There is no one-day rate for the conference.
A very limited number of financial-need scholarships are available. APPLY
Performing the World 2020, Creating a Heart in a Havenless World, was cancelled due to COVID-19. That same year, from July 25-August 30, 2020 we held our first Performing the World Happening(s). LEARN MORE
ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Conference: Performing the World 2020; Wednesday-Saturday, September 30-October 3, 2020 – New York City
Deadline for proposals: February 22, 2020
Post-conference practicum: “Where do I go from here?” Sunday October 4, 10:30- 3:30 pm.
A very limited number of financial-need scholarships are available. APPLY
The theme for Performing the World 2020 (PTW) is inspired by the ways millions of people all over the planet are responding to an increasingly harsh world. Along with so many who must physically flee war, gang violence, drought, floods and fire, there are countless more who seek an escape from the cruelty, violence, destitution, alienation and pain of everyday life. They search for, or try to create, a haven.
What if there is none?
This question, raised nearly twenty years ago by the late Fred Newman (one of the founders of PTW), is starkly—even shockingly—more relevant today. Try as we might to escape or hide, through retreating into our “tribe,” our work, our family, our relationships, our faith, or drugs, gangs or crime, Newman believed that we would fail, because there is no haven in a world that is heartless.
What can we do in a havenless world?
We can create a heart. We can do the work of performing-and-developing a world “in which havens are not necessary.”
The ever-broadening PTW community-in-the-making is busy engaging all manner of social problems, educating, healing, organizing and activating individuals, organizations and communities as a concrete, practical re-shaping of a heartless and havenless world. Through performance and play (the arts, theatre, music, dance, improvisation, poetry, storytelling), people can bring new social-cultural-psychological-political possibilities into existence. PTW will be a gathering of, by and for people who are, in so many beautiful ways, creating a heart.
New this year!
For PTW 2020 we’ve got a new presentation format that we’re excited about. In addition to workshops, project presentations and panels, we are now inviting proposals for ZED Talks! A ZED Talk is like a TED Talk, but different.
What’s a TED Talk? A TED talk is short, concise, polished and well-rehearsed. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. There are now thousands of TED-like events (dubbed TEDx) all over the world. Take a look at a few on Youtube before deciding to submit a proposal to present one at PTW 2020.
But what’s a ZED talk? Instead of TED, ours are named ZED. That stands for Zone of Everyone’s Development, which resonates much more with Performing the World than Technology, Entertainment and Design does.
There are two requirements for ZED Talks.
- Your presentation needs to address PTW 2020’s Theme, “Creating a Heart in a Haven-less World.” You can present ideas, issues, on-the-ground activities or any combination. Your performance can be lecture-style or artistic/theatrical.
- Your presentation must be no more than ten minutes.
We will choose six ZED Talk proposals to be presented together in one 90-minute session at the conference, with time for comments after.
So choose your format! We look forward to seeing your workshop, presentation and panel proposals. And, if a TED-style, formal presentation-on-stage is appealing, consider the ZED Talk format!
We invite participation from performers and performance scholars, psychologists and social workers, physicians and nurses, educators and youth workers, policy makers and humanitarian aid workers, community organizers and political activists, and all others for whom performance offers possibility.
The sponsors of PTW are the All Stars Project, Inc. and the East Side Institute. PTW will be held at the All Stars Project’s performance and development center on 42 nd Street in New York City.
Proposals are due February 22, 2020.
Post-Conference Practicum: “Where do I go from here?”
Social therapeutics is the methodology that gave birth to PTW and is a major force within the emerging performance activism movement. It has brought into existence a practice in which play, performance and philosophizing are uniquely combined to support people to grow themselves and their communities, to humanize the mental health field and the social sciences, and to effect social change and global cultural transformation. Join PTW founder Lois Holzman and Institute faculty Carrie Lobman, Cathy Salit, Marian Rich and Dan Friedman for this one day dive into the conceptions and tools of social therapeutics. See how these discoveries can work for you, your teams and your projects. Perfect for experienced organizers and newly becoming activists. Some topics to be explored are: — Creating ensembles everywhere; — Creating independent funding sources; — Inspiring active participation; –Building without an ideology.
Conference Fees
On or Before June 15: $275 (US); After June 15: $325 (US). There is no one-day rate for the conference. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
Post-Conference Practicum: Add $50 to conference registration.
For any questions about your visa or registration, contact Melissa Meyer at mmeyer@eastsideinstitute.org.
For questions related to proposals, please contact Diane Stiles at ptw@allstars.org.
For further inquiries, contact Lois Holzman , Conference Chair, at lholzman@eastsideinstitute.org.