Interview with Javier Serna, conducted by Marcial Godoy, associate director of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics. This interview is a part of a series curated by the Hemispheric Institute, articulated around the question 'What is Performance Studies?' The series aims to provide a multifaceted approach to the often difficult task of defining the coordinates of both a field of academic study as well as a lens through which to assess and document cultural practice and embodied behavior. The contingent definitions documented in this series are based on the groundbreaking experiences and the scholarly endeavors of renowned figures in contemporary performance studies and practice.

Javier Serna is Research Professor of Theater Studies and Cultural Practices in the Theater Department at the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon. His publications include The Theater At The End of Modernity In Encyclopedia of Monterrey (Grijalbo), section editor of the 'Republic of Theater’ in Cat Step Theater Journal (Conaculta). He is a graduate of the London Drama Center, and teaches philosophical anthropology for the graduate school at UANL. He holds a doctorate in Performance Studies from New York University.