CALL FOR PAPERS PRESENTING THE THEATRICAL PAST Interplays of Artefacts, Discourses and Practices SCENOGRAPHY WORKING GROUP IFTR 2016, Stockholm University 13-17 June, 2016

PRESENTING THE THEATRICAL PAST

Interplays of Artefacts, Discourses and Practices

Deadline for proposals: 15 January 2016

(Deadline for bursary applications: 1 December 2015) 

“Presenting the Theatrical Past: Interplays of Artefacts, Discourses and Practices” addresses questions concerning our relationship to theatre history, i.e. the relation between present and past. How and why do we deal with history? What do we do with history? To what extent is historical research an exploration of our present?

The Scenography Working Group (SWG) of the International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR) invites paper proposals for our forthcoming meeting at the IFTR annual conference in Stockholm in June 2016. The aim of the Working Group is to address design for performance (in all of its theatrical forms and including events that may be staged well beyond conventional theatre buildings). For our meeting in Stockholm we will be adopting the main theme of the IFTR conference (see http://www.iftr.org/conference ), which offers the opportunity to explore the discipline of scenography in relation to its histories, presents and futures. Presentations may take a number of forms (see below).

In addition, there are opportunities to explore productive exchanges with jointly convened sessions with the Theatre Architecture and Intermediality in Theatre and Performance working groups (see below).

We invite proposals for our Scenography Working Group meeting, or for contributions to the proposed joint general panels with the Architecture Working Group and the Intermediality Working Group.

 

1. Presenting the Theatrical Past

[Scenography Working Group Meeting]

 

“As artists and scholars trying to make histories of theatre and performance, our desire is to find the ‘truth’, to somehow ‘tell it how it really was’ […] to make sense of a hitherto unclear past”. (Baugh 2013: xv)

 

Contributions may wish to address (but are not restricted to):

 

• ·      genealogies, scenographic traditions and legacies
• ·      re-thinking significant moments and events  in performance history
• ·      contemporary research in scenography in relation to past practices
• ·      the development of scenography as a discipline and related historiographic issues
• ·      the presentation, re-presentation and archiving of the materials of performance
• ·      the relationship between histories of place and designed performance space
• ·      performance design histories and their impact on contemporary practices
• ·      the relationship between sustainable practices, historical theatre, and ‘deep time’ in performance-making; can we reduce, reuse and recycle while also preserving the past?

 

 

2. Here, Then, Now: Genealogies of Theatre Architecture and Scenography

[Joint General Panel with the Theatre Architecture Working Group]

 

The Theatre Architecture and Scenography Working Groups invite proposals for contributions to a joint general panel during the IFTR Stockholm conference. This panel will represent both Working Groups by speaking to our shared interest in the histories and genealogies of theatre architecture and scenography and to the intersections between past and present practices. Panellists will attend their primary Working Group meetings but will present their work during this joint panel. Contributions to this panel will take the form of 15-minute provocations that adopt a clear critical position in relation to this theme and seek to open up further discussion with fellow panellists and members of both Working Groups.

 

Proposals may wish to address (but are not limited to):

 

• ·      historic convergences, divergences and intersections between scenography and architecture (see Olwig 2011)
• ·      different theoretical paradigms and sensual or aesthetic regimes that have influenced the development of scenography, architecture and theatre architecture
• ·      scenographic and architectural strategies by which performance and wider social/cultural activities have been ‘staged’ or presented historically (theatres, concert halls, ballrooms, parks, public open space, etc.)
• ·      scenographic and architectural strategies by which historic performance and wider social/cultural activities are now ‘restaged’ or presented (museums, historical re-enactments, ‘authentic’ performance, revivals of plays/performances, etc.)
• ·      the presentation or ‘restaging’ of historic architecture and scenography
• ·      the ‘presencing’ of architecture by scenography (and vice versa)
• ·      considerations of the dialectics of visual and spatial design

 

 

 

3. Staging the Intermedial Past: Intersections Between Scenography and Intermediality

[Joint General Panel with the Intermediality in Theatre and Performance Working Group]

 

The Scenography and Intermediality in Theatre and Performance Working Groups invite proposals for contributions to a joint general panel during the IFTR Stockholm conference. This panel will represent both Working Groups by speaking to our shared interest in the histories and genealogies of the analogue and digital in the realisation of performance and to the intersections between past and present practices. Panellists will attend their primary Working Group meetings but will present their work during this joint panel. Contributions to this panel will take the form of 15-minute provocations that adopt a clear critical position in relation to this theme and seek to open up further discussion with fellow panellists and members of both Working Groups.

