https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/21548 2026-07-19T00:01:33Z 2026-07-19T00:01:33Z Aquilina, Stefan https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148015 2026-07-13T10:34:14Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Performing academia : building a successful university career Authors: Aquilina, Stefan Abstract: Using an autoethnographic approach, this book offers practical strategies and case studies to help scholars better perform the many roles of an academic. With academic formation at its foundational core, the book presents practical strategies aimed at facilitating academic performance, particularly in the areas of research-informed teaching, interdisciplinarity and collaboration, community engagement and the development of an international academic profile. The view of academia that emerges is a holistic and integrated one, with teaching often adopted as the locus where pedagogy connects with research and outreach. While the case studies presented are rooted in theatre and performance, the emerging concerns are relevant to anyone engaged in higher education. The book begins as a reflection on the author's own university career, revolving around 15 years of experience at the University of Malta and consistent engagement with research methodologies, reflective teaching, networking, internationalization and the duties associated with administration and senior management positions. Building on these reflections, the book supports academics in the initial stages of their career who might be seeking guidance to navigate, or perform, their roles in academia, as well as more seasoned academics looking to revitalize aspects of their work.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Aquilina, Stefan https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148001 2026-07-13T08:26:50Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Stanislavsky’s use of improvisation Authors: Aquilina, Stefan Abstract: Stanislavsky’s Use of Improvisation is the first work that brings together material across Stanislavsky’s entire career to survey his use of improvisation. Improvisation was a key concern for Stanislavsky, one that impinged on his acting, directing, and pedagogical work. Consequently, it features in many books on the System, but this study is unique because it focuses explicitly on improvisation and its place in Stanislavsky’s development as a theatre-maker. This allows the reader to see how Stanislavsky treated improvisation as a highly mutable practice that was not bound to one particular interpretation, definition, or application. Improvisation will always relate to the present moment in an actor’s work, to the here and now; it values aliveness and an engagement with the role. Beyond that, however, Stanislavsky’s use of improvisation was a dynamic and expanded one that answered a range of work challenges.

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Aquilina, Stefan https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147798 2026-07-03T09:31:22Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Maurice Maeterlinck’s ‘the tragic in daily life’ : a video essay Authors: Aquilina, Stefan Abstract: This video essay offers a methodology aimed at making historical figures from theatre and performance relevant to contemporary studies, practice, and training. It uses Maurice Maeterlinck’s essay ‘The Tragedy in Daily Life’ as a case-study to demonstrate how this contemporaneity is achieved by i) using fragments from the essay as a stimulus for generating performance material and (ii) transforming a key concept, idea, or theme into an instance of actor training. An accompanying Research Statement contextualises the project.

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Aquilina, Stefan https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147794 2026-07-03T09:22:46Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Editorial [Stanislavski Studies, 14(1)] Authors: Aquilina, Stefan Abstract: It is a pleasure to introduce here the essays comprising Volume 14, Issue 1 of the journal Stanislavski Studies. Last November, the Stanislavsky Research Centre (Leeds/Malta) and my own Department of Theatre Studies (University of Malta) have convened The S Word symposium on the theme of Stanislavsky’s Many Faces – Then and Now. The symposium drew a full programme of panels, presentations, and workshops, with the varied contexts represented – the USA, the UK, Greece, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Ukraine, Malta, Albania, Turkey, Denmark, India, Brazil, Australia, and Taiwan – evidencing the very international nature of our field. Presentations delivered at the symposium start emerging in this current issue as fully developed, peer-reviewed essays, with more expected to feature in the coming months.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z