About the Journal

Focus and scope

The European Journal of Theatre and Performance (EJTP) is an international peer-reviewed journal published by the European Association for the Study of Theatre and Performance (EASTAP). EJTP aims to stimulate a close dialogue between theory and practice, as well as between theatre and performance scholars and artists across Europe and beyond. Valuing the importance of local practices and scholarly traditions, EJTP wants to question global tendencies and to promote productive crossovers between either geographical or disciplinary boundaries instead. Taking Europe as its starting point, EJTP welcomes a variety of practices, methodologies, and theoretical approaches, from both historical and contemporary perspectives, in order to broaden the purview of the adjacent fields of theatre, performance, and dance studies.

Sections

Each issue of the European Journal for Theatre and Performance consists of four recurring sections that have their own aims and scopes, but which are all intended to contribute to the journal’s overarching objectives to stimulate a close dialogue between theory and practice, to navigate between local traditions (of research and practice) and global tendencies (within and beyond Europe), and to promote historical and contemporary perspectives on the performing arts.

The Essays section presents innovative research on theatre and performance through scholarly articles that may develop in-depth case studies, critical assessments of research methodologies, or discussions of emerging tendencies within the field of the performing arts. EJTP welcomes articles that address topics of specific urgency within theatre and performance (both from a practical and theoretical point of view), providing new and refreshing perspectives on the performing arts by valuing the importance of local practices and scholarly traditions, yet always against the background of internationally shared terminologies and discourses. EJTP alternates between a general Essays section, for which contributions can be submitted freely and on a continuous basis, and a themed Essays section, for which a Call for Papers on a specific theme is issued.

The Artist or Scholar in Focus section is another alternating feature within EJTP that highlights the work of either EASTAP’s Associate Artist or Associate Scholar, who are selected yearly. The Artist in Focus section is aimed at presenting the work of important contemporary performing artists through textual and visual information, enriched by their own voice (through interviews, manifestos, etc.) as well as contextualising essays that provide in-depth discussions of the poetics and interests of the artists. The Scholar in Focus section provides a refreshing look either at a scholar’s pioneering career who made a significant contribution to the field of theatre, dance, and performance studies.

The From the Archives section offers a carefully curated selection of archival documents relating to the history of theatre, dance, and performance with a specific focus on those histories that are relatively unknown to wider (and predominantly English-speaking) audiences. The section aims to paint a vivid picture of theatre, dance, and performance histories by not only offering textual accounts of the figures and topics under scrutiny, but also by including photographs of performances or artists and scans of documents as they can be found in archives.

The Book Reviews section provides profound and critical discussions of monographs, edited volumes, or special journal issues recently published within the field of theatre, dance, and performance studies with the aim to keep readers of the journal informed on how the scholarship in the field is advancing. EJTP’s Book Reviews section covers not only English-language publications, but also important work published in other languages.

Five pillars

EJTP’s mission consists of the following five pillars:

EJTP is the only journal with a specific focus on performance practices and scholarship in Europe, even while the orientation towards Europe is approached broadly (thus including topics and authors that are not necessarily European-based) as well as in a critical manner (thus raising questions on the so-called ‘imagined communities’, identities, and collective histories that are said to constitute regional cohesion).

EJTP is pan-European and not based in one nation, which means the journal introduces uniquely intercultural and interdisciplinary approaches, whilst paying particular attention to local traditions in terms of both performance practices and research methodologies.

EJTP deepens the relation between theory and practice, which in recent years has started to play an ever more prominent role through the growing recognition that performance generates knowledge through practice. EJTP aims to contribute to these developments by featuring specific sections that publish artist writings and sources documenting artistic processes as well as research processes (cf. Artist in Focus section; Scholar in Focus section; From the Archives section).

EJTP actively pursues to represent a diversity of authors and approaches, with specific attention to research from countries that are underrepresented within academic publishing. Through its close association with EASTAP, EJTP is committed to ensure a wide range of nationalities featured in the journal.

EJTP always strives to find a right balance between contemporary and historical topics and methods of research, in order to make sure that sufficient attention is paid to the historicization of the field by placing current interests and concerns in their proper social and cultural contexts.