Performance Studies Interest Group

2017 WSCA Convention – San Diego, California

February 18 – February 21, 2017

Salt Lake City, UT

“Centralizing Marginality, Marginalizing the Center”

Call for Papers, Performances, and Programs

Submission deadline: September 1, 2016

What is truly at stake for me is not the sole necessity of scholarly production. It is the real world consequences of how these issues play out on the stages of everyday life and how my body is sometimes an unwilling participant in acts of social violence, destructive forces pressed against the will of my desire. Knowing that this is academic (and far from a safe mode of social exchange), it is the irony of my hard-fought privilege as a Black male scholar that affords me access to extend my personal and political agenda into this venue.

-Bryant Keith Alexander, “Passing, Cultural Performance, and Individual Agency”

What I want to say is: I love performance most when I enter into it, when it calls me forward shamelessly, across those hard edged maps into spaces where I must go. Terrains that are foreign, scary, uninhabitable, but necessary. I must go to them to know myself more, to know you, more. I enter performance as a witness and a doer. Performance is hard work. We see the familiar for the very first time and after that we can no longer speak or reason about what we thought we knew in the exact same way, lest we forget the performance.

-D. Soyini Madison, “Performing Theory/Embodied Writing”

The Performance Studies Interest Group invites submissions for WSCA’s2017 Annual Convention. This year’s theme is “Centralizing Marginality, Marginalizing the Center” which invites us as a division to engage inan important dialectical performance project. We renew the invitation issued in last year’s interest group call for “a diversity of performative and performance methods, theories, and approaches that challenge the numerousborders attempting to confine and delimit communicative potential.” This year, we call for members to critically, self-reflexively, and mindfully consider not only our own personal and performative relationships to/with marginality, but also the ways that performance may critically, mindfully and reflexively center that which is marginalized.We are particularly interested in papers, performances, sessions, and panels that demonstrate a thoughtful approach to normativity, performativity, marginalized knowledges, in/visibility, agency, privilege, power, positionality, critical theories/pedagogies, spaces of resistance, and/or non/conformity.

Performance uniquely situates us to explore these tensions/relationships within our division, the academe, and the communities we call home. As our PSIG Vice-chair has said, “Performance works from the ground up as it situates us in the everyday. Through this it works to reconfigure relations of power. It works against dominant conceptions of knowledge by locating itself in and theorizing through the body,” (Calafell, 2014).

Finally, in the spirit of the conference theme, we are actively seeking performance submissions that usually occur on the margins of the traditional academic conference space (ie: the conference room). This includes (but are not limited to): durational performances, installations, performance interruptions, site-specific performances, community-based performances, and off-site performances. These submissions will be peer-reviewed, should have a respondent, and will be listed in the program, just as any other accepted submission. However, no rooms or audio-visual equipment will be provided. An additional benefit of this type of submission, ifrecommended for acceptance, is that it will NOT count toward our allotted slots and may allow for more submissions to be paneled. All categories, except for competitive papers, are eligible. Mark the top left of the submission with NON-TRADITIONAL SPACE.

Programs and/panels co-sponsored with other interest groups are encouraged as they increase opportunities for intradisciplinary dialogue and may also allow for more submissions recommended for acceptance to be paneled. Mark the top left of submission with name of the potential CO-SPONSOR INTEREST GROUP.

  1. COMPETITIVE PAPERS
  2. Scholar-artists are encouraged to submit papers to the Performance Studies Interest Group for competitive selection. Papers should have a performance studies research focus and can utilize any methodology, critique, and/or theoretical perspective. We welcome diverse and creative approaches to academic research (e.g., critical/cultural, indigenous, queer, feminist, poetic, personal narrative, autoethnography, performance ethnography, among others). Competitive Papers should not: (1) have been presented at another conference or convention; (2) have been published; and (3) have been accepted for publication. All submissions should use APA, MLA, or Chicago style.
  3. Debut Award: The Performance Studies Interest Group welcomes and encourages debut competitive papers. The WSCA Executives Club Award is made to the author or co-authors of a paper presented as the convention “who have not presented a paper at a state, regional, national, or international convention, or published in any academic journal.” Papers presented at student-only conferences are exempt from this requirement. All authors of a co-authored paper must meet these eligibility requirements for a paper to be considered a Debut Paper. Papers eligible for the Debut Award should be marked “DEBUT” in the upper right-hand corner of the title page. Indicate whether each author is a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral student.
  4. All papers should be submitted in PDF, RTF, or MS Word format. Submitted papers should include two separate attachments:
  5. A title page with title of paper, names of all authors, and the addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and institutional affiliations of each author. Also include audio-visual requests only if absolutely necessary for your presentation or performance. You are encouraged to bring your own audio-visual equipment(s) whenever possible. Equipment availability is extremely limited and expensive. See the WSCA policy on Audio-Visual Equipment at Conventions in the Policies and Procedures Manual on the website
  6. The paper, including a 100-250 word abstract, and a maximum of 25 pages of text. Remove authors’ names from the paper.
  7. Please submit competitive and debut papers electronically to:

