Dear Colleague please note that the conference below includes a panel on ‘Biopics in/and French Cinema’ with papers by Raphaelle Moine, Susan Hayward and Ginette Vincendeau. Performing Lives An International Conference hosted by the Centre for Life Narratives Kingston University, UK 6 - 8 July 2009 This international conference on Performing Lives follows the inaugural conference of the Centre for Life Narratives, ‘The Spirit of the Age’, the focus of which was ‘Writing Lives’ (2007). Our second biennial conference ‘Performing Lives’ (2009) invites analysis and debate on the relationship between life histories and the ways in which they are embodied and enacted in performance, across a range of cultures and a variety of media: drama, dance, film, TV and video. Key questions include: WHY LIFE? What do we aim to achieve in performing aspects of our own lives and those of others? What are the pleasures for the spectator/consumer of life narratives? How do the aims of film and TV makers, theatre-makers and dance-makers differ? WHICH LIFE? What kinds of lives do different performance-makers find interesting and why? What is the relationship between the performer and the life performed, particularly in relation to star performances? What are the ideological messages inscribed in life histories in performance? WHOSE LIFE? From whose perspective is the life being told or shown? What questions are raised about authority, authenticity and ownership? What are the moral and ethical implications of performing the lives of others? REAL LIFE? How does the performance of life frame questions about the relationship between reality, fiction and audience? Given the impossibility of representing the whole of a life, what determines the choices made about what elements of a life to perform? Conference website: www.kingston.ac.uk/performinglives Conference Administrator: Lisa Hall, [log in to unmask] Tel: 0208 417 2853 The conference is taking place at the Penrhyn Road Campus of Kingston University London, which is situated midway between Surbiton and Kingston town centres. Both railway stations have excellent transport links into Central London. Registration discounts are available for full-time students, unwaged and OAPs. Online booking required via conference webpage. Organisers: Adam Ainsworth, Clara Brennan, Prof Colin Chambers, Dr Matt Melia, Prof Carrie Tarr -- Phil Powrie Professor of Cinema Studies Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities Faculty Office Jessop West 4.04 University of Sheffield 1 Upper Hanover Street Sheffield S3 7RA Email: [log in to unmask] PA: [log in to unmask] (0)114 222 9702 Studies in French Cinema: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/crif/sfc/home.htm ---- For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives: http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html