Books by Kim Skjoldager-Nielsen
The aim of the thesis is to develop an apparatus of theory and method for performance analysis, t... more The aim of the thesis is to develop an apparatus of theory and method for performance analysis, the purpose of which is to analyse potentials for experiences of transcendence. These experiences are contextualised in terms of the metaphysical, the religious, and the spiritual. The theoretical basis is a combination of Erika Fischer-Lichte’s the aesthetics of the performative and Dorthe Jørgensen’s metaphysics of experience. In the development of the theoretical discussion, a variety of experiences is explored in the context of contemporary theatre, ritual, and installation art in Sweden, Denmark, and Aotearoa New Zealand. The dissertation contributes to the methodology of performance analysis as it emphasises experience as research, and to the interdisciplinary research field of performance, religion, and spirituality, as it draws on theatre and performance studies, philosophical aesthetics, philosophy of religion, theology, sociology, and anthropology.
The result is a practical model that allows the analysis of experiences of transcendence as created in the staged event through the complex interplay of material properties of staging and cognitive capacities for experience in the spectator’s or congregant’s process of reception – all of which are conditioned by the event’s contexts.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Stiftelsen för utgivning av teatervetenskapliga studier (STUTS), 2018. , p. 407
Series
Theatron, ISSN 0348-2448
Keywords
performance analysis, model, staged event, aesthetics of the performative, metaphysics of experience, immanent transcendence, theatre, ritual, installation, religion, spirituality, Erika Fischer-Lichte, Dorthe Jørgensen
National Category
Performing Art Studies
Research subject
Theatre Studies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-158504
ISBN: 978-91-86434-54-0 (print)
ISBN: 978-91-86434-55-7 (electronic)
OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-158504
DiVA, id: diva2:1237742
Public defence
2018-10-20, Nordenskiöldsalen, Geovetenskapens hus, Svante Arrhenius väg 12, Stockholm, 10:00 (Norwegian)
Opponent
Hyldig, Keld, Førsteamanuensis
Supervisors
Sauter, Willmar, Professor emeritus
Hammer, Anita Synnøve, Professor
Articles by Kim Skjoldager-Nielsen
Peripeti 17(32), 2020
Skjoldager-Nielsen discusses how dystopian works of art can compel us to act and hope in spite of... more Skjoldager-Nielsen discusses how dystopian works of art can compel us to act and hope in spite of the paralyzing horizon of the climate crisis.
Nordic Theatre Studies , 2020
The Anthropocene is gaining recognition as an epoch in Earth’s history in which mankind is changi... more The Anthropocene is gaining recognition as an epoch in Earth’s history in which mankind is changing the environment and the biosphere (Steffen et.al. 2011). Hotel Pro Forma’s visual opera NeoArctic (2016) and Yggdrasil Dance’s dance meditation Siku Aapoq/Melting Ice (2015) explore how to aesthetically shape the ecological impact on human existence. The article discusses the performances’ impact on potential responses to the climate crisis.In NeoArctic, human activities have caused “overflow feedback”: a constant flow of digital vistas of pollution, raging weather, temperature rises alternate with the planet’s eternal processes, while underscored by ambience and operatic electro-pop. The images are front-projected onto the stage backdrop to create a literal overflow of the steadfast choir-performers, in which they almost disappear or become ghostly shadows, implying their imminent demise or insignificance on a planetary scale.Siku Aapoq engages with Greenland’s melting icecap: two dancers, Norwegian and Inuit, interact with a fabric understood as the melting ice, while enveloped in evocative lights, the crackling of glaciers, Inuit chants, ambience, and jazz. The Norwegian and the Inuit take turns enacting the ice, suggesting the interconnectedness with nature of both cultures. Both performances seem to invite acceptance of inevitable disaster. Yet, human prevalence is implied in the stagings by convergence of past and future in the present, which suggests that the future is still undecided, and survival depends on an ability to respond to the materiality of the environment that we are already entangled in through a profound sense of beauty.Theoretically, the analyses mainly draw on agential realism (Karen Barad) in order to outline a “para-Anthropo(s)cene aesthetics” that may reach beyond the human and engage spectators in realizing their ethical entanglement and the call for climate action. Considering intentions and reception, and the dystopian nature of the performances, the responses to climate change that the aesthetics may instigate are discussed.
