British Shakespeare Association Biennial Conference 2005
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Programme : Panels - Seminars - Workshops
Seminar - Shakespeare on Location
Sunday 4th September 2005, 9.30-11.00am,
Bedson Teaching Centre LG37
Participants | Call for Papers
Participants
Convenor - Reina Green,
Mount Saint Vincent University
Yvonne Griggs
Alycia Smith-Howard, New York University
Donald A. Bloom, Alabama School of Math & Science
Annaliese Connolly, Sheffield Hallam University
Jennifer Drouin, McGill University
Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe, University of Wales, Aberystwyth
John Pendergast, Southern Illinois University
Veronika Schandl
Heather Violanti, Shakespeare Institute
Call for Papers
Below is the original Call for Papers, as circulated. Please note that the date for submissions has passed and the successful participants are listed above.
Convenor: Reina Green (Mount Saint Vincent University)
What is the relationship between performance location and play-world setting?
Increasingly, Shakespeare's plays are being performed in "alternative"
or non-traditional
settings, in parks, on beaches, in forest clearings, and while these are in
some ways
closer to the public theatre space of Shakespeare's time, and likely reflective
of recent
popular screen adaptations of his plays, the amorphous and unbounded nature
of these
spaces offers new challenges. In addition, the performance of Shakespeare's
plays in
Asia, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe is another aspect of how
Shakespeare's plays are now being performed in an increasing variety of locations.
While a moonlit forest may now be considered an ideal location for a performance
of A
Midsummer Night's Dream, there has been little critical consideration of how
such a
performance space may alter interpretation of the play world, or of the adaptation
required to perform the play in such a location. Where is Theseus' palace when
all the
stage's a wood? What is the impact of performing the storm scene in Lear on
a
beautiful summer's day? How does one adapt Hamlet for a beach performance? How
does one adapt it for performance in Japan or Brazil? Postcolonial theory has
prompted
investigation of such diverse cultural perspectives, but such examinations have
often
taken an exclusively theoretical stance; it is only in very recent years that
attention has
been given to either performance practice or audience response.
Participants interested in any aspect of the relationship between performance
location
and play-world setting are asked to submit a brief description (no more than
300 words)
of their work. Possible approaches to the topic may include cultural studies
and textual
analysis, theatrical practice and performance theory, and the seminar seeks
to develop
a multicultural interdisciplinary perspective. Participants will be asked to
write, circulate
and respond to short exploratory papers prior to the seminar. Other readings
may also
be recommended, depending on the particular interests of the participants. Also,
visual
images of performances (digital photographs and digital video clips preferred)
that
highlight the issue under discussion are encouraged.
Interested participants are asked to email their submissions to reina.green@msvu.ca
by
March 1, 2005.
