THE PERFORMANCE STUDIES FOCUS GROUP ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING NOTES HELD ON MONDAY AUGUST 10, 2009 AT THE MARRIOTT MARQUIS, TIMES SQUARE, NEW YORK

Transcription

1 THE PERFORMANCE STUDIES FOCUS GROUP ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING NOTES HELD ON MONDAY AUGUST 10, 2009 AT THE MARRIOTT MARQUIS, TIMES SQUARE, NEW YORK The Performance Studies Focus Group ( PSFG ) is an interest group formed within the Association of Theatre in Higher Education ( ATHE ). The following notes were taken during the Annual Business Meeting held on August 10, 2008, between approximately 11:30 PM and 1:00 PM. Those in attendance are listed on the accompanying sheet. order. Focus Group Representative ( FGR ) Gwendolyn Alker called the meeting to Alker proceeded to introduce the officers. Brief introductions about the group were made by Alker and the current officers of PSFG: Gwendolyn Alker as FGR, Peter Civetta as outgoing Conference Planner ( CP ), Paige McGinley as incoming Conference Planner, Megan Shea as outgoing Secretary ( SEC ), Christian DuComb as Treasurer ( TRE ), and Elise Morrison as Graduate Student Representative ( GSR ). Alker introduced the MALs present in the room at the time: Joseph Cermatori, Leah Garland, Louise Owen, and Mellie Wong. Nesreen Hussein, another MAL, was not present at the meeting due to personal reasons. The minutes of last year s meeting were approved unanimously with two minor changes. Alker made announcements. Thanks to Preconference Planner Paige McGinley for coordinating this year's Preconference with Robin Bernstein and Sophie Nield from the Performance and Historical Paradigms Working Group from Performance Studies International ("PSI"). Thanks were given to Peter Civetta for "fighting the good fight" as CP. Thanks were given to the MALs. A special thanks to Christian DuComb who put much time and effort into successfully nominating John Emigh for the Career Achievement Award. Alker served on the Award Committee this past year and noted that the committee would like to see more nominees. Alker then explained the changes to the Organization and Rules document circulated at the meeting. Vice President Elected for ATHE 2010, Nina Lenoir, stopped by to talk about the Los Angeles Conference. The theme of the conference is Theatre Alive: Theater, Media and Survival. Lenoir said that the popular fringe festival would be reinstated for this conference. She noted that there might be difficulty traveling off-site and explained that the hotel often housed celebrities. Alker returned the conversation to the Organization and Rules and explained that while the changes to the document had already been approved by the officers, the officers welcome feedback on the document. Alker explained that in the future the responsibilities

2 of the Secretary will be split into two office posts: the Secretary and the Webmaster. Shea noted that we would have elections for Focus Group Representative-Elect, Secretary, Web Master, and Graduate Student Representative. Megan Shea proceeded with the Secretary's Report. PSFG has a redesigned webpage and a new online registration for the Preconference. Updates were made to the Google list. The PSFG now has an online archive that holds copies of the minutes, midyear and annual reports, and the Organization and Rules document. The Secretary also designs flyers and other PSFG documents as necessary. Christian DuComb gave the Treasurer's report. He explained that it is the job of the Treasurer to coordinate online registration with the preconference planners and the Secretary, now Web Master. PSFG had a healthy financial year, in part because we received ads for the Preconference program and in part because registration fees were raised. PSFG raised registration fees in order to pay for the Preconference in anticipation of difficulty obtaining ad revenue because of the economy. DuComb noted that there was no Preconference grant from ATHE this year. PSFG started the year with $400 in the account and will end the year with $1000. DuComb created a projected budget for PSFG relating to the Preconference. PSFG departed from the projected budget, but it served as a guide throughout the process. DuComb noted that the surplus means more flexibility in the future. Peter Civetta gave the Conference Planner report. He first explained position of CP. Civetta explained that ATHE makes the cut for the panels, and it is ATHE's duty to inform the people on panels whose panels were rejected. Civetta noted that there was some difficulty this year because ATHE never notified panelists of rejection. The Multi- Disciplinary panels go through a different process. This year PSFG had ten panels accepted plus the business meeting. He noted that the CP sets the deadlines for accepting individual papers that can be placed in panels and said that the CP can make her/his own panels something Civetta did this year with two roundtables. Todd Coulter spoke up and said that, ironically, although some people were not informed about their panel being rejected, he was informed four times of his panel's acceptance. Elise Morrison gave the Graduate Student Representative's Report. She explained that one of the duties of the GSR is to organize the Emerging Scholars panel. The date for submissions is October/November and this year there were a record number of submissions: 33 papers. Because of the volume of submissions, PSFG is thinking of changing the paper process to have a few people go through the papers first. Morrison noted that the papers go through a similar vetting process as the panels for ATHE. The GSR is also responsible for seeking out senior scholars to give feedback to the emerging scholars. This year Jill Dolan also served as a respondent for the panel while Peggy Phelan, Nick Rideout, and Ramon Rivera-Servera mentored individual students. Morrison also reported that she attended ATHE's new Graduate Student Representative Business Meeting and that the GSRs were interested in opening up communication among GSRs from different groups. Civetta interjected to point out that the Emerging Scholars Panel is also always accepted by ATHE. Henry Bial pointed out that the office