Nordic Theatre Studies, 2017
This article explores relations between theatre, science, and the popular, which have largely bee... more This article explores relations between theatre, science, and the popular, which have largely been overlooked by Nordic theatre studies. The aim here is to introduce and understand the variety of ways theatre may communicate science to the public, the point of departure informed by the historical development of the relations between the three concepts and Edmund Husserl’s phenomenological critique of modern science. The two analytical examples are Swedish Charlotte Engelkes’ and Peder Bjurman’s Svarta hål – en kvantfysisk vaudeville (2014) and Danish Hotel Pro Forma’s adult performance for children Kosmos+ En Big Bang forestilling om universets vidundre (2014).
History of science reveals complex combinations of science and the popular in theatrical events that raises the question if the audience’s understanding of the scientific subject matter itself always was – or has to be – the purpose of the popular science performance, or if it rather was – is – about spurring interest by inspiring sentiments of wonder and reflection on science’s impact on life and outlooks. Newer conceptual developments also suggest that it is not always the case that theatre is a tool for science popularisation, as a specific genre science theatre, but that scientific information and concepts are artistically interpreted by theatre, and not always in ways affirmative of the science. This later variant is called science-in-theatre. The two genres are demonstrated through the analyses of Svarta hål and Kosmos+, the claim being that the first was an ambiguous exposition of science, i.e. science-in-theatre, whereas the second established an artistically visionary affirmation, as regular science theatre.
This is an unabreviated version of the article "Space Art on Stage. Cosmos+" published in Danish ... more This is an unabreviated version of the article "Space Art on Stage. Cosmos+" published in Danish in Erik Exe Christoffersen & Kathrine Winkelhorn (eds.) Skønhedens hotel: Hotel Pro Forma. Et laboratorium for scenekunst (The Hotel of Beauty: Hotel Pro Forma. A Laboratory for the Performing Arts), Aarhus: University of Aarhus Press, 2016, pp. 197-212.
What is the connection between the performing arts and space? Here I am not aiming at architectural space, but outer space, cosmos. The connection may seem speculative or marginal, but it does exist. Hotel Pro Forma is one of the theaters, which has contributed to the experience of outer space on stage. Based on the concept of space art, in this essay I explore the connection between the performing arts and outer space using Hotel Pro Forma's performance Cosmos+ (2014-15) as the main example. In various ways the performance seeks to present astronomical phenomena, promote the conquest of space and portray human experience of the encounter with the cosmos. I include Cosmos+ in the portion of space art that may be called "space art on stage". Based on an analysis of Cosmos+ I show how the performance relates to the philosopher Dorthe Jørgensen's concept of the experience of beauty. Through such experiences Cosmos+ unfolds its existential, spiritual and political potential for the audience: to experience the both terrifying and liberating sensation of being part of that which is greater than oneself.
Sonya Peterson et al (eds) The Power of the In-Between: Intermediality as a Tool for Analysis and Critical Reflection, 2018
This article explores intermediality not only as an aesthetic strategy for theatre itself, but al... more This article explores intermediality not only as an aesthetic strategy for theatre itself, but also how this strategy may be applied to another medium, a performative exhibition, through what is known as remediation. The point of departure remains intermediality as it is conceptualised for theatre, while the understanding of performance inscribes itself in the broad-spectrum approach of Performance Studies that, among other cultural events, may include the exhibition. The example is the Danish performance theatre company Hotel Pro Forma’s exhibition Today’s Cake is a Log (2015). The claim is that the exhibition remediates the company’s aesthetical strategy in such a way that it transforms the theatre spectator into a performer, who may then embody and assimilate the theatre’s aesthetic strategy through her performative acts during the visit to the exhibition. The analysis is contextualised: first, by a presentation of intermediality theory developed for theatre and performance; second, by an introduction of Hotel Pro Forma, its artistic project and intermedial aesthetics exemplified through staging devises and performances. To be published in the anthology The Power of the In-Between, Stockholm University Press, 2017.
