- adaptation
- cross-disciplinarity
- disruptive
- dramaturgy
- performance
- radical
- translation
- Translation, adaption, dramaturgy and cultural appropriation
- Dramaturgy and Power
- Translation and Violence
- Adaptation and Gender
- Transformation and Transgression
- Carnivalizing translation, adaptation, and dramaturgy
- Carnival and the Cultural Imaginaries of translation, adaptation, and dramaturgy
- Carnival and Material Cultures of translation, adaptation, and dramaturgy
- Open call: We also encourage other submissions on any aspect of translation, adaptation, and dramaturgy.
Translation, Adaptation and Dramaturgy
Translation, Adaptation and Dramaturgy (TAD) working group was founded in 2009. It focuses on facilitating discussion and exchange on all aspects of its three strands of enquiry, particularly where those strands intersect with or challenge the the dominant discourses of the others.
KEYWORDS
transdapturgy.iftr@gmail.com
CfP FOR IFTR 2025
Call for Papers for The Translation, Adaptation, and Dramaturgy Working Group at IFTR in Cologne, 9th–13th June 2025
Translation, Adaptation and Dramaturgy (TAD) is an interdisciplinary Working Group whose members research within the respective fields of theatre translation, adaptation and dramaturgy and, more interestingly, at the intersections of those, combining interests in the local and the global, historical and contemporary, text and performance, theory and practice, critical theory, cultural studies, ethics, politics and aesthetics.
In response to the theme of the Cologne 2025 conference – ‘Performing Carnival!: Ekstasis | Subversion | Metamorphosis’, we propose the following topics or variations thereof:
For the Cologne conference, we welcome full-length papers of up to 3000 words that will be distributed in advance.
Submission:
Abstracts should 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.
Deadline for submission of abstracts: 15 January 2025
Deadline for bursary applications: 22nd November 2024 (https://iftr.org/conference/bursaries)
Acceptance:
Applicants will be informed of acceptance by March 2025.
Working Group Practice
Translation, Adaptation and Dramaturgy is a semi-open group in which papers are distributed to participants for reading before the conference. Presenters provide brief overviews of their papers (five to ten minutes) during the Working Group sessions, followed by an extended discussion that engages all participants. This approach allows for debate and the collaborative exchange of ideas. We are dedicated to creating an open and inclusive space for a broad range of topics at various stages of development, including works in progress. Post-graduate students and early-career scholars are especially encouraged to contribute their work.
We often receive a large number of proposals. Where it is not possible to schedule a paper in the time slots allocated to the working group, the convenors will propose papers to the organisers for inclusion in General Panels or the New Scholars Forum instead.
For information about the general conference, please check the IFTR website. Please also check for updates on the Translation, Adaptation, and Dramaturgy Working Group Page at https://iftr.org/working-groups/translation-adaptation-and-dramaturgy
If you have questions about the group or about attending please contact the working group convenors, Bernadette Cochrane bernadette.cochrane@uq.edu.u or Stephanie Sandberg sandbergs@wlu.edu. You can also reach us at our Working Group email address: transdapturgy.iftr@gmail.com
Kind regards
Bernadette, Stephanie, and Kasia
CONVENORS
Kasia Lech, k.k.lech@uva.nl (2020-2024)
Bernadette Cochrane, bernadette.cochrane@uq.edu.au (2022-2026)
Stephanie Sandberg, sandbergs@wlu.edu (2022-2026)
REMIT
Translation, Adaptation and Dramaturgy (TAD) is an cross-disciplinary Working Group whose members research within the respective fields of theatre translation, adaptation and dramaturgy and, more interestingly, at the intersections of those, combining interests in the local and the global, historical and contemporary, text and performance, theory and practice, critical theory, cultural studies, ethics, politics and aesthetics. The group works towards both individual and shared outputs and involves short and long-term collaborations, as well as an ongoing commitment to rigour, curiosity and new ideas.
Papers (up to 3000 words) are pre-circulated four weeks before the conference, followed by brief (up to 10 minutes) verbal presentations at the conference to ensure time for discussion and exchange.
Individual conveners serve for four years, and are elected according to the IFTR guidelines, biannually.
Work Plan 2022-2024
The group is working towards a new edited collection Dramaturgical Interventions – Translation, Adaptation and Dramaturgy as Transformative Practices to be published with Brill in 2024. It is edited by Ann-Christine Simke, Shane Pike, Katja Krebs, Kasia Lech, and Nelson Barre. The volume explores how translation, adaptation and dramaturgy are politically intervening in, unsettling and re-centering artistic and institutional discourses and practices amidst recent political, social and technological/digital shifts. The group is also working on a multilingual TAD dictionary.
Conference Reports
2024 Philippines
The conference theme provided a rich provocation for the working group with eleven papers being presented. Topics included tragedy of the feminine, translation and adaptation and cultural contexts, and the challenges and opportunities offered by digital dramaturgies. The group discussed opportunities to meet prior to the next conference.
2023 Accra
During this important week, we heard and discussed ten papers covering theatre in Poland, Ukraine, Iceland, Ghana, the USA, India, the UK, and France. The papers opened up questions about different powers and positionalities also related to our key concepts - translation, adaptation, and dramaturgy - and how we are defining them. Kasia Lech shared updates on the edited collection, which will be completed in 2024. The group has also discussed how to engage with colleagues outside of the US, Australia, and Western Europe.
