Dr Sam Fox

Sam (he/him) lectures in the Bachelor of Performing Arts course at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

Current teaching

• BPA2008 - Site Specific Production and Presentation
• PAD3103 - Theory and Practice of Contemporary Performance
• PMA1010 - Devising Physical Theatre

He also coordinates a range of units and mentors students within the department.

Background

Sam Fox (he/him) is a writer and performance maker living in Boorloo – upon Whadjuk Noongar Country. Sam lectures at WAAPA and holds a Ph.D. in creative writing from the University of Western Australia. His academic research explores cultures of resistance and somatic notions of social re-assembly — documenting practices of collective bodies actively resisting forces of synchronic division.

Sam originally trained as a contemporary dancer at WAAPA (2003) but quickly moved into interdisciplinary performance, creating work for a wide range of festivals and platforms across Australia and internationally. Sam's company, Hydra Poesis, was based at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Arts for a decade (2006-2016) and specialised in collaboratively made, experimental and politically challenging performance. Key works include: Personal Political Physical Challenge; The Technocultural Bodysuit Series; and PROMPTER.

Alongside his independent and company practice, Sam has worked as a facilitator and producer in community-collaborative and socially engaged arts practice. Key roles include: facilitator with the My Studio Performance Maker's Collective (2018-present); artistic director of the Experience Collider project (2017-18); collaborator and ally artist on Patrick Carter's projects (2011-present; lead artist on the Digital Dialogues project (2013-15); and artistic director Steps Youth Dance Company (2007-8).

Sam is a former recipient of the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship (2011) and has sat on numerous panels and boards. He also holds a Masters in Teaching by Research from Deakin, a Graduate Diploma in English and Cultural Studies from UWA, and a BA in Dance from WAAPA.

Professional associations

• 2014-15 - Australia Council for the Arts (Peer Panellist)
• 2009-2012 - Department of Culture and the Arts (Arts Development Panellist)
• 2012-13 - Contact Inc (Board Member)
• 2008-2010 - Hold Your Horses (Board Member)
• 2006-present - ARTRAGE (Honorary Life Member)
• 2011-2013 - Perth Festival  (Peer Review Panellist)

Awards and recognition

National and International awards

• 2015 - Shortlisted for ‘Best Australian Dance Work’ at the Helpman Awards and ‘Best Independent Dance Work’ at the Australian Dance Awards in the capacity of producer for precipice, choreographed by Rachel Arianne Ogle
• 2014 - Shortlisted for the West Australian Premier’s Book Award for PROMPTER, with co-writer Patrick Pittman
• 2012 & 2013 - Awarded Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship
• 2012 - Awarded ‘Best Experimental Film’ for Liberty In The Dark (writer and director), Big Mini Media Festival, Brooklyn NY

Research areas and interests

• Performance Studies
• New Materialism
• Marxism and Ecology
• Speculative Fiction
• Contemporary Performance
• Somatics
• Contemporary Dance
• Collectivism
• Cultural Work
• Literary Theory
• Writing for Performance
• Activist Studies
• Critical Social Theory

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Western Australia, 2023.
• Master of Teaching, Deakin University, 2017.
• Diploma in Arts, The University of Western Australia, 2016.
• Bachelor of Arts (Dance), Edith Cowan University, 2004.