En scenografisk inngang til teaterproduksjon

The scenographer works to develop spatial and visual resources in a theatre production. A stage production often has a complex, multimodal expression, and the question is how the scenographer can play an active creative role based on his special expertise. In contemporary theatre, and especially in educational contexts, theatre production is also often a collective artistic project with great emphasis on a coherent, reflective process. Based on Anne Bogart’s understanding and concepts in The Viewpoints Book. A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition, the article argues that the scenographer uses the scenography laboratory and formal analysis as experimental teaching. Formal visual analysis contributes to reflection of spatial and visual resources and opens up for perceptions in theatre production. The strategy is discussed using two cases from the Bachelors Programme at NTNU.

ODA: Opplevelsesbasert Dramaturgisk Analyse – fra tekst til regikonsept

This chapter addresses a methodology for dramaturgical analysis and conceptualisation which I have developed from teaching in the subjects ‘Theatre production’ and ‘Dramaturgy and conceptualisation’ at NTNU. Method development has, for a long time, arisen in response to the students’ need for a step-by-step process, where they learn to create their own concepts with sufficient artistic sustainability to be realised in a given context. First, I present various tools and theoretical traditions in the field of dramaturgical analysis and conceptualisation, with contributions from both the Nordic and international field. Then I present and discuss the development of ODA methodology. I address how the students’ response has contributed to further development of the method through some examples. And finally, I present how this work represents an alternative, step-by-step methodological approach in the field, focusing particularly on a phenomenological perspective: embodiment, materiality and imagination. Conceptualising is about moving an impulse or text from one universe to another that you create yourself. The method has therefore proven to be fruitful in other creative contexts where this is a focus.

Lyd og musikk i teater og performance

The article discusses how sound can be a leading input for comprehensive dissemination of textual material, and an independent medium with distinctive tools, methods and expressive possibilities. The article is based on concepts from dramaturgy, music technology and multi­modality theory. The work on sound and music is discussed in relation to two case analyses. #nofilter is a performance for teenagers in upper secondary school, produced as part of the Bachelor’s Programme at NTNU. Performing Nyhavna is a performance produced in the Master’s Program at NTNU as part of a course in dramaturgy. In both cases, the context emerges as a premise for the development of sound and a meaningful device. When analysing the influence of context on the production and function of sound designs, the article uses concepts from multimodality.

Sceneteksten som aktiv partner

This article addresses theatre production working with scripts. First, I look at the hegemonic status of the play text in the history of Western theatre and how this was challenged during the twentieth century. Then I present relevant theoretical perspectives for developing methods integrating script in ensemble theatre. These are drawn from dramaturgy today and physically based improvisation. The main body of the article is a case study of a student production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht. The students produced their unique version of the play in collaboration. The study demonstrates how dramaturgical competence was developed as a collective resource. The findings reveal that the dramaturgical processes of text, performance and group dynamics were interdependent in a complex system. Reflexive practice therefore stands out as an important learning point. The article is aimed at teachers, directors, facilitators and students in educational contexts, and others that use theatre production as a learning arena.

«Speil, speil på veggen der»: Målgruppearbeid i egenskapt teaterproduksjon for ungdom

This article examines how theatre performances can be created based on the lifeworld of a specific target group: fourteen-year-old pupils at secondary school. Using a target group as experts during eight workshops, students collaborate with the pupils in trying to make performances that communicate with this age group. By examining nine theatre productions, the article shows how different strategies in working with a target group can be implemented effectively in the process of making devised theatre. These strategies are: 1) Finding a focal point for the work in the overlapping field between the interests of the pupils and the students. 2) Developing texts through interviews and verbatim techniques, which allow the pupils’ voices to be heard and expressed in an authentic way in the performance. 3) Developing physical material by using techniques from Frantic Assembly and Viola Spolin’s methodology as inspiration for the workshops. The article shows how the techniques are introduced to the students before they try them out with the pupils. Together, they create physical scenes that are used in the performance. 4) By integrating interactive elements into the performance, the students try out different ways of communicating with the specific target group. The article shows how working with a target group forces students to engage in artistic and ethical reflection.

Gruppeprosesser og faseinndeling i egenskapt teater

This article shows how dividing into different phases in devised theatre production can be used as a tool to structure and accommodate a creative group-devised process. The article starts by giving a brief outline of devised theatre, its genealogy and roots with regard to developing new ways of organising creative work. A theoretical framework is developed by using Lev Vygotsky’s Theory of Creativity, and his outline of the nature of the creative circle is adapted into four different phases for the devising processes. These phases are: 1) The starting point, where ideas are generated through group improvisations; 2) the phase when the material is explored and developed into more concrete material. In the third phase 3), the material is structured and formed, and in the last phase 4), the creative material is given its final form and performed in front of an audience. In addition to this, the article focuses on how devised work can be organised by dividing the various tasks and roles in the production in alternative ways.

Teatral kiasma – for å skape en bredere tilgang til dramaturgiske åpninger i teaterproduksjon

This article examines how the methodology ‘theatrical chiasma’ can open up the material when working in a theatre production, so that you do not abort or ‘close’ the creative process too soon. The method is based on a crossing-over principle, where the students can try different inputs to the creative material through various working methods. The article analyses the dramaturgical entry points in light of Shusterman’s theory of ‘art as dramatization’. Central findings are that dramatisation as a framework helps to focus the content and creates awareness about form. The method also facilitates the connection between visions, form and content, so that aesthetic alignment also becomes an important part of the students’ learning process. Dramatisation can be seen as art in itself, because it is an active theatre rehearsal with intrinsic value, where creation and reflection are essential to create new artistic significance.

Visningsseminar med kritisk responsprosess

The article discusses facilitation in theatrical production in the Master’s Programme, focusing on a seminar form using showcase, including an adapted form of Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process (CRP). In art-based research, the artist/researcher/student is the central theatre and knowledge-forming subject. Art, as well as knowledge, grows through a complex reflection of bodily, material, social and theoretical inputs. The more traditional forms of supervision tend to give the supervisor a more superior position, as master, or owner of the good questions. The seminar form puts the reflective artist’s project and questions at the centre of the facilitation, and offers an alternative to the traditional forms of guidance. A community of fellow students, teachers and participants have an active function as respondents, and the facilitator has a peripheral, but legitimate, position. The seminar form is discussed and presented using empirical data from student reports and Master’s theses.

Vurdering av praktiske eksamener i drama og teater

This article examines evaluations of practical exams in drama and theatre. It looks for indicators of what has worked and not worked, in terms of the students’ understanding and further learning potential. In an analysis of challenges in the exam situation, overarching devices and frameworks are discussed, along with the importance of holistic versus analytical assessment, and alignment of the course design. Furthermore, the oral examination is discussed based on different types of feedback. Key findings in this article are that the course must have a very good match between learning objectives, learning activities and assessment methods, and that this may be particularly important in ensuring a good practical exam. The criteria should contain an element of holistic assessment, but should be based on analytical categories for the assessment to be considered fair. This also guarantees greater understanding and greater learning effect. Besides, the oral exam should provide clear criteria-based feedback to ensure understanding, but should also contain elements that ensure motivation. Both constructive and level-based feedback provide useful contributions to the students’ learning process.