[Candrama] CFP: Gross Incompetence

[Matthew Jones]

Hi everyone,

I’m currently seeking pitches for reviews, interviews, or short opinion pieces (about 1000 words) about performance and gross incompetence for the Views and Reviews section of Canadian Theatre Review no. 185, which will come out in January 2021.

The notion of “incompetence” has become a key term in politics recently. Andrew Scheer exited politics, leaving “record of failure and incompetence<https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnationalpost.com%2Fnews%2Fliberals-dig-up-video-of-scheer-speaking-against-same-sex-marriage&data=02%7C01%7Cjenn.stephenson%40queensu.ca%7C520964312498411911ed08d785ab970d%7Cd61ecb3b38b142d582c4efb2838b925c%7C1%7C0%7C637124844332182049&sdata=%2BF4vSgo%2BkJW%2BUJSZLBg%2BaMDsg0BckBepatPCrXZmfL4%3D&reserved=0>” in his wake, Boris Johnson won an election despite being called the “most incompetent [Prime Minister] in British history<https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheboar.org%2F2019%2F07%2Fboris-johnson%2F&data=02%7C01%7Cjenn.stephenson%40queensu.ca%7C520964312498411911ed08d785ab970d%7Cd61ecb3b38b142d582c4efb2838b925c%7C1%7C0%7C637124844332192041&sdata=hTUE9vhij2Sfrhxr7K5XI8tpAdE%2BhPMMedIVv9WaXCk%3D&reserved=0>,” and an online merchant is now selling framed printouts<https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fframedtweets.com%2Fproducts%2Fgross-incompetence-by-realdonaldtrump&data=02%7C01%7Cjenn.stephenson%40queensu.ca%7C520964312498411911ed08d785ab970d%7Cd61ecb3b38b142d582c4efb2838b925c%7C1%7C0%7C637124844332192041&sdata=eYFVGd5o97hLF1j7pOT1RRquerltM%2BJSpHEHjfLTd4U%3D&reserved=0> of Donald Trump’s prophetic 2014 tweet, in which he asked: “Are you allowed to impeach a president for gross incompetence?” Writing in Medium, Danny Wallace has announced the beginning of an era of “post-competence<https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforge.medium.com%2Fwhat-boris-johnsons-incompetence-can-teach-you-about-leadership-72a52e471e66&data=02%7C01%7Cjenn.stephenson%40queensu.ca%7C520964312498411911ed08d785ab970d%7Cd61ecb3b38b142d582c4efb2838b925c%7C1%7C0%7C637124844332202035&sdata=mlkxn3dxI61cs2uDeSTI1%2FBmBv1YJZ8g%2BjTdVhNUm5Q%3D&reserved=0>.”

What does it mean to call someone “incompetent”? What neoliberal biases underlie the term, with its presumptions of professionalism? How is competence related to performance, in the multivalent senses that Jon McKenzie explores in Perform or Else: performing on stage, performing at work, performing in everyday life? What are the antonyms of incompetence? How is competence related to privilege? Could incompetence be something to be embraced or is competence something to be demanded? This Views and Reviews section will bring together writers who will probe the connections between competence and notions of failure, amateurism, bad acting, non-acting, populism, theatricality, and post-truth that have been the topic of productive debates in theatre and performance studies recently.

Please send an informal proposal of 50-100 words to Matt Jones at mf.jones at utoronto.ca<mailto:mf.jones at utoronto.ca> by January 31st, 2020.

Matt Jones
Postdoctoral Fellow
Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies
University of Toronto
mattjones.space<http://www.mattjones.space>

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