- Asian diaspora theatre
- contemporary Asian theatre
- inter –cultural –medial –national performance
- traditional Asian theatre
Asian Theatre
The Asian Theatre working group, established in 2008, meets annually at the IFTR conference. The group facilitates discussions of practices, histories and research approaches in various Asian theatre disciplines. It welcomes new members and encourages collaborations with other working groups.
KEYWORDS
EMAIL ADDRESS
CFP FOR REGIONAL COLLOQUIUM 2025
Asian Theatre Working Group #16
in cooperation with Saitama University, Japan
22 – 23 March 2025
Festivals & Festa – Performing the Public Space
CFP FOR IFTR 2025
IFTR’s Asian Theatre Working Group invites papers for working group meeting during the annual conference in Cologne in June 2025. We welcome submissions that follow the main conference themes: ekstasis, subversion and metamorphosis, as well as other propositions that align with the Asian Theatre Working Group’s mission.
In the Saitama Colloquium which takes place in March 2025, we focus on the topic of festivals and festas in the Asian theatre context. We think this could be a useful framework for scholars and practitioners in the Asian Theatre WG when they respond to the main Call for Papers for the IFTR 2025. Therefore, we welcome papers or other forms of reflections on theatre, festivals and theatre festivals in and out of Asia as public platforms where histories and memories are contested and negotiated locally, transregionally and transnationally.
Along the lines of the main conference theme, we encourage submissions that re-think festivals dramaturgically, historically and socio-politically. What is displaced by these festivals? Who is included and who is excluded? What is overturned and subverted by festival activities? How do festivals transform urban and rural Asia? How do they rewrite histories and (re)contextualise local, regional or global stories? How do theatre and festivals negotiate public and private spaces? What kind of dramaturgies do they advance? For more inspiration, please refer to the main conference call.
Beyond the festival theme, we plan to allocate one or two working group sessions to discuss new topics that might emerge from the main conference theme or the submitted papers.
We hope to receive a wide range of proposals from historiographical, socio-political, intermedial, methodological, practical and other perspectives. We also welcome both individual papers and alternative proposals such as workshops, roundtable discussions or artist-led panels. If you’re proposing an alternative format, please indicate your technical needs and duration in the abstract.
Abstracts of 200-250 words along with 50-100 word bio can be submitted via the IFTR Cambridge Core portal. Please note that you must renew your membership or become a member in order to submit: https://www.cambridge.org/core/membership/iftr
The deadline for abstracts for working group papers is 15 January 2025. Make sure you choose Asian Theatre working group in the drop-down menu when you submit your abstract on Cambridge Core portal.
Individual papers / drafts between 1000 and 3000 words in length are to be distributed by 9 May 2025. For alternative formats, an outline will be due by the same date.
For information about the conference, please check the IFTR website. For updates about Asian Theatre Working Group, please visit https://iftr.org/working-groups/asian-theatre
Any enquiries about the working group can be sent to conveners
Dr Liyang Xia, Centre for Ibsen Studies, University of Oslo
Beri Juraic, Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts, Lancaster University
CONVENERS
Liyang Xia, Centre for Ibsen Studies, University of Oslo
Beri Juraic, Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts
PAST CONVENERS
Yasushi Nagata (founding convener), Osaka University
Mitsuya Mori, Seijo University
Sir Anril P. Tiatco, University of the Philippines Diliman
MISSION STATEMENT
Since its formation in 2008 by Yasushi Nagata (Osaka University), the ATWG has welcomed a diverse group of scholars, practitioners and students that are interested in the various Asian theatre cultures. The core mission of the group is to broadly:
· explore scholarly research on Asian theatre and performance
· study Asian theatre and performance and investigates their influence on and relationship to world theatre
· focus on the dramaturgical, aesthetical, and organisational aspects related to performances in/out of Asia
· contribute to discussions about the technological and theoretical perspectives of Asian theatre in its entirety, including, but not limited to, traditional forms, contemporary performances, Asian Western-style performances and performances by Asian diaspora
· propose new theoretical perspectives and methodologies in Asian theatre scholarship
· illuminate Asian theatre and performance practices through dialogue with theatre makers
PAST ACTIVITIES
ATWG Winter / Spring Meetings (Colloquiums / Conferences):
ATWG #15 National Chung Cheng University
“Theatre, War, Memory” Taiwan, 18 – 19 February 2023
ATWG #14 University of the Philippines Diliman
“Towards a Post-COVID-19 Asian Theatres”, Virtual Meeting and Conference, Philippines 2 – 4 March 2022
ATWG #13 Osaka University
“Asian Theatres and Wars” Virtual Meeting, Japan , 9 January 2021
ATWG #12 Korea National University of the Arts
“Asian Theatre and Beyond”, Seoul, South Korea, 21 – 22 February 2019
1st Transregional IFTR Conference University of the Philippines Diliman
“Bodies in/and Asian Theatres”, First Transregional IFTR Conference Quezon City, Philippines, 21 – 23 February 2018
ATWG #11 Manipal University
“Theatre and Hybridity”, Jaipur, India, 18 – 19 February 2017
ATWG #10 Nanyang Technological University
“Asian Theatre and Modernity Part 2”, Singapore, March 2016
ATWG #9 Osaka University
“Asian Theatre and Modernity Part 1”, Japan, March 2014