CFP: Performing Tangier International Conference 2016

8/20/2019 CFP: Performing Tangier International Conference 2016

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Call for PapersThe Narrative Turn in Contemporary Theatre

An International Conference in Homage to Distinguished Professor Marvin Carlson

TANGIER/TETOUAN, MOROCCO 15, 16, 17, 18 September 2016

The return to a narrative-centred tradition after the anti-narrative stance of naturalismhas already started with Piscator and Brecht. In the wake of decolonization, strategies of storytelling from African and Asian performance cultures have also become visible in theworks of Wilson, Brook, Mnouchkine among others. Nowadays we witness an unprecedented

burgeoning of narrative performances and monological plays worldwide. Narrativisation isreturning to theatre, whereby monologue takes precedence over dialogue and shakes updramatic illusion. However, such a return is less a return to the story and more to the very actof telling the story. It seeks a new relationship with theatrical representation far away from thereturn to the ‘drama’, “one in which stories can be told, while the modes of telling, the tellersand even the stories themselves may be suspect, ambiguous and multiple”. (Turner &Behrndt, 187) As an artistic means of ordering the world, narrative “might be back with avengeance.” (Claudia Breger, 2012, 3) The questions which arise in the context of our reflections highlight the complexities surrounding the overlapping between a ‘narrative” and a

“performative turn”. If narrative refracts rather than represents reality, the “performative turn”has likewise contributed “to the dissolution of boundaries within the arts and between art andnon-art.” (Erika Fischer-Lichte, 2004, 182)

The performance of autobiographical stories and actuality in various contemporarytheatres exemplifies the potential of a narrative theatre. Personal stories are employed onstagefor various reasons: as symbolic witnesses to the past, as political counter-agents to officialhistoriography renegotiating its versions and exclusions, as a source of an authentic

presence... The Swiss German theatre collective Rimini Protokoll’s various collaborationswith ‘experts of the everyday’ (Experten des Alltags) reveals the political through private

narratives, where reality invades the th eatre. The increasing body of contemporary performances that deal with autobiographical material, including the works of the Britishensemble ‘Forced Entertainment’, the ‘scenic essays’ or ‘performance lectures’ of RabihMrué, focuses on the notions of dislocation and paradox, on the imaginative or the playful (aswell as emotional) aspects of historical narratives to emphasize the interplay between realityand fiction not only in performative displays of individual memories but also in the nature of historiography itself. Hans Thies Lehmann’s discussion of contemporary narrative-based

performances is also relevant in the present context. He argues that “the principle of narrationis an essential trait of the postdramatic theatre; the theatre becomes the site of a narrative act.(2006, 109)

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More often, the return to monologue in post-Arab spring theatres is occasioned by a

crushing crisis in the life of the monologist, a bitter sense of embattlement, or a resoundingdefeat in confronting the rotten state. As such, the monologue becomes a carefully chosenfragment of retrieved personal (as well as collective) history narrated in retrospect with a willto vengeance and recovery. The monologue has come a long way, and its journey from theearly Greek period to our globalized world and the innovative ways in which it was exploitedis a testimony not only to the elasticity of the genre but also to the growing pluralisticcharacter of our world. More than simply a conventional form of confessional discourse, themonologue in recent Moroccan plays such as Dmue Bel Khul and Hadda is more a critique of contemporary conventional assumptions about subjectivity and truth. Hadda is also “a solo

show which uses the personal memories and recollections of Hadda, a woman who comesfrom an extremely poor economic background, to open up a larger canvas of political, socialand religious questions.” (Elaine Aston, 2014)

Inspired by our previous discussions, we propose a double-edged dialogue which isartist-driven and research-oriented. The conference also seeks to tease out some of thecomplexities related to the narrative turn in contemporary theatre and dance. It is a call for more critical attention to narrative events that interrupt the realm of the ordinary, and thathave become so visible also in Arabo-Islamic contexts. We invite scholars from around theworld to join the debate and offer elements of reflection on the various problematics related to

the following proposed panels:

Narrative Turn/ Performative Turn

The Aesthetics of narrative Performance

Narrativization of Real Events/ Actuality

Dance as Narrative: The interaction of the “speaking body” and “moving text”

Body as Memory and Site of Agency: staging a body of memories to reveal

memories of the body

Performing Testimonies of the Moroccan ‘years of lead’

