Dr William Peterson - Researcher Profile

Biography

William Peterson is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Theatre and Performance at Monash University.  He has an international reputation as a scholar of Southeast Asian performance, particularly for his influential book Theatre and the Politics of Culture in Contemporary Singapore (Wesleyan UP 2001), and his many publications on community-based performance in the Philippines.

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Research & Supervision Interests

Community-Based performance in the Philippines

This on-going research seeks to document and contextualise a range of performance activities in the Philippines that define, reinforce, and celebrate the shared belief systems of a specific community. Included are large-scale, festival-based performance work and civic celebrations, religious theatre, transgendered performance, national and regional dance drama competitions, and community-based theatre.

Transnational/Transcultural flows and spectacle

To date, this research has largely focused on the programming at international arts festivals in Asia and the Pacific, though recent fieldwork in the Philippines suggests possible applications of these frameworks to performance work that circulates domestically before a range of intra-Asian audiences, notably those comprised largely of tourists and those who attend/participate in international expositions.

Religion and Performance

Extending from on-going research in the Philippines, where religious performance is imbedded in community-based traditions, I am increasingly interested in not only the efficacy behind such performative acts, but also what happens internally to individual participants who undertake a ritual or enact a role in a religious drama.

Theatre in Singapore

Though research into the politics of culture reflected in English-language theatre in Singapore is no longer my primary research interest, I continue to pay attention to and occasionally write about the complex cultural flows that inform theatre practice there.

Qualifications

GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Institution: Monash University

Year awarded: 2009

THEATRE HISTORY & CRITICISM

Institution: University of Texas (austin)

Year awarded: 1991

DRAMA

Institution: San Diego State Uni

Year awarded: 1988

FOREIGN SERVICE

Institution: Georgetown Uni

Year awarded: 1978

Publications

Books

Casey, M., Peterson, W. (eds), 2011, Australasian Drama Studies, Theatre and Drama Program: La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.

Casey, M., Peterson, W. (eds), 2011, Transcultural Transnational Transformation, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.

Peterson, W.D. (ed), 2005, International Perspecitives: Focus on Latin American and Border Culture, The Journal of the International Institute California State University, San Bernardino, California USA.

Peterson, W.D., 2001, Theatre and the Politics of Culture in Contemporary Singapore, Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, Conneticut.

Book Chapters

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Writing into the Land: Dramatic Monologues in the Expanding Landscape of Aotearoa/New Zealand, in Performing Aotearoa: New Zealand Theatre and Drama in an Age of Transition, eds Marc Maufort and David O'Donnell, Peter Lang, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 103-120.

Peterson, W.D., 2006, Maori theatre on its own ground: moving past the "post" in postcolonialism, in Critics and Writers Speak: Revisioning Post-Colonial Studies, eds Igor Maver, Lexington Books, Lanham, USA, pp. 126-142.

Peterson, W.D., 2004, Interculturalism in Singapore: Looking for the Big, Bad Other, in Intercultural Communication: A Global Reader, eds Fred Jandt, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, California USA, pp. 403-412.

Peterson, W.D., 2003, The Queer Stage in Singapore, in People Like Us: Sexual Minorities in Singapore, eds Joseph Lo and Huang Guoqin, Select Publishing, Singapore, pp. 78-96.

Peterson, W.D., 1999, Interculturalism derailed: the case of Singapore, in Disorientations: Intercultural Theatre from an Australian Perspective, eds Rachel Fensham, Peter Eckersall, Monash Centre for Drama and Theatre Studies, Melbourne, Australia, pp. 83-96.

Journal Articles

Peterson, W.D., 2012, Discipline and pleasure: Dancing inmates in Cebua's provisional detention and rehabilitation centre, About Performance [P], vol 11, Department of Performance Studies, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, pp. 41-62.

Peterson, W.D., 2012, La ville sensuelle: Seeking a 'better city, better life' in the French pavilion, Access: critical perspectives on communication, cultural & policy studies [P], vol 31, issue 2, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia, pp. 39-51.

