[ecrea] CFP Song, Stage and Screen X: The Star System in Musical Theatre and Film

                                                        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 explore these mechanisms and what they 
signify.
The following are a few suggested topics for papers and presentations:
Star quality
Creating stars
The star persona
Selling stars
Employing stars
Depicting stars

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, (jubino /at/ regents.ac.uk) with the subject heading 
“Song, Stage and Screen X”.
The deadline for proposals is Saturday, January 31, 2015.



Dr Martha Shearer
Department of Film Studies
King's College London
Strand, London
WC2R 2LS
kcl.academia.edu/MarthaShearer


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