Call for Proposals: RARE Visions of Performance Design and Scenography
Theatralia: Journal of Theatre Studies, vol. 27, no. 1, issue topic:
‘RARE Visions of Performance Design and Scenography’
Issue Editors: Věra Velemanová & Aziza Kadyri
Proposal deadline: 20 June 2022
The upcoming issue of Theatralia: Journal of Theatre Studies will focus on the 15th edition of the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space (PQ 2023) held at the Holešovice Market from 8th to 18th June 2023. The theme of PQ 2023 is RARE, emphasising the creation of unique and novel realities by artists in a world characterised by precarity, uncertainty, and epochal change. For this issue, we invite scholars and practitioners to explore the intersection of scenography, performance design, and the evolving world, and to contemplate the potentiality of the theatre landscape in the face of global transformation.
Scenography, or performance design, is not merely a visual medium; it transcends the boundaries of traditional artistic forms, delving into the realms of experiential and sensorial engagement. In the contemporary context, scenography has evolved into an interdisciplinary collaboration that gives voice to innovative ideas and experimental approaches in theatre and beyond. By creating multi-sensory environments, scenographers craft immersive worlds that captivate the audience's imagination, mind, and all five senses. However, the true essence of scenography lies in the participation of its beholders. By inviting an audience to explore and reinterpret, a performative space remains in a state of constant flux, completed by the engagement and interaction of its participants.
This call for proposals encourages researchers and designers to reflect upon the aforementioned aspects of scenography and delve into the transformative power it holds. We welcome proposals that explore the relationship between scenography and the post-pandemic world while also taking into account the distinctive viewpoints of ecological, feminist, and decolonial optics. We hope to broaden our understanding of scenography’s influence, address power relations, challenge conventional narratives, and explore new avenues for inclusive and sustainable artistic practices by looking at them through these lenses.
We invite contributions in the form of essays for Yorick, the peer-reviewed section of the journal (4,000 – 7,000 words), on the following suggested topics:
- Reflection of present topical social issues in contemporary performance design practice and theory (globalisation, interculturalism, LGBTQ+ issues, feminism, racial themes, ecology & ecoscenography, political trends, etc.)
- Interdisciplinarity in performance design/scenography;
- Non-western and non-eurocentric understandings and approaches to performance design;
- Digital innovation in performance design: findings and issues (e.g., designing for performances in extended reality, AR and VR);
- Historical elements in contemporary costume;
- Linking history and present in stage design;
- History of performance design;
- and more
Important dates
Proposal submission deadline (300-500 words): 20 June 2023
Manuscript submission deadline for peer-reviewed sections (Yorick, Spectrum): 31 July 2023
Manuscript submission deadline for non-reviewed sections (Reviews, Events): 30 September 2023
Issue publication: April 2024
All issue-related enquiries as well as submissions should be sent to the issue editors: theatralia@phil.muni.cz.
General guidelines for submission, formal requirements, and citation style are available at the section for authors on the Theatralia website.
Theatralia is a peer reviewed journal of theatre and performance history and theory, issued by Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, and indexed in SCOPUS, ANVUR, EBSCO and ERIH Plus and listed in the Ulrich’s web Global Serials Directory.