Peterson, W., 2011, Amazing show in Manila: "Fantasy Production" and Filipino labor in a transnational, transcultural, transgendered theatre enterprise, Theatre Journal [P], vol 63, issue 4, The Johns Hopkins University Press, United States of America, pp. 587-605.

Casey, M., Peterson, W.D., 2011, Introduction to special issue, Australasian Drama Studies [P], vol 59, Australasian Drama Studies, LaTrobe University, Bundoora, Australia, pp. 4-7.

Peterson, W., 2011, The Ati-Atihan Festival: dancing with the Santo Nino at the "Filipino Mardi Gras", Asian Theatre Journal [P], vol 28, issue 2, University of Hawaii Press, United States, pp. 505-528.

Peterson, W., 2011, The Santo Niño made me do it: falling out of ethnographic time at Ati-atihan, Australasian Drama Studies [P], vol 59, La Trobe University, Australia, pp. 121-140.

Casey, M., Peterson, W., 2011, Transcultural Transnational Transformation: Introduction, Australasian Drama Studies [P], vol 1, issue 59, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, pp. 4-7.

Peterson, W., 2010, Performing indigeneity in the Cordillera: dance, community, and power in the highlands of Luzon, Asian Theatre Journal [P], vol 27, issue 2, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, HI, USA, pp. 246-268.

Peterson, W.D., 2010, The bloodless head of Longinus: political interventions and the decapitation of the Moriones Tradition in Marinduque, Budhi: A Journal of Ideas and Culture [P], issue 3, Ateneo de Mainla University, Manila, Phillipines, pp. 99-126.

Peterson, W.D., 2010, The fashioning of a Melbourne event: The Melbourne International Arts Festival 2002-2009, Australasian Drama Studies [P], vol 56, issue April 2010, La Trobe University, Theatre & Drama Program, Bundoora VIC, Australia, pp. 84-102.

Peterson, W.D., 2009, The Singapore Arts Festival at thirty: going global, glocal, grobal, Asian Theatre Journal [P], vol 26, issue 1, University of Hawaii Press, Journals Department, Honolulu, US, pp. 111-134.

Peterson, W.D., 2008, Performance in Bali, Theatre Research International, vol 34, issue 1, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK, pp. 85-86.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Holy week in the "Heart of the Philippines": Spirituality, theatre, and community in Marinduque's Moriones Festival, Asian Theatre Journal, vol 24, issue 2, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, HI, pp. 309-337.

Peterson, W.D., 2005, FUEL festival of New Zealand theatre, Theatre Journal, vol 57, issue 4, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, pp. 737-742.

Peterson, W.D., 2005, Review of Jacquline Lo's staging nation: English language theatre in Malaysia and Singapore, Australasian Drama Studies, vol 46, Australasian Association for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, Qld, Australia, pp. 162-165.

Peterson, W.D., 2003, Consuming the Asian Other in Singapore: Interculturalism in Theatreworks' Desdemona, Theatre Research International, vol 28, issue 1, Cambridge University {ress, Cambridge, pp. 79-95.

Peterson, W.D., 2003, Dancing the National Drama: The Muslim South in Filipino Dance, Harvard Asia Quarterly, vol 7, issue 3, Harvard Asia Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pp. 43-50.

Peterson, W.D., 2002, Review of Robert Yeo's The Singapore Trilogy, Australasian Drama Studies, vol 40, Australasian Association for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies, University of Queensland, Australia, pp. 119-123.

Peterson, W.D., 2001, Reclaiming the Past, Building a Future: Maori Identity in the Plays of Hone Kouka, Theatre Research International, vol 26, issue 1, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 15-24.

Peterson, W.D., 1996, Commondifying and subduing the body on the Singaporean stage, SPAN Journal, vol 42/43, South Pacific Assn. for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies, Hamilton, NZ, pp. 124-136.

Peterson, W.D., 1996, Minangkabau dance in Western Sumatra: tradition, training and tourism, SPAFA Journal, vol 6, issue 1, SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archeology and Fine Arts, Bangkok, Thailand, pp. 5-12.

Peterson, W.D., 1996, Singapore's festival of the arts, Asian Theatre Journal, vol 13, issue 1, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, HI, USA, pp. 112-124.

