American Society for Theatre Research

American Society for Theatre Research
Name	American Society for Theatre Research
Abbreviation	ASTR
Formation	1956
Type	Professional association
Headquarters	United States
Region served	North America
Membership	Scholars, historians, practitioners
Language	English

Contents

American Society for Theatre Research is a professional organization dedicated to the scholarly study of theatre and related performance forms in the United States and internationally. Founded in the mid-20th century, the society brings together historians, critics, and practitioners associated with institutions such as Yale University, New York University, University of California, Berkeley, and Northwestern University. Its activities intersect with archives, museums, and libraries including the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and the Folger Shakespeare Library.

History

The society was established during a period when theatrical scholarship was expanding within universities like Harvard University, Columbia University, Princeton University, and University of Chicago, and when archival initiatives at institutions such as the Harry Ransom Center, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Museum of Performance + Design were growing. Early members included scholars connected with projects related to Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen, Bertolt Brecht, and Richard Wagner, and the society engaged with regional centers like the American Conservatory Theater and festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Stratford Festival. Over decades, the society responded to developments tied to grants from organizations such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and collaborations with journals associated with Modern Drama and archives linked to the British Library.

ASTR's mission emphasizes historical inquiry and archival preservation, working with repositories like the Newberry Library, the Vancouver Public Library, and the Maryland Historical Society. The society supports research on periods from Elizabethan era and Restoration comedy to 19th-century theatre and 20th-century avant-garde, and on figures such as Molière, Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, and August Wilson. It facilitates exchanges among faculty from programs at Cornell University, Duke University, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Wisconsin–Madison, and engages with professional bodies including the Modern Language Association, the American Historical Association, and the International Federation for Theatre Research.

The society publishes a peer-reviewed journal staffed by editors and contributors affiliated with journals like Theatre Journal, Comparative Drama, Performance Research, TDR (journal), and Theatre Survey. Its printed and digital publications draw on primary sources from collections at institutions such as the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, and examine works by playwrights including William Shakespeare, Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter, and Sarah Kane. The society's editorial board collaborates with presses such as Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan, and University of Michigan Press.

ASTR convenes meetings in conjunction with learned societies and festivals including the American Historical Association Annual Meeting, the Modern Language Association Convention, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, and the International Congress on Musical Theatre. Conference programs often feature panels devoted to archives like the Billy Rose Theatre Division and topics related to productions at venues such as Broadway Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, Lincoln Center, and the Globe Theatre. The society has sponsored symposia addressing regional repertories from Yoruba theatre traditions to Japanese Noh and Kabuki, and has partnered with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Getty Research Institute.

Membership comprises academics, archivists, librarians, and practitioners affiliated with universities and organizations such as Boston University, University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, University of California, Los Angeles, Royal Shakespeare Company, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Governance is conducted by an elected board and officers drawn from departments including Drama School at Yale, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and the Juilliard School, with advisory ties to funders like the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

The society administers awards and fellowships supporting research into archives and collections such as the Shubert Archive, the Lincoln Center Archives, and the Theatre Collection at the V&A. Recipients have included scholars who have also received honors from institutions such as the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the National Humanities Center. Prize topics have ranged across studies of figures including Edmund Kean, Sarah Bernhardt, Makovsky family, W. S. Gilbert, and Lillian Hellman and projects on movements like Expressionism, Realism (theatre), and Postmodernism (arts).

Category:Theatre organizations