A verbatim drama based on the lived experience of women casual academics

An original theatre piece based on the interviews of six women casual academics from across three different universities that incorporates original music, photography and the performance. This presentation seeks to address a lack of voice of women casual academics in Australian universities. At present 67,000 of the 110, 000 Australian academics are employed on sessional contracts, the majority of whom are women. Yet very little is known about these women’s experience. Indeed, most discourses around sessional staffing have relied upon large-scale surveys, designed by people outside of the casual academic experience, to present quantitative data about sessional staff. They also maintain traditional researcher/participant power relationships that fail to individualise the research participant or offer an opportunity of ‘voice’ to casual academics. Finally, current research ostensibly ignores issues of sex and gender in casualised academia, whilst covertly propagating a masculine discourse. The lack of voice of women casual academics in research around sessional staffing is a problem because when women are denied a voice in public discourse they suffer the oppression of voicelessness. In addition, a lack of contribution by women to academic discourse is a barrier to gaining ongoing academic tenure. Furthermore, the lack of stories by women academics in public spaces conceal ongoing disadvantage experienced by women. Consequently, I have unearthed, through a narrative inquiry, the lived experience of six women casual academics from across three Australian universities. I have subsequently restoryed these experiences into a verbatim drama. Verbatim drama uses participants’ words as the basis of drama texts and aims to give listening ears to voices that often go unheard. Within this research presentation I present a verbatim drama to illuminate women casual academics’ experience within a form of communication that is congruent with the ‘messiness’ and fully embodied nature of lived experience. Finally, I aim to investigate how you engage with drama as a form of research communication. Therefore, your response to the presentation will be sought as part of my PhD research project.Duration: 40 minute drama comprising 6 self-contained dramatic episodes incorporating song, music and original photographyVerbatim Drama: Scene 1: The lived experience of women casual academics <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHit41xcFRE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHit41xcFRE</a>Verbatim Drama: Scene 2: The lived experience of women casual academics <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46UySViATSg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46UySViATSg</a>Verbatim Drama: Scene 3: The lived experience of women casual academics <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIlwif-cNsI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIlwif-cNsI</a>Verbatim Drama: Scene 4: The lived experience of women casual academics <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBrIndD4Uus">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBrIndD4Uus</a>Verbatim Drama: Scene 5: The lived experience of women casual academics <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNWzLxGZrGE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNWzLxGZrGE</a>Verbatim Drama: Scene 6: The lived experience of women casual academics <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxO0PRz8cOI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxO0PRz8cOI</a>First performed: 16 July 2014Venue: University of the Sunshine Coast Research Conference - Sunshine Coast, Australi