PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES: (Sharp Objects and other Injections of Memoir and Comedy) Written by Lisa K Smith B Arts (Drama) RN- Registered Nurse, RM-Registered Midwife An Exegesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree Master of Arts (Research) Drama and Performance Studies- Creative Industries Faculty Queensland University of Technology. 2016 Supervisors: Principal: Mr. Sean Mee. Creative Industries Faculty-QUT Associate: Dr. Vivienne Muller. Creative industries Faculty-QUT Professional Boundaries: (Sharp Objects and other Injections of Memoir and Comedy) 2 ABSTRACT The creative work for this MA thesis, The Performing Nurse and the research that informs it, seek to join the two key vocations of the researcher – the artist and the nurse – to create the Nurse Artist and claim a voice for nurses. The theatrical performance and the exegetical material represent my original attempts to address the main research question: How can the Nurse Artist emerge to express the self, to gain a voice in a system that often demands compliance and silence? Practice-led research, utilising an auto-ethnographic and an auto- performative approach to critique historical and contemporary nurse archetypes through performance, informs the overall project. The Performing Nurse a production, based around the comic monologues of five characters and developed through five creative iterations, is the primary site for addressing the research question and its component parts. The practice-led approach also involved the use of focus groups and surveys, providing comprehensive feedback from the nursing profession across the creative development phases. The project draws on the pioneering work of Peggy Shaw and Jo Brand whose art is located within the burgeoning field of what is known as Performing Medicine. It engages with the concept of the docile and disciplined body proffered by Michel Foucault, Julia Kristeva’s concept of the abject and Mikhail Bakhtin’s analysis of carnival and the grotesque body to help unpack/analyse/communicate and articulate in aesthetic terms, the nursing experience. The creative practice aims to give a voice to nurses through the Nurse Artist as a comedian, performer and singer, and places her and the issues she raises on stage for viewing, reflection and discussion. The findings point to the efficacy of enabling the Nurse Artist as a mobilising tool for the self-expression of nurses and to enhance nurses’ awareness of self-care. The research contributes to the field of Performing Medicine and points to potential applications within the health sector and Professional Boundaries: (Sharp Objects and other Injections of Memoir and Comedy) 3 the nursing community that increase self- esteem and general well- being, thereby helping to create healthier and fulfilling workplaces. Keywords: Auto-ethnography Arts Health Nurse Artist Performing Medicine Comic monologues Stereotypes Carnivale Foucault Kristeva Grotesque Bodies Professional Boundaries: (Sharp Objects and other Injections of Memoir and Comedy) 4 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this exegesis has not been previously submitted to meet requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made. Signature: QUT Verified Signature Date: August 2016 Professional Boundaries: (Sharp Objects and other Injections of Memoir and Comedy) 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks are due to the academic and general staff of the Creative Industries Faculty at the Queensland University of Technology and to all those who have contributed to the process and completion of this Master of Arts Research. I would like to acknowledge the brilliant support of my supervisors Dr Vivienne Muller and Mr Sean Mee. Thank you for your continual and never ending encouragement for this project. It is indeed, with heartfelt gratitude that I honour you. Your valuable input has enabled the success of this project. To QUT, you have always been there to nurture my creative ‘self’ and have always crafted the most colourful and wonderful opportunities. Thanks must also go to Jill Stanfield and The Loft theatre- QUT and staff. Lilli, my darling thank you for supporting THE PERFORMING NURSE in all her shapes, forms and disguises. Dearest sweet daughter, you make me so proud. I promise to make up for the time we have lost. You are a talent to watch out for! I would also like to acknowledge the support of Brisbane Modern, Chris Osborne and Susan Bennett, who are great patrons of the arts. They accommodated the project in their stunning midcentury home over its many cycles of development. The project was richer with their support. Thank you to the Brisbane and Parramatta Anywhere Festival for the iterations in 2015. Thank you to the nursing community for your time and spirit, especially to the Brisbane and Brislington Nursing Museum. I acknowledge the many matriarchs and nurse elders that have assisted with this research project. My sincerest thanks to all of the nurses from my past and present. You have been part of my arts, health and ‘nurse world’. To Melinda Wallace (AKA- Flora Fascinata), thank you for your amazing creative input and photography. Thanks to friends and family – Dr Anthony Lambert, Dr Matthew Smith, Helen Yeates, Elissa Foster and Rhonda Professional Boundaries: (Sharp Objects and other Injections of Memoir and Comedy) 6 Clarke especially. Your love made it all possible. Lovingly, to my dear Father Tony Smith – thank you for laughing with me and coming to the final performance, despite your health concerns. I’d like to acknowledge my inspiration and mentors Lois Weaver and Peggy Shaw and the ADSA 2012 (Ignite) conference where we first met. Thanks to my many creative friends far and wide, for listening to my stories and sharing your laughter. My hybrid Artist and Nurse thanks you. This research was made possible with all of your support. Thank you. Finally, thanks must also go to the many global female comedy performers who delight and inspire me. They are cheeky, irreverent women who perform the world through a comedy lens. The world is certainly a better place with our laughter in it. Professional Boundaries: (Sharp Objects and other Injections of Memoir and Comedy) 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. 3 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP ............................................................. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... 6 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 11 2. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................. 14 (a) Auto-ethnography/performative ethnography ................................................ 14 (b) Practice- Led Research ..................................................................................... 16 3. CONTEXTUAL REVIEW (PART A) ...................................................................... 17 Women, comedy and resistance ............................................................................ 17 (a) Comedy and women practitioners/performers. ............................................... 17 (b) Comic stereotype and archetype ..................................................................... 19 (c) Women performing artists and the body. ......................................................... 21 (d) Performing Medicine and the Nurse Artist ....................................................... 22 4. CONTEXTUAL REVIEW (PART B) ...................................................................... 26 Docile, Abject and Grotesque bodies .................................................................... 26 (a) Foucault, discipline and the docile body .......................................................... 27 (b) Kristeva and the abject body ........................................................................... 31 (c) Bakhtin and the Carnivalesque ........................................................................ 34 5. THE CREATIVE PRACTICE ................................................................................. 36 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 36 First Performance Iteration. 2nd November, 2012. Early Days. ............................ 37 Preparation for the Ignite Festival, Presentation at Ignite. .................................... 37 Second Performance Iteration. 23rd August,2013. ................................................ 40 Presentation and Showing to small audience L202, QUT. KG. Brisbane. ............ 40 Third Performance Iteration. 17th October, 2014. ................................................. 44 Private performance for Nurses and Midwives at 9 Burchell St, Brisbane. ........... 44 Fourth Performance Iteration. ................................................................................ 46 Part A: 7th, 8th, 9th May, 2015, The Anywhere Festival at 9 Burchell St, Brisbane. QLD ...................................................................................................... 46 Professional Boundaries: (Sharp Objects and other Injections of Memoir and Comedy) 8 Part B:14th,15th May, 2015 Anywhere