47th Comparative Drama Conference

July 9-11, 2025

London, England

Dear Colleagues, 

We are pleased to announce that the Comparative Drama Conference 2025 will be hosted by the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and will be held in Europe for the first time in its near 50-year history. 

The Comparative Drama Conference is an international, interdisciplinary, conference founded by Dr Karelisa Hartigan at the University of Florida in 1977. Every year, scholars/artists are invited to present and discuss their work in the field of drama, and new plays receive a staged reading. The conference draws participants from both the Humanities and the Arts. The papers delivered range over the entire field of theatre research and production. Each year a distinguished theatre scholar or artist is invited to address the participants in the Keynote Event. From July 2025 to 2030, the conference will be convened in alternate years at LAMDA, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison, USA.

Abstract Submission Deadline: 31st January 2025

Papers reporting on original investigations and critical analysis of research and developments in the field of drama and theatre are invited for the 47th Comparative Drama Conference, at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art between 9-11 July, 2025. Papers may be comparative across nationalities, periods and disciplines; and may deal with any issue in dramatic literature, criticism, theory, and performance, or any method of historiography, translation, or production. Papers should be 15 minutes in length, written for oral presentation, and accessible to a multi-disciplinary audience. 

Scholars and artists, in all languages and literatures, are invited to email a 250-word abstract in English to the conference directors – compdrama@lamda.ac.uk  by 31st January 2025. Please include paper title, author’s name, status (faculty, graduate student, other/scholar-at-large/Independent), institutional affiliation, and postal address at top left. Abstracts must present a clear argument and have an appropriate scope (usually two or fewer works). Please send your abstract in .docx, .txt, or .rtf format. If possible, please avoid sending a .pdf. (Please be sure to add compdrama@lamda.ac.uk to your accepted email list so that conference emails will not be rejected by your server. Ask your IT administrator how to do so.) If you do not receive email confirmation that we received your submission within 14 days, please contact Nicholas.Holden@lamda.ac.uk to resubmit.

Pre-organised Panels

Pre-organised Panels and Roundtables will also be considered. A pre-organised panel should include three papers. Each paper should be 15 minutes in length. Panel proposals should include (1) a copy of each panellist’s 250-word abstract with paper title, author’s name, institutional affiliation, status, postal address and email address at top left, and (2) a succinct, 50-word rationale for the grouping of the papers. The panel organiser should email the abstracts and rationale to compdrama@lamda.ac.uk by 31st January 2025. Please send your abstract in .docx, .txt, or .rtf format. If possible, avoid sending a .pdf.

A pre-organised round table should include at least four participants. Round table proposals should include (1) a succinct, 50-word explanation of and rationale for the round table topic, (2) a timeline of the program, including time for audience interaction and Q&A, and (3) clear evidence of each participant’s expertise in the topic area. Do not send entire CVs. Include only evidence applicable to the round table topic. The panel or round table organiser should email the abstracts and rationale to compdrama@lamda.ac.uk by 31st January 2025. Please send your abstract in .docx, .txt, or .rtf format. Please avoid sending a .pdf file.

If you would like to advertise a pre-organised panel on the CDC website, please send the panel title, organiser contact information, deadline, and description to compdrama@lamda.ac.uk by 31st October 2024. Please send your abstract in .docx, .txt, or .rtf format.

Virtual Papers and Panels

Recognising the financial difficulties of institutions and the expense/ecological impact of travel, there will be a virtual conference option that will run throughout the three days of the conference, where participants will be able to engage with other virtual papers and virtual and in person delegates. There will be no hybrid sessions. If you are interested in giving a paper or creating a panel that will meet virtually, please follow the directions above and send in your abstract/proposal by 31st January 2025.

Session Chairs

Submitters and non-submitters of abstracts who are interested in chairing a session at the conference are invited to send a two-paragraph resumé highlighting their areas of expertise to compdrama@lamda.ac.uk by 1st March 2025.

Comparative Drama Journal Publication

The conference has partnered with the academic journal Comparative Drama to publish an annual issue presenting the best papers (in person or virtual) given at the conference. More information will be provided to those accepted to the conference. 

We will notify by email on or before the 1st March 2025 as to the board’s decision regarding abstracts for papers to be included in the conference.

Contact us at compdrama@lamda.ac.uk for more information.

For more information, including pre-registration details, please visit our website: https://comparativedramaconference.org 

We look forward to seeing you in London.

Comparative Drama Conference co-directors,

Nicholas Holden (LAMDA)

Baron Kelly (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Mark O’Thomas (LAMDA)

Ann Shanahan (University of Wisconsin-Madison)