Theater
The Chair and The Cello: Creative Safety in Process and Product
2026
Abstract
Research Background
While it’s common for creative practitioners to use personal stories when making new work, there is a risk of psychological harm if the stories are unresolved which can undermine wellbeing and career sustainability (Gross & Musgrave 2020) leading to the trope of the trauma solo show. In professional collaborative contexts like devised theatre, condensed production timelines and traditional industrial practices can amplify risk in both the process of making and the production itself (Heddon & Milling 2015; Smart 2014). When creating new collaborative work that deals with difficult personal stories, there is limited guidance for practitioners to help minimise personal risk.
Research Contribution
The Chair and The Cello is a 45min live performance work devised by Banks, Hyland and Luttrell with Walling and Orkild. Made in 18 days, over a year, the show’s creative process and performances apply new approaches to creative safety when using personal stories in collaborations. Using novel methods of devising, performance, direction, musical direction/composition/sound design, and lighting design the creative practice acts as a site of applied inquiry. The frameworks of Empathetic Partnership (Flemmer et al 2014), Drama Spiral (Baim 2020) and Whakawhenua (Hyland 2025) underpin safety in both the creative process and product.
Research Significance
The show premiered internationally as the opening special event at ADSA 2025 conference in Aotearoa to an audience of theatre scholars, receiving peer review in globally-acclaimed The Theatre Times. A reworked version had its Australian premiere at UniSC in 2026. The research project was competitively funded by a UniSC CONNECT research grant and has been presented at two international conferences (ADSA 2025, IFTR 2026). A toolkit for practitioners and a scholarly article based on the findings are currently in development.
Details
- Title
- The Chair and The Cello: Creative Safety in Process and Product
- Authors
- Hannah Joyce Banks - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Healthy Ageing Research ClusterBriony Luttrell - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative IndustriesNicola Hyland - Victoria University of WellingtonCarl Walling - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Business and Creative IndustriesLucy Orkild - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Marketing and Communications
- Date published
- 2026
- Grants
- The Chair and The Cello: Developing industry guidelines for practicing creative safety, 0980030706, University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia, Sunshine Coast) - UniSC
- Organisation Unit
- School of Business and Creative Industries; Healthy Ageing Research Cluster
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991252199702621
- Output Type
- Theater
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