The GTPR Origin Story

GTPR began in 2013, when Sara Jackson (UMass Amherst) and Caroline Weist (University of Richmond) convened a panel for the German Studies Association conference. Instead of three presentations followed by Q&A, they included a performance as their third “paper” – a rather unconventional choice for the venue. The experience of advocating for that choice helped to put them in touch with other scholars who were interested in the ways that theory and praxis come together in the study of performance.

Becoming acquainted with these other scholars and their work then brought Sara and Caroline to a two-fold recognition: 1) Germanists are contributing exciting and important work to the wider fields of theater and performance studies, and 2) this work would benefit from a more organized community of scholars and teachers. With this site, they aim both to acknowledge the existing field of German theater and performance research and to help it grow into a full-fledged network of scholars, practitioners, educators.

Please see our Mission Statement for more information [About > Mission]