2022 Reykjavík
This was an exciting week during which we heard and discussed fifteen papers covering theatre related to Iceland, Tanzania, Australia, Germany, Togo, the USA, Poland, Afghanistan, Canada, France, Vietnam, and Czechia. These discussions became a springboard for our thinking about new transnational projects and publications, and alternative ways of disseminating our work. Bernadette Cochrane and Stephanie Sandberg were chosen as new co-convenors to take over from Duška Radosavljević. The group has also discussed and created new rules of how to share and feedback on papers in the most supportive way. Shake Pike shared updates on the edited collection and the group has decided to continue to work on the multilingual dictionary project.
2021 Galway
The conference took place online and, thanks to excellent technical support, the proceedings were flawless. We heard nineteen papers from presenters in Australia, India, Tel Aviv, Europe and the United States. It was a packed schedule but there was time for sufficient time for discussion and we had an AGM at the end where we were able to exchange information about personal projects and plans. Most importantly for the group, Anne-Christine Simke presented about the edited collection that she is co-editing with another three WG members. Also Kasia Lech will be co-ordinating an initiative she proposed last year for an online dictionary of our Working Group so we can begin building sharable online resources. WG convener re-election will be run by email in the year 2021-22 to replace Duška Radosavljević and have a handover at the next conference.
AGM Meeting 16 July 2020
Due to the Corona Virus pandemic, IFTR in Galway was not held this year but is being moved to 2021. As we recently elected a new co-convener (Kasia Lech), the Translation, Adaptation and Dramaturgy Working Group did hold an AGM in the week originally scheduled to take place in Galway. We met on Zoom and had 18 participants some of whom were due to present in the conference this year and some of whom joined the meeting to find out more about the group in response to a circular sent out by the IFTR. In the spirit of the Mission Statement of the Working Group, the new members were welcomed to the meeting. The Agenda included Communications from the Chair about the WG webpage on the IFTR website which was updated in the summer of 2019 following the Shanghai conference. Duška Radosavljević reminded the participants about the Mission Statement of the Working Group, the current work plan stated on the website and the need to keep working collaboratively on shared outputs. We discussed potential meetings and options for collaboration and Ann-Christine Simke updated the group on the progress of the edited collection she is working on. Bernadette Cochrane has stepped down as co-editor and Ann-Christine is looking for another co-editor. Suggestions were received and the group will proceed to work on this and other collaborative ventures further. Haike Gehring stressed the importance of us including the marginalised voices of various intersectional communities from the Global South and emphasised the African multilingualism as an important aspect to be integrated within the remit of this Working Group as a whole. The new co-convener Kasia Lech presented her ideas for two Online Resources that she would like to work with the WG on for inclusion on our IFTR TAD WG website. We ended the meeting by toasting the outgoing convener Katja Krebs and inaugurating the new convener Kasia Lech.
Shanghai 2019
Thirteen papers were pre-circulated and presented, including three from new members on the topic of Chinese theatre. (Nineteen abstracts had been submitted and eighteen acceptances made; five members were prevented from attending due to personal circumstances). There was ample time for discussion within sessions. The annual general meeting of the group featured an update on the book collection, exchange of information about potential networking throughout the year and future plans for the group. One of the conveners is about to step down in 2019-2020 so there will be a new election. Following previous intersections with the Arabic Theatre Working Group and the Theatre Architecture Working Group, we hope to curate a shared panel next year with either Queer Futures or Political Performance group.
Belgrade 2018
The conference topic of migration landed itself well to the group. There were fourteen papers pre-circulated and presented at the conference, roughly half of which spoke directly to the conference theme. Other topics in addition included imagination and dramaturgy, medicine and dramaturgy and violence and adaptation.
Sao Paolo 2017
We were a relatively small group this year, with 9 people delivering papers. A tenth paper was submitted, but its author did not appear for his panel. Other conference delegates, including past and new TAD members, also attended sessions. As occurred last year, papers were circulated among members in advance in order to maximize the opportunity for discussion of those papers. Because of the small-ish number of attendees, the convenors chose not to sponsor a TAD panel among the conference’s General Panels – in order not to dilute engagement within the TAD sessions. We marked the publication of the latest TAD publication: O’Toole, Emer, Andrea Pelegrí Kristíc, and Stuart Young, eds. Ethical Exchanges: Translation, Adaptation, Dramaturgy. Leiden and Boston: Brill Rodopi, 2017.
Publications
O'Toole, Emer; Pelegri Kristić, Andrea; Young Stuart (2017) Ethical Exchanges in Translation, Adaptation and Dramaturgy, (Leiden: Brill Rodopi).
Cochrane, Bernadette and Kurt Taroff. (2011) “Mediations and Correlations.” Special Issue of Journal of Adaptation in Film & Performance, Vol 4 (3).
Previous Conveners
Duška Radosavljević (2018-2022)
Katja Krebs (2016 – 2020)
Stuart Young (2013 - 2017)
Bernadette Cochrane (2010-2014)
Kurt Taroff (2009-2013)