Julia Moriarty & Jennifer Goff
However arbitrary our markers of the passage of time may be, a nice round multiple of five always invites a bit of reflection. So, as we put the finishing touches on the tenth issue of Etudes, we couldn't help but stop to think about all that we have accomplished. In ten issues over about eight years, we have received 156 submissions by 140 separate contributors, leading to the publication of 65 articles by 71 scholars. We have also featured 21 design essays by 23 artists. And all of this was made possible by the generous and rigorous contributions of 27 peer reviewers.
As we launch this tenth issue, with its characteristic variety in topic and format, we take a moment to reflect upon the impulse to start this journal: a desire to forge and uplift a community of fellows; to demystify and provide opportunities for bravery and diversity in idea and form. Our tenth issue proudly maintains this mission. We did not set a theme for this issue, choosing instead to let the issue form itself. What we have collected is a series of works that reflect the state of the art and scholarship of the day, tracing a line of revision and reworking through the historical and new materials with which theatre still engages. In a way, this issue questions how theatre itself is still an emerging art.
In this issue, we begin with “Revolutionary Homosexuality in Les Blancs” by Arielle Raymos, an astute close reading of Lorraine Hansberry’s final work, examining the ways in which sexuality and race entwine to inspire the revolutionary spirit of its protagonist. Ariel Roitman’s essay, “The Phenomenology of Puppet Ontology in the Holocaust Performative” considers how performance forms can activate liminal spaces of memory and presence. Rubkwan Thammaboosadee’s “Proof Of Better Life: Performances of the Rich on Social Media Amid the Pandemic in Thailand” studies the performativity and isolation of Thailand social media posts amidst the changing landscape of the Covid-19 pandemic. Wrapping up our essays section is Bonnie Georgette Hamlett’s “Missing Pieces and Broken Patterns: A Dramaturgical Study of Thornton Wilder's The Emporium,” a dramaturgical adventure into what art may have come from the fragments of an unfinished play.
Notes from the Field provide us with documentation from the rehearsal rooms as Amanda Dawson and Michael Shipley discuss how they have added pedagogical and performance exposure through a new series in “Opportunities: A Contemporary Play Reading Series and The Pandemic.” Amanda Rose Villarreal brings practices of theatrical intimacy to the digital space in theory and production with “Zooming In: The Intimate Panopticon and Pandemic Performance.” Finally, Rebecca Fitton shares her ruminations and explorations of the structures and strictures of Western democracy, satirically filtered through embodiment in “Best Practices: Dance Making Democracy.”
As we look back upon ten issues of Etudes, and look forward to ten+ more, we hope to continue to reach past and through the distances and barriers within our field, to keep forging new connections and trying out new styles. Etudes started as a place for academic risk-taking and to create a space for those who had yet to find theirs. We are so proud of the work we have been able to spotlight and support, and we can’t thank you enough for trusting your ideas and hard work to us.
-- J & J
As we launch this tenth issue, with its characteristic variety in topic and format, we take a moment to reflect upon the impulse to start this journal: a desire to forge and uplift a community of fellows; to demystify and provide opportunities for bravery and diversity in idea and form. Our tenth issue proudly maintains this mission. We did not set a theme for this issue, choosing instead to let the issue form itself. What we have collected is a series of works that reflect the state of the art and scholarship of the day, tracing a line of revision and reworking through the historical and new materials with which theatre still engages. In a way, this issue questions how theatre itself is still an emerging art.
In this issue, we begin with “Revolutionary Homosexuality in Les Blancs” by Arielle Raymos, an astute close reading of Lorraine Hansberry’s final work, examining the ways in which sexuality and race entwine to inspire the revolutionary spirit of its protagonist. Ariel Roitman’s essay, “The Phenomenology of Puppet Ontology in the Holocaust Performative” considers how performance forms can activate liminal spaces of memory and presence. Rubkwan Thammaboosadee’s “Proof Of Better Life: Performances of the Rich on Social Media Amid the Pandemic in Thailand” studies the performativity and isolation of Thailand social media posts amidst the changing landscape of the Covid-19 pandemic. Wrapping up our essays section is Bonnie Georgette Hamlett’s “Missing Pieces and Broken Patterns: A Dramaturgical Study of Thornton Wilder's The Emporium,” a dramaturgical adventure into what art may have come from the fragments of an unfinished play.
Notes from the Field provide us with documentation from the rehearsal rooms as Amanda Dawson and Michael Shipley discuss how they have added pedagogical and performance exposure through a new series in “Opportunities: A Contemporary Play Reading Series and The Pandemic.” Amanda Rose Villarreal brings practices of theatrical intimacy to the digital space in theory and production with “Zooming In: The Intimate Panopticon and Pandemic Performance.” Finally, Rebecca Fitton shares her ruminations and explorations of the structures and strictures of Western democracy, satirically filtered through embodiment in “Best Practices: Dance Making Democracy.”
As we look back upon ten issues of Etudes, and look forward to ten+ more, we hope to continue to reach past and through the distances and barriers within our field, to keep forging new connections and trying out new styles. Etudes started as a place for academic risk-taking and to create a space for those who had yet to find theirs. We are so proud of the work we have been able to spotlight and support, and we can’t thank you enough for trusting your ideas and hard work to us.
-- J & J