Call for Papers
Song, Stage and Screen X:
“The Star System in Musical Theatre and Film”
Regent’s University London
June 24-26, 2015
“star”
synonyms: celebrity, big name, celeb(informal), megastar, name, draw, idol, luminary, leading man or lady, lead, hero or heroine, principal, main attraction
(Collins Dictionary)
The entertainment industry has always relied extensively upon the lure and sales potential of stardom; not for nothing did MGM boast in the 1930s to have “More Stars Than There Are In Heaven”. Yet it seems that the whole concept of the larger-than-life artistic persona is especially potent and relevant when it comes to the stage and film musical:
Certain film cycles are exclusively identified by their stars (Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland; Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers), not by their directors. Certain stage roles (Harold Hill, Mama Rose, Fanny Brice) are always expected to be performed by star actors. There also is a particular fascination with the artist trying to make it in show business (42nd Street; A Star is Born; Funny Girl) and, conversely, with the fading star (A Star is Born; Applause; Follies; Sunset Boulevard).
The producers and artists working on film and stage musicals – whether conscious of doing so or not – are responsible for setting up and reinforcing the mechanisms that encourage an audience’s emotional affinity and identification with certain performers and their roles.Song, Stage and Screen X aims to explorethese mechanisms and what they signify.
The following are a few suggested topics for papers and presentations:
Star quality
what makes/defines a star?
when is a singing actor not defined as a film musical star (Marlene Dietrich, Irene Dunne, Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe)?
why are there so many female and so few male stars in musical theatre?
the trend of casting celebrities - are stars still necessary to bring in an audience?
has the nature of stardom changed through the internet and social media?
what are the differences between the star system in Hollywood and in the musical theatre industries of Broadway and the West End?
major Asian and European stage stars (Jo Seung-woo, Ock Joo-hyun, Uwe Kröger, Pia Douwes)
the Bollywood star system
major stars of the non-Hollywood film musical such as Gracie Fields and Jessie Matthews (UK), Marika Rökk, Johannes Heesters and Zarah Leander (Nazi Germany) or Frank Schöbel (East Germany)
Creating stars
does training actors to develop their unique qualities inevitably support the star system?
how to arrive at fresh interpretations of classic songs/role interpretations?
how does the theatre and film industry fabricate the ‘next big thing’?
the impact of Reality TV on the training of actors and the public’s perception of performing
the triple threat – still underappreciated in the theatre/film industry and the mass media?
The star persona
... and its multiplicity of meanings
...and its restrictions (i.e. the dominant images of Deanna Durbin, Doris Day, Danny Kaye, Julie Andrews)
...and ethnicity (the public image of Lena Horne, Rita Moreno, Ethel Waters, the Nicholls Brothers, Nancy Kwan)
...and its influence on the meaning of a role (Marlon Brando in Guys and Dolls; Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, Lucille Ball in Mame, Madonna in Evita, Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd)
Selling stars
how film and stage musicals are promoted
the songwriter as star (Rodgers & Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Sondheim as cult figure)
the star as composer (Noël Coward, Ivor Novello, Petula Clark)
the musical as “the star” and other effects of branding (mega-musicals and after...)
Employing stars
musicals that were tailored to specific stars (Call Me Madam; Half a Sixpence; The Act)
long-term working relationships between songwriters and their favourite performers (Harold Arlen & Judy Garland; Kander and Ebb & Liza Minnelli; Jerry Herman & Angela Lansbury; Benny Andersson & Helen Sjöholm)
musicals that are ‘forever’ associated with certain stars (The Wizard of Oz; The King and I; Mary Poppins; Funny Girl; Cabaret; The Boy from Oz)
Depicting stars
the representation of stardom in film and on stage (Broadway Melody; 42nd Street, Jolson Sings Again; A Star is Born; Funny Girl; Lady Sings the Blues; The Rose; The Last Five Years; The Jersey Boys; Smash)
the biopic of the composer as Hollywood musical sub-genre (Words and Music; Till the Clouds Roll By; Night and Day; De-Lovely)
Papers should be designed to last no more than 20 minutes.
Please send an abstract of no more than 200 words for blind peer review (your name should not appear anywhere in the proposal) to the conference convenor, Dr Olaf Jubin, with the subject heading “Song, Stage and Screen X”.
The deadline for proposals is Saturday, January 31, 2015.