The lecturers of Theatre and Drama at Murdoch University

Jenny de Reuck - Image

Meet Jenny de Reuck

Associate Professor, English and Creative Arts

"Teaching literature and drama at Murdoch, I am privileged to have access on a daily basis to some of the greatest creative minds of any age.

Each semester, in my classes on Children’s Theatre, Shakespeare, World Writing Today and Performance and Creative Arts, I start a journey which excites and challenges me equally.

'The getting of wisdom' is an ongoing process to which my students – at all levels – contribute profoundly and there’s enormous satisfaction in being a part of such a complex, yet richly rewarding activity."

Education

  • BA (Hons) (Rhodes); MA (Cape Town); PhD (University of Natal)


Achievements

  • Vice Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2002)
  • Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Supervision (2004)
  • A Playwright’s Manuscript, e-book (2003)
  • Zak Zebra’s African Safari, e-book (2003)
  • Athena Emu at the Olympics, e-book (2008)
  • Writer and director of 13 original plays for children (1991 – 2009)
  • Adaptor of Shakespeare’s comedies (Shakespeare Agog)for a performance to primary school children in Singapore (2000)
  • Researcher in/director of drama from Shakespeare to Pinter


Research

  • My research crosses over from traditional approaches to overtly creative projects, but I am equally committed to writing analytic or theoretical articles on literary topics as I am to designing and creating plays for performance. Research as an activity is not limited to the scholarly article or book but, in my experience, informs all facets of the creative process. In every workshop I direct, I marvel at the possibilities for creative and critical thinking that a dramatic production demands of students and tutors alike.

    I design my units so that– when the various elements are working at their best – they liberate the critical potential of students who are invited to extend themselves in the creation of extraordinary theatrical (or analytic) work. The goal, always, is to expand our intellectual (and experiential) horizons and literature and drama offer, I believe, the most potent learning environments for anyone seeking to discover the best that the imagination can provide.