Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (TDPT)

Special issue entitled Training for Immersive, Interactive and Participatory Performance to be published July 2018

Call for contributions, ideas, proposals and dialogue with the editor

Guest editor: Dr Campbell Edinborough, University of Hull ([email protected])

Background and context

This will be the eighth Special Issue of Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (TDPT) following issues on sport, Michael Chekhov, politics, Feldenkrais, writing training, interculturalism and popular theatre. TDPT is an international journal devoted to all aspects of ‘training’ (broadly defined) within the performing arts. The journal was founded in 2010 and launched its own blog in 2015. Our target readership is both academic and the many varieties of professional performers, makers, choreographers, directors, dramaturgs and composers working in theatre, dance and live art who have an interest in and curiosity for reflecting on their practices and their training. TDPT’s co-editors are Jonathan Pitches (University of Leeds) and Libby Worth (Royal Holloway, University of London).

Training for Immersive, Interactive and Participatory Performance

The twenty-first century has seen a significant growth in the popularity of theatre forms that invite audiences to interact and participate with performers – often in unconventional performance contexts.  This diversification within the landscape of contemporary performance has been accompanied by a blurring of traditional boundaries between theatre, cabaret, live art, installation and dance. This special issue of TDPT will question the impact of immersive, interactive and participatory forms of performance on training.

The special issue will:

• analyse innovations in the field of performance training with reference to the growing need for performers to work in immersive, interactive and participatory contexts.
• question how (and whether) historical training methods might be used and adapted within one-to-one performance, immersive theatre and participatory contexts.
• explore the value of ‘cross-training’ in different performance modalities.
• question whether existing training programmes should be developed to meet the evolving needs of contemporary performance culture.

Expressions of interest

We are particularly interested in (but are not limited to) submissions in the following areas:

• Articles that analyse and contextualise approaches to training developed by companies and practitioners working in immersive, interactive and participatory contexts.
• Articles that question how audience participation and interactivity reframe the performer’s role and, therefore, the training s/he requires.
• Analyses of existing and historical models of performance training in the light of the performer’s need to function in participatory/interactive/immersive contexts.
• Articles that reflect on how the creative and critical dialogue surrounding participatory aesthetics (seen in the critical writings of Rancière, Bourriaud, Bishop, White etc.) have led (or might lead) to new ways of thinking about performer training.
• Articles that explore training for one-to-one performance.
• Articles that explore training for improvisation in participatory/interactive/immersive theatre.
• Reflections on acquiring training/skills during the development of participatory/interactive/immersive performance.
• Analyses of primary source documents related to training in participatory, immersive and interactive contexts: manifestos, training regimes, archival gems, appropriately contextualised and analysed.
• Essays which use photos and video materials to examine participatory/ interactive/immersive theatre training, in tandem with the TDPT blog.

We welcome submissions from authors both inside and outside academic institutions and from those who are currently undergoing training or who have experiences to tell from their training histories. To signal your interest and intention to make a contribution to this special issue in any one of the ways identified above please email an abstract (max 250 words) to Campbell Edinborough at: [email protected]  

Our first deadline for these is 30th November 2016.

Training Grounds: we will also be seeking contributions for the Training Grounds section of this special issue edited by this Special Issue’s Training Grounds editor, Thomas Wilson. Within TDPT, Training Grounds represents a playful space for shorter and perhaps more provocative and rhetorical contributions. Thus in our generic issues we have postcards (Training and …), responses to an ‘answer the question’, essais and reviews of events, workshops, conferences as well as books. Our Training Grounds section in special issues does not always follow this model so please contact Thomas Wilson ([email protected]) and Campbell Edinborough if you have ideas and suggestions.

Approximate timelines for this issue

Mid-September 2016: Call for papers published

30th November 2016: abstracts and proposals sent to Campbell Edinborough

February 2017: Response from editor and, if successful, invitation to submit contribution

March to mid September 2017: writing/preparation period for writers, artists etc.

Mid Sept to end October: peer review period

November 2017 – end January 2018: author revisions post peer review

End March 2018: All main articles into production with Routledge

Mid April 2018: Training Grounds articles into production

April- June 2018: typesetting, proofing, revises, editorial etc.

July 2018: publication as Issue 9.2.

We look forward to hearing from you.