After 27 years developing theatre and drama education at Charles Sturt University (CSU) Ray Goodlass is retiring this Friday, 17 March. Ray is senior lecturer and postgraduate course coordinator in the School of Visual and Performing Arts at CSU and chaired the Arts and Culture Research Group of the University's Centre for Rural Social Research. Dean of CSU’s Faculty of Arts, Professor Lyn Gorman praised Ray’s long-term contribution to theatre education at CSU, his passion for regional theatre and the cultural life of Wagga Wagga. Involved in drama education all his adult life, Ray has directed over 100 professional and student productions, most recently as resident director for the University Theatre Ensemble. He has been a guest lecturer on acting and script analysis at UCLA, Los Angeles and NIDA and was director of the Riverina Theatre Company for two years. “Ray’s work as an artist has in turn challenged, provoked, enriched and engaged Wagga Wagga audiences for nearly 30 years,” said Kevin Poynter, lecturer in Design for Theatre and Television at CSU. In his ‘retirement’, Ray plans to complete his PhD on the poetics of gay theatre and continue his trade union and political advocacy work