Since the PhD was established in art, craft and design subjects, there has been a growing discourse questioning theory and its relationship, relevance and importance to practice. This debate has tended to centre on the introspective scrutiny of the practitioner's personal working methods, and has often resulted in the rejection, adaptation or acceptance of theoretical models within practice-based projects. As such, contributions to the theory/practice interchange have ultimately been provided by practitioners alone (or at least from a practitioner's standpoint).As a PhD student in a traditionally academic subject, but based in an Art and Design school, this paper attempts to redress the balance by subjecting the practice of theory to similar study, and the paper concerns the two phases of this investigation.The initial section outlines the qualities of the theoretical approach that continue to separate theory and practice. These centre on the inherent antagonism of the theoretical standpoint, not merely towards "practice", but to the body itself. This is drawn out by a discussion of the metaphorical development of two structures, the tower and the theatre, into symbols that have allowed the detachment of a theoretical perspective from the activities and practice of life. This is extended by defining how this viewpoint has been translated into a graphic method, dominated by footnotes, bibliographies and the denial of "I", leading to the negation of the theorist's own practice.The second section describes my methodological response to this history through the structure of my PhD. This part outlines my solution to the problem of distance between the subject matter and my own practice, by exploring the qualities of the theoretical perspective, as defined in the first section. The paper concludes by suggesting that the apparent incongruity to theory, provided by art, craft and design subjects, offers a valuable opportunity not only for the transformation of practice-based projects, but also for the academic tradition as a whole.