The Latin American Studies Association Conference or ‘How I met everyone I cite in my thesis’

(Originally posted 18 June 2013)

Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m a confessed conference junkie, but all of the conferences I’ve been to so far this year added together still don’t come near to the enormous scale of LASA. As the international conference for anyone working on any aspect of Latin American Studies – from politics and economics, to culture, geography and even medicine – LASA attracts several thousand attendees. The swarm of Latin Americanists in the lobby when I first arrived at the hotel in Washington DC where this year’s conference was overwhelming, but I quickly realised that, beyond the lobby, panels at LASA were much the same as at any other conference, thankfully.

With Profesor Gisela Kozak Rovero and one of her former students

The amazing thing about LASA is how it attracts the leading scholars in my field, who I would never otherwise get a chance to meet. I got all fangirly in the presence of such academic stars: ”Professor X, I’m a huge fan of yours, I’ve read all your books, squee!” Most of this happened in my panel, embarassingly. When I was selected for LASA back in January, I had barely begun my PhD and had little idea of who the other four presenters in my panel were. Now I cite three of them in my thesis. In the audience were another three of my sources. Talking about a Venezuelan novel to a roomful of leading literature professors from Venezuela was intimidating, to say the least, but they were incredibly friendly and welcoming, and gave me invaluable feedback for my thesis.

With writer Dayana Fraile in the enormous Venezuelan literature section of the University of Pittsburgh library

Taking advantage of being on that side of the world (and the insanely cheap Megabus), after the conference I headed to Pittsburgh, for a – sadly far too brief - visit to some Venezuelan writers who I also cite, and in the case of Israel Centeno, have a whole chapter dedicated to. Once again, it was an incredible experience to meet people whose work I so enjoy and admire, and I learned so much for my thesis. Now I just have to write it all up!Share on twitterShare on emailShare on pinterest_shareMore Sharing Servi

Stupid F*@#ing Bird @ Woolly Mammoth, Washington DC

-          “Is that a seagull?”                                

-          “It’s just a bird. A stupid fucking bird”.

After the thoroughly traditional Newsies on Broadway, I was ready for something a bit more transgressive when I reached D.C. As the title would suggest, Stupid Fucking Bird, Aaron Posner's postmodern take on Chekhov’s The Seagull, certainly didn’t disappoint.

The enormous Latin American Studies Association Conference didn’t leave me with a huge amount of free time to explore D.C., so it was sheer luck that on my – rather long! – walk from the National Gallery of Art to the conference I happened to walk past the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and their rather eye-catching posters for their latest production.

You’d be forgiven for guessing from the poster that the play is about Twitter. It’s actually far more interesting and original than that, but social media does have a very important presence in the lobby (see #sfl). With ‘Pinspiration stations’ and tweets projected onto the walls, the audience are encouraged to interact with both the text of the original play and the very idea of art.

The play itself questions the form and purpose of theatre just as Chekhov had done with his original over a century before, while bringing Chekhov's famous subtext out into the open. It is self-reflexive, self-referential, and completely breaks the fourth wall, frequently addressing the audience for input. Further nods to Chekhov include a small pile of leaves hinting at the bucolic setting of his plays, and Banksy style mural of the great Russian playwright on the back wall.

Just like Chekhov's Konstantin, the main character Conrad (Brad Koed) expresses his belief that theatre – at least in Eastern Europe in the late 19^th century  - used to have the power to change society. ‘Why would you want to change the world?’ asks Dev (Darius Pierce), the most grounded character in the production.  The question, like the production as a whole, makes us consider what we, as an audience, want to get out of the theatre. While Stupid Fucking Bird won't change the world, it did give me everything I want from a play. Despite the distancing effect of all this experimentation with form, there are still moments when the audience completely lose ourselves in the play; there is shock, happiness, despair and a whole lot of laughs, interlaced with really thought-provoking moments. I was incredibly impressed that one production could have so many different effects on me. Since I saw the production, on the second night of previews, it has unsurprisingly garnered rave reviews.

I later learned that Woolly Mammoth is just one of a host of new experimental theatres that have popped up in D.C. in recent years. Apparently new zoning laws make it far more economically beneficial for developers to turn the first few floors of their new buildings into public arts spaces. If the quality of productions at Woolly Mammoth is anything to judge by, it would seem this law is paving the way for a new wave of exciting, experimental theatre in D.C. It makes me wish the city weren't quite so far away!  

Stupid Fucking Bird runs at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co, Washington D.C. until June 23 2013. Full information and tickets are available here.