Geoffrey Milne Bursary (Postgraduate Conference Bursary)

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Purpose  The Geoffrey Milne Bursary assists up to three eligible postgraduates to attend the annual ADSA conference; one of these three bursaries is dedicated to supporting a First Nations postgraduate to participate in the conference. 
Eligibility  The nominee must be: 
  • Enrolled in a PhD at a University in Australia or New Zealand in the year of application (or in an MA or comparable preparatory program scheduled to be upgraded to PhD after a year’s candidature).  
  • Scheduled to present a paper based on their PhD at that year's ADSA Conference.  
  • Endorsed as a potential recipient of a Geoffrey Milne Bursary by their Supervisor before the published closing date.
  •  Submit a completed cover sheet completed by the supervisor
Deadline  15 September 2025 (Extended)
Value  Valued at $600 (for 2025 only in recognition that the conference is taking place in New Zealand), the Bursary provides funding for a year’s ADSA Membership, the Conference registration, and for attendance at the Conference dinner. 
Judging Criteria 
  • The paper topic clearly connects with the theme of the ADSA Conference 
  • The applicant clearly demonstrates the benefit of attending ADSA 
  • The applicant demonstrates strong potential to contribute to the field of Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies in Australasia in the future. 
  • The student has indicated that they are not eligible for additional funding 
Judge Selection  Three judges appointed by the ADSA committee. 
Nomination Process  The Bursary is awarded based on a nomination submitted by the student’s Supervisor. 

Details of the student conference paper, a statement on the benefit of attending the ADSA conference, details on how the applicant demonstrates strong potential to contribute to the field, and a declaration that the student is not eligible for other funding can be attached.

The applicant will submit an application cover sheet and relevant documentation to prizes@adsa.edu.au.
Prize History  Established in 2011, the Geoffrey Milne Bursary honours the late Geoffey Milne's outstanding commitment to the professional development of postgraduate members of ADSA in particular. Geoffrey Milne was a highly visible and much loved member of ADSA for more than thirty years. A long-time Senior Lecturer in Theatre and Drama at La Trobe University, former President of the Association, and  editor of Australasian Drama Studies until his death in 2013, Milne was renowned for his commitment to developing the Association, the field of Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies in Australasia, and each and every individual working in this field. Geoffrey was also a prolific writer on Australian theatre history, a long-standing theatre critic, notably for ABC radio, and a generous and passionate teacher. As a critic, teacher, historian and one-time lighting designer, he was engaged with every facet of theatre’s operation, Geoffrey was loved by all those he taught, worked with and inspired. Open and enthusiastic, his humour, shrewdness and warmth of manner infected the industry he loved so much and became an integral part of its character. 

Geoffrey was a Brecht scholar of passion and distinction. His lectures on Brechtian scenography and his readings of Brecht’s poems were renowned. In the end, however, it was Australian drama that was his chief pursuit. It was not only the scope of his knowledge but the emotional intelligence that informed his approach. He cultivated particular interests in puppetry, regional theatre and youth theatre. In a life spent immersed in the industry, there was little that he missed. His scholarly contribution is reflected in a formidable series of ADSA conference papers on the Australian repertoire and in his crowning achievement, a book Australian Theatre (Un)limited (2004), the best panoptic account of contemporary Australian theatre available, and The Space Between (2004), written with Peter Wilson, on Australian puppetry. 
 

 

Recipients of the Award

2024
Matthew Bapty (University of Queensland)
Bridget Mac Eochagain (University of Sydney)
Triss Niemi (Flinders University)

2023
Madelyn Coupe (University of Queensland)
Emma Lockhart-Wilson (University of Melbourne)
Adam Moulds (University of Sydney)

2022
Sarah Wilson (University of Queensland)
Sue-Anne Wallace (University of Queensland)
Harry Haynes-Wright (Deakin University)
Melita Rowston (University of New England)

2021
Gareth Belling (University of Queensland)
Ciara Condren (Queensland University of Technology)

2020
David Burton (Queensland University of Technology)
Caitlin West (University of Queensland)

2019
Hannah Mason (University of Queensland)

2017
Michael Metzger (Deakin University)
Lawrence Ashford  (University of Sydney)

2016
No Award

2015
No Award

2014
James Wenley (University of Auckland)
Katrina Foster (University of Sydney)
Sharon Matthews (University of Otago)
Aaron Annan (University of Canterbury)
Emily Duncan (University of Otago)

2013
Sarah Peters (University of Southern Queensland)

2012
No Award

2011
Susan Fenty Studham (Edith Cowan University)
Jane Pumai Awi (Queensland University of Technology)