Peterson, W.D., 1994, Sexual minorities on the Singaporean stage, Australasian Drama Studies, vol 25, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, pp. 61-72.

Peterson, W.D., 1992, Profile of Chin Woon Ping, High Performance, vol 15, issue 4, High Performance, Santa Monica, USA, pp. 48-49.

Peterson, W.D., 1992, Review of 2000 Questions, Sodomite Warriors and Latin Lezbo Comic, Theatre Insight, vol 3, issue 2, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA, pp. 26-28.

Peterson, W.D., 1992, Review of Heliotrope Bouquet, Theatre Journal, vol 44, issue 3, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, USA, pp. 403-404.

Peterson, W.D., 1991, Mobilizing communities for change: Suzanne Lacy's large-scale works, Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, vol 5, issue 1, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA, pp. 202-210.

Peterson, W.D., 1991, Review of Pangaean Dreams, Theatre Journal, vol 43, issue 4, Johns Hopkins University press, Baltimore, MD, USA, pp. 540-542.

Peterson, W.D., 1990, review of The Miracle of Washing Dishes, High Performance, vol 13, issue 4, High Performance, Santa Monica, USA, p. 63.

Peterson, W.D., 1989, From the personal to the global, Theatre InSight, vol 1, issue 2, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA, pp. 20-23.

Conference Proceedings

Peterson, W.D., 2012, Rocking the vote in the Philipines: the election of president Benigno Aquino III, Performance as/is Civic Engagement Conference Program, Association for Theatre in Higher Education, Washington DC, p. 0.

Peterson, W.D., 2011, Claiming a seat at the table: Asian paradigms in international performance research, The 3rd "Engaging with Vietnam: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue" Conference Proceedings, 4-5 December 2011, Vietnam National University, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam, p. 7.

Peterson, W.D., 2011, Cultural flows in the tagalog Senakulo: mimicry, orginality, and intangible cultural heritage, Abstracts, Theatre and Performance in the Asia-Pacific, 26-28 September 2011, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, pp. 5-6.

Peterson, W.D., 2011, Dancing to the transnational beat in Cebu's procincial detention center, Abstracts, Australiasian Assocation for Theatre Drama & Performance Studies Conference, 28 June - 1 July 2011, Monash University, Monash University, Clayton, Australia, p. 84.

Peterson, W.D., 2011, The amazing show: Memory and experience in transnational cultural production in the Philippines, Abstracts, Performance Studies International Conference 17, 25 May 2011 to 29 May 2011, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, p. 51.

Peterson, W.D., 2010, Embodying sinners and saints: enacting tagalog identity in two urban 'Senakulo' (Holy Week), Contesting Religious Identities, Utrecht University, The Netherlands, p. 34.

Peterson, W.D., 2010, Giving the audience what it wants: transgendered performance and the economies of cultural production in The Amazing Phillipine Theatre, Stripping Bare..!, 29 June 2010 to 2 July 2010, Australasian Association for Theatre, Drama and Performance Studies, Canberra, p. 98.

Peterson, W.D., 2009, Boom and bust at Ati-Athihan: inventing and reimagining tradition at the "Filipino Mardi Gras", ADSA09: Boom or Bust! Economies of Production and Exchange in Theatre, Performance and Culture, 30 June 2009 to 3 July 2009, Australasian Association for Theatre, Drama and Performance Studies, Perth, WA, p. 68.

Peterson, W.D., 2009, The Santa Nino likes to come out and play: 'Partying so hard it hurts at Ati-Atihan', Religious Communication, 26 November 2009 - 27 November 2009, School of ECPS, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, p. 20.

Peterson, W.D., 2009, The Santa Nino made me do it: Falling out of ethnographic time at Ati-Atihan, Time Transcendence Performance, 1 October 2009 to 3 October 2009, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, p. 26.

Peterson, W.D., 2008, Canao and the Cordillera festival: performance, identity and politics in the Highlands of Luzon, Re-Constructing Asian-ness(es) in the Global Age, 14 July 2008 - 19 July 2008, The International Federation for Theatre Research.

