Delyse Ryan

PhD, MA, BA(Hons), GradCertHigherEd

At St Margaret’s 1981-1986

Dr Delyse Ryan is the National Course Coordinator for the Creative Arts and a Senior Lecturer in Drama at the Brisbane campus of Australian Catholic University (ACU). She has lectured at ACU since 1995. She is a theatre director and has created over 120 student theatre performances. She has a keen interest in developing new ways of performing classic texts for contemporary audiences. Her PhD study focused on Brisbane’s theatre history, while her most recent research interests include theatre history and the teaching of drama within a higher education context. She has given research presentations at national and international conferences and developed online pedagogical tools for drama students. She has received an ACU Excellence in Teaching Award and an ACU Citation for her teaching. Delyse is keenly interested in taking performances into schools as a part of her community engagement and is thrilled to maintain a link with Under 8s Week celebrations at St Margaret’s by bringing picture books to life through performance.

Of her St Margaret’s years Delyse said: “My years at St Margaret’s prepared me for the rigours of academic life by instilling in me a strong work ethic and a passion for pursuing things that interested me. As an academic you need to be curious about the world and to question everything that you know. While I was a student at St Margaret’s, I was encouraged to be inquisitive and to embrace new opportunities. These ideals underscored my university experiences and opened avenues of research and creative practice that I will value forever. The education that I received at St Margaret’s taught me to simply put my head down and get on with the task at hand. Being responsible for your own learning and your own journey was something that the school helped us to achieve.”

Delyse also said the resilience she learned as a boarder stood her in great stead throughout her career. “Being able to cope with what life throws at you and be calm and rational in your response to the world around you was a cultural necessity in the rough-n-tumble world of an adolescent boarding house. The life-lessons learned have stood me in good stead throughout my career. At St Margaret’s I was surrounded by wonderful peers and inspirational role models. Life is much easier when you have a support team, so I have been careful to make sure that I have the right people around me.”