International Socety for the Study of Musicals
The International Society for the Study of Musicals (ISSM) serves as an intellectual home for the interdisciplinary field of musical theatre studies. ISSM's mission is to advance the study of musicals on pages, stages, and screens through the scholarly journal Studies in Musical Theatre and the annual international conference Song, Stage and Screen. Scholars from any discipline who research and write about musicals are welcome. ISSM was founded in 2023 by Ryan Donovan, Jessica Sternfeld, and Elizabeth L. Wollman.
Executive Board:
Elizabeth L. Wollman (Baruch College, CUNY), President
Ryan Donovan (Duke University), Vice-President
Jessica Sternfeld (Chapman University), Secretary
Joanna Dee Das (Washington University in St. Louis), Treasurer
Eric Glover (Yale University), Member-at-Large
Emilio Méndez (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México), Member-at-Large
Millie Taylor (University of Winchester), Member-at-Large
Committees:
Accessibility, Belonging, & Inclusion: Ellen Armstrong, Janine Chow, Sarah Courtis, James Lovelock
Awards, Grants, & Subventions: Gregory Camp, James Deaville, Joshua Robinson
Graduate Students: Poe Allphin, Michael Bennett, Meg Nelson, Alison Hyde Pascale, Emry Sottile
Song, Stage and Screen Planning: Julianne Lindberg, Ben Macpherson, Alison Hyde Pascale, Holley Replogle-Wong, Adam Rush
Studies in Musical Theatre
Studies in Musical Theatre is an academic journal published by the Bristol, UK-based specialist academic publisher, Intellect Press. The journal is double-blind peer-reviewed in order to maintain the highest standards of scholastic integrity. It publishes three times a year, and was first published in December 2006.
The journal was founded at the University of Portsmouth by George Burrows and Dominic Symonds in 2006 as the first serial devoted to its field. It has since become the leading journal of musical theatre studies and is one of Intellect’s bestselling titles. In 2021, Jessica Sternfeld and Elizabeth L. Wollman took over as co-editors of the journal.
The journal is distributed across the world and has a very healthy list of institutional and individual subscribers. It is the sister publication of the Song, Stage and Screen international conference, which provides an annual forum for academics to present cutting-edge research papers and discussions.
The journal has a broad and interdisciplinary remit. It aims to publish searching scholarship that addresses any connection between music and theatre, in addition to embracing practice and industry concerns. It considers areas of live performance that use vocal and instrumental music in conjunction with theatrical performance as a principal part of their expressive language.
A typical issue will consist of between 6 and 10 articles of around 6,000-8,000 words, displaying a range of topics and critical approaches. Alongside these, the “Re:Act” section debates aspects of contemporary practice and often features interviews with practitioners. Most issues also feature a selection of performance and book reviews. We are increasingly approached for themed special issues and at least one issue per year is now a special issue that is edited by guest editors in coordination with the general editors.
Song, Stage and Screen
Song, Stage and Screen is an annual conference devoted to musical theatre in all its forms, and it celebrates the art of musical theatre on stages and screens of all sizes. Our meetings provide an annual forum for academics to present cutting-edge research papers and discussions on musical theatre of all types.
The conference was started by Dominic Symonds and George Burrows in 2006, and has been held in cities across the world since then.
Below is a list of our past conferences:
Song, Stage and Screen I: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Musical Stage (University of Portsmouth, UK), 28–30 April 2006
Song, Stage & Screen II (General theme) (University of Leeds, UK), 23–25 March 2007
Song, Stage and Screen III / Music in Gotham: American Musical Theater (City University of New York), 2–5 April 2008
Song, Stage and Screen IV: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Musical Stage (University of Maryland), 3–5 December 2009
Song, Stage and Screen V: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Voice in Music, Theatre and Film (University of Winchester, UK), 3–5 September 2010
Song, Stage and Screen VI: Innovation and Creative Collaboration (University of Missouri, Kansas City), 20–23 June 2011
Song, Stage and Screen VII: The Musical’s Global Conquest (University of Groningen, Netherlands), 2–5 July 2012
Song, Stage and Screen VIII: What We Do When We Do What We Do: Process and Performance in Musical Theatre (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London), 2–4 July 2013
Song, Stage and Screen IX: The Art Of Collaboration In Musical Theatre (Sheridan College, Oakville, Canada), 24–26 June 2014
Song, Stage and Screen X: The Star System in Theatre and Film (Regent’s University, London), 24–26 June 2015
Song, Stage and Screen XI (General theme) (City College of New York), 27–30 June 2016
Song, Stage and Screen XII: Musical Multiplicity (Guildford School of Acting, University of Surrey, UK), 19–22 June 2017
Song, Stage and Screen XIII: The Musical’s Others: Then and Now (School of Music, UCLA), 31 May–3 June 2018
Song, Stage and Screen XIV: (Re-)Inventions: Adaptations and New Directions in Musicals on and between Stage and Screen (University of Leeds), 26–29 June 2019
Song, Stage and Screen XV: Musical Mobilities – Stage and Film Musical in motion (Paris-Lodron Universitat Salzburg, Austria), 30 June–3 July 2021 (online)
Song, Stage and Screen XVI: Pluralities: Performances, Practices and Participatory Cultures (University of Portsmouth), 28 June–1 July 2022 (online)
Song, Stage and Screen XVII: Renewing/Rethinking/Reviving (NYPL for the Performing Arts), 26–29 June 2024
For detailed descriptions of past conferences’ themes, click here.