Simultaneous Interpreting in all Panel Sessions

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Keynote Speakers

1. Gabriele Brandstetter is co-director of the International Research Centre"Interweaving Performance Cultures" and Professor of Theatre and Dance Studies atFreie Universität Berlin since 2003. She is also vice-president of „Heinrich-von-Kleist-Society“, a member of „German National Academy of SciencesLeopoldina“and a jury member for „art history, musicology, Theatre-, film- and

media-studies“of the DFG. Her research focus is on: History and aesthetics of dancefrom the 18th century until today, theatre and dance of the avant-garde; performance,theatricality and gender differences; concepts of body, movement and image. In 2004she was awarded the “Gottfried-Wilhelm-Leibniz-Prize” by the DFG, and in 2011 theFederal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Among her numerous

book publications: Tanz-Lektüren. Körperbilder und Raumfiguren der Avantgarde (1995); ReMembering the Body (2000, co-ed. H. Völckers); Bild-Sprung.TanzTheaterBewegung im Wechsel der Medien (2005); Methoden der Tanzwissenschaft. Modellanalysen zu Pina Bauschs ‚ Sacre du Printemps‛ (2007, co-ed. G. Klein); Schwarm(E)Motion. Bewegung zwischen Affekt und Masse (2007, co-eds. B. Brandl-Risi, K. van Eikels), Tanz als Anthropologie (2007, co-ed. C. Wulf),Prognosen über Bewegungen (2009, co-eds. S. Peters, K. van Eikels); Improvisieren.Paradoxien des Unvorhersehbaren. Kunst - Medien – Praxis (2010, co-eds. H.-F.Bormann, A. Matzke)

Title of the Keynote Address: "Dance and the break of narratives"

2. Stephen Barber is a former Fellow of the International Research Centre‘Interweaving Performance Cultures’ at the Free University Berlin and a Professor of Visual Culture in the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture at Kingston University,London. He is currently the holder of a Major Research Fellowship of the HenkelFoundation. His most recent book is Performance Projections (Chicago UP/Reaktion),2014.

(Other Keynote Speakers to be announced later)

The Narrative Turn is a signature event that brings together delegations of eminent practitioners and scholars from around the globe: Round Tables with guest speakers from thefield of performance and academy// Performances// Installations// Music Concerts//Workshops (to be announced later)…

The conference is part of the International Festival “Performing Tangier” now in its 12 th

edition. The theme was carefully chosen as a follow up of our previous international

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conferences, with the expectation that it would be sharp enough to elicit diverse intellectual

contributions from distinguished experts and colleagues from many parts of the world and inmany areas of research. Besides academic panel sessions, the conference program will benourished by a rich artistic public agenda with workshops, exhibitions, book launch, anddiverse performances and artistic interventions relevant to the narrative turn , plus receptionsand gala dinners to be announced after opening.

Proposals : The organising committee welcomes abstracts and proposals strictly on the aboveissues. A 250-WORD abstract, along with a ONE PARAGRAPH curriculum vitae, should besubmitted electronically (preferably in Word or Rich Text format) by 31 March 2016 to thescientific committee care of Professor Khalid Amine (Conference Convener). Acceptance,however, unfortunately does not include any financial support - participants areresponsible for their own funding (i.e. securing grants, etc.) to pay for travel and lodgingexpenses . Selected conference papers will be published in a special volume upon the approvalof the scientific committee. Submitters of accepted proposals will be notified within twoweeks of the above deadline and all decisions of the scientific committee are final.

Important dates & Deadlines:

Abstract Submission Deadline: 31 March 2016.

Notification of Acceptance/Rejection: 30 April 2016.

Final Paper Submission Deadline: 01 June, 2016 (included). (The paper must have asound methodology reflecting the features of real scientific research. It must be 10 upto 14 pages of A4 format using Times New Romans size 14 in text and size 10 in themargins.

The conference will be held on 15, 16, 17, 18, September 2016.

Abstracts and completed research papers should be sent to the following emails:

[email protected] / [email protected]

New Scholars’ Panel: The conference is also a home for graduate students and new scholarsfrom different parts of the world. The establishment of an emerging Scholars’ panel invitesnew voices to join the debate (provided that their contributions must be relevant to the themeof this year). Up to FIVE participants will be selected for this panel, and each panelist willhave ten to fifteen minutes to deliver her/his paper. Graduate students whose papers areaccepted will receive free conference registration, free admission to conference luncheon, and

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a one-year membership in ICPS. Who is eligible? Scholars who meet the definition of ‘new

scholars’ are postgraduate students writing up their PhD dissertation or post-doctoralresearchers whose PhDs have been completed less than three years.

