about Australian race relations in the nineteenth century. This new knowledge about Indigenous participation within the material and cultural economies of Australia adds significant new dimensions to Australian cultural history. This also contributes to Australia's internationally recognised leadership in cross-cultural performance studies, informing pedagogy and scholarship. This project has the added benefit of contributing to the mental health and well being of Indigenous people by reclaiming positive elements of their cultural history since colonisation.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453614
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$338,933.00
Summary
Preserving Australia's Sound Heritage: creating a web-based research infrastructure of major music archives. Preserving Australia's Sound Heritage aims to facilitate access to and research on the Peter Burgis Australian Performing Arts Archive and the Archive of Australian Jewish Music. A collaborative project between The University of Western Australia, Monash University, Curtin University and ScreenSound Australia, PASH will create a web-based catalogue of the sound carriers in the collections ....Preserving Australia's Sound Heritage: creating a web-based research infrastructure of major music archives. Preserving Australia's Sound Heritage aims to facilitate access to and research on the Peter Burgis Australian Performing Arts Archive and the Archive of Australian Jewish Music. A collaborative project between The University of Western Australia, Monash University, Curtin University and ScreenSound Australia, PASH will create a web-based catalogue of the sound carriers in the collections and will digitise a selection of rare and/or fragile recordings. This project is one of national scope. It will open up new research material, enable national and international web-based access to these resources, stimulate research and lead to greater awareness of Australia's sound heritage.Read moreRead less
Sounds of Empire: Popular Politics and Music in the Nineteenth Century. This research will critically locate Australia within a global system of cultural transmission and showcase a significant innovation in methodology through an interdisciplinary approach. This will provide an opportunity to bring to light Australia's role in the transmission of popular politics and culture to a broader international audience. It will make a direct and immediate contribution to Australian studies by examining ....Sounds of Empire: Popular Politics and Music in the Nineteenth Century. This research will critically locate Australia within a global system of cultural transmission and showcase a significant innovation in methodology through an interdisciplinary approach. This will provide an opportunity to bring to light Australia's role in the transmission of popular politics and culture to a broader international audience. It will make a direct and immediate contribution to Australian studies by examining in depth the transmission, adaption and encounter of musics in the making of the nation. Many of the ideas that shape our modern democracy were brought informally in speeches and songs. A better understanding of the ways and means of their transmission brings us to a deeper appreciation of Australia's past and present.Read moreRead less