Call for Papers – Almagro 2020

AHCT Symposium in Almagro, Spain

July 7-9, 2020

Regular Registration includes a banquet ticket and selected theater tickets.
Graduate student and Auditor includes a banquet ticket and selected theater tickets
.


Registration Selection



The Association for Hispanic Classical Theater invites submissions for a symposium taking place in tandem with The Almagro International Classical Theatre Festival in July 2020. 

The deadline for receipt of all submissions (abstracts and graduate student papers) is December 1, 2019. 

This conference will promote dialogue between scholars and theater practitioners in order to bridge the traditionally-perceived divide between disciplines. Participants will: 

  • study new ways of adapting the comedia
  • promote and expand collaborations between scholars and theater practitioners
  • discuss how to disseminate the study of the comedia through innovative approaches
  • build bridges among disciplines and collaborate on interdisciplinary projects    

Panels will be organized as workshops and working groups. Sessions will not overlap, giving participants the opportunity to attend all presentations. Presentations should be delivered in Spanish or English.

  • Workshops can focus on pedagogical questions, issues of adaptation and/or translation, or other aspects of comedia performance. We also welcome innovative approaches to the adaptation of Spanish classical texts, such as: the use of puppetry, immersive or interactive theater, and/or incorporation of storytelling, among others. Workshops will be pre-organized by interested panelists who should elect a workshop leader to send a description of the workshop with short bios of participants to the organizers.
  • Working groups will focus on topics detailed below. The goal of these groups is to have in-depth discussions about specific aspects of adaptation, dissemination, translation, performance and reception of the comedia. There will be four working group sessions. Working groups do not need to be pre-organized. The symposium organizers will be in charge of arranging panels. Please, submit your individual proposal and indicate your interest in one of the group themes.

There will be four working group sessions. Questions for each session have been drafted in order to provide ideas for the discussion. However, the discussion is not limited to these issues and we welcome other ideas related to these topics.  

  • 8-page papers will be distributed a month in advance. 
  • In each session, presenters will give a brief [10-minute] version of their research, which will be discussed in a roundtable format. 
  • Interested panelists should submit individual abstracts and note which of the following sessions they are most interested to participate in:
  • Session 1 – New trends in comedia adaptation 

How are financial limitations and accessibility impacting the way the comedia is being adapted and produced nowadays? Why are recent productions opting for smaller casts and how is this transforming the way the comedia is being produced and received by the audiences? How are discussions of social issues are being incorporated in modern productions and what has been achieved by this inclusion?

  • Session 2 – Innovation, interdisciplinarity and pedagogical collaborations  

How can performance, experiential learning and outreach contribute to students’ better understanding of the Spanish comedia? How can digital media be used to enhance learning outcomes?  How can practitioners and scholars collaborate to make the study of the comedia more accessible and effective to students? 

  • Session 3 – Translating the comedia 

What are the main challenges and limits of translating for the English-speaking stage? What decisions are practitioners making when translating their own Spanish adaptations into English and how these are transforming their productions? 

  • Session 4 – Direction, Performance and Reception 

How are contemporary female directors approaching Spanish Classical Theater texts and bringing them to the stage? How are issues of gender and sexuality being incorporated in modern productions and how are these being received by the audience? 

Submission of proposals: 

  • Workshop proposals should submit a single, 500 word description and include short bios for each of the participants. Workshops should consist of faculty and/or theater practitioners. Graduate students are welcome to submit as a part of a working group (see below).
  • Abstracts should not exceed 300 words for Working Group participants, including name and institutional affiliation. For Working Groups, graduate students must submit entire paper along with their abstract.
  • To submit an abstract, visit: https://forms.gle/xEKGneyZx1Mh2pFa8 and fill out an abstract submission form. 
  • The deadline for receipt of all submissions (abstracts and graduate student papers) is December 1, 2019. 

*** Please notice that space is limited and all submissions will be peer-reviewed. The committee will notify participants of their decision by January 30, 2020.

*** The conference committee will facilitate purchasing of tickets for the performances at a special discounted price. 

Check the https://sites.google.com/owu.edu/ahct-almagro/home conference page for details on the symposium, conference fees, registration, lodging and programming. 

Questions can be sent to spanishcomedia@gmail.com 

Conference presenters must be members of the Association for Hispanic Classical Theater.

Organizing Committee:  Glenda Y. Nieto-Cuebas (Ohio Wesleyan University), Erin Cowling (MacEwan University), Melissa Figueroa (Ohio University), Mina García (Elon University) and Tania de Miguel Magro (West Virginia University).