Peripeti, 2017
This short text summarises Hotel Pro Forma's first performance for both children and adults. Cosm... more This short text summarises Hotel Pro Forma's first performance for both children and adults. Cosmos+ is science communication from the child's perspective. The text is a contribution to a special edition of the journal Peripeti, "Hotel Pro Forma – Hotel of Beauty". The issue is an abbreviated version of the Danish book Skønhedens hotel: Hotel Pro Forma – et laboratorium for scenekunst (Hotel of Beauty: Hotel Pro Forma – a laboratory for stage arts).
English Abstract:
When The Royal Theatre, Denmark’s first proper national theatre, opened in 187... more English Abstract:
When The Royal Theatre, Denmark’s first proper national theatre, opened in 1874 in Copenhagen, it was the result of a very complex cultural and political evolution beginning several centuries earlier. At the same time, it marked a significant turning point in Danish theatre history, whereby theatre developed from amateurism to professionalism, from baroque acting style to naturalism, from regionalism to internationalism, and, eventually, from the private initiative to the obligation of the state, marked by another important turning point, the Theatre Act of 1963.
Until then, theatre had essentially been a private affair, driven by private interests, largely privately funded – and with broad support from the local population. It was the subject of the authorities’ growing vigilance, though, both politically and morally, and one may describe the Theatres Acts passed before 1963 as controlling and limiting, whereas the new Theatre Act sought to be democratizing, decentralizing and supportive. To understand this development, this chapter takes a look at social actors and structures in identifying the basis for the Danish theatre system from the Enlightenment to the present day, from private initiative to public responsibility (Kjeldstadli, Giddens). Our focus in understanding these changes is the concrete facilities in which the performing arts could unfold: The theatre buildings.
The chapter presents the development of the Danish theatre system from a variety of socio-geographic factors previously only to a lesser extent taken into account when the country’s theatrical and cultural histories were written. It is based on a study of the unique theatre construction boom that took place in Denmark from 1874-1914 and reveals furthermore surprising regional cultural differences in, respectively eastern and western Denmark. It is the intention within this context to discuss the sociological mechanisms that control cultural growth by identifying theatrical activities and compare them with the socio-geographical conditions in the country’s different regions. The findings challenge the common perception of Denmark as a country where support for intellectual life has largely been the concern of the state, and where the theatre system is seen as a consequence of cultural policy and decision-making. Furthermore, this article intends to identify the cultural growth drivers in the Danish provinces, and it is obvious that it was the private sector, mainly industrial owners, who with popular support took the initiative to create those structures in the community, which supported social networks – by building theatres to serve as common meeting places. Cultural activities and offerings were not, as one might have expected, resulting from the cultural elite’s initiatives. Private enterprise has historically played a more significant role in the development of the current Danish theatre system than perhaps previously thought. The article draws perspectives of this historic study by finally asking what impact the actors or private initiators might have on the development of structures of today’s theatre system, and to what extent the cultural and other political processes of the 21st century – such as the development of periphery areas – could benefit from a political holistic thinking as well as secure business involvement in efforts to balance the inequality that prevails in the cultural field in the various Danish regions.
The chapter appears in the Polish book Systemy organizacji teatrów w Europie (European Theatre Organisational Systems), edited by Karolina Prykowska-Michalak. Warszawa: Instytut Teatralny im. Zbigniewa Raszewskiego, 2016.
The Development of Organisational Theatre Systems In Europe: Sustainability and Changeability, 2018
When The Royal Theatre, Denmark’s first proper national theatre, opened in 1874 in Copenhagen, it... more When The Royal Theatre, Denmark’s first proper national theatre, opened in 1874 in Copenhagen, it was the result of a very complex cultural and political evolution beginning several centuries earlier. At the same time, it marked a significant turning point in Danish theatre history, whereby theatre developed from amateurism to professionalism, from baroque acting style to naturalism, from regionalism to internationalism, and, eventually, from the private initiative to the obligation of the state, marked by another important turning point, the Theatre Act of 1963.
Until then, theatre had essentially been a private affair, driven by private interests, largely privately funded – and with broad support from the local population. It was the subject of the authorities’ growing vigilance, though, both politically and morally, and one may describe the Theatres Acts passed before 1963 as controlling and limiting, whereas the new Theatre Act sought to be democratizing, decentralizing and supportive. To understand this development, this chapter takes a look at social actors and structures in identifying the basis for the Danish theatre system from the Enlightenment to the present day, from private initiative to public responsibility (Kjeldstadli, Giddens). Our focus in understanding these changes is the concrete facilities in which the performing arts could unfold: The theatre buildings.
