2026-03-27
Harriet Reed
MeCCSA Postgraduate Network Conference 2026 Media and Sustainability University of Reading, Minghella Studios, Whiteknights Campus Reading RG6 6BT 9th September 2026 Any questions about the conference or the submission process can be directed to: Babsie Keulemans – e.l.keulemans@pgr.reading.ac.uk The MeCCSA Postgraduate Network is pleased to invite postgraduate researchers and creative practitioners to submit proposals for the 2026 MeCCSA PGN Conference, hosted by the Department of Film, Theatre & Television at the University of Reading. The conference will take place in the Minghella Studios, on the University’s Whiteknights campus. The event brings together postgraduate researchers working across media, communication, cultural studies, screen studies and performing arts to share their research in a supportive and inclusive environment. Conference Theme: Media and Sustainability At a moment shaped by ecological crisis, institutional precarity, technological acceleration, and shifting labour conditions, questions of sustainability have become central to the fields of media, communication, cultural studies, screen studies and performing arts. The theme invites participants to explore how media industries, forms, cultures, and research practices endure, adapt, resist or reimagine themselves within unstable or emerging environments. We also encourage reflection on the sustainability of academic and creative labour, and the infrastructures that support media work. These conversations build on a growing body of critical work across media, screen, performing arts and cultural research that engage with sustainability through questions of representation, creative practice, aesthetics, institutions and the conditions under which work is made and sustained (for example in the work of scholars such as Salma Monani, Sean Cubitt, Adam O’Brien, Phaedra Pezzullo, Nicole Starosielski, Laura U. Marks and Lisa Woynarski). The University of Reading provides a particularly resonant setting for these conversations. The University was named Sustainable University of the Year 2025 by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, recognising its sustained commitment to environmental responsibility. Participants are encouraged to interpret the conference theme broadly and creatively. Submissions from interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspectives are warmly welcomed, including practice-based work. Formats and Participation In recognition of the diverse ways postgraduate researchers work and communicate research, we invite proposals in a range of formats, including: · Paper presentations (15 minutes) · Panel proposals (typically 3-5 named contributors) · Practice-based or creative contributions, including film, audiovisual work, performance or artistic practice We particularly welcome work-in-progress and contributions from early-stage postgraduate researchers. Submission Guidelines Proposals should be submitted by Friday 15th May 2026 Further information about application, accessibility and format can be found here.
2026-03-27
Kate Quartano Brown
From May 2026 Theatre Notebook will be published twice a year in or about May and October of each year. The size of each issue will be about 90 pages instead of the previous norm of 60 pages. There will, therefore, be no reduction in the number of pages of essays and reviews each year. We have taken this decision in the light of the increase in postal costs in the United Kingdom. Saving the cost of one mailing a year will be of considerable benefit to the STR in financial terms but we will, of course, maintain a watching brief for future changes in postal rates. This means that for current Society members and those with a subscription to Theatre Notebook the first issue of Volume 80 will be sent to you in or about May 2026, and the second in October, just after the end of the subscription period. If you have any questions about this, please write to contact@str.org.uk
2026-02-02
Harriet Reed
SIBMAS 2026 Conference Title: Shifting Stages: Preserving Performing Arts on Moving Ground Dates: 8-10 June 2026 Location: Theatre Archive at the National and University Library of Iceland In an era of global turbulence—where the ground beneath us is literally and metaphorically shifting, and where histories are being questioned and reinterpreted—museums, archives, and libraries have become both flashpoints and havens. These institutions exist in a constant state of negotiation: tasked with bringing order to disorder, creating catalogues from chaos, and preserving the fragile traces of artistic expression under increasingly uncertain conditions. Iceland, set between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates, is a living metaphor for this precarious balance. Its landscapes, shaped by volcanic activity and seismic movement, mirror the creative volatility and resilience of the performing arts. Yet, as the threat of climate disruption looms—scientists warn that a collapse of the Gulf Stream could transform Icelandic & European life—questions of sustainability, adaptability, and preservation become ever more urgent. Friction, however, is not solely a force of destruction—it also generates transformation. The performing arts, inherently ephemeral, demand innovative approaches to documentation, preservation, and access. At this critical juncture, it is vital for those who steward performance heritage to share resources, methodologies, and experiences; to amplify marginalized voices; and to engage in deep reflection on the future of both our institutions and our shared humanity. The 2026 SIBMAS Symposium will explore these and related issues, focusing on how performing arts collections and institutions adapt, endure, and evolve amid instability. Attendees will be able to register from mid-February. The fees will be very modest: €80 for the whole event, €40 per day, with June 10 (visits and excursions) free of charge. For students: €40 for the whole event, €20 per day. Participants must be members of the SIBMAS and have paid their membership fees before May 31st. In case of inquiries, please contact Sigríður (Sigga) Jónsdóttir ( sigridur.jonsdottir@landsbokasafn.is ) AND SIBMAS ( info@sibmas.org ) The association’s general assembly will take place on June 9, on-site and online. The entire executive committee and board will be up for election at this time: members can submit their applications for election at any time in advance of the General Assembly. Reykjavík Symposium 2026 – SIBMAS
2026-01-18
Kate Quartano Brown
Is there an element within your research topics that deals with an aspect of the British theatre which would make it eligible? Topics we can consider include buildings, people, historical or contemporary concerns, theories and practices, and all kinds of performance arts, as long as there is a connection with theatre in Britain or British theatre people. We invite all engaged in theatre research to apply – for example you may be an early career academic needing help with a particular piece of research, or an independent scholar digging up traces of local theatre or performers, in which case the Research Grants would be suitable for you, or a theatre practitioner engaged in practical research on an aspect of performance practice, in which case you might apply for one of our Practitioner Grants. There are two types of Grants offered: Research grants for scholars investigating aspects of the British theatre requiring access to archives, collections, specific sites or people, or help with compiling and disseminating original research. These grants are available for academic and non-academic researchers alike, though the standard of work expected will be equivalent to post-graduate level. Grants range between £200 and about £600 as contributions to the cost of research. Practitioner research and development grants : a number of grants of £200 each will be awarded to support those practitioners who are working in the UK to facilitate British and British-related theatre projects. These grants are a development of the programmes we started during Covid to support practitioners. Note this programme opens and closes a week after the Research Grants. All criteria, application forms and closing date information can be found on the Research Grants pages: Research Grants Practitioner Grants Please make sure you apply for the appropriate programme. We will not consider simultaneous applications to both programmes and reserve the right to transfer applications between them.