Visualise Your Thesis People’s Choice Award goes to drama researcher

Faculty of Arts and Education PhD graduate Asher Johnson has won the People’s Choice Award for his Visualise Your Thesis (VYT) presentation – Teacher-As-Playwright: an approach to writing for performance education to enhance the social impact of students and community.

On Thursday 3rd August, 16 contestants took to the stage or screen in front of a sold-out live audience to explain their research project in three minutes Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) or in a one-minute digital presentation VYT. The 3MT and VYT competitions promote research communication and showcase the diversity and value of graduate research.

Mr Johnson, an experienced teacher and theatre educator, has been researching how teachers can overcome the restraints of budget, inexperience and other factors affecting school drama performances to enhance the social impacts for students and the school community.

“I’d like to thank my supervisors Associate Professor Joanne O’Mara and Dr Jo-Anne Raphael for their support, humour, professionalism and genius,” said Mr Johnson.

“Asher applied his humour and scriptwriting talents to the creation of this VYT video, creating it seemed a perfect alignment with his PhD study. It is succinct, elegant and funny, we were not surprised to hear it was the people’s choice,” said Dr Raphael.

Watch the winning presentation.

Left to right: Associate Professor Joanne O’Mara, Asher Johnson, Dr Jo Raphael