Intercriticism
International Conference; Association of Slovenian Theatre Critics and Researchers, AICT/IATC and Maribor Theatre Festival
Thursday, 21 October 2010, at 10am
Friday, 22 October 2010, at 10am
Anton Trstenjak Hall, University of Maribor
The international conference entitled Intercriticism, organized by the Maribor Theatre Festival and the Association of Slovenian Theatre Critics and Researchers (a national section of the AICT/IATC), aims to present an apparent re-contextualization and reorganization of critical writing about theatre and the performing arts. In addition to their primary task, i.e. critical writing, contemporary critics have become interactively involved in parallel activities that pertain only indirectly to their area of work while, more importantly, engaging their field of vision as critical observers and judges. Usually, a free-lance critic is also a member of various juries and panels, a dramaturge, a producer, a university teacher, a program adviser co-shaping a program, a selector of performances or a (co)creator of festival programs, a moderator of panel discussions, an editor of professional publications, a copy-editor, and sometimes even a performer.
Critical writing has therefore become just one of the roles fulfilled by theatre and performing arts critics. Over the past decades, the aesthetic, cultural, social, political and productional realities have placed the theatre critic into an area of intermediate interest, a location which has undermined the presence and the role of a critical position. "Theatre criticism" or "theatre journalism" has suffused virtually all segments of social life dealt with in the print and broadcast media. This raises the question of how much room is left for the critic’s basic task within this network of interests, and how privileged this position is. How does this affect the analysis, description, evaluation and social position of the observer and his/her relation to the subject of observation? What happens when a critic no longer observes a performance from a privileged, detached position but becomes part of the performance itself as a result of these circumstances?
The inter-criticism debate will examine the current situation of critical writing from various viewpoints as well as its professional position within the context described above. The international conference entitled Intercriticism, organizedby the Maribor Theatre Festival and the Association of Slovenian Theatre Critics and Researchers (a national sectionof the AICT/IATC), aims to present an apparent re-contextualizationand reorganization of critical writing about theatre andthe performing arts.In addition to their primary task, i.e. critical writing, contemporarycritics have become interactively involved in parallel activitiesthat pertain only indirectly to their area of work while,more importantly, engaging their field of vision as critical observersand judges. Usually, a free-lance critic is also a memberof various juries and panels, a dramaturge, a producer, auniversity teacher, a program adviser co-shaping a program, aselector of performances or a (co)creator of festival programs,a moderator of panel discussions, an editor of professionalpublications, a copy-editor, and sometimes even a performer. Critical writing has therefore become just one of the roles fulfilledby theatre and performing arts critics. Over the past decades, the aesthetic, cultural, social, politicaland productional realities have placed the theatre critic into anarea of intermediate interest, a location which has underminedthe presence and the role of a critical position. "Theatre criticism"or "theatre journalism" has suffused virtually all segmentsof social life dealt with in the print and broadcast media. This raises the question of how much room is left for the critic’sbasic task within this network of interests, and how privilegedthis position is. How does this affect the analysis, description, evaluation and social position of the observer andhis/her relation to the subject of observation? What happenswhen a critic no longer observes a performance from a privileged,detached position but becomes part of the performanceitself as a result of these circumstances? The inter-criticism debate will examine the current situation ofcritical writing from various viewpoints as well as its professionalposition within the context described above.
Thursday, 21. 10. 2010
10:00 OPENING
10:15 - 10:45 Rok Vevar Introductory Presentation
10:55 - 11:15 Zuzana Ulicianska Two Degrees of Separation
11.25 - 11:45 BREAK
11:45 - 12:05 Jean-Pierre Han Quelques questions sur la place du critique dramatique contemporain
12:15 - 12:35Michel Vaïs Le critique: un accompagnateur intervenant
13:00 - 15:00 LUNCH BREAK
15:00 - 15:20 Blaž Lukan Transfigurations of the Critical "Judgment" in the Time of Post-criticism
15:30 - 15:50 Matti Linnavuori Whose Performance is it Anyway?
16:00 - 16:20 Savas Patsalidis (Un)Critical Re-positionings
Friday, 22. 10. 2010
10:00 - 10:20 Ivan Medenica Intercritic Outside of the Conflict of Interest
10:30 - 10:50 Yun-Cheol Kim In Defense of Inter-national Criticism
11:00 - 11:20 BREAK
11:30 - 11:50 Ramune Baleviciute Intercriticism as the Stepping-stone for Theatre Ideas
12:00 - 12:20 Don Rubin The Myth of Critical Distance
13:00 - 15:00 LUNCH BREAK
15:00 - 15:20 Tomaž Toporišič What happened to the Criticism? (Intertextuality, Intermedia, Corporative Capitalism and (Inter)criticism)
15:30 - 15:50 Tomasz Miłkowski Who is a Critic?
16:00 - 17:00 CLOSING DISCUSSION