From ASTR President Marla Carlson, March 2021: Member Survey, Career Paths, Advocating for the Field

I hope that you are well and that, having passed the one-year mark with the Covid-19 pandemic, we are moving into less dire territory both as individuals and as a field. My thoughts this past week have been particularly focused on our female-identifying Asian members, colleagues, friends, and loved ones who are so familiar with the racism and misogyny surrounding the recent murders in Atlanta. I have nothing to say about returning to normal; rather, I cherish the prospect of working together toward justice, equity, and joy. This spring, ASTR is gathering information that will help us to shape the Society’s future in both the short and long term. The Executive Committee has two major initiatives underway: a general membership survey and a qualitative research task force on career paths.

First, you will soon receive an invitation to respond to the first comprehensive survey of ASTR members in a decade. As a result of many complicated transitions in recent years, we don’t even have reliable demographic data right now, so this survey is crucial for learning who our members are and what they need and want from ASTR. Fortunately, Scott Magelssen once again stepped up to lead this effort as he did in 2010, and I am also grateful for the work contributed by Aparna Dharwadker and Rhonda Blair (who was president for the last survey!). I thank you in advance for participating in the 2021 ASTR member survey.

Second, the Task Force on Career Paths has begun interviewing people who earned a doctorate in Theatre/Performance Studies after 2011 and who are not currently in tenured or tenure-track academic employment. Margaret Werry is leading this initiative on behalf of ASTR, with collaborating participants from ATHE, TaPRA, ATDS, and DSA. This systematic qualitative study aims to understand the experiences of fifty recent doctoral graduates in our field, including how their doctoral training serves them in their current career and how professional organizations and individual doctoral programs might better support their ongoing scholarship and development. The task force has also put together a considerable resource list and review of what other professional organizations are doing to support career diversity for doctoral graduates, and it plans to complete its work by summer 2021.

Other things of note: The application/nomination deadline for the next round of Publication & Presentation Prizes is April 20. The 2021 election slate will be posted on our website in early April along with instructions for members to add further nominations by petition if they so wish. Voting will begin in early May. I thank our Nominating Committee for all their hard work.

Finally, I hosted representatives of academic organizations in theatre and performance studies on Zoom for a third leadership summit on March 20. This group has been quite active over the past year in advocating for academic freedom as well as urging specific universities to maintain the programs and departments related to our field. Together, we’re drafting a joint letter to protest the proposed reorganization at the Victoria and Albert Museum that would have serious adverse effects for the Theatre and Performance Department. A communications platform provided by USITT has made it easy to share information, coordinate letter writing, and collaborate on various initiatives. So when you reach out to one organization about program cuts and closures, you will likely reach all of us, and we’ll work together to provide whatever assistance is possible.

Marla Carlson
ASTR President