NTU Conference 2020 : Theatre of Our Time: 2020 NTU International Theatre Conference

The situation in China is quite unique. Since the Chinese economic reform, economy has risen sharply, bringing about rapid changes in material consumption, causing changes in people’s perceptions, views and national self-confidence, and bringing tremendous impact on theatre production as well. With the “rise of China,” set construction and theatre forms have undergone significant innovation and the Chinese diaspora all over the world involved in theatre have responded to this change. 

At the same time, however, the “globalized” society is experiencing various “great declines” in economy, politics, belief, and value system, etc. The era we are now living in has brought us a collective sense of disappointment and even frustration. How has this changed our mentality and cultivated the zeitgeist of the “contemporary” theatre? 

The word “contemporary,” compared with “ancient” and “modern,” proactively describes the era we are living in. As time moves on and creative works are continually being produced, the demarcation of “the contemporary” should be constantly re-considered and adjusted. With this awareness in mind, we want to probe into the following questions: after riding through an array of political, aesthetic, and philosophical trends, what characteristics does “the Theatre of Our Time” have that embody the zeitgeist and aesthetics of this current era? Moreover, does it honor the spiritual values and ideals in this consumerist and materialist world, and if so, how? 

This is an age when people cannot look away from their phones even while walking and driving, when watching video clips that go over movies in a few minutes is more popular than watching the movies themselves, and when people turn to cloned pets and possibly cloned lovers for companionship. In a world like this, are theatre and drama going to be the same as they once were? 

This conference is calling for papers closely related to the central theme, “the Theatre of Our Time,” and its various surrounding leitmotifs listed below: 

1. the use of technology in theatre and its aesthetics 
2. the stagecraft and design: theory and practice 
3. theatre morphology and interdisciplinary theatre studies 
4. narrative and non-narrative theatre 
5. the zeitgeist of contemporary theatre 
6. the aesthetics of contemporary theatre 
7. contemporary perspectives on traditional theatre 
8. performance and social engagement 
9. methodology and theories of theatre studies: new insights 

NTU International Theatre Conference, hosted by the Department of Drama and Theatre at National Taiwan University, is scheduled on Oct. 24th (Sat.) and 25th (Sun.), 2020. We invite scholars who are expert in or are interested in the topic to submit their abstracts. All presentations would be expected to be given in either Mandarin Chinese or English. The deadline for abstract submission is February 15th, 2020. The submission should include: 1) title; 2) abstract (600 words maximum in Chinese, 350 words maximum in English); 3) brief bio of 100 words; 4) contact information. Please email the submission to the conference organizer, HO-YI LIN, at [email protected]. The submitted abstracts will be reviewed and the results will be sent via email by the end of April, 2020.