Suzanne Pullen

Program Planner, Performance Studies Interest Group

  1. PANEL PERFORMANCES
  2. We invite scholar-artists to submit completed scripts and (optional) video clips for performances to be scheduled on panels. Panel performances should be between 10-15 minutes and can be in various modes (e.g., critical/cultural, indigenous, queer, feminist, poetic, personal narrative, performance (auto)ethnography, multimedia, digital, etc.). While you are invited to submit program panels featuring a number of short performances (see program proposals below), panel performances are intended for individuals (or groups) with 10-15 minute performances interested in being programmed with other 10-15 minute panel performances. Videos will be accepted due to the nature of performance work; scripts don’t always allow for diverse performance styles to be fully understood and considered. Please note: as we are taking video submissions, only scripts can ensure anonymity of authorship. We believe this will remain a thoughtful review process by having multiple reviewers from a variety of locations, styles, and research backgrounds. To submit a performance for consideration, submit the following separate attachments:
  1. A title page with title of performance, names of all performers, and the addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and institutional affiliations for each performer. Also include audio-visual requests only if absolutely necessary for your performance. You are encouraged to bring your own audio-visual equipment(s) whenever possible. Equipment availability is extremely limited and expensive. See the WSCA policy on Audio-Visual Equipment at Conventions in the Policies and Procedures Manual on the web site
  2. (Optional) Include URLs to video clips that are hosted on an online platform (e.g., Vimeo, YouTube, etc.) Please be sure to make your videos “private” and to disclose the password (or themeans to access video content) on your title page.
  3. The completed script. Please remove author and performer names from the script.
  1. Please submit panel performances electronically to:

Suzanne Pullen

Program Planner, Performance Studies Interest Group

  1. SOLO/ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCES
  2. We invite scholar-artists to submit completed scripts and (optional) video clips for solo and/or ensemble performances. Solo/ensemble performancesare intended to fill an entire panel slot (75 minutes, preferably including time for discussion and/or questions) and can assume various modes (e.g., critical/cultural, indigenous, queer, feminist, poetic, personal narrative, performance (auto)ethnography, multimedia, digital, etc.). Videos will be accepted due to the nature of performance work; scripts don’t always allow for diverse performance styles to be fully understood and considered. Please note: as we are taking video submissions, only scripts can ensure anonymity of authorship. We believe this will remain a thoughtful review process by having multiple reviewers from a variety of locations, styles, and research backgrounds. To submit a solo/ensemble performance for consideration, submit the following separate attachments:
  3. A title page with title of solo or ensemble performance, names of all performers, and the addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and institutional affiliations for each performer. Also include audio-visual requests only if absolutely necessary for your performance. You are encouraged to bring your own audio-visual equipment(s) whenever possible. Equipment availability is extremely limited and expensive. See the WSCA policy on Audio-Visual Equipment at Conventions in the Policies and Procedures Manual on the web site
  4. (Optional) Include URLs to video clips that are hosted on an online platform (e.g., Vimeo, YouTube, etc.) Please be sure to make your videos “private” and to disclose the password (or the means to access video content) on your title page.
  5. The completed script. Please remove author and performer names from the script.
  6. Please submit solo/ensemble performances electronically to:

Suzanne Pullen

Program Planner, Performance Studies Interest Group

  1. PROGRAM PROPOSALS
  2. Program proposals should focus on a unifying theme relevant to research, theory, or instruction in Performance Studies. Programs may consist of a chair, individual presenters/performers, and a critic or respondent in a format traditionally presented at conferences. However, ensemble or solo performances, debates, round table discussions, performance activities, or other unique formats are encouraged. Innovative program proposals, especially those that provide opportunities for interaction among participants and attendees, are encouraged.
  3. All program proposals should be submitted in PDF, RTF, or MS Word format. Submitted program proposals should include two separate attachments:
  4. A title page with title of program, names of all participants (include specific titles for individuals, if inclined), and the addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and institutional affiliations of each participant. Also include audio-visual requests only if absolutely necessary for your performance. You are encouraged to bring your own audio-visual equipment(s) whenever possible. Equipment availability is extremely limited and expensive. See the WSCA policy on Audio-Visual Equipment at Conventions in the Policies and Procedures Manual on the website
  5. The proposal, including descriptions of performances, abstracts, or scripts, etc. fitting the format of the proposed program. Remove author names, please.
  6. Please submit program proposals electronically to:

Suzanne Pullen

Program Planner, Performance Studies Interest Group

  1. Western States Communication Association Performance Studies Interest Group Outstanding Contributions to Performance Studies Award (OCPSA)
  2. This award seeks to honor a WSCA member who has completed a terminal degree and has been active with performance studies for more than five years. The criteria for this award are as follows:
  3. Regular past or present attendance to the WSCA convention and active involvement in the performance studies discipline as well as the performance studies interest group
  4. A robust body of scholarship including both publications and performances
  5. A history of service to performance studies with specific service to WSCA.
  6. Persons must be nominated (including self-nominations) by a current WSCA member
  7. Winner should ideally plan to attend the convention in which she/he/ze is being awarded
  1. Deadline: Nominations are due by the WSCA submission deadline. Letters of nomination should be no more than 2 pages and include the following: a brief history of the individual’s work, a justification for awarding the individual, and a description of the contributions made by this individual to WSCA. Please also include a copy of the nominee’s CV. All nominations must be sent via email to the Chair-Elect of the Performance Studies Interest group, who serves as the OCPSA Committee Chairperson.
  2. Submit nominations electronically to:

Bernadette Marie Calafell at

and place “OCPSA Nomination” in the subject line.

Should you have questions, do not hesitate to contact the Performance Studies Interest Group chair at:

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