ATHE 2021 Dramaturgy Focus Group CFP

 

CFP: Dramaturgy Focus Group (DRFG), Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE)

August 5-8, 2021: Austin, TX (hybrid conference with some virtual sessions)

 

ATHE’s 2021 conference theme is RE: ATHE. A hybrid conference including both in-person sessions in Austin and pre-recorded virtual sessions, ATHE 2021 will focus on interrogating the organization as a whole: “this moment demands us to reconsider theatre and ATHE, to disrupt our previous practices, and reassemble new futures.” The overall conference CFP is available on ATHE’s website: https://www.athe.org/page/21conf_home

 

The Dramaturgy Focus Group invites proposals responding to these ideas, as well as reflections on the current state of dramaturgy as a field. We envision a series of panels and roundtables, and welcome proposals that would offer innovative structures. Some possibilities include:

 

• RE: Association. Remark, Reshape, Reconnect. Dramaturging organizations and institutions. Who is in the room? Connecting with Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA). Dramaturgy and Community.

 

• RE: Theatre. Revolt, React, Reverberate. Dramaturgy and Accessibility; Dramaturgy for Applied Theatre; Dramaturgy for Immersive Theatre; Dramaturgy and Intimacy. Dramaturgies of pandemic theatre: Zoom theatre, livestreaming, socially distanced theatre. Dramaturgy and #WeSeeYouWAT.

 

• RE: Higher Education. Rehearse, Research, Rewrite. Dramaturging Arts and Humanities/Arts vs. Humanities. Dramaturgies of austerity. Dramaturgs as scholar/artists. Rendering labor visible and legible.

 

• RE: ATHE. Reflect, Resist, Reconvene. Dramaturging the academic conference. Tourist sites and virtual sites. Reclaiming, rejecting, and/or reinventing practices and structures. 

 

If you have an idea for an individual presentation, please contact DRFG Conference Planner Dan Smith, who will attempt to develop sessions from individual proposals. ATHE only accepts complete panel submissions. If you have an idea for a panel, you will need to assemble participants, probably by circulating a call for proposals for your own session.

 

Submission Deadlines:
• Individual paper proposals must be sent by Sunday, November 1 to Dan Smith at dansmith_251@yahoo.com
• Complete panels must be submitted by Tuesday, December 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. The deadline for all proposals is December 1, 2019. 

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 (dansmith_251@yahoo.com) no later than Sunday, November 1. 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), but it is helpful to keep the conference planner informed as there may be strength in combining the efforts of similar panels. 

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 affiliated Focus Groups. If you list a Focus Group as a sponsor for an MD session without having contacted that Focus Group’s Conference Planner, your session is likely to be rejected.

4. Notes for ATHE Conference 2021

a. Please note the conference dates this year. They are later than the dates of the 2020 conference. It will not be possible to request specific days for presentations. The current plan for a hybrid conference does not allow for hybrid panels. You must pitch your session as either a face-to-face session in Austin or as a virtual session.

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.

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-March 2020. 

Questions? Contact Dramaturgy (DR) Conference Planner – Dan Smith at dansmith_251@yahoo.com