‘Putting It Together’: Investigating Sources for Musical Theatre Research
An international conference in honour of Stephen Banfield
The University of Sheffield, 10-12 May 2016
Research into the Broadway and Hollywood musical is now well established, with numerous scholarly monographs, journal articles and critical editions providing diverse but excellent methodological models for investigating the genre. With the resurgence of interest in revivals of “forgotten” musicals by companies such as Encores! and the establishment of series of books such as Oxford’s Broadway Legacies, studies of musicals have evolved to incorporate a plethora of materials and outputs, both scholarly and public.
This three-day conference seeks to interrogate the use of sources in research into musical theatre and film, covering interdisciplinary perspectives from musicology, film, theatre, media, information management, criticism and performance. We welcome submissions from both practitioners and scholars, as well as archivists, editors and librarians. Topics for papers and panels might include (but are not limited to):
- The needs of scholars and practitioners in terms of sources
- How to find and exploit archival and other materials successfully
- The use and dissemination of sources in the digital age
- Problems and limitations of archival materials/source-based work
- Critical editions and the potential restriction of creative freedom
- Whose intentions/needs are the editor/scholar/performer trying to serve?
The conference also celebrates the musical theatre scholarship of Stephen Banfield, Emeritus Professor of Music at the University of Bristol, ten years on from a landmark symposium he convened in Bristol on a similar topic. Professor Banfield's outstanding contributions to the discipline include monographs on the Broadway musicals of Stephen Sondheim and Jerome Kern, as well as numerous scholarly articles, book chapters, conference papers and public presentations that helped to establish the musical as a rich field for scholars of various disciplines.
To propose a paper of 20 minutes, please send a 250-word abstract to puttingittogethersheffield@gmail.com by 15 September 2015. Successful participants will be informed by 15 October.
Confirmed speakers include:
Mark Eden Horowitz
Lisa Lobdell
Stephen Banfield
John Graziano
‘Putting It Together’ will be held in the Humanities Research Institute at the University of Sheffield from 10-12 May 2016. The conference fee is set at £80 (£50 for students, OAPs and the unemployed). Members of the Royal Musical Association will receive an additional discount.
Conference convenor: Dominic McHugh
Contact: puttingittogethersheffield@gmail.com