Janet Gibson PhD (she/her) is the founder and director of stAGEing. Janet delights in her work as a creative care artist and practitioner with elders and people living with dementia, both those who reside in aged care homes and those who live in their own residences. Her academic research underpins her practical work: she holds a PhD in theatre and performance studies from Macquarie University, Sydney and publishes widely on dementia, narrative, and performance. She is the co-convenor of the Performance Health and Creative Care working group as part of the Australasian Drama Studies Association and one of the co-founders of the Sydney Care Lab, which aims to think differently about care. She is also a member of the Arts Health Network NSW and ACT (AHNNA) and sits on the board of a disability services organisation.

 

Janet is a trained TimeSlips facilitator who has used this method with elders with dementia for over ten years. She works part-time as a drama therapist at a Sydney aged care facility, employing TimeSlips, Beautiful Questions and other modalities. She completed the Wicking Dementia Centre Understanding Dementia MOOC in 2023 and recently took part in the Diploma of Neuro-Dramatic Play training. Janet is convinced that we all must play more, regardless of age. ‘Play’ and ‘storytelling’ are well-known diversions from life's difficulties. Theatre is now recognised as being able to assist people living with dementia by supporting their emotional, social and cognitive wellbeing.

 

Janet is also a trained actor (Uta Hagen, New York), having worked for many years in theatre, film and television, as well as having conducted drama, dance and improvisation groups for young offenders and women with drug and alcohol issues in refuges around Sydney, including Women’s Place and Detour House, both of which she helped set up.

 

Her work is built on the principles exemplified in Creative Care (Anne Basting) and Care Aesthetics (James Thompson and The Care Lab Manchester).