ATDS @ ATHE
Join us for a special slate of panels sponsored by ATHE for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s 2025 Virtual Conference!
ATDS First Book Bootcamp
APPLY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2026 FIRST BOOK BOOTCAMP:
Can you write your first book? Yes, you can!
The annual First Book Bootcamp pairs contingent and tenure-stream faculty with experienced faculty mentors to develop book proposals. Mentoring faculty will read participants’ materials in advance and meet during the Bootcamp in one-on-one sessions for targeted feedback.
In addition to these one-on-one mentoring sessions, the First Book Bootcamp includes workshops on the book proposal process, panels with series and acquisition editors and recent first-time authors, open writing sessions, and peer conversations. After the two-week Bootcamp, participants will attend a virtual reunion to update mentors on their progress, solicit advice, and sustain this supportive community of scholars.
Eligibility
Anyone working on a research monograph in the fields of theatre or performance studies broadly defined is eligible to apply. The First Book Bootcamp is NOT intended for those still completing their PhDs (we hope you will apply in the future!).
Schedule
The Bootcamp will run via Zoom from July 28-August 7, with multiple group gatherings and one-on-one sessions. Participants will be selected and will be assigned to a mentor by June 20. Participants must submit their materials (sample chapter, draft book proposal, etc.) to mentors no later than July 1. Accepted participants are expected to attend all scheduled sessions.
At the conclusion of the bootcamp, participants will have engaged in a minimum of 10 hours of intensive mentorship, workshopping of their research materials, and conversations with professionals in the field.
Application
To apply, fill out this google form: https://forms.gle/EvXmGN68Zf9HvwKp9
Applications include your project title, 150-word abstract, status of your project, goals for the First Book Bootcamp as well as your CV and contact information and are due June 1. Please email convenors Michael Y. Bennett, Jennifer Buckley, and Heather S. Nathans: atdsfirstbookbootcamp@gmail.com.
ATDS 2026 Graduate Student Postconference Series: Demystifying the Journal Publication Process (virtual)
The ATDS 2026 Graduate Student Postconference Series aims to demystify the journal publication process for graduate students and early career scholars. Through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous panels, events, and mentoring sessions, the postconference addresses questions including: How do you approach transforming a seminar paper into an essay ready for peer-review? How do you figure out what journal to submit your work to? What are the steps of the journal publication process? How might you respond to peer reviews? Attendees will have an opportunity to discuss questions and anxieties about the publication process with editors, faculty mentors, and peers.
The series also includes a roundtable for graduate students to discuss key issues impacting them in the field today.
To attend the postconference, please use this Google Form to sign up by July 28 to receive the Zoom link. The Zoom link will be sent out two days before the event.
Please reach out to Michelle Granshaw (president@atds.org) with any questions.
ATDS 2026 Graduate Postconference Series Committee: Natasha Cole, Michelle Granshaw, Mina Kawahara, and Bess Rowen.
Program
12PM-1:15PM ET – Demystifying the Journal Publication Process Editor Roundtable
(All faculty, students, and independent scholars are welcome to attend)
David Bisaha (Associate Editor, Theatre Annual), Benjamin Gillespie (Editor, Journal of American Drama and Theatre), Bess Rowen (Editor, Journal of American Drama and Theatre), and Jonathan Shandell (Editor, Theatre Annual)
1:30PM-2:45PM ET – Navigating Graduate School Today: A Roundtable
(All faculty, students, and independent scholars are welcome to attend)
What are the central issues facing graduate students now? What do you want to see changed? How might the field meet this moment? This roundtable will provide a chance to come together to hear directly from graduate students, discuss strategies, and think collectively about how to support graduate students as they navigate the challenges of graduate school today. DEADLINE EXTENDED - Please see the call for graduate student presenters below.
3PM-4PM ET – Graduate Student Mixer
(Graduate Students Only)
An informal mixer for graduate students to meet other grad students, talk about their research interests, discuss journal publication, share success stories and advice, and commiserate about challenges of graduate school.
Journal Article Works-in-Progress Mentoring Sessions
Graduate student authors will be matched with a faculty mentor who will provide written and/or verbal feedback on a full-length essay. This will be an asynchronous process that is designed to be flexible and low-pressure for all involved. ATDS hopes that this will be an opportunity to not only provide graduate student authors a fresh set of eyes on their writing, but also a look into how editors and peer reviewers might approach their work. Deadline passed.
Call for Participants for Navigating Graduate School: A Roundtable
This roundtable welcomes graduate student participants interested in discussing key challenges and opportunities facing graduate students in the field. What are the central issues you see facing graduate students now? What do you want to see changed? How might the field meet this moment? The roundtable will provide a chance to come together to hear directly from graduate students, discuss strategies, and think collectively about how to support graduate students as they navigate the challenges of graduate school today.
