The Past, Present: A Symposium on Drama, Archives, and Historical Memory
The symposium will be held at
University of South Carolina, Columbia
January 28-31, 2027
What happens when theatre educators enact history? The Past, Present is a four-day generative symposium hosted by the University of South Carolina that inverts the traditional conference model by asking participants to come not with finished work to present, but to learn, imagine, and create.
Grounded in Columbia’s inspiring constellation of historical resources—the Anne Frank House, the Center for Civil Rights History and Research, the Museum of Education, and the Rule of Law Collaborative—participants will take guided tours of each site and engage primary sources, oral histories, and archival materials firsthand. Structured reflection and conversation will follow each encounter.
The Past, Present asks a central question: how do we engage the past to inform our present? Through site-based immersion, attendees will develop and return home with project ideas rooted in their own community’s history. Participants leave with a project’s beginning, and a cohort of collaborators who are interested in sharing in this work.
A pathway to publication in Youth Theatre Journal will be available for participants who wish to develop their work toward scholarly contribution.
Call for Proposals
The Past, Present invites proposals from theatre educators, teachers, scholars, and artists who are curious about how history, archival materials, and local stories can inform our creative and scholarly work. This is not a traditional conference. We will arrive not with finished presentations, but with questions, passions, and nascent ideas about potential projects rooted in our own communities.
Over four days, we will take guided tours with historians, archivists, researchers, and scholars who are associated with some of the University of South Carolina’s historical centers such as the Center for Civil Rights History and Research, the Anne Frank Center, and the Museum of Education. Participants will have the opportunity to engage primary sources, oral histories, and archival materials. Through structured mini-workshops on topics such as ethical representations of histories, engaging current stories through past events, and creative interpretation, we will develop the beginnings of project ideas to take back to our own communities. On the final day, each participant will pitch their nascent projects, and, if so desired, receive feedback from fellow participants and historians about their ideas. We will also write an academic abstract for the AATE conference site, providing a record of our work and a basis for future scholarship or creative activity.
We seek participants who see archives as a resource and local histories as inspiration. This symposium is an opportunity to deepen our creative curiosity and reckon with challenging histories to present in stages or third space venues. Proposals might be driven by questions such as: How can drama education reveal and engage difficult histories in schools? How do we theatricalize and promote restorative justice practices? How might historical evidence from different times and places illuminate a local story that needs to be told? How do I learn about local resources while not yet knowing how to access or use them for theatrical purposes?
Proposals are due on Friday, October 16, 2026
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