The chapter presents the development of the Danish theatre system from a variety of socio-geographic factors previously only to a lesser extent taken into account when the country’s theatrical and cultural histories were written. It is based on a study of the unique theatre construction boom that took place in Denmark from 1874-1914 and reveals furthermore surprising regional cultural differences in, respectively eastern and western Denmark. It is the intention within this context to discuss the sociological mechanisms that control cultural growth by identifying theatrical activities and compare them with the socio-geographical conditions in the country’s different regions. The findings challenge the common perception of Denmark as a country where support for intellectual life has largely been the concern of the state, and where the theatre system is seen as a consequence of cultural policy and decision-making. Furthermore, this article intends to identify the cultural growth drivers in the Danish provinces, and it is obvious that it was the private sector, mainly industrial owners, who with popular support took the initiative to create those structures in the community, which supported social networks – by building theatres to serve as common meeting places. Cultural activities and offerings were not, as one might have expected, resulting from the cultural elite’s initiatives. Private enterprise has historically played a more significant role in the development of the current Danish theatre system than perhaps previously thought. The article draws perspectives of this historic study by finally asking what impact the actors or private initiators might have on the development of structures of today’s theatre system, and to what extent the cultural and other political processes of the 21st century – such as the development of periphery areas – could benefit from a political holistic thinking as well as secure business involvement in efforts to balance the inequality that prevails in the cultural field in the various Danish regions.
The chapter is part of the forthcoming book Sustainability and Changebility: Development of Organisational Theatre Systems, edited by Karolina Prykowska-Michalak (Stockholm: STUTS 2016).
The human condition is not only staged by religion. This article explores how aesthetic and perfo... more The human condition is not only staged by religion. This article explores how aesthetic and performative events have the potential to convey to us the experience of non-knowledge, i.e. that of which we do not know what we do not know; in other words, that which is greater than ourselves, the metaphysical, the impossible, and the unknown. A deep need to relate to these unfathomable dimensions of existence exists for both believers and non-believers, without consequence to seek any ultimate truth. Let it be said once and for all: absolute transcendence is impossible for us; we cannot physically exceed ourselves and put ourselves in God's place. We can only transcend ourselves through our imagination. We do not know the reality that we nevertheless creatively seek to attribute form to through ritual and art. So, how do we stage experiences of the metaphysical in ways that underline the fact that these forms cannot but arise out of our bodily perception? How can religious or transcending experience be staged without the claim to Truth? These are questions that this article seeks to answer. In doing so, performative aspects of the "Dawn of Man" sequence in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: a space odyssey (1968) are analysed. Published in Danish in Drude von der Fehr (ed.) Den levende kroppen (The Living Body), Oslo: Vidarforlaget, 2016, pp. 123-151.
What is the connection between the performing arts and space? Here I am not aiming at architectur... more What is the connection between the performing arts and space? Here I am not aiming at architectural space, but outer space, cosmos. The connection may seem speculative or marginal, but it does exist. Hotel Pro Forma is one of the theaters, which has contributed to the experience of outer space on stage. Based on the concept of space art, in this essay I explore the connection between the performing arts and outer space using Hotel Pro Forma's performance Cosmos+ (2014-15) as the main example. In various ways the performance seeks to present astronomical phenomena, promote the conquest of space and portray human experience of the encounter with the cosmos. I include Cosmos+ in the portion of space art that may be called "space art on stage". Based on an analysis of Cosmos+ I show how the performance relates to the philosopher Dorthe Jørgensen's concept of the experience of beauty. Through such experiences Cosmos+ unfolds its existential, spiritual and political potential for the audience: to experience the both terrifying and liberating sensation of being part of that which is greater than oneself. Published in Danish in Erik Exe Christoffersen & Kathrine Winkelhorn (eds.) Skønhedens hotel: Hotel Pro Forma. Et laboratorium for scenekunst (The Hotel of Beauty: Hotel Pro Forma. A Laboratory for the Performing Arts), Aarhus: University of Aarhus Press, 2016, pp. 197-212.
