Rate My Professor Sarah Courtis

Dr. Sarah Courtis serves as a Lecturer in University Preparation Pathways at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy at Murdoch University in 2019 with the thesis titled 2084: A study of the lyric in musical theatre, which examines the lyric as an art form within musical theatre. Prior to her PhD, she earned an Honours degree from the same institution in 2012, focusing on Scattered across time: Wagner's influence on the contemporary lyric in musical theatre. Her PhD was undertaken in the School of Arts. Courtis's academic interests and research specializations include musical theatre, Tolkien studies, disability studies, queer studies, lyrics, poetics, theatre, practice as research, and performance, as listed on her Murdoch University research profile and Google Scholar. She is recognized as a Fellow of Advance HE. Additionally, she teaches in the Bachelor of Arts program in musical theatre at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.

Sarah Courtis has made notable contributions to scholarly publications in her fields. Key works include the article 'Along came this song: Meaningful musicking and wonderful wordplay in modern fantasy media' published in Science Fiction Film and Television (2024); 'Beauty is power, longing a disease': Asexuality and disability readings of Passion' in Studies in Musical Theatre (2023); a chapter on 'Hope, Performative Diversity and re-production: Hamilton and COVID-Era Politics'; and a contribution to Liminal Diasporas in the Era of COVID-19 (2021) with Rahul K. Gairola and Tim Flanagan. She co-authored the forthcoming 'Disability Studies' review in Literary and Critical Theory (2025) with Melissa Merchant. Previously, she served as an Associate Lecturer in Career Learning at Murdoch University. Courtis is actively involved in theatre practice, having co-directed Much Ado About Nothing at Nexus Theatre in 2023 with Alys Daroy and Stephen Platt, and stage-managed the sci-fi radio play @lantis in 2018. Her interdisciplinary work connects academic research with practical performance, enhancing understandings of representation and diversity in musical theatre and media.