Peterson, W.D., 2008, The bloodless head of Longinus: political interventions and the decapitation of the Moriones tradition in Marinduque, Komedya: Revisiting the Past for the Possibilities of the Future, 27 February 2008 - 29 February 2008, University of the Philippines Diliman, University of the Philippines Diliman, p. 30.

Other

Peterson, W.D., 2008, Haresh Sharma: the cultural politics of playwriting in contemporary Singapore, Australasian Drama Studies, issue 53, Australasian Drama studies Association, La Trobe University Melbourne Vic Australia, pp. 240-244.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Actors and Acting: Singapore, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, vol 2, Greenwodd Press, Connecticut, USA, pp. 28-29.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Censorship: Singapore, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, vol 2, Greenwood Press, Connecticut, USA, p. 91.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Country entry on Singapore, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, vol 2, Greenwood Press, Westport, USA, pp. 674-676.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Criticism: Singapore, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, vol 2, Greenwood Press, Connecticut, USA, p. 139.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Directors and Directing: Singapore, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, vol 2, Greenwood Press, Connecticut, USA, pp. 171-172.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, entry on theatre companies: Singapore, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, USA.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, entry on criticism: Singapore, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, USA.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, entry on directors and directing: Singapore, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, USA.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, entry on festivals and theatre: Singapore, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, USA.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, entry on theatres: Singapore, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, USA.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, entry on stages: Singapore, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, USA.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, entry on scenography: Singapore, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, USA.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, entry on politics in theatre: Singapore, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, USA.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, entry on actors and acting: Singapore, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, USA.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, entry on censorship: Singapore, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, USA.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, entry on western influence: Singapore, Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, USA.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Festivals and Theatres: Singapore, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, vol 2, Greenwood Press, Connecticut, USA, pp. 207-208.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Kon, Stella (1944-), The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, vol 2, Columbia University Press, New York USA, p. 775.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Kuo Pao Kun, The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, vol 2, Columbia University Press, New York USA, p. 785.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Kuo Pao Kun, Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre, vol 2, Greenwood Press, Connecticut, USA, p. 357.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Ong Keng Sen (1963-), The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, vol 2, Columbia University Press, New York, p. 1006.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, Singapore, The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, vol 2, Columbia University Press, New York USA, pp. 1247-1248.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, South East Asia, The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, vol 2, Columbia University Press, New York USA, pp. 102-105.

Peterson, W.D., 2007, The coffin is too big for the hole, The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, vol 2, Columbia University Press, New York USA, pp. 276-277.

Peterson, W.D., 2006, Singapore, Encyclopedia of Religious Practices, vol 3, Thomson Gale, Farmington USA, pp. 326-330.

Peterson, W.D., 2006, The telling, S Burton, S James, N Moore, 45 minutes, 2 November 2006, Melbourne Vic Australia.

Peterson, W.D., 1999, Entry on Kuo Pao Kun, Contemporary Dramatists, vol minorencyc, St. James Press, Farmington Hills, USA, pp. 375-377.

Peterson, W.D., 1999, Entry on Michael Gurr, Contemporary Dramatists, vol minorencyc, St James Press, Farmington Hills, USA, pp. 264-265.

Peterson, W.D., 1996, Foreward, Second Chance: A Cross Cultural Theatre Casebook, vol minormonog, TheatreWorks Ltd., Singapore, pp. 3-7.

Peterson, W.D., 1990, Interview with Carolee Schneemann, Interview, The Act #2.1, 1990, Performance Project, Inc., NY.

Peterson, W.D., 1990, Of cats, dreams and interior knowledge: an interview with Carolee Schneemann, interview, Performance #59, Winter 1989/90, London, UK.

