Theatre and Performance Histories
Celebration
In her afterword to Tanja Beer’s Ecoscenography (Palgrave, 2021), Rachel Hann asks: “How can theatre and performance celebrate the interweaving of humans, things, and places?” We might extend that question to our discipline as a whole: how can theatre and performance scholars find the capacity to celebrate with and within our research? The last few years have been characterised by challenges to our discipline, sector, society, and planet. Amidst alarm, upset, anger, or disappointment, celebration can often seem like the last thing on our minds. And yet, we have much to celebrate: our inspiring colleagues, the successes of our students, the compelling work being produced by ever-resourceful artists and creatives and – not least – exciting new research we’re developing in the fields of theatre and performance histories.
Continuing to celebrate, even in the face of apparent disaster, is key to renewal. In After the Party (Northwestern UP, 2018), Joshua Chambers-Letson writes that “the incompletion experienced in the moment after the party’s fall, though often crushing, can be an invitation to throw a new party the next night: the party’s fall is grounds not for nihilism, but for action and praxis.” Positive change is often predicated on finding reasons to celebrate.
As theatre and performance’s origins are in religious ceremony, we might argue that our discipline is uniquely qualified to approach celebration from a historical perspective. For centuries, theatre and performance have been key elements in large-scale national and international celebrations as well as in marking local milestones and anniversaries. From quadrennial Olympic opening ceremonies to annual Japanese dengaku during the rice planting season, celebrations are typified by an awareness of the passing of time, transitions, and a convergence of past, present, and future.
Over the last three years our working group has dedicated our conference themes to discussing the future of theatre and performance histories and our collaborative practices, as well as asking ourselves why the work that we are doing is important. Now, on TaPRA’s twentieth birthday, the time has come to address celebration.
We are interested in papers that respond to and develop ideas around the theme of celebration. Questions to address might include:
- How and what do theatre and performance histories celebrate?
- To what extent does/should our work celebrate past figures and institutions, in contrast to other verbs like “contextualise” or “problematise”?
- Can celebration be malign or propagandistic? How can we be on the lookout for this?
- Were our historical subjects celebrated in their own time? Have they been celebrated since?
- Did the historical subjects of our research think of their theatre-and-performance-making as celebratory?
- How did our research subjects mark time? Did they see themselves as part of historical processes? How and what did they celebrate?
- What is the role of anniversaries in our research?
- How have theatre and performance histories emerged from moments of celebration?
- What kinds of performative gestures constitute celebration? Raising a glass? Singing? Dancing?
- How can/should we celebrate our colleagues and their research on theatre and performance histories today? By citing them? Awarding them? Gathering at conferences with them?
In an effort to open our conversations to colleagues from across our discipline, during this year’s conference we will once again be hosting a shared panel with the Performance, Identity and Community Working Group and are particularly keen to find papers that respond in some way to the interests of both groups for this session. If you would like to be considered for this panel, please make this clear when submitting your abstract.
Works Cited
Joshua Chambers-Letson, After the Party: A Manifesto for Queer of Color Life (Northwestern UP, 2018).
Rachel Hann, “Afterword: How to Celebrate,” in Tanja Beer, Ecoscenography: An Introduction to Ecological Design(Palgrave, 2021).
Proposal Submission Process
Submit your proposals by using the Abstract and Proposal Submission Form on the conference website by 10 March 2025. Your abstract should be max. 300 words and should be accompanied by a bio of max. 150 words.
How the TaPRA Conference Works
Our conference has two types of sessions: whole group sessions for all delegates and parallel panels of papers, performances, and interventions streamed by “working group”. The working groups focus on specific research interests and disciplines and set their own themes for each conference. These themes are detailed in the calls for papers for each group (linked above). There is also an opportunity to exhibit practice research in the TaPRA Gallery, also linked above.
A complete list of our 13 working groups is available on the TaPRA website. Most delegates choose a working group that aligns with their interests and use this group as their base for the conference, attending most or all of their slots, as the working groups meet multiple times. These sessions host presentations from long-standing members and new colleagues. However, you can attend sessions hosted by any other working group throughout the conference. The programme also includes open panels where attendees are encouraged to visit working groups sessions other than their own.
To speak, present, or perform at TaPRA, you will need to identify your preferred working group and submit a proposal that speaks to their theme. You can apply to one working group only. On the Abstract and Proposal Submission Form you can also indicate that you are willing for your paper to be considered by other working groups.
Conference Environment
In addition to whole group sessions, working groups, and open panels, the TaPRA Gallery and publisher stalls are open for most of the conference, and there are social and networking events at various moments. These include the conference dinner, which is not to be missed. It will mark TaPRA’s 20th Birthday and will be held at Fargo Village in Coventry to celebrate the city’s music heritage. There will be Caribbean food, sets from a Two-Tone Band and dancing aplenty.
Access
The 2025 annual TaPRA conference will be a hybrid event, facilitating participation by online delegates alongside those attending in-person. Since our 2021 conference we have been able to experience benefits of online conferencing, such as increased opportunity for international presenters, lower financial costs to participate, and greater accessibility for those with caring responsibilities. The 2025 conference at Warwick aims to retain the wider opportunities for engagement that online platforms offer, whilst also maintaining a space for in-person engagement and social interaction.
Schedule
- Applicants will receive decisions on their proposals on 11 April 2025
- Conference registration and accommodation bookings opens 12 May 2025
- Early bird registration closes on 30 June 2025
- Presenter registration deadline is 18 July 2025
- General registration closes 12 August 2025
Bursaries
Each working group has one bursary available for postgraduate and early career researchers. The bursary includes free conference registration and £300 towards conference travel and accommodation, to be disbursed after the event on showing proof of spend. If you would like to be considered for a bursary, please tick the relevant box on the Abstract and Proposal Submission Form, when submitting your abstract.
Other Calls for Papers
You can view the CFPs for all other working groups using the links below:
Audience, Experience and Popular Practices
Performance and New Technologies
Performance, Identity and Community
Theatre and Performance Histories
Theatre, Performance and Philosophy