MRDS Business Meeting Minutes
Friday, 13 May 2011, 5:15 p.m., 2020 Fetzer

1) Welcome (Pam King for Richard Emmerson)

2) Presentation of minutes from last meeting (Carolyn Coulson-Grigsby) Jesse moved, David K. seconded. Minutes approved.

3) MRDS awards announcement (Pamela King)

• Alexandra F. Johnston Award – no winner this year
• Martin Stevens Award – James Bromley, “Social Relations and Masochistic Sexual Practice in The Nice Valour,” Modern Philology 107.4, 2010, 556-587. Citation read by Pam King.
• Barbara Palmer Award – Marie Bouhaïk-Gironès. "Comment Faire L'Histoire de L'Acteur au Moyen Âge," Médiévales, Volume 59, 2010, 107-25.  Citation read by Bob Clark.
• David Bevington Award – Tracey Hill Pageantry and Power, A Cultural History of the Early Modern Lord Mayor’s Show. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2010. Citation read by Pam King.

Reminder: Submissions in languages other than English – please submit at least a month ahead of the normal deadline.

4) Treasurer's report (Carolyn Coulson-Grigsby) – Rob Barrett moved, Garrett Epp seconded. Approved.

Old Business
5) EEDTS (Pam King for Richard Emmerson)  - one volume appearing now; three in the pipeline; one proposal.

6) Website (Gloria Betcher) – database info will allow us to add members and give them login ability to access certain areas of the website.  May be able to move payments directly through website and skip the middle-man Paypal. Possibilities of collaborating with REED to develop pedagogy section of site.

New Business
7) ROMARD (Jill Stevenson) – Undergoing numerous changes, including a name change. New name is Research On Medieval and Renaissance Drama. The new editor is Mario Longtin. Working on changes, working through transition. New editorial board in place. 2011 will probably come out a little later than normal. Be on the look out for calls for submissions. Mario wants input on what members would like to see in the journal. Seeking more international submissions/materials. SUBMIT ARTICLES!! Possibilities for new models of the kinds of reviews and essays.

8) Elections & Terms

• Results of Council election
• VOTE on Proposed Amendments to Constitution affecting membership of Council:
Vote to take place at the 2012 MRDS Business Meeting. Proposed changes to the MRDS Constitution appear below. It is proposed that [text in bold and bracketed be deleted] and text underlined, italicized, and in bold be added.

1. There shall be a non-profit educational society called the Medieval and Renaissance Drama Society. Its purposes shall be to effect annual meetings of scholars and other persons interested in medieval and Renaissance drama, to sponsor long-range projects of interest to such persons, and to support the publication of material of interest to the Society, including the Early European Drama in Translation (EEDT) Series and Research [Opportunities in] on Medieval and Renaissance Drama.
2. The executive powers of the Society shall be vested in a Council consisting of a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary-Treasurer, and six other officers elected by the paid-up members of the Society. The Vice-President shall be elected every two [three] years for a single two-year [three-year] term, after which (s)he will ordinarily succeed the President without further election; the President shall serve a single two-year [three-year] term; the Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected for an initial five-year term and, thereafter, shall stand for election every three years for three-year terms; the other officers of the Council shall be elected two each year in rotation for no more than two successive three-year terms. An Editor of the MRDS Newsletter and an MRDS Website manager shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Council. [(S)he] They, in addition to the Editor of Research on Medieval and Renaissance Drama, shall be [a] non-voting members of the Council.

• Nominations for 2013 Council election (nominating committee)

9) Announcements
Theresa Colletti – 1.) announces a session at New Chaucer Society in Portland on Morality Play in the Age of Chaucer – Castle of Perseverance. Seeking proposals. Need to be a member to participate. 2.) T. Colletti is convening a semester seminar on Med/Ren periodization in England at the Folger. Graduate students usually, but faculty or graduate students can apply. First deadline June 1. Folger Institute makes selections. See Folger Institute Website for description.

Sandy Johnston: Pedagogical initiative at REED. Particularly looking at things not yet published. Summer seminars? Use of Web for teaching. Seeking input on how to facilitate making materials to which REED has access available to the field for teaching purposes. Problem of texts that are available in anthologies.

Max Harris: tribute to Bob Potter.

10) Topic selection for MRDS sessions at 2012 conferences:

International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, 10-13 May 2011  (4 sessions) – paperwork due June 1
• Ceremonial (Epp or Stokes) - 24
• Affect and Emotional production in early drama (Stevenson) - 22
• Tableau Vivant (Hurlbut) - 19
• Parody, Farce and Authority (McNabb) – 20-something

International Medieval Congress, Leeds University, 9-12 July 2012 (2 sessions). Conference Theme: Rules to Follow (or Not)
• Medieval Soundscapes (King)
• Shepherds in Europe (Longtin)

Modern Language Association Convention, Boston, 3-6 January 2013 (2 sessions, one co-sponsored)
• Possible co-sponsorship with Marlowe Society again, or Middle English Language & Literature Excluding Chaucer group, or a Shakespeare group. Editing Early Drama?
• In honor of Bob Potter (Kipling)

Left-over topics:
• Magic, Miracle and the Marvelous (J.Lellock)
• Wise Women in Medieval Drama (Napolitano) - 10
• Horsing Around & Playing the Ass (Epp?)
• Falling off the wagon: Alternative staging outdoors (Stokes?)

Extra announcement: SITM in Poland 2013. Mario Longtin is new president of SITM.

11) Adjournment –Max Harris moved to adjourn, Rob Barrett seconded.