MRDS Business Meeting Minutes
Friday, 14 May 2010, 5:15 p.m., 1055 Fetzer

1) Welcome (Richard Emmerson)
 

2) Presentation of minutes from last meeting (Carolyn Coulson-Grigsby) Jill Stevenson moved to approve; Suzanne seconded. Group approved.
 

3) MRDS awards announcement (Pamela King)

a) Alexandra F. Johnston Award: awarded to Thomas Meacham for his paper ‘Liber Apologeticus: Academic Drama and Cultural Practice in Late Medieval England.’ Citation read by Bob Clark. Honorable mention: Christopher Swift, for ‘Colonial Staging of Alfonso X’s Cantigas de Santa Maria’. Committee: Sandy Johnston, Bob Clark and Carolyn Coulson-Grigsby.
b) Martin Stevens Award: awarded to Scott Oldenburg for "Towards a Multi-cultural Mid-Tudor England: The Queen’s Royal Entry Circa 1553, The Interlude of Wealth and Health, and the Question of Strangers in the Reign of Mary I," ELH 76.1 (2009). Jean Dangler, a colleague from Tulane accepted on his behalf. Citation read by Jill Stevenson. Committee: J. Stevenson, Suzanne Westfall and Steve Wright.
c) Barbara Palmer Award: Awarded to David Kathman for "The Rise of Commercial Playing in 1540s London," Early Theatre 12 (2009). Citation read by David Klausner. Committee: D. Klausner, Jesse Hurlbut, & Gordon Kipling. There were 8 nominations in this first year of the award.
d) David Bevington Award: Awarded to Tiffany Stern for Documents of Performance in Early Modern England. Cambridge UP. Citation read by Pam King. Committee: P. King, Garrett Epp and Carol Symes. 10 books nominated. Honorable Mentions: J. Enders, Murder by Accident: Medieval Theater, Modern Media, Critical Intentions, and Margaret Rogerson Playing a Part in History: the York Mysteries 1951-2006.
Pam - will now accept electronic submission of article nominees for prizes. Txt pdfs. CD roms.
 

4) Treasurer's report (Carolyn Coulson-Grigsby) - Gloria moves to approve. Gerard seconds. Approved.
Old Business
 

5) EEDTS (Richard Emmerson) - ACMRS - four volumes in stages of production currently. Michael O’Connell (Three Florentine Sacre Rappresentazioni), R. Potter, Rob Suwelski, Timothy Thomasik.
 

6) Website (Gloria Betcher) - pedagogy section available - compiling a team. Email Gloria if you are interested. Plug in available to allow us to pay dues through the website instead of Paypal. Gloria is continuing to investigate. Still being tested. May be able to incorporate database of membership into website/dues. We may also be able to use it for electronic submission.

New Business
 

7) ROMARD and MRDS (Richard Emmerson) - Peter Greenfield is stepping down as editor after 10 years (plus seven as editor of supplement). Thank you to Peter. Clarification of official relationship between society and journal. Journal of organization requires more structure - editorial board to advise the new editor. Ed. Board will select the new editor. Board: Peter Greenfield (1 yr), Greg Walker, Pam Sheingorn (2 yrs), Carol Symes, Jill Stevenson (3 yrs). Will eventually be all 3 year terms. Need to craft mission statement, submission guidelines, development of the journal. Expansion of focus - more Continental material treated, inclusive of early modern work. Investigations into identifying printers or institutional support under new Editor. Issue of name - "opportunities" sounds like a newsletter or graduate student journal. Transition to official affiliation and new editor seems like the time to consider title change. Discussion: Cliff Davidson likes Opportunities. Jill - may be other changes regarding electronic format.

Vote on officially formalizing the affiliation between MRDS and ROMARD. Approved.
 

8) Elections
 

a) Results of Council election (Emmerson) - Eve Salisbury and Jim Stokes are the new council members.
b) Nominations for 2011 Council election (Carolyn Coulson-Grigsby) - Susannah Crowder, Frank Napolitano, Christopher Swift, Paul W. White.
c) Nominating Committee for 2012 election (Richard Emmerson) - will need a committee to present nominations for VP. Next business meeting, they will bring forward two names for the VP election.
 

9) Announcements
Sandy Johnston - REED is changing publishers. Going to Boydell and Brewer. Outstanding orders - let Sandy know. First volume with B&B will be Inns at Court volume. REED holds copyright. Volumes here will be sold half-price, one per customer UTP.
David Klausner - Chester 2010 next weekend at UToronto.
Kanley Chapel 10 am Sat - Cantigas; session 604 Sunday morning on Early English Drama
 

10) Topic selection for MRDS sessions at 2011 conferences:
 

 a) International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, 12-15 May 2011 (4 sessions) - paperwork due June 1
 

1. Proselytism and Performance (Stevenson) - for Kalamazoo (16 votes)
2. Lighting the Flame: Teaching Early Drama in the Undergraduate Classroom (Betcher) (13 votes)
3. Follow up to Chester 2010: What did we learn? (Coulson) (22 votes)
4. Apocryphal Writings and Medieval Drama (Davidson) (14 votes)
 

b) International Medieval Congress, Leeds University, 11-14 July 2011 (2 sessions)
 

1. Revival as Cultural Transformation - early revivals in 20th c, specific moments re-reading of the drama (King) - Leeds
2. Monastic connections to early drama (Johnston) - Leeds
 

c) Modern Language Association Convention, Seattle, 5-8 January 2012 (2 sessions, one co-sponsored)
 

1. Marlowe Society collaboration: "Medievalism and Marlowe". This will be our co-sponsored
2. Theatricality vs. Performativity (B. Clark) - MLA
 

Also considered
 

Cognition and Perception (Davidson / L. Durham) 4
Wise Women in Medieval Drama (Napolitano) 7
Magic, Miracle and the Marvelous (J.Lellock) 8
Farce (Mario Longtin) 7
Early Drama and Visual Culture (Betcher) 4
From previous years:
"Teaching Early Drama in the British Literature Survey: A Round Table" (Betcher)
Early Stuart Playing: The Provincial Scene (Paul White)
Editing Early Drama (Ricke)
 

Thanks to outgoing council members Jill Stevenson & Glenn Ehrstine
 

11) Adjournment: Motion Jill Stevenson, second David Klausner.