Call for Papers - Law and Theatre

[Sharon Sutherland]

Masks: The Online Journal of Law and Theatre
CALL FOR ARTICLES
http://masksjournal.com

For its second issue, Masks will be creating two new submissions categories, one of which is specifically designed for those involved in the theatre industry. Masks is seeking submissions that consider law in relation to theatre and theatrical works. This category is intended for theatre personnel interested in writing pieces that will not be subjected to an editorial process as rigorous as peer review, while still affording a venue for public exchange of well-developed ideas on the interplay of law and theatre. (Practitioners are also welcome to submit academic articles for peer review).

By providing a venue for performing artists, directors, playwrights and other theatre personnel to discuss how law effects theatre, Masks hopes to create a non-transitory location for the transmission of ideas between both practitioners and the academic community.

Submission Guidelines:
Here are a few examples of potential topics for submissions:
• the effect or importance of law in a particular theatrical work
• how the legal environment influences theatre, its production or reception
• the use of theatre as an means for challenging or redefining legal culture and law itself
• improvisation and legal negotiation
• theatrical tools in legal pedagogy

This list is by no means exhaustive and potential authors unsure if a topic they have in mind is appropriate should email [e-mail] for clarification or more information. The intention of this category is to gather submissions that speak to the interplay of law and theatre generally, therefore writers are encouraged to write pieces that would be appropriate to a geographically diverse audience. Masks is not interested in submissions giving legal advice to theatre personnel or submissions dealing with particular legal troubles. All submissions will be reviewed by the editorial board for consideration.

Article Guidelines:

Submissions which advance meaningful scholarship will be evaluated as early as July 2009. The article review process is conducted by the Editorial Board. Your document is considered anonymously; no weight is given to one’s prior publication, previous submissions or institutional affiliation. The Editorial Board reserves the right to make editorial changes to all contributions as necessary before publication to ensure correctness of spelling, grammar and conformity to style.

Papers should not exceed 20,000 words including footnotes. Footnotes should conform to MLA format. Please send an electronic version (Microsoft Word format), of your typed, double-spaced manuscript for consideration in care of the Editor-in-Chief to [e-mail]

Important Dates:

June 15, 2009: Submission of abstracts for consideration and feedback. This is not required, but if you want feedback from the editorial board before preparing your submission, it will be available.

July 31, 2008: Submission of papers. Notice of acceptance will be given in September, 2009.

Masks: the online journal of law and theatre is a multi-disciplinary, peer-reviewed online journal based at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Law. The journal’s focus is on the intersections of law and theatre. Diverse scholarship exists on some of these intersections, including: courtroom as theatre; historical connections between theatre and the Inns of Court; lawyer playwrights; images of lawyers in popular culture; law in literature studies of plays; and legislative theatre. Masks seeks to bring together continuing scholarship in these areas and to provide a forum for discussions of new areas of research. The first issue was published in March 2009 and can be found online at the journal website: http://masksjournal.com/wordpress/