MATC Graduate Student Outreach

[Penelope Farfan]

Dear Colleagues,

As Graduate Student Outreach Co-ordinator for the Mid-America Theatre
Conference (MATC), I am writing to invite you to encourage graduate
students in your department to consider joining the organization.

The Mid-America Theatre Conference is held every March at a mid-western
city (eg. Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, St. Louis, Kansas City), with
panels in the areas of Theatre History, Directing, and Playwriting.
Graduate students are welcome to submit proposals to these forums or to
the Young Scholars Symposium.  All proposals are refereed.  Because of
its small size, MATC serves as an ideal setting for graduate students to
begin to share their work with and get feedback from established
scholars.  Membership in MATC also includes a subscription to Theatre
History Studies, a leading journal in the field.

Please find below the Calls for Papers for the upcoming conference to be
held March 8-11, 2001 in Chicago.  I would appreciate if you could pass
this information on to interested graduate students.

Thanks for your co-operation.

Sincerely,

Penny Farfan
Graduate Student Outreach Co-ordinator, Mid-America Theatre Conference

University of Calgary
Department of Drama
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary
Alberta
Canada  T2N 1N4

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CALLS FOR PAPERS

Theatre History Symposium

Framing Devices/Devised Frame

We invite papers on the general topic of American theatre and framing
with both terms broadly construed.
"Framing" is used to refer to the way in which one couches an arguments
as well as to how the proscenium arch borders the stage. "Frame
slippage," according to Goffman, describes a blurring of contexts as two
or more realities intersect. Accordingly, we welcome proposals on
scenographic topics, on theoretical methodologies, and on productions
inviting audience involvement in Brechtian or participatory ways
depending on the "not not." We also welcome papers that construe
"America" in its widest sense, including not only rural areas, Hawaii,
Alaska, and Puerto Rico, but also Canada and Latin America.

Papers might address questions of how particular topics are framed
dramaturgically in order to appeal to
particular anticipated audiences; how environments frame performances;
how particular performance texts are framed through directorial, design
or performance choices; how ideology frames theatre; how theatre frames
ideology; why theatre buildings are set in districts that frame them in
a way that suggests certain associations while repressing others; how
productions of plays in contexts other than those in which they were
originally written or mounted reframe them and invite new and/or
multiple interpretations; how the frame of an interpretive context can
fracture, distort, multiply, or regenerate the meaning or valence of a
production.

Please send us a one-page abstract with biographical information by
November 1, 2000. Abstracts should be 150-200 words long and must
include the applicant's name, address, telephone number, and email
address, as well as her/his academic affiliation. Final papers should
not exceed 2500 words. Papers will be limited to oral presentations of
fifteen to twenty minutes maximum. Please include a request for any
needed audio-visual equipment in your proposal.

Send abstracts to either:

Jonathan Chambers, Department of Theatre, St. Lawrence University,
Canton, NY 13617; Phone:
315-229-5143; Fax: 315-229-7425; email: jcha at music.stlawu.edu

                                             or

Dorothy Chansky, Department of Theatre, Speech, and Dance, The College
of William and Mary, Phi Beta
Kappa Memorial Hall, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795; Phone: 757-221-2660;
Fax: 757-221-2507; email:
dachan at wm.edu

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Directing Symposium

Building Collaborative Bridges and Relationships

Creating an effective, open, collaborative process in the theatre is one
of the most difficult jobs that any director encounters.  Indeed, even
defining what collaboration truly means is a trying and, many times,
frustrating process.  How can the modern director effectively
collaborate with both actors and designers, playwrights and
actor/playwrights in collaborative texts, to create an environment that
both fosters creativity while simultaneously developing a unified
product? Moreover, how can these effective relationships be duplicated
and/or replicated on a consistent basis?

The Mid-America Theatre Conference Directing Symposium is seeking papers
and production histories or workshop presentations which document the
collaborative process for the director both in preparation and
production.

