2016 Theatre Symposium: Pages, Stages, Audiences

full name / name of organization: 
Qatar University, Doha Department of English Literature and Linguistcs

Full Title: Theatre Symposium 2016: Pages, Stages, Audiences

Date: 08-May-2016 - 09-May-2016
Location: Qatar University Campus, Doha, Qatar
Contact Person: Dr. Anastasia Remoundou-Howley ts2016@qu.edu.qa
Call Deadline: February 28, 2016
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1652348941703221/

The Department of English Literature and Linguistics at Qatar University inaugurates a two-day Theatre Symposium open to scholars and theatre practitioners with an interest in theatre and theatrical praxis in and about the Middle East.

Examining a vast theatrical landscape of shared cultural narratives where old and new dialogues open up performative and theoretical spaces for challenging the dominant depictions of the Middle East in theatrical production, Theatre Symposium 2016 aspires to turn Qatar University and the region into a destination for scholars, theatre practitioners, students, artists and audiences, and serve as a crucible for indigenous emerging and established playwrights to present their work in the original and in translation. While promoting the voices of the wide Middle Eastern community stretching from the Gulf to the Arab world, Theatre Symposium 2016 offers the opportunity to explore the region per se as a topic. Seeking to showcase and celebrate the evolution of theatrical traditions and the diversity of new practices in the region, Theatre Symposium 2016 also aims at becoming a hallmark academic and cultural event in the field of Drama and Theatre studies at the Department of English Literature and Linguistics at Qatar University. In addition to academic papers, readings, workshops, and performances of indigenous and international plays, the event coincides with the Shakespeare in Translation summit (under the auspices of the British Council) that will introduce audiences and the QU community to Shakespeare in the Arab world and the wider region.

We invite a variety of submissions to participate, including -but not limited to- the following (the language of papers and submissions should be in English):

Scholarly papers of 20 minute duration
Performances and presentations of creative works in progress between 5-20 minute duration (in English or Arabic)
Workshop proposals

Related topics / themes and all aspects of research on theatre and performance will be welcome:

North Africa, the Middle East, the Gulf and the Arab world
The Arab diaspora
Qatari Playwrights and New plays
Shakespeare in the Gulf
Theatre and Interculturalism
Process work: rehearsal methods, work-in-progress
Experimental Theatre in the Arab World
Methodologies as a tool for performance analysis
Arabic adaptations of Classics
Theatre and the Islamic Tradition
The Gulf Stage in local and global contexts
Theatre of Trauma, War, and Conflict
Hybridity
Linguistic and narrative spaces in theatre: adaptations, translations, versions
At the interface: Western Influences and the Orient
Theatre of the Oppressed
Race, gender, culture, ecology
Embodied practice: choreography, present / absent bodies
Theatrical public spaces
Social media and digitalization
Intermedial practice: sound, stage design, lighting, interactive, puppets
Performance History and Theatrical archives
Pedagogy and applied arts: theatre in education

Please, submit an abstract in Word format only of no more than 300 words and a short biography of no more than 50 words including your academic affiliation if applicable, theme, category, theatre company, and any access requirements to Dr. Anastasia Remoundou-Howley at ts2016@qu.edu.qa.

Successful proposals should present a compelling case for the paper and its relation to the conference topic. We ask that all participants stick to a strict twenty minute time period to allow time for discussion. Please do not send your entire paper now. All abstracts will be peer-reviewed and evaluated anonymously.

Although the organizer of the conference, the Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Qatar University, does not require any conference registration fees, and will provide participants with food and transportation while in Qatar during the Theatre Symposium 2016, it expects participants to pay for their travel and accommodation.

Notification of acceptance decisions will be communicated via email by the 15th of March 2016.