CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Expressions of interest are invited from scholars in areas like theatre studies, sociology, children’s literature, education and labour history to contribute to an edited volume on the topic:

Entertaining children: the participation of children in theatre and the entertainment industry

Children have meant big business in European and North American theatre since the 19th century. Tracy Davis, Anne Varty and others have explored the role of children and its relation to notions of childhood in Victorian Britain. Richard Butsch has pointed to the significance of children as consumers during the development of cinema in the early 20th century and beyond in America. There have been studies of ‘infant phenomena’ but globally the study of children in the theatre both from historical and contemporary perspectives is under-researched. This seems to be particularly the case in non-European contexts. Therefore the proposed volume should contain contributions which set the subject within a global framework.
	
It could be argued that children have been and continue to be a vital constituent of the theatrical marketplace and therefore central to any discussion of the economies of theatre: they have been exploited as performers and wooed energetically as consumers. Images of children in performance have circulated and been used in the advertising industry since the 19th century to promote shows, to reinforce cultural values and to demonstrate that play can indeed lead to pay. More recently, performance by and for children has intersected with issues regarding personal and social wellbeing. 

Suggested questions which chapters might address include:

•	What is the basis for the continuing popularity of children in the theatre?
•	What financial considerations determine the employment of children in the entertainment industry?
•	What legal considerations have affected or continue to affect the employment of children in the entertainment industry?
•	What are the differing requirements of community as distinct from commercial theatre that affect the participation of children?
•	How do differing cultural values in different countries affect the uses of children in the theatre? 
•	How have attitudes towards children and childhood historically influenced their employment in the entertainment industry?
•	To what extent have the contemporary debates about the sexualisation of children and their images affected the representation of children on stage (and screen)?
•	How have theatres and entertainment providers responded to children as consumers of their products either in an historical context or in contemporary instances?
•	How have children been trained for theatrical purposes? How are they being trained?
•	How have the ‘new media’ affected the representation and/or employment of children in the entertainment industry?
Publishers have expressed keen interest in the production of a volume on the topic generated probably because at present there exists little or no competition in the area.

Expressions of interest should be sent in the first instance to:

Victor Emeljanow
Emeritus Professor of Drama,
University of Newcastle, NSW,
Australia
Victor.Emeljanow@newcastle.edu.au