Please send a one-page abstract of 150-200 words and a brief
biographical statement by November 1, 2000 Include email address as well
as office and home phone in the body of the abstract. We will attempt to
notify those whose proposals have been selected for presentation by
December 1, 2000. The time limit for individual papers is fifteen (15)
minutes. leaving time for questions and answers at the end of the
session. Complete panels or workshops should not exceed seventy-five
(75) minutes, including question and answer period. Please include a
request for any needed audio-visual equipment with your proposal.

Send the above to:

James Buglewicz, Department of Communication Studies, Theatre and
Humanities, Missouri Western State
College, 4525 Downs Drive, St. Joseph, MO 64507. Phone: 816-271-4441;
email: bugle at griffon.msu.edu

                                             or

William Jenkins, Department of Theatre and Dance, Ball State University,
Muncie, IN 47306. Phone:
765-285-8745; email: wjenkins at gw.bsu.edu

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Playwriting Symposium

The Playwright as a Member of the Community

What is the role of the playwright in the greater community of theatre,
academe, or of humankind? Does the playwright have a mandate to explore
and reflect upon this greater community? In what ways can a playwright
interact with other members of the community to bring about awareness,
generate dialogues, develop collaborations, or discover solutions? The
Playwriting Symposium wishes to examine these and other aspects of the
playwright as a member of the community for its 2001 symposium.

The Symposium would like to consider the playwright’s work within the
theatrical production community. Within the community of artists, is the
role of the playwright evolving? What changes have occurred over the
last twenty-five years?  Has the emergence of the dramaturg changed the
paradigm between playwright and director? What changes are envisioned
for the future? Who owns the script if the play is a collective work or
an improvised text? What dynamics occur when the playwright takes on
than one role within the community (e.g., actor, director)?

The Symposium would also like to examine the academic community. How
does the playwright fit into the university environment? In what ways
can the playwright enter into interdisciplinary work with women¼s
studies, ethics, sociology, and psychology? What is the relationship
between playwriting programs and creative writing programs in English
departments?

The Symposium is also interested in the playwright¼s relationship with
the civic community. How can issue-oriented plays become magnets for
attracting members of the community together to examine problems? How
can new, socially relevant plays create community awareness on a larger
scale? What strategies can a playwright employ to become an interactive
player with business and civic leaders? What are the implications for
theatre groups who accept funding from corporations?  What is the impact
of grant money on subject, theme, and the freedom to create?

The Playwriting Symposium is looking for papers, panels, workshops, or
combinations of the aforementioned presentations.  Sessions are 75
minutes in length and proposals should adhere to the time limits. It may
be possible to schedule a double session for a workshop. Send proposals
by November 1, 2000 to either of the symposium chairs:

Judith Zivanovic, 1413A Orchard Drive, Brookings, SD 57006; Phone:
605-692-2281; email:
jzivan56 at yahoo.com

                                             or

Lynn-Steven Johanson, College of Education, Horrabin 27, Western
Illinois University, Macomb, IL 61455;
Phone: 309-298-1634; FAX: 309-298-3066; email: ls-johanson at wiu.edu

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Young Scholars Symposium

Two Debut Panels: One Graduate and One Undergraduate

Undergraduate and Graduate students are invited to submit papers on any
topic in American theatre history for the Young Scholars Symposia, two
debut panels of the Mid-America Theatre Conference. The theme for this
year's theatre history symposium is "Theatre and the Community of
Strangers" and the issues associated with the dynamic of solidarity and
the theatre's role in the creation of community. Papers for the two
Young Scholars Symposia are welcome on any aspect of this broad mandate,
or on any other topic in American theatre history.

Students whose papers are selected will receive free conference
registration, free admission to the conference luncheons, a one-year
membership in MATC, and a cash prize of $50. Undergraduate winners will
also be paired with a conference mentor.

Papers should be 7-10 pages in length (1750-2500 words). Deadline is
December 15, 2000. Send paper along with the nomination letter to:

Kathleen McLennan, Department of Theatre Arts, University of North
Dakota, P.O. Box 8136, Grand Forks, ND 58202-8136; Phone: ; email:
kmclennan at prairie.nodak.edu