RESEARCH SEMINARS AND SYMPOSIA

2008-09

All seminars run from 2pm - 4pm in TS2 in the Alexander Building, Thornlea, University of Exeter.

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This year the departmental seminar series is co-ordinated by Dr.Kerrie Schaefer and has an open theme.

12 November 2008
Pervaiz Kahn "On Praxis: exploring the theory/practice balance"

26 November 2008
Hugo Glendinning

28 January 2009
Paul Edmondson "Sports Science and Theatre: Self-Talk, Mental Imagery and dynamic activity as Preparatory Tools for Actors"

This paper explores ways in which sports science research compliments the theoretical and practical work of theatre practitioners and scholars. Reflecting upon a warm-up routine I devised for actors, the work of sports psychologists, physiologists, and my own exposure to sports science as a student and amateur athlete this paper examines the ways in which sports science practices can promote psychophysical connection or ontological synchronization in actors.
Paul Edmondson is a Drama PhD student at the University of Exeter.

18 February 2009
Professor Gay McAuley

Gay McAuley is Honorary Professor in the Department of Performance Studies, University of Sydney, Australia.

18 March 2009
David Lane "New Writing and the Contemporary Canon: the challenges and problems of selection"

During the composition of a new student title on Contemporary British Drama and faced with the task of selecting the playwrights, productions and texts that characterise 'new writing' pre-and-post-millennium, several key negotiations have been encountered. These encompass problems with shifting definitions of authorship, of the playwright's role and of the moniker 'new writing' itself, with a theatre culture favouring the new and young above the tried and trusted, the ephemeral nature of performance set against the fixity of written text, the rise of verbatim as the new 'political theatre', and the creation of necessarily limiting criteria by which the social, cultural or political impact or influence of a theatre event might be measured. This seminar will present the choices made thus far with the reasons for their inclusion, creating a space where this writer's choices can be openly discussed and interrogated.
David Lane is an Honorary Fellow of the Drama Department teaching the undergraduate Dramaturgy module and on the MA in Playwriting and Script Development. He has been working freelance as a dramaturg and playwright for the last six years, including two years' work as the Literary Assistant at Soho Theatre and Writers' Centre. He has been commissioned three times to write for young audiences and has had work for adults performed at Theatre 503, Battersea Arts Centre and Camden People's Theatre. He is currently developing a new play set in the world of Higher Education under the guidance of Hall for Cornwall in Truro, and has recently begun work in new writing development with the Ustinov Studio (Bath), Bristol Old Vic and ScriptSpace (Tobacco Factory, Bristol). He supervises MA playwrights at City University and Goldsmiths College and has taught Text and Performance and New Theatre Writing at Brunel University. He is hoping to develop an academic research profile in contemporary playwriting and dramaturgical practice alongside his professional work in the field.

More information coming soon

All seminars run from 2pm - 4pm in TS2 in the Alexander Building, Thornlea, University of Exeter.