Cornell theatre arts graduate alumni and current graduate students will consider the many faces of fame, from celebrity to notoriety, in a symposium, "Causes Celebre," March 27-28 at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts.

"Celebrity is a subject of perpetual interest in the study of theatre and performance," said Sara Warner, assistant professor of theatre and co-coordinator of the symposium with Nick Salvato, assistant professor of theatre studies. "It's one of particular centrality and urgency in an era marked by the global and virtual dissemination of virtuosic displays, star systems and fan cultures where almost anyone can claim 15 minutes of fame."

The symposium, honoring current and former graduate students and their scholarly work, also features the presentation of the Marvin Carlson Award for Best Student Essay in Theatre or Performance, March 28 at 5 p.m. by Judith Milhous, Ph.D. '74. The cash award honors Carlson, who came to Cornell in 1959 as a graduate student, joined the faculty upon completion of his degree, and taught in the theater department for 20 years; he is currently a professor of theater and comparative literature at City University of New York.

The symposium begins March 27 at 9:30 a.m. with a seminar by Gay Gibson Cima, Ph.D. '78, on her recent award-winning book, "Early American Women Critics: Performance, Religion, Race."

Alumni talks follow on Friday and Saturday on topics including deconstructing celebrity; "Are 'The People' Celebrities?" and "Sarah Palin and the Culture of Projected Belief"; and concepts of celebrity in a famous Chinese family. Current theatre graduate students will also present papers.

Keynote speakers are David Savran, Ph.D. '78, on Friday, with "The Curse of Celebrity"; and Joseph Roach, Ph.D. '73, on Saturday, with "The First Appearance of Second Life: Actors as Avatars."

The symposium, sponsored by the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance and the Graduate Field of Theatre Arts, is free and open to the public, as part of the 20th anniversary season of the Schwartz Center. For more information visit http://www.arts.cornell.edu/theatrearts/CTA/causecelebre.asp.

Also on March 27-28, Theatre, Film and Dance will host a workshop, "Violence, Gender and the Cinematic Nation," in Uris Hall. Scholars from Cornell and other institutions will present topics ranging from misogyny in Hollywood to poverty, gender and violence in Brazilian films and homoeroticism in Egyptian cinema. The workshop is coordinated by Anindita Banerjee and Matthew Evangelista.