New perspectives and rigorous scholarship shaping the histories of theatre and performance.
Theatre History Studies 2022, Vol. 41 presents a dynamic collection of peer-reviewed essays that exemplify current directions in theatre and performance historiography. Edited by Lisa Jackson-Schebetta, this volume brings together scholars whose work spans diverse periods, geographies, and performance traditions, demonstrating the field's continued expansion in scope and methodology. As the official journal of the Mid-America Theatre Conference, Theatre History Studies remains a vital venue for rigorous historical inquiry grounded in archival research, critical theory, and historiographic reflection.
Volume 41 engages pressing questions about how theatre histories are constructed, narrated, and mobilized in relation to social, political, and cultural contexts. Contributors explore performance as a site of embodied knowledge, identity formation, resistance, and memory, with essays that address race, gender, sexuality, labor, migration, and transnational exchange. The volume reflects a historiographic turn toward interdisciplinary approaches, drawing from dance studies, performance studies, critical race theory, and cultural history to reconsider established narratives and recover overlooked voices.
Together, the essays in this volume demonstrate the continued relevance of theatre history as both a scholarly practice and a critical framework for understanding performance's role in shaping--and being shaped by--broader historical forces. Theatre History Studies 2022, Vol. 41 will be of particular value to scholars, educators, and graduate students in theatre and performance studies, as well as researchers in related fields who are interested in innovative historical methods and the evolving contours of performance scholarship.
CONTRIBUTORS