3 of the GSR does not preclude the GSR from serving in another ATHE office. Alker thanked Morrison for her report and her service this year. Alker gave the Focus Group Representative report, but first explained the office of FGR. Proceeding with the report, Alker noted that this year Elise Morrison and Melissa Wong attended Performance Studies International with funding from ATHE. They convened with PSI members to inform them about PSFG. Morrison then reported that next year PSI would take place in Toronto. Morrison explained that there is interest in cross-pollination between working groups of PSI and those of PSFG. Alker proceeded to discuss her attendance at the Governing Council Meeting ("GC"). At the GC, Alker pointed out the problem with panel acceptance proportionality this year. PSFG had 27 proposed panels and only 10 were accepted. Afterward, two focus group representatives from other groups approached Alker and apologized. Alker reported that in the past PSFG had a higher acceptance rate. Alker noted that PSFG made a commitment last year to bring in senior scholars, many of whom do not attend ATHE regularly, and she explained that some of the panels that were rejected contained senior scholars. Henry Bial spoke, saying that once the panels reach the Conference Committee it is never personal, as the Conference Committee does not have access to the titles of panels or names of panelists; they are simply numbers. Many times panel acceptances are connected to timeslot/scheduling issues. Alker then pointed out that we had a disproportionate amount of senior scholars at the Preconference. Alker reported to the GC about the difficulty with having the Preconference offsite because the focus groups had to scrounge for space immediately following the 2008 ATHE conference. Alker noted that the Awards Committee plans to clarify the language of ATHE awards, particularly the difference between the teaching and career achievement awards. She said that administrators will be able to run for career achievement awards under the new language. En finale, she re-emphasized that members of PSFG should nominate scholars and artists for awards. Cermatori explained the office of MAL. Cermatori explained that the MAL is a jack of all trades; this year Cermatori helped plan the Preconference reception and served as photographer at the Preconference and ATHE conference. John Emigh spoke further about the PSI conference in Toronto. He noted that the topic is on public space and performance. The year after the conference will be in Utrecht. After that year it will possibly be in Mexico City. Emigh also suggested that PSFG members contact Scholar's Choice to keep Masked Performance in print. Alker congratulated him on his career achievement award. Josh Abrams, Member at Large to the ATHE Governing Council. He suggested that members could send s to Barbara Parisi at ryanrep@verizon.net about ATHE governance concerns. The next item of business was the election of officers. Following are the election results:

4 Focus Group-Elect: Nominees: Paige McGinley. Paige makes a speech. Paige McGinley elected. Because Paige McGinley was elected FGR, an impromptu election for Conference Planner-Elect took place. Conference Planner-Elect: Nominees: Sam O'Connell, Louise Owen, Megan Shea. All candidates made speeches. Megan Shea elected. Secretary: Nominees: Joseph Cermatori, Leah Garland, Elise Morrison, Louise Owen, Elizabeth Patterson. Joseph Cermatori withdraws his nomination. All candidates who had not previously made speeches made speeches. Elise Morrison elected. Web Master: Nominees: Todd Coulter and John Hill. All candidates made speeches. Todd Coulter elected. Graduate Student Representative: Nominees: Candice Amich, Claire Canavan, and Joseph Cermatori. Nominees made speeches. Joseph Cermatori elected. MAL: Nominees: Joel Anderson, Lindsay Bostwick, Claire Canavan, Kate Elswit, John Hill, Sam O'Connell, Louise Owen, Melissa Wong. Leah Garland and Andrew Starner were nominated but declined their nominations. Speeches were made by those who had not previously made speeches running for other offices. Joel Anderson, Kate Elswit, Sam O'Connell, Louise Owen, and Melissa Wong elected. McGinley spoke as CP for the 2010 conference. She explained the panel submission process. In 2010, ATHE will eliminate the choice of day. McGinley also gave some pointers on making stronger panels. Alker announced that the 2011 conference will take place in the Palmer House in Chicago. She congratulated Louise Owen and Megan Shea on their new positions as Preconference Organizers. The meeting was adjourned.

5 THE PERFORMANCE STUDIES FOCUS GROUP ANNUAL BUSINESS LIST OF ATTENDEES HELD ON MONDAY AUGUST 10, 2009 AT THE MARRIOTT MARQUIS, TIMES SQUARE, NEW YORK Gwendolyn Alker Candice Amich Joel Anderson Annemarie Bean Henry Bial Lindsay Bostwick Rachel Bowditch Claire Canavan Joseph Cermatori Peter Civetta Matthew Cornish Todd Coulter Andy Davis Christian DuComb Kate Elswit John Emigh Leah Garland John Hill Crystal Hoffman Roberta Kolpakas Lindsay Adamson Livingston Paige McGinley Joseph Megel Katherine Mezur Elise Morrison Sam O'Connell Janice Orlandi Louise Owen Jon Foley Sherman Joe Sherman Jennifer Parker-Starbuck Nicholas Rideout Megan Shea Andrew Starner Melissa WS Wong