Search CITT/ICTS

All hours are Atlantic Daylight Time (ADT)

Backstage Work and Academic Research

Educational Session

The goal of this presentation is to show how and why academic scholars do research about technical theatre and behind-the-scenes labour, and yo discuss academic research in a way that is appropriate for a general audience.

First, I will discuss how academics have researched backstage labour in the past, and how they research it today. Second, I will review some specific approaches to backstage research, such as technical developments, policy and standardization, and cultural discussions. Finally, I will discuss my own research and forthcoming book about touring sound technicians. I will show that research of this kind can: - share backstage experiences for people outside of the industry; - demonstrate importance of backstage work; - support and advocate for backstage workers; - show the limitations and risks of backstage work; - change how people think about live production; - and more broadly, change how consumers understand hidden labour I will have a question and answer period at the end of the session.

After attending this sessions attendees will be able to:

- identify and discuss the trends of past and present academic research about backstage work; - know what academic literature, archival resources, and other scholarly materials look like (and where to find them); - have an understanding of how and why the work of backstage technical professionals is valued by scholars

Presenter: Jacob Danson Faraday (he/him)

Jacob Danson Faraday is an ethnomusicologist at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland. He worked as a touring sound technician and stagehand for many years before becoming a researcher. His research interests include live sound production, large-scale touring, and labour.