Amateur Theatre Wiki:About

From Amateur Theatre Wiki


The Amateur Theatre Wiki was created in November 2022 as part of the 'Performing Citizenship' research project funded by the European Research Council.

The Amateur Theatre Wiki is a site for visitors to find out more about contemporary amateur theatre practices from all over the world and to discover about amateur theatre's fascinating histories. Most significantly of all, it is a place where visitors can document their own amateur theatre histories. If that sounds like a challenge, don't be put off. It's actually very simple. If you've managed to find this site, you'll have enough computer know-how to begin adding your own entries. Take a look at our 'How To' guides for more information on how to get started.

Performing Citizenship Project

The Performing Citizenship project began in January 2022 and will run until December 2026. The project is concerned with amateur theatre in Europe in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries, and the role of non-professional theatre in the development of the modern concept of citizenship. Around 1800, in a time of significant political change and social shifts in Europe, the non-professional theatre offered educative possibilities for the acquisition of skills deemed essential to becoming a ‘good citizen’. The project has a particular focus on amateur theatrical activities in Germany, France, Britain, Sweden and Switzerland between 1780-1850.

The project is funded by the European Research Council and is based at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, with the University of Warwick being a collaborative partner. The five project members are Professor Meike Wagner (Principal Investigator), Dr. David Coates, Dr. Maria Gullstam, Julia Stina Skoglund (MA) and Katrin Frühinsfeld (MA). The full title of the project is 'Performing Citizenship: Social and Political Agency in Non-Professional Theatre Practice in Germany, France, Britain, Sweden and Switzerland (1780-1850)'.

In order to gather information on historical non-professional theatre, involving citizen science/community scholarship, and to create an open access archive for amateur theatres still active today, the Performing Citizenship Project started the present Amateur theatre Wiki in the autumn of 2022.

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