As institutions of higher education, Theatre Academies, Acting Schools and Drama, Performance, Dance, Film and Theatre Departments are primarily focused on teaching and artistic production. However, this inherently involves the establishment and reproduction (or failure to do so) of normative criteria for theoretical reasoning, artistic practices, and pedagogy. With this in mind, we seek to explore how normalized and normalizing practices and behaviours, affective phenomena, and their corresponding modes of affectivity, emotional regimes, and positionings related to identity, trans-individuality, inclusivity, and diversity are produced and perpetuated (or not) via institutions of higher education but also other institutions such as city and state theatres and other cultural centres, independent artistic and cultural organizations, networked publics and social media.

We view these institutions of higher education as distinct social “ecosystems,” yet also as integral components of broader networks comprised of diverse actors, organizations, collectives, and individuals. These participants, though often emerging from different, and at times opposing, methodological and artistic perspectives, engage in continuous artistic and social interaction. In doing so, they form and dissolve both temporary and enduring communities. These dynamic ecosystems cultivate environments where diverse approaches and viewpoints coexist—sometimes harmoniously, sometimes in conflict (and everything in-between)—thereby contributing to the ongoing transformation (or stagnation) of both artistic and academic discourse.