You never know just where a degree will take you.

When Lincoln Elliott enrolled in an undergraduate music degree at UNE, he had just two simple goals – to learn some composition skills and solidify his music theory.

Already a working actor and multi-instrumentalist, Lincoln was not considering a research path. But five years on, he’s settling in to write a musical for a creative PhD.

“I wasn’t even planning to do Honours,” Lincoln says, “but it had been suggested to me by a couple of lecturers, and then COVID hit. There wasn’t much independent theatre happening in 2020, and not much else going on.

“I ended up graduating with First Class Honours.”

A PhD was the idea of his Honours supervisor, UNE Music Associate Professor Paul Smith.

“He said, ‘well, you know – you got good marks, you could apply for a scholarship and if you don’t get it, you don’t have to do it … but then at least you know what your options are’ and I did, and here we are!”

A year in, and having his creative work “somewhat planned out”, Lincoln applied for, and received, a City of Sydney Creative Grant to help him workshop his musical with actors once it’s written, as a step towards developing it as a full production.

These sliding doors moments have opened up an opportunity for Lincoln to prove to himself just what he is capable of, with the support of Paul and co-supervisor Associate Professor Donna Hewitt. 

“So when I’m between acting jobs, I now have my day job, which is my PhD. Which is kind of a crazy fortunate situation to be in – to get paid to write a musical!

“Because UNE offers the PhD in creative practice it’s nice to be able to develop a creative piece that’s supported by rigorous research. I don’t think I would have done this otherwise!”

It’s also a chance to create something important and new – drawing on his Wiradjuri identity, the story of his musical will imagine a heist of the British Museum, stealing back items of value to colonised communities.

The story follows his interest in scrutinising the representation of identity in Australian musical theatre and reclaiming voices of traditionally marginalised communities.

“It’s meaningful to me personally to be able to kind of explore that identity, and the conflicts that come with that. And it’s a privilege to be continuing the tradition of storytelling and creating and arts practice.”

Now deep in writing to create the script, Lincoln has one year to “smash out” a musical to meet the deadline of the grant. He’s previously written a few film scripts, a web series, and some “terrible plays”, as well as half an hour of sung-through music for his Honours degree. But this challenge is next level.

“Someone at a conference I attended said writing a musical is one of the hardest things you could do! I think the main challenges for me will be nailing down what my own personal voice and perspective is, and finding where that fits with what’s currently being released in theatre.

“I hope it’s a fulfilling experience. It’s very scary!”

While his plans are big, and he hopes to have fun with the genre of the musical, he also hopes it will encourage people to think about the value of art.

“It’s about appreciating the legacy and history of the artists that came before us, and the responsibility we have to carry that on and help improve things for future generations.”

And he hopes his experience might encourage others.

“If ‘stumbling into’ my PhD has taught me anything, it’s that hard work will open doors, and reveal others you didn’t even know were there. If you don’t know where a door will lead, you may as well stick your head through and have a look around, you never know what opportunities might exist.

“And even if you’ve never applied for a grant before, it’s definitely worth it — you never know what will happen!”