PhD Studentship in Department of Theatre

25 Nov 2021

The Department of Theatre, School of Film, Music and Theatre at University College Cork, Ireland, is seeking a candidate for a PhD Studentship in the area of programming, creative producing, outreach, inclusion and arts administration.

In line with the Department's vision for the future of the Granary Theatre, we seek a candidate,  suitably qualified for PhD study, who will pursue a PhD research topic of their choice, that addresses one or more of the below themes. 

1. You may explore a vision for how the theatre sector's producing, funding, and artist support structures can build forward from recent changes to better foster engagement with historically marginalised audiences, and with audience sectors who seldom or never engage with the processes of making theatre or attending theatre events, in the current cultural landscape, on local, pan-Irish, or European levels. This may focus on a specific demographic or take a more demographically open position. You may focus on theatre producing as a creative practice.

2. You may explore how best laboratory theatre environments - from buildings to outdoor spaces to public and neglected spaces - can support and develop artists to grapple with the rapid transformations in the sector in the Covid and post-Covid landscapes, including how such environments can attract and transform new audiences. This may use your own work, commissioning work, or engagement work as case study material. 

3. You may explore and articulate a grounded vision for the new support structures, new types of funding infrastructure, and new types of aesthetic approaches that might be needed to foster the performing artists of the future. 

4. Your research may examine a specific topic within the range of expertise in the Department of Theatre; theatre and performative practices can be the subject and/or method of enquiry into your chosen field of enquiry, if you are otherwise suitably qualified.

Your project may address these themes with respect to any of the theatrically-oriented disciplines: theatre, dance, digitally inclusive performance, live art, hybrid/queered performance forms, performative installation, circus arts, outdoor arts, music theatre, or combinations of these. 

It is understood that some proposals may come from creative producers. We are open to practice-inclusive PhD formats where roughly 50% of the PhD submission is grounded academic writing, and where 50% of the submission involves the generation and documentation of creative practice, including practice in creative artistic business/creative producing, *that clearly embodies, in and of itself, the articulation of new contributions to knowledge, doing and practice* in one's area, and that links with, intertwines with, and advances the theoretical arguments made.

UCC Theatre is an unusually inter-disciplinary department whose staff have expertise in a wide range of artistic forms. You would be supervised by a three-person supervisory team, who would be assigned to you based on the exact nature of the research project you propose. 

Please see www.ucc.ie/theatre/ for details of the Department.

OUR POSITIVE ACTION STATEMENT

We aim to reflect the diversity of the community we serve and welcome applications from all individuals who fulfil the studentship criteria. We are keen to offer opportunities, where possible, to people from groups who are currently underrepresented, including from a gender perspective, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of minority sexual orientation or gender identity, and individuals with disabilities. All applications will be considered on the merits, experience and qualifications of the candidate as these relate to the requirements and specifications of the post.

CONDITIONS

-The Department aims for the studentship to commence in January 2022. 

-The studentship is for full-time study. As mentioned, you may incorporate elements of ongoing practice into the study, but you should still plan that your PhD will require full-time dedication across all of its components.

-The studentship's total value is: euros 10 060.  This amount will pay your full time fees at 5900 euros for the year, and you will receive a stipend of: 4160 for the 12 month period of January to December 2022.

-The studentship is assistantship-based. You would do 200 hours per funded year of administrative and development support to the work of the Granary Theatre, working out at roughly 5h/week over 40 weeks. This exact timings of the hours are subject to mutual negotiation.

-The studentship is renewable annually on two conditions: 1. That annual budgets of the University permit the studentship to continue and that 2. That the student is deemed to have made adequate progress during the year and that they pass their annual review on their first attempt. Students who do not pass the annual review on their first attempt will not be fundable for subsequent years, and 3. That the student apply to the annual IRC post-graduate studentship competition in the first competition after their first annual review.

 -Candidates are expected to apply to UCC’s PhD study programme through the online application system during November/December. Our studentship application form aids to form the basis of that further application.

-Because of the timeline for candidacy, we will not be able to offer this studentship to candidates not legally able to live and work in Ireland without obtention of a visa, and it is thus limited to EU citizen candidates or others who have permission to live and work in Ireland.

JOB DESCRIPTION – ADMINISTRATIVE WORK FOR THE GRANARY

-The exact nature of the administrative work in the Granary will include: elements of: financial administration (bookkeeping, budgetary administration, some financial reporting; licensing, marketing and communications, planning, and staff and student liaison, plus provision of administrative assistance to technical tasks. The administrative work will be overseen by the administrator, the Department of Theatre.

-Some of the time will be spent on development of practicalities to support the vision of the Granary as a hyper-inclusive space for performance’s future.

-The balance across these is by ongoing decision by the Department of Theatre.

-In the first instance, the work will largely be administrative.

HOW TO APPLY

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: 10 DECEMBER 2021, MIDNIGHT

 Please apply using the following means:

1. Please view the online form available at: https://forms.office.com/r/hzanNW6cpX
2. Please fill in the form and upload the two documents required, including your CV. The form requires the formulation of a research proposal in response to this call.
3. Please provide the names of 2 referees and their email details in the form.
4. You should also apply to the PhD programme in theatre by, at latest, 10 December 2021. The studentship application form will furnish you with the ingredients for the PhD programme application.  To apply, follow these instructions: https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/postgrad/faq/apply/
5. On the main application, please name any supervisor or two supervisors who you think might align with your interests from the Department. We are at www.ucc.ie/theatre/

INTERVIEWS will take place on the MORNING of December 14^th, 2021, by digital means.

For more on this story contact:

Yvon.Bonenfant@ucc.ie