Registration Fee: 150 Euros payable in advance via Bank transfer (le centre internationaldes études de spectacle, Banque Populaire, Tanger Ain Ktiout: 164 640 212149007751000961) . Registration includes 2 Gala Receptions, conference pack, tickets for any public concertsor site-specific performances within the conference’s public agenda, free guided tour of theKasbah Museum, and one of the books of published proceedings from previous conferences.Since the conference is again pulling a very international public, registered attendees,

participants from past conferences, and friends of ICPS will be most welcome to attend too.Women and underrepresented minorities are especially encouraged to apply. ICPS is anAffirmative Acting/ Equal Opportunity Organization.

Conference Location: Faculty of Letters at Abdelmalek Essaâdi University (Tétouan), theUniversity of New England Campus in Tangier, the Kasbah Museum (Tangier), Sahat ElKasbah, Chellah Hotel…

The Scientific Advisory Board (2016)

Erika Fischer-Lichte (Head of DFG Collaborative Research Centre"Performing Cultures" and Director of BMBF International Research Centre"Interweaving Cultures in Performance", Berlin, Germany

Christel Weiler , Professor at Institute for theatre science of the Freie UniversitätBerlin, Germany

Maria Shevtsova (Chair Professor of Drama and Theatre Arts, Co-editor of NewTheatre Quarterly (Cambridge University Press), Director of Sociology of Theatre and Performance Research Group, University of London)

Marvin Carlson (The Sidney E. Cohn Professor of Theatre, ComparativeLiterature and Middle Eastern Studies at the Graduate Center of the CityUniversity of New York)

Zohra Makach (Professor of Theatre at Ibn Zohr University of Agadir. Sheholds a PhD degree in Theatre Studies from Paris III)

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Omar Fertat (Professor of Theater in the Arab World, Department of OrientalStudies and the Far East and the Department of Performing Arts, UniversitéMichel de Montaigne, Bordeaux 3)

Marwa Mahdi (Theatre Scholar, Egypt/Germany)

Mohammed Samir Al-Khatib (Professor, Ain Shams University, Egypt)

Muhamed Sef (Distinguished Arab Artist and Scholar, Iraq/ France)

Conference Supporting Committee:

Mohammed Saad Zemmouri ( Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at AEU)

Mohammed Kaouti (Independent Playwright, Morocco)

George F. Roberson , Adjunct Assistant Professor, Geography HumanDimensions Research Cluster, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, USA

Richard Gough, Senior Research Fellow and Artistic Director of the Centre for Performance Research, Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies,Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Wales

Carol Malt (Museum Curator, Adjunct Professor at the University of WestFlorida, and Ex-Director of the Art & Culture Center of Hollywood, USA)

Marjorie Kanter (Author of short literary and poem-like pieces, USA)

Said Karimi (Professor, Faculty of Errachidiya, Moulay Ismail University)

Noureddine Chemlali (Director, King Fahd School of Translation)

Mustapha El-Ghachi (Vice Dean, Faculty of Humanites, AEU, Tetouan)

Mohamed Bahjaji (Playwright and journalist, Morocco)

Abdelmajid El Hawass (Artist, ISADAK, Morocco)

Redouan El Ayadi (Professor, Abdelmalek Essaadi University)

Mohammed Taqqal (Regional Director of the Miniustry of Culture)

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Conference Convener:

Khalid Amine (President of ICPS)

[email protected]

Conference Co-Convener:

Younes El-Assad Ryani (Professor of Cultural Studies, Abdelmalek Essaadi University)

[email protected]

Conference Assistants:

Jaouad Radouani (Theatre Scholar, member of ICPS)

[email protected]

Badreddine Charab (Administrator, ICPS) [email protected]

Abdelaziz Khalili (General Secretary, ICPS) [email protected]

Conference Organizing Committee:

(ICPS members & volunteers/ to be announced later)

Contact information:

Khalid Amine , Conference Convener, Residence Al Andalous N° 11, Rue Birr Anzaran,Tanger 90 010, Maroc Adresse: E-mail : [email protected] , Tél/Fax: (212) 539330466,Portable: 0664596791/ Web : www.furja.ma / ©

ICPS

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CFP: Performing Tangier International Conference 2016

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