CFP: Dramaturgy Focus Group, ATHE 2019

ATHE 2019

SCENE CHANGES: PERFORMING, TEACHING AND WORKING THROUGH THE
TRANSITIONS

Orlando, FL | August 7-11, 2019

Dramaturgy Focus Group
Call for Proposals (Full Paper Panels, Full Roundtables, and Individual Papers)

The Dramaturgy Focus Group (DR) of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE)
invites proposals for full paper panels, full roundtables, and individual papers for the 2019 ATHE
conference theme, “Scene Changes: Performing, Teaching and Working Through the
Transitions” to be held in Orlando, Florida from August 7- 11, 2019.

The Dramaturgy Focus Group is interested in thinking through how dramaturgs and how acts of
dramaturgy may aid in “Scene Changes” (in any way that you may want to intersect with this
term). We are interested in panels and papers that can navigate the conference theme (the full
theme can be found at the end of this CFP) without feeling beholden to using the phrase “Scene
Changes” in the title of your panel or paper. We are always interested in papers and panel
submissions that think about dramaturgy in practical, theoretical, and educational ways.

Submission Deadlines:
• Individual papers proposals must be sent by Friday, October 12th to Martine Kei
Green-Rogers at martinekeigreen[at]gmail.com
• Complete panels must be submitted by Thursday, November 1 via the ATHE online form
at http://www.athe.org.

Tips for submitting proposals:
1. Proposals for complete panels (with all presenters assembled) should be submitted directly to
ATHE through the website at www.athe.org beginning September 21, 2018. The deadline for all
proposals is November 1, 2018.

2. If you would like assistance in panel coordination, please use the Dramaturgy Focus Group
Facebook page (ATHE Dramaturgy Focus Group), our Focus Group page on the ATHE website,
or email individual paper proposals to the conference planner ( martinekeigreen[at]gmail.com ) no
later than Friday, October 12th. Please note, this option does not guarantee
submission/acceptance to the conference.

3. Submissions may be either discipline specific (Dramaturgy = DR) or multidisciplinary (MD).
a. If your session addresses primarily Dramaturgy, then choose “Single Focus Group” on the
online proposal form. All DR-targeted proposals will be sent to the DR conference planner and
executive committee to be ranked. It is not necessary to contact the conference planner before
submitting a DR proposal (unless you have questions).
b. If your session addresses Dramaturgy but is also appropriate for another Focus Group, you
may select DR as one of your Focus Groups for an MD panel. Please contact the conference
planners for each of the targeted Focus Groups before submitting the panel. MD proposals are
ranked by each of its affiliated Focus Groups.

4. Notes for ATHE Conference 2019
a. Please note the conference dates this year. They are later than the dates of the 2018
conference. It will not be possible to request specific days for presentations.
b. ATHE is committed to maintaining current conference costs and encourages you to consider
going “tech-free” for your panel. Of course, if that is not possible, please be sure to request
technology when submitting your proposal. For questions about what is included in LCD/Tech
packages, please contact both ATHE’s Event Planner Briana Baker at brianab[at]ewald.com and
our Conference Planner, Andrew Gibb at conf2019[at]athe.org.
c. Participants will be limited to a maximum of two presentations, which include delivering a
paper, serving on a roundtable, or serving in an equivalent role in a different type of session.
There is no limit to the number of sessions that a person can Chair or Coordinate. Session
coordinators should expect to hear whether or not proposals have been accepted or rejected by
mid-February 2019.

Questions? Contact Dramaturgy (DR) Conference Planner - Martine Kei Green-Rogers at
martinekeigreen[at]gmail.com

The full conference theme is below:

As the lobby lights flicker, calling ATHE back to a second act in Orlando, it’s hard not to think
about all that has transpired in that city, in the world, on our stages, and in our classrooms since
last we gathered in The City Beautiful in 2013. Seemingly accelerated cycles of public violence,
political change, creative innovation, and generational expectations have led us to ponder what
comes next, and how exactly we’ve arrived at our present moment. Our return to the resort
space of the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress affords us the opportunity to pause and reflect on
the constantly changing scenery, to contemplate the forces that have thus far shaped our field
and our organization, and to debate possible visions of the future—for our art, our institutions,
and our students.

The city of Orlando and the state of Florida have over the years experienced dramatic scene
shifts, often presaging national changes. From colonial wars to contested elections, Indian
Removal Acts to mass shootings, urban experiments to moon shots—Orlando offers to the
visitor a panoramic background of troubled pasts and future visions, prompting us to consider
the possibilities and consequences of our scene changes. The city’s various theme parks provide their own encapsulated representations of past and future, visions that are themselves constantly
changing, both in their built scenic environments and in the ideologies that such scenery
materializes.

The 2019 Conference Committee invites you back to Orlando for an exploration of all that the
theme of “Scene Changes” suggests. What are the practical challenges of scene changes for
playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, designers, actors, stage managers, and stage crews? For
whom is a scene change an interlude of quiet contemplation, and for whom is it the busiest
moment of the night? What is the history of the scene shift, and how have theatre artists dealt
with changes in production methods and audience tastes? How do scene shifts shape
audiences’ experiences? How will our field respond to the challenges and opportunities
represented by recent changes in leadership, and by shifting economies of production? How do
we reflect on techniques of theatre education and scholarship in this changing moment? How
can we begin to proactively change the scenes of the theatrical climate and structure? Perhaps
most importantly, how will we make use of the present moment to redress previous wrongs,
preserve what is important, and move forward into the future?

Come to Orlando for a change in scenery, and stay for a creative contemplation of that special
moment in between, when we collectively sit in the dark, taking in what we’ve just seen, and
imagining what might come next.

CFP: Dramaturgy as Public Criticism for ATHE 2019 in Orlando

CFP: Dramaturgy as Public Criticism

A multi-disciplinary panel to be submitted to Theory & Criticism and Dramaturgy Focus Groups

Association for Theatre in Higher Education conference, Orlando, Florida, August 7-11, 2019

Public theatre criticism is disappearing from traditional outlets (periodicals) at the same as dramaturgs and education/audience development associates are increasingly developing initiatives and programming to help audiences make meaning out of their theatrical experiences. Program notes, audience study guides, interviews, talk backs, lobby displays, reading groups, pre/post show lectures, and interactive experiences are now regular features of theatre-going across theatres of various sizes, budgets, and missions. These dramaturgical efforts function to contextualize and offer frameworks for interpretation. In doing so, they overlap with the missions and activities of the public humanities, public history, and museum studies.

This panel aims to explore how public-focused dramaturgy (as opposed to production-focused dramaturgy) produces and teaches theatre criticism. Potential topics include:

·       The place of theory in public-oriented dramaturgical practice (i.e. a Foucauldian or Althusserian lobby display)

·       Comparative explorations between classroom/academic criticism and public dramaturgy

·       Canons and vocabularies of interpretation and aesthetics for the public

·       The place and problems of affect in audience development

·       Best (and worst) practices for public criticism

·       Public dramaturgy as public pedagogy

Interested scholars and dramaturgs should send a brief abstract (250 words) and CV or bio to Dan Smith (dansmith_251[at]yahoo.com) and Gina Di Salvo (gina.disalvo[at]gmail.com) by Sept 30 in preparation for panel submission in advance of ATHE’s deadline.