The Mercurian: A Theatrical Translation Review, in collaboration with the Process Series, the Department of Dramatic Art, the Department of Romance Studies, and UNC Global, at the University of North Carolina, and the Language Acts and Worldmaking project at King’s College, London, will hold a conference/festival on theatrical translation as creative process. Staged readings of translated material with the translators in attendance will be presented, open space will be provided for discussion of theatrical translation, as well as cold readings of portions of new translations, among other events. More information to come at a later date, but put October on your calendar and let us know if you plan to attend!

The event will be held in Chapel Hill at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from October 10-13, 2019. For any questions and to let us know about your plans to attend, please get in touch with Adam Versényi at anversen@email.unc.edu.

To register for the event, please complete this registration form. For information about Chapel Hill, check out this helpful guide. And if you are interested in a campus tour, you can sign up here. Tours are free and leave Mon-Fri at 11 and 2 from Hill Hall. For any questions about logistics, please feel free to reach out to Sarah at skbooker@live.unc.edu.

Note on Cold Reading: We have made space on Saturday afternoon for cold readings of excerpts from translations by the conference participants. If you would like to have an excerpt of one of your translations done in a cold reading by actors that afternoon, please let Adam Versényi know what you would like to do and what the casting requirements would be.

Event Program

Thursday, October 10

19:30  First staged performance: iPlay by Bernard Studlar, translated by Henning Bochert; Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Arts Rm 101

Friday, October 11

8:30-12:00  Registration (Find Sarah Booker if you arrive after registration closes to pick up a name tag and conference materials)

9:00-10:00  Introductions, procedural matters; Toy Lounge in Dey Hall

10:00-11:30  Discussion of iPlay with translator Henning Bochert; Toy Lounge

12:00-13:30  “Sarajevo: Writing and Translating a City in Wartime”; Lunchtime conversation with CSEES; Catered by Med Deli; Toy Lounge

14:00-15:30  Open Space Conference; Toy Lounge

16:00-17:00  Presentations from different organizations on what they do: Laertes, King’s Language Acts and Worldmaking, The Fence, TinT (Theater in Translation), and Drama Panorama; Toy Lounge

17:00-18:00  Open rehearsals for other staged readings; Joan H. Gillings CDA Rm. 101

18:00  Dinner on your own

19:30  Second staged performance: Inching Towards Yeolha by Sam-Shik Pai, translated by Walter Byongsok Chon; Joan H. Gillings CDA Rm 101

 

Saturday, October 12

9:00-10:30  Discussion of Inching Towards Yeolha with Walter Byongsok Chon; Toy Lounge

11:00-12:00  Open Space Conference; Toy Lounge

12:00-13:00  Catered lunch from Vimala’s Curryblossom Café; Toy Lounge

13:30-15:00  Open Space Conference; Toy Lounge

15:15-16:45  Cold readings of brief excerpts from translations; Joan H. Gillings CDA Rm. 101

17:00-18:00  Open rehearsals for staged readings; Joan H. Gillings CDA Rm. 101

18:00  Dinner on own

19:30  Third staged performance: Hotel Good Luck by Alejandro Ricaño, translated by Jacqueline Bixler; Joan H. Gillings CDA Rm 101 

 

Sunday, October 13

9:00-10:30  Discussion of Hotel Good Luck with Jacqueline Bixler; Toy Lounge

11:00-12:00  Open Space conference; Toy Lounge

12:00-13:00  Catered lunch from Root Cellar; Toy Lounge

13:30-16:00  Fourth staged performance: Dust by Severio La Ruina, translated by Thomas Haskell Simpson; Joan H. Gillings CDA Rm. 101; followed by discussion with translator and wrap-up of conference

Travel Logistics

The Theatrical Translation as Creative Process: A Conference Festival II will be held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in downtown Chapel Hill, NC. We have a hotel block reserved at the AC Hotel Chapel Hill, which is about a 10-15-minute walk from both the conference venue.

Air Travel

Airport: Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) is about 15 miles outside of Chapel Hill.

You have several options for getting to/from the airport, but the simplest tends to be a taxi or rideshare (Uber/Lyft) and will cost $20-40 depending on the time of day.

Taking a bus from the airport is also an option, but is a bit more complicated. You would take the 100 bus from RDU Terminal 2 to GoTraingle Regional Transit Center. There you would transfer to the 800 Southpoint and Chapel Hill, getting off at South Rd at Bell Tower Dr and walking the rest of the way to the hotel or taking the CW. You can find additional route information here or refer to Google Maps directions.

Ground Travel

The Durham train and bus stations are located in downtown Durham and are connected to Chapel Hill by the 400 and 405 busses. Amtrak, Greyhound, and Megabus all have stops in Durham.

The train station is located at 601 W Main St #103 Durham, NC 27701 and the bus station is located at 515 W Pettigrew St, Durham, NC 27701.

Getting Around and Parking in Chapel Hill

AC Hotel parking for overnight guests of the hotel is discounted to $10/day. For non-overnight guests at the AC, daily parking with rates of ~$1.00/hour. There are several lots on Franklin and Rosemary Sts. Try the 140 West Parking Garage at 213 West Rosemary Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516.

Within Chapel Hill, bus service is free (graciously subsidized by the University) and fairly regular. You can find information about bus routes and schedules here.

Uber and Lyft are also both active in the area and are an excellent option.

Venue

Conference events will take place in two separate locations, as marked in the program: The Joan H. Gillings Center for Dramatic Art and Toy Lounge in Dey Hall.