Julia Henderson
PhD candidate in Theatre Studies Julia Henderson’s second theatre studies peer-reviewed article has been published in Theatre Research in Canada, Volume 37 / No 1 (Spring 2015), edited by Marlis Schweitzer. The article, “Challenging Age Binaries by Viewing King Lear in Temporal Depth“ is based on research first presented at the Canadian Association for Theatre Research 2013 national conference for which Julia received honourable mention for the Robert Lawrence prize for emerging scholars. In this article Julia uses Anne Davis Basting’s ‘depth model of aging’ to analyze age-effects in a Vancouver production of King Lear, arguing that instead of employing a chronological lens, it is possible for contemporary productions of classical works containing themes on aging to engage with post-modern concepts of time while still considering age, and thereby highlight positive age narratives rather than a narrative of decline.
Julia Henderson is a Ph.D. Candidate in Theatre Studies at the University of British Columbia. She is a graduate of the acting program at Circle in the Square Theatre School, and also trained as an occupational therapist (OT) at Queen’s University. In pursuing her PhD, she has combined her experience working with older people with her interest in theatre by researching the role of theatre in shaping cultural perceptions of aging. Her thesis research explores ways in which contemporary North American and British plays express and, in particular, resist ageist narratives, especially the narrative of decline. Julia’s awards include the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canadian Doctoral Scholarship, the Killam Pre-doctoral Fellowship, 2012 Aging and Society Conference Graduate Scholar Award, and honourable mention for the 2013 Robert G. Lawrence Prize at CATR.
