Theatre, nation and identity: between migration and stasis

The Theatre Architecture Working Group invites proposals from new and existing members for the 2018 IFTR World Congress

Deadline for bursary applications: 10 December 2017

Deadline for proposals: 15 January 2018

The purpose of the Theatre Architecture Working Group is to explore all that theatre architecture has been historically, is at present, and might be in the future, while also asking how else the disciplines of theatre and architecture intersect. For our forthcoming meeting during the IFTR World Congress in Belgrade, Serbia, we invite proposals which engage with the main conference theme: ‘Theatre, nation and identity: between migration and stasis’. Focused on the term migration, this theme poses the question, ‘how have theatre and performance responded to issues of exile, displacement and Otherness?’ It also asks how the notion of migration might be used to think about the mobility of bodies and the mixing and cross-fertilization of forms, practices and ideas.

For our meeting in Belgrade we invite new and existing members from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to submit proposals which investigate how theatre architecture and/or the relationship between theatre and architecture might be understood through the associated concepts of migration, mobility and stasis.

Proposals may address (but are not limited to):

• Spatial performativity and architecture/theatre architecture
• Open, closed, mobile, or nomadic theatres
• Impermanent, transient or porous spaces of performance
• The mixing and remixing of concepts and practices between theatre and architecture
• The migration of architectural and/or theatrical conventions and styles across nations and cultures
• Choric spaces: dynamic, choreographic spaces of performance
• Borders as theatrical spaces and sites of performance (see Nield 2006)
• Issues of exclusion, containment and restriction
• Theatres and other sites of performance in times of war and geopolitical and/or cultural upheaval
• The encounter of mobile, moving bodies and architecture/theatre architecture
• Theatre architecture and the construction/contestation of community and identity
• Theatre architecture and processes of political, social and cultural change
• Theatres as places of stasis in a dizzyingly mobile world
• The appropriation and/or détournement of monumental architectures/theatre architectures
• Artist-led approaches to the design of new theatres and spaces of performance
• Empty and abandoned theatres
• Temporality, materiality and theatre architecture
• Speculative, imagined and unbuilt theatre architectures
• Theatre architecture and ecological aesthetics

During the IFTR World Congress in Belgrade we also warmly welcome new members who wish to take part in the group's discussions, but who do not want to submit a paper.

Submission Procedures

Abstracts should be submitted through the Cambridge Core website https://www.cambridge.org/core/membership/iftr where you can also find information on membership and a link to the conference website. When you submit your abstract please make sure that you indicate that you are submitting to the Theatre Architecture Working Group. Please also send a copy of your abstract to the Working Group conveners via email. The deadline for submission of abstracts is 15 January 2018.

Our Process

The Theatre Architecture Working Group works by circulating papers (of approximately 3,000 words) to members in advance of the conference. For our meeting during the IFTR conference in Belgrade speakers will be invited to speak for no more than fifteen minutes and will be paired with a respondent from the group who will offer a brief response. This presentation and response format will then be followed by further discussion by the group. This format is structured to encourage more in-depth exchange and a constructive and supportive ‘workshopping’ of members’ papers than is normally the case with standard conference panels.

We ask that speakers email copies of their papers to the conveners by July 1, 2018, for uploading to the group’s shared Dropbox. We also strongly encourage members to attend every session of the Working Group during the conference so as to contribute to discussion throughout.

Further Information about the Theatre Architecture Working Group

https://www.iftr.org/working-groups/theatre-architecture

Bursaries

In its aim to foster international exchange, the IFTR offers financial aid to scholars wishing to participate in its Annual Conference. These bursaries are awarded on the basis of merit, relevance to the conference or Working Group theme, and financial need. For information and instructions about bursaries, and to download the application form, please visit: https://www.iftr.org/conference/bursaries

Working Group Conveners

Dr. Andrew Filmer: awf@aber.ac.uk