Ashley McAskill is a Fonds de Recherche du Québec (FQRSC) recipient and a PhD candidate in Communication Studies at Concordia University in Montréal, Québec. She has a BA in Theatre and Film Studies, and English, and a MA in Communication and New Media from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Combining her experience in both the disability and theatre communities, McAskill is researching the artistic complexities behind the creative work of Canadian theatre companies working with disabled artists. Her main doctoral project question is how are such companies shifting understandings of disability and theatre making in Canada? Some of the companies included in her PhD research are Theatre Terrific based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Les productions des pieds des mains in Montreal, Quebec, and the performance training program, Les Muses, also located in Montreal. Other research interests include gender and beauty practices, the spectacle of public performativity, feminist media studies, and performance art.
