The theatre is a space of creative potential, particularly for expressing and for shaping and articulating identity. Little attention has been paid to youth theatre as a place of creation for youths (individuals aged between 12 and 25) in regional, minority, and minoritsed languages. 

This conference aims to weave together common connections, explore best practice, and study the rich histories of youth theatre and performance in regional, minority, and minoritised languages through a multidisciplinary analysis of these ludic, cathartic, and identity-affirming rituals and experiences. The conference will provide a stage that will facilitate better understanding of the role of youth theatre and performance in expressing cultural and linguistic identities, as well as energising, guiding, and ensuring linguistic futures. 

In an ever-globalised world where different peoples, language, cultures, and theatrical genres meet on a daily basis, both within and beyond the theatre space, the conference will also engage with the complex, multi-layered questions of cultural and linguistic hybridity.

Possible topics relating to regional, minority and minoritised languages include: 

• Citizenship, Language, and Theatre
• Youth Theatre and Performance in Political, Cultural, and Linguistic Conflict 
• Our Languages and Identities on the Page and Stage
• Creating new theatrical canons, challenging old ones
• Drag, Sexuality, and Gender
• Theatre Companies and Theatrical Interventions
• Performance (as) Politics
• Worldmaking Onstage and Offstage
• Feminist Interventions in Youth Theatre
• Puppetry and Object Theatre
• Young Playwrights and Playwrights writing for Youth
• National Theatres: Sanctuaries or Colonial Echo-Chambers?
• Creating Alternative Spaces: Youth Theatre beyond the Theatre (e.g. Irish
  language drag on Social media)
• Histories and Legacies of Youth Theatre and Performance
• Honouring the Past / Re-imaging Celebrations: Role of Youth in Performance, Ritual, and Place

The organisers invite proposals of no more than 250 words for twenty-minute papers, or for three-paper panels or discussion roundtables. Please also include a brief biographical sketch of up to 50 words. Proposals must be submitted to youthlanguages2022 @ gmail (dot) com

The deadline for submission is Friday, 28 October, 2022.