Festivalising!: Theatrical Events, Politics and Culture (Themes in Theatre Collective Approaches to Theatre and Performance, 3)

Toutes les littératures connaissent le genre narratif bref, lui donnent des qualifications comme: 'nouvelle', 'novella', 'fable', 'fabliau', 'dit', 'conte', 'cuento', etc. Les variations terminologiques multiples trahissent cependant l'incertitude des auteurs et de leurs destinataires devant ce modus dicendi particulier. Car qu'est-ce que c'est qu'un récit bref? Est-ce simplement un récit de moins de 100 pages comme le prétendent certains érudits contemporains ou faut-il supposer l'existence d'autres critères sur la base desquels on pourrait arriver à une différenciation vraiment fonctionnelle? Dans la pratique toute tentative de catégorisation des nombreuses manifestations du genre narratif bref est restée vaine. Le paradoxe est cependant que ce mode littéraire populaire, qu'on ne réussira probablement jamais à circonscrire de façon adéquate, semble se conformer à un certain horizon d'attente et se distinguer de l'écriture épique ou romanesque. Le recueil d'études que voici fait l'histoire de ce modus dicendi fascinant dans les littératures de l'Espagne, de l'Italie et de la France (et des régions francophones) et cela depuis le Moyen Age jusqu'à nos jours. Les différentes contributions donnent des analyses approfondies des aspects traditionnels et novateurs ayant accompagné la naissance et l'évolution de ce genre particulier. L'approche plurilinguistique ne permet non seulement l'étude de l'évolution de ce genre bref dans les trois aires culturelles en question, mais ouvre également la voie aux analyses comparatistes. Preface : Festival cultures / Jacqueline Martin Introduction : The festivalising process / Vicki Ann Cremona Festivals as theatrical events : building theories / Willmar Sauter Festivals, theatrical events and communicative interactions / Henri Schoenmakers Festivals as eventifying systems / Temple Hauptfleisch The theatricality of the Verona Opera Festival / Linda Streit The out-of-the-box festival of early childhood : fashioning the boutique festival for children / Georgia Seffrin In search of the rainbow : the Little Karoo National Arts Festival and the search for cultural identity in South Africa / Temple Hauptfleisch Playing politics at the Adelaide Festival / Jacqueline Martin & Willmar Sauter Hybrid festivals : the Mickery Theatre : in search of a dramaturgy of fragmentation / Henri Schoenmakers Ideology in movement and a movement in ideology : the Deutsche Tanzfestspiele 1934 / David J. Buch & Hana Worthen Iranian theatre festivalised / Farah Yeganeh The Israeli National Community Theatre Festival, the real and the imagined / Shulamith Lev-Aladgem The values of a festival : the Swedish Theatre Biennale / Willmar Sauter Burning Man : festival culture in the United States : festival culture in a global perspective / Wendy Clupper Community building within a festival frame : working-class celebrations in Germany 1918-33 / Matthias Warstat Festivals in religious or spiritual contexts : examples from Japan, China, India and Bangladesh / Christina Nygren The Feast of Saint Nicholas in the low countries / Peter Eversmann Searching for Tennessee : performative identity and the theatrical event. Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival / Carolyn Bain. Throughout the world festivals are growing - in numbers, in size, in significance - and serve as spaces where aesthetic encounters, religious and political celebrations, economic investments and public entertainment can take place. In this sense, festivals are theatrical events. This volume contains discussions of 14 diverse festival events from five continents across the globe, written by members of the IFTR/FIRT Working Group on the Theatrical Event, the same group that has produced the ground-breaking study Theatrical Events - Borders Dynamics Frames in 2004 (also published by Rodopi). The events discussed here range from traditional carnivals and festivals to more controversial theatre, dance and opera festivals, children's festivals and community events, as well as saints' and workers' festivities. All of these constitute part of the local playing cultures and take on significant political roles, nationally and regionally. The authors explore and extend the theoretical frames of reference for any contemporary discussion of theatrical events and festivals, in order to provide a new and fresh perspective on past and present festival culture across the globe Throughout the world festivals are growing - in numbers, in size, in significance - and serve as spaces where aesthetic encounters, religious and political celebrations, economic investments and public entertainment can take place. In this sense, festivals are theatrical events. Exploration of the theoretical frames of reference for the discussion about the present festival culture. Survey of 14 festival events throughout the world Throughout the world festivals are growing - in numbers, in size, in significance - and serve as spaces where aesthetic encounters, religious and political celebrations, economic investments and public entertainment can take place. This work contains discussions of 14 diverse festival events from five continents across the globe.