We welcome submissions from graduate students at various points in their careers. We want to hear about what topics matter to you! Graduate student presenters will speak for 5-7 minutes before the conversation is opened up to the group. If you are interested in serving as a roundtable participant, please fill out this Google Form by July 15.
New Books in Asian American Theatre and Performance Studies
Please join us for our upcoming roundtable on New Books in Asian American Theatre and Performance Studies this Friday, May 8th from 4:30-5:30pm Eastern (1:30-2:30pm Pacific). We will spotlight:
Performing Vulnerability: Risking Art and Life in the Burmese Diaspora by Emily L. Hue
Spoiled: Asian American Hostility and the Damage of Repair by Summer Kim Lee
Unsettling Acts: Performing Transnational Adoption by Jieun Lee
Register for the roundtable to receive the Zoom link shortly before the event.
Learn more about our authors below:
Emily Hue is an Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies and core faculty in Southeast Asian Text, Ritual, Performance (SEATRiP). Her research and teaching are in the fields of Asian American Studies, feminist studies, and performance, and more recently, in new materialisms and sustainable design. Her first book Performing Vulnerability: Risking Art and Life in the Burmese Diaspora (University of Washington Press, 2025) uses visual and performance analysis to explore how Southeast Asian diasporic artists use, in some cases, self-injury, to express their vulnerability to challenges of military rule as well as resettlement. You can find her most recent writing in the Critical Ethnic Studies Journal, AmericanStudies Quarterly, Amerasia, and the Routledge Handbook of Refugee Narratives.
Summer Kim Lee is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at UCLA. She specializes in feminist theory, queer theory, performance studies, critical race and ethnic studies, and Asian Americanart, literature, and culture. She is the author of Spoiled: Asian American Hostility and the Damage of Repair (Duke University Press, 2025). Some of her published work can be found in ASAP/Journal, Los Angeles Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, Post45, Social Text, and Women & Performance.
Jieun Lee is an Associate Professor of Theater Studies at Emory University. She is the author of Unsettling Acts: Performing Transnational Adoption published in 2025 by the Ohio State University Press. Her research and teaching focus on Asian American and Korean diaspora theater and performance. Jieun is currently working on an anthology of contemporary dramas written and performed by Korean American adoptees.
This event is organized through ATDS’ Anti-Racist Initiative, led by Donatella Galella and Janet Werther.
Zoom Meetup for Students and Faculty Navigating Censorship
On February 20 at 3PM EST/2PM CST/12PM PST, Becca Worley and Michelle Granshaw will be holding a virtual meet up for faculty and students navigating censorship and oppression at their colleges and universities to share experiences, strategies, and resources. We will use this Zoom link and we hope you will join us! We also are working on other resources requested by faculty navigating these circumstances and will be sharing them soon.
ATDS Wacky Writing Challenge!
We are delighted to invite you to join the Dog Days of Summer Wacky Writing Week hosted by the American Theatre and Drama Society!
It's a low-stakes, fun way to tackle your research and polish off your summer writing goals!
All are welcome!
Developing Diversity Statements
We are happy to announce ATDS's Spring 2025 virtual Career Conversations workshop. On Wednesday, April 16th from 6PM-7:30PM EST, please join us for the Developing Diversity Statements for the Academic Job Market workshop. You can sign up for the event using this Google Form. The workshop, – which will feature one-on-one feedback from faculty Sarah Fahmey, Jenna Gerdsen, Noe Montez, and Kristen Wright – has limited space, so please apply by March 16!
This event is open to both ATDS members and non-members. Please see the links and attached posters for more details and sign-up information! We appreciate you passing on the information to colleagues and students who may be interested. If you have any questions, please contact co-organizers Michelle Granshaw (ATDS Board Member, mkg31@pitt.edu) and Victoria LaFave (ATDS Graduate Representative,gradstudentrep@atds.org).
If you are not a member of ATDS, please consider joining (membership includes a pay-what-you-can option) and help us continue to offer these opportunities and others.
Cultivating a Digital Presence in TAPS
We are happy to announce ATDS's Spring 2025 virtual Career Conversations series. On Thursday February 13 from 6PM-7PM EST, please join us for a roundtable conversation about Best Practices for Cultivating a Digital Presence in Theatre and Performance Studies featuring Shelby Brewster, Leticia Ridley, Alexis Riley, and Samuel Yates. You can sign up for the event using this Google Formthrough February 10. The event is open to members and non-members. Everyone who signs up will receive a Zoom link to join the conversation before the event.
Our second Career Conversations event will be an April workshop on diversity statements. We will send out more information later in the spring.
Both events will be open to ATDS members and non-members. We appreciate you passing on the information to colleagues and students who may be interested. If you have any questions, please contact co-organizers Michelle Granshaw (ATDS Board Member, mkg31@pitt.edu) and Victoria LaFave (ATDS Graduate Representative, gradstudentrep@atds.org).
If you are not a member of ATDS, please considerjoining (membership includes a pay-what-you-can option) and help us continue to offer these opportunities and others.