[Candrama] CFP: Beyond Representation

[Natalie Alvarez]

Call for Papers



Beyond Representation: Cultural Diversity as Theatrical Practice

Symposium Organized by Modern Times Stage Company

Daniels Spectrum, Toronto

9-11 April 2017


What might it mean for theatre professionals to think of culture as a practice rather than an identity, what people do rather than who they are? What creative opportunities might be presented if directors, dramaturges, designers, and actors took advantage of the diverse cultural forms and processes that are embodied and inhabited by Canada’s diverse theatrical communities in the exploration of new, inter- or cross-cultural forms? What would it mean to consider the studio and the stage as sites at which culturally diverse practices and forms are brought together for mutual enrichment, negotiation, and exchange? In what ways might these forms create new aesthetic possibilities that move beyond Euro-American traditions that have historically marginalized ethnic minorities? For many years there have been discussions of the representation of minoritized cultures on Canada’s stages, of casting, and of cultural stereotypes. Much of this discussion has issued from practices based on identity politics, on the one hand, or cultural tokenism, on the other, when many in “the mainstream” attempt to practice “inclusion.” This symposium intends to move the discussion beyond representation, beyond identity politics, and beyond “tolerance” to explore and propose ways in which diverse cultures can actively, productively, and creatively come together in theatrical practices that issue in exciting and challenging new theatrical forms.


We invite paper proposals that address cultural diversity (interpreted broadly) as a theatrical practice. Topics that might be considered include, but are not limited to:


-       directing difference: the rehearsal hall as a site of cultural negotiation and exchange

-       the non-appropriative use of culturally specific forms by designers

-       intercultural design dramaturgy

-       devising across difference

-       acting technique and intercultural negotiation

-       voice, movement, and cultural difference

-       performing disability cultures in the studio and on the stage

-       gender and sexual fluidity as creative practice

-       staging multiple languages, accents, and voices

-       multilingual and intercultural dramaturgy

-       the technologies of theatrical diversity


Please submit 250-word proposals by 1 March 2017 to symposium Co-chairs Natalie Alvarez (nalvarez at brocku.ca<mailto:nalvarez at brocku.ca>) and Ric Knowles (rknowles at uoguelph.ca<mailto:rknowles at uoguelph.ca>).


Natalie Alvarez, PhD
Associate Professor
Brock University | Department of Dramatic Arts
Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts
500 Glenridge Avenue | St. Catharines, ON | L2S 3A1
www.brocku.ca | 905.688.5550 ext. 4496
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