Nationalism and Youth in Theatre and Performance

Nationalism and Youth in Theatre and Performance explores how children and young people fit into national political theatre and, moreover, how youth enact interrogative, patriotic, and/or antagonistic performances as they develop their own relationship with nationhood. Children are often seen as excluded from public discourse or political action. However, this idea of exclusion is false both because adults place children at the center of political debates (with the rhetoric of future generations) and because children actively insert themselves into public discourse. Whether performing a national anthem for visiting heads of state, creating a school play about a country's birth, or marching in protest of a change in public policy, young people use theatre and performance as a means of publicly staking a claim in national politics, directly engaging with ideas of nationalism around the world. This collection explores the issues of how children fit into national discourse on international stages. The authors focus on national performances by/for/with youth and examine a wide range of performances from across the globe, from parades and protests to devised and traditional theatre. Nationalism and Youth in Theatre and Performance rethinks how national performance is defined and offers previously unexplored historical and theoretical discussions of political youth performance.

Victoria Pettersen Lantz is a Lecturer in the Departments of Theatre and English at Sam Houston State University, USA. Angela Sweigart-Gallagher is Assistant Professor of Theatre at Northeastern Illinois University, USA.

1. Introduction: Temporality, Youth, and Nation Victoria Pettersen Lantz and Angela Sweigart-Gallagher Part I: A Nation Divided/United 2. Linie 1 and the GRIPS Theater: Traversing Divided and Reunified Berlin Erika Hughes 3. "Raising the Next Generation of Patriots": The Use of Applied Theatre and Drama Techniques in the Tea Party's Vacation Liberty Schools Angela Sweigart-Gallagher 4. Performing Moderrnization of the Fatherland: Nationalism and School Theatre in South Korea during the Park Regime (1960-1979) Joohee Park 5.Growing up in a House Divided: Conservative and Progressive Interventions in Teatro Infantil in Post-Golpe Chile Carolyn Roark Part II: Empowered/Empowering Youth 6. Raising the Soviet Citizen: Natalia Sats's Revolutionary Theatre for Children and Youth Manon van de Water 7. Canadian Chocolate War: Imagining, Depicting, and Fearing "Youngster" Power Heather Fitzsimmons Frey 8. "We are the Scouts, the Nation-Building Scouts": Performing New Afrika in Northeast Georgia Asantewa Sunni-Ali Part III: Complicated Nationalism(s) and Multiple Identities 9. "You say Africa is disappearing": Airport Kids and the Portable Nation Lisa Jackson-Schebetta 10. Theatre and Citizenship: Playbuilding with English Language Learner Youth Sarah Coleman 11. Performing National Identities: Gonzalez's The Migrant Farm Worker's Son Lorenzo Garcia Part IV: Youth and Bodies in Motion 12. Local Traditions and National Identity: Youth and Dance in Bali Jennifer Goodlander 13. Scotiabank Carribbean "Kiddies' Carnival": Children and Nationalism(s) in Toronto's Caribbean-Canadian Community Jacqueline Taucar 14. Making Contact: Trinidadian, Nigerian, and Thai Identities in Movement at CTW2012 Victoria Pettersen Lantz