The Canadian Association for Theatre Research (CATR) and the Société québécoise d’études théâtrales (SQET) sought to hold a joint, bilingual conference on the theme Partition/Ensemble in Montreal in May 2020. Under this banner, we sought to discuss modes of scenic composition and creative processes (partition in French) and of intellectual and artistic traditions – both shared (“ensemble”) and distinct (“partition” in English) – in Canada.

As we announced in March, though we cannot meet in Montreal at the end of May as planned, we have come too far to simply cancel Partition/Ensemble. We mourn the beautiful idea of the in-person gathering, our hopes around its outcomes, and the labour expended in pulling it together. But we hope too to salvage the spirit of the event and realize some of the fruits of our shared labour.

In this regard, we decided to put forward a reduced, “relaxed,” virtual conference that would run asynchronously and be accessible for two weeks, starting on July 27. Although not ideal, such an event would allow us to meet the core goals of Partition/Ensemble – to advance our understandings of la partition, and to foster dialogue across languages and artistic and intellectual traditions, to build a more meaningful ensemble. Moreover, we could offer such a conference with no extra fees to CATR and SQET members. Stay tuned!