 

Proposals may wish to address (but are not limited to):

 

• ·      ways in which historical performances can be seen as intermedial events or as located within an intermedial context: early photography, cinema, radio and television used within live events, print media and performance
• ·      approaches to historical performance through network models of production and cultural exchange, adopted from theories of intermediality
• ·      scenographic returns to the analogue: traditional, ‘analogue’ materials and techniques used in new ways, blended digital and analogue scenography, digital realisations of traditional techniques
• ·      digital strategies in the re-presentation of historical performance: online resources and artefacts, archives, 3D visualisation, virtual realities and blended realities
• ·      the history of inter- and multi-medial performance
• ·      any other proposal that addresses the panel theme of intermediality, scenography and presenting the theatrical past.

 

Please note: IFTR rules prevent individuals from presenting more than one paper during the conference.

 

About the IFTR Scenography Working Group

 

This working group's research focuses upon the history, theory, aesthetics and practice of scenography through a specific program of meetings, presentations and publication. The group also aims to nurture and develop new contributions to practice-led research by providing opportunities for scenographers and designers to discuss their work and exchange ideas in an international academic forum. Our research investigates scenographic elements, (including: costume, setting, make-up, sound design, lighting design, masks, puppets and objects) and considers their proxemic relationship to performers and audiences in traditional and non-traditional spaces. Such research considers both contemporary practice and the influences of scenography on theatrical form and the audience experience of performance. By offering opportunities to share and discuss members’ research in a variety of formats, we aim to promote aesthetic, theoretical and philosophical investigations that are both distinct from and inclusive of technological developments for performance.

 

The Scenography Working Group welcomes early career researchers and postgraduate scholars (either as presenters or observer/participants) although they may also wish to contribute to the IFTR New Scholars programme, which may be more appropriate. IFTR rules prevent individuals from presenting more than one paper during the conference.

 

Working Group Co-convenors

 

Scott Palmer s.d.palmer@leeds.ac.uk

Nick Hunt nick.hunt@bruford.ac.uk

 

 

 

Format of Presentations for Presenting the Theatrical Past [Scenography Working Group Meeting]

 

Following our successful ‘Shared Space’ symposium at the Prague Quadrennial in June 2015 where the Seminar/Provocation model was introduced, the Scenography Working Group invite proposals for the Stockholm meeting in EITHER of these formats:

 

 

1. Academic paper presentation (20 minute maximum) followed by questions

 

Abstracts will be double blind peer reviewed before acceptance. Papers (usually around 3,500 words) will be made available to participants two weeks before the conference. Presenters are encouraged not to read papers in full, but to guide the audience through the main arguments and ideas. The formal presentation will be followed by a question and answer session to promote in-depth discussion and constructive debate within a supportive environment. This format is ideal for those looking for feedback prior to a future submission for publication.

 

2. Seminar Proposal / Provocation for focused group discussion (15 minute maximum)

 

Presentation will be followed by small group discussions responding to the themes of the provocation. Abstracts will be double blind peer reviewed before acceptance. An outline of the proposal/paper will be made available to participants two weeks before the conference. This format is useful in developing ideas, connections and gaining further theoretical insights as part of the process of research within a supportive environment.

 

Submission Procedures

 

Abstracts should be submitted through the conference website, which contains detailed instructions.  Please visit http://www.iftr.org/conference  and send a back-up copy of your proposal to the Working Group co-convenors via email.

 

The deadline for submission of abstracts is 15 January 2016. (If you apply for a bursary by 1 December 2015, you also have to submit your abstract via the conference website by 15 January 2016.)

 

Please note that in order to submit an abstract for consideration you must be a member of IFTR. Membership for 2016 can be purchased from October onwards here: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/memServHome?name=IFTR

It is necessary to formally submit your abstract according to the guidelines which will be available on the conference website (http://www.iftr.org/conference ). In order to present at the World Congress each member will need to buy membership of IFTR and in Spring 2016 to register and pay for the conference (IFTR operate a banding system and a number of concessions are available). Full information will be available on the website shortly.

 

Additional information such as the form your proposed submission will take and any information about restrictions to your availability over the course of the IFTR World Congress should be included on the online form under ‘equipment required’ and MUST be discussed (via email) with the Working Group co-convenors.

 

We anticipate that the process of peer review and presentation as part of the working group’s proceedings will be beneficial to the process of publication in a range of international peer-reviewed journals and volumes in the field.

 

Bursaries

IFTR supports researchers suffering financial hardship by providing a limited number of bursaries each year. These bursaries are awarded on the basis of merit, relevance to the conference or Working Group theme, and financial need. Please visit www.iftr.org for information and instructions about bursaries, and to download the application form.

 

Further information on IFTR can be found here: https://www.iftr.org/

 

References:

Baugh, Christopher. 2013. Theatre, performance and technology: the development and transformation of scenography. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Olwig, Kenneth R. 2011. ‘Performance, ætherial space and the practice of landscape/architecture: the case of the missing mask’Social and Cultural Geography: Practising architectures, Volume 12, Issue 3, 305-318.