Key details
Jillian Wallis
Senior Lecturer in Drama, Programme Leader BA (Hons) Drama
Jillian trained at Dartington College of Arts and has a professional background in theatre as a performer and director. She has produced and toured theatre all over the UK and in Europe, mostly working on new plays and theatre for companies with particular physical and visual styles, devising with writers, ensemble physical theatre and site-specific performance. Early freelance credits include performing or directing for Brith Gof, Pop Up Theatre/ Theatre Rites, Emergency Exit Arts, Dudendance. Jillian was a founder member of Twisted Stocking Theatre which was project funded by London Borough Grants and the Arts Council of England and also Wot Theatre, a funded community touring company based in Cardiff.
Jillian collaborates with contemporary theatre companies as a director and performance maker and publishes articles on her practice based research interests. She was a visiting lecturer in Performance Skills at Royal Holloway University for 3 years 1998- 2001 and she has been a lecturer in Drama at University of Greenwich since 2008.
Further theatre training has been undertaken with David Glass, John Wright, Peta Lily, Enriche Pardo, Frankie Armstrong, Leonie Kubigsteltig, Thomas Kampe, Told By An Idiot, Jasmin Vardimon Company.
Responsibilities within the university
Programme Leader for BA Hons Drama.
Co-ordinates and teaches on the following courses:
Physical Theatre and the Body
Modern Stages
Drama Production
Performance Skills and Practices
Oversees the Bathway Theatre Network (www.bathwaytheatre.co.uk)
The BTN is an online platform and physical space for contemporary performance companies and individuals to link together and enable collaboration, artistic exposure and mutual learning, based at the U o G drama facility with its 100 seat theatre, in Woolwich.
Recognition
Teaching Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Research / Scholarly interests
Physical Theatre; Directing; Theatre Making
Jillian is a director and theatre maker with special interest in work that arises from physical or choreographic practice but involves characters and text. In 2016 she created a site specific piece The Pub Under the Stairs, with 5 performers and a digital artist as part of The Broken Plate, an ACE funded project. Other recent collaborations include working with Daniele Ridolfi on a contemporary mime performance that was selected for the Cos Reus Physical Theatre Festival in Spain. She also worked with Pattern Fight Theatre, devising and directing So Pleased To Meet You which considers the imaginative pursuits and ethics of virtual connectivity, and in 2014 she collaborated with Akleriah to create Emma Hamilton's Attitudes Renewed for The Queen's House art gallery.
For the MA Media Arts Philosophy & Practice, studied contemporary political philosophy and aesthetics. Jillian's practice-based research was around intuitive logic: spontaneity, improvisation and the nature of play-time. She led and filmed a series of both children and adult performance (and other arts) workshops, editing the findings into a short film entitled Not Knowing What's Next.
Recent publications
Article
Hockham, David and , Wallis, Jillian (2023), Operationalising the concept of recontextualisation: leveraging pedagogy and learning strategies in higher education practical courses. Springer Netherlands. In: , , , . Springer Netherlands, Higher Education ISSN: 0018-1560 (Print), 1573-174X (Online) (doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01136-3).
Wallis, Jillian and , (2016), Lady Emma Hamilton’s attitudes renewed: Art gallery performance project. Intellect Ltd.. In: , , , . Intellect Ltd., Scene, 4 (1) . pp. 43-49 ISSN: 2044-3714 (Print), 2044-3722 (Online) (doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1386/scene.4.1.43_1).
Installation
Wallis, Jillian and , (2016), The Pub Under the Stairs. University of Greenwich. In: The Pub Under the Stairs, 20-21 May 2016, London, UK , . University of Greenwich, (doi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf-6BAZqa44&t=11s).