Teaching Commitment

Current: Exploring Performance (yr1), Performance in Context I (yr1, Asian theatre content), Contemporary Performance Cultures (yr2), Performance Studies II (yr3, Asian Theatre), Independent Theatre Practice (yr3), Production Investigation III (yr3), Performance Investigation (Hons).  Also: Contemporary Drama, Asian Theatre, Transnational Theatre, Literature and Film, Writing/Performance, range of convening responsibilities

Activities

Visiting professorships, fellowships, or other appointments

From: 01/02/2010 To: 30/06/2010
University of the Philipppines Diliman (main) campus
Research Fellow
Dept. of Theatre and Speech Communication

From: 01/03/2005 To: 30/04/2005
University of the Philippines, Diliman
Visiting Researcher
Dept. of Speech Communications & Theatre Arts

From: 01/05/2005 To: 30/06/2005
National University Of Singapore
Isaac Manasseh Meyer Fellow
Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

From: 01/07/2005 To: 31/07/2005
National University Of Singapore
Visiting Researcher
Asia Research Institute

From: 15/11/2007 To: 15/12/2007
Ateneo de Manila University
Visiting Professor
Fine Arts Program

From: 15/11/2010 To: 15/12/2010
University of Amsterdam, Theaterwetenschap
Visiting Professor
Master's Program in International Performance Research (MAIPR) with University of Warwick, Erasmus Mundus Course

Awards

Academic awards (national, international)

From: 01/01/2010 To: 31/12/2010
Australasian Assn for Theatre, Drama & Performance Studies
Commendation, Marlis Thiersch Prize for best journal article, 2010

Postgraduate Research Supervisions

Current Supervision

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

Adapting the Theatrical Potential of the Sri Lankan Ritual Performance for the Modern Theatre..

Supervisors:

Peterson, W (Main), Gregory, F (Associate).

Program of Study:

(MASTER'S BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

Ambient [NULL] - A Future Archaeology of Sound Design.

Supervisors:

Grant, S (Main), Peterson, W (Associate).

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

By means of performance: Theatricalising performativity and performing theatricality as an investigation of a performance theory..

Supervisors:

Peterson, W (Main), Grant, S (Associate).

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

Foeregrounding and signification: a socio-semiotic approach to the plays of Sam Shepard.

Supervisors:

Worth, C (Main), Peterson, W (Associate).

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

From Root to Bloom: An investigation into the contemporary relevance of a classical dance form.

Supervisors:

Peterson, W (Main), Grant, S (Associate).

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

Revival of Bangsawan through Project "Semarak Bangsawan".

Supervisors:

Peterson, W (Main), Gregory, F (Associate).

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

Seeking Dorothy: in the land of OZ.

Supervisors:

Peterson, W (Main), Griffiths, J (Associate).

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

Space, place and the Australian cultural psyche in performance writing.

Supervisors:

Casey, M (Main), Peterson, W (Associate).

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

Staging Sri Lankan cultural identity for the global theatre market: A Contemporary Natyashilpa.

Supervisors:

Peterson, W (Main), Grant, S (Associate).

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

The Survival of Jatra.

Supervisors:

Peterson, W (Main), Gregory, F (Associate).

Program of Study:

(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).

Thesis Title:

The performativity of (dis)closure.

Supervisors:

Grant, S (Main), Peterson, W (Associate).

Completed Supervision

Student:

Creely, E.

Program of Study:

A phenomenological study of actors' experiences of performing in theatre. (PHD) 2011.

Supervisors:

Snow, P (Main), Peterson, W (Associate).

Student:

De Bittencourt, A.

Program of Study:

Anthropophagous Actors - A Polyphonic Acting Rehearsal Practice. (Masters) 2010.

Supervisors:

Snow, P (Main), Peterson, W (Associate).

Student:

Golding, D.

Program of Study:

Being White: Art, Writing and Performance making by Vietnamese and Korean Transnational Adoptees. (Masters) 2010.

Supervisors:

Peterson, W (Main), Casey, M (Associate).

Student:

Grasso, E.

Program of Study:

The concept of community in selected plays by first and second generation Italian-Australian playwrights. (Masters) 2010.

Supervisors:

Scarparo, S (Main), Peterson, W (Associate).

Student:

Kokkinos-Kennedy, K.

Program of Study:

THE HOUSE PROJECT: hedda gabler the remix. (Masters) 2011.

Supervisors:

Griffiths, J (Main), Peterson, W (Associate).

Student:

Petty, L.

Program of Study:

Social Dance in Australia's World War II Dancehalls. (Masters) 2011.

Supervisors:

Peterson, W (Main), Grant, S (Associate).