After visiting the installation "Din blinde passager" (Your Blind Passenger) by the Icelandic-Dan... more After visiting the installation "Din blinde passager" (Your Blind Passenger) by the Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson the theatre scholar Kim Skjoldager-Nielsen has put together some thoughts about the extent to which staged events can give rise to religious and spiritual experiences through their material nature. The central question here is how theatre can support a return to transcendent aspects in everyday social life when most people in society have in principle lost these skills.
Published in double 33, 2016, pp. 6-9
Drawing on the theoretical perspective of performance studies, Daria Kubiak and Kim Skjoldager-Ni... more Drawing on the theoretical perspective of performance studies, Daria Kubiak and Kim Skjoldager-Nielsen look at two attempts at deliberate audience emancipation through exhibition design. They analyze the performative ‘scripts’ inscribed in the way the Film Museum in Łódź shows its collection and in the exhibition Atlas of Modernity at the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź, and provide a critical assessment of their potential to act as repositories for local identity and generators of social and cultural capital. As several shortcomings are identified in the analysis, certain ideas and postulates are put forward to remedy them and contribute to designing exhibitions that would perform archives as “theaters for development”.
Published in Sztuka i Dokumentacja/Art and Documentation, No. 12, 2015.
From a special issue of the journal Ecumenica on critical terms in religion and theatre.
Introduction to Nordic Theatre Studies 25, 2013.
The article is a critical analysis and discussion of the learning potential of the performance Sa... more The article is a critical analysis and discussion of the learning potential of the performance Salò in Copenhagen 2010. Published in Danish in the journal Peripeti, no. 17, 2012.
Introduction to Nordic Theatre Studies 24, 2012.
The article analyses the radical performative approach of Danish/Austrian aristic duo SIGNA's eve... more The article analyses the radical performative approach of Danish/Austrian aristic duo SIGNA's event "Salò". SIGNA expands the aesthetic and communicative frame of perfomance into encompassing and accomodating hypercomplex spaces for interplay between reality and fiction, centred as it is on basic issue of identity: formation, worldview, and power structures. Thus, strategies for staging the audience as co-creators of the dramatic event(s) are employed. Drawing on examples of audience and actor interactions, the article elaborates identity formation as a learning potential combining systematic communication theory (Luhmann; Qvortrup) with a phenomenological understanding of body and self (Kirkeby; Ricoeur). It uses this theoretical approach to critically discuss the reality-effects of the staging from an ethical point of view . To support his insigts, the author draws heavily on the results of a qualitatative audience survey.
Introduction to Nordic Theatre Studies 23, 2011.
A portrait of the Danish/Austrian interactive theatre company SIGNA. Published in Danish in the j... more A portrait of the Danish/Austrian interactive theatre company SIGNA. Published in Danish in the journal Peripeti, no. 13, 2010.
Uploads
Books by Kim Skjoldager-Nielsen
The result is a practical model that allows the analysis of experiences of transcendence as created in the staged event through the complex interplay of material properties of staging and cognitive capacities for experience in the spectator’s or congregant’s process of reception – all of which are conditioned by the event’s contexts.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Stiftelsen för utgivning av teatervetenskapliga studier (STUTS), 2018. , p. 407
Series
Theatron, ISSN 0348-2448
Keywords
performance analysis, model, staged event, aesthetics of the performative, metaphysics of experience, immanent transcendence, theatre, ritual, installation, religion, spirituality, Erika Fischer-Lichte, Dorthe Jørgensen
National Category
Performing Art Studies
Research subject
Theatre Studies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-158504
ISBN: 978-91-86434-54-0 (print)
ISBN: 978-91-86434-55-7 (electronic)
OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-158504
DiVA, id: diva2:1237742
Public defence
2018-10-20, Nordenskiöldsalen, Geovetenskapens hus, Svante Arrhenius väg 12, Stockholm, 10:00 (Norwegian)
Opponent
Hyldig, Keld, Førsteamanuensis
Supervisors
Sauter, Willmar, Professor emeritus
Hammer, Anita Synnøve, Professor
Articles by Kim Skjoldager-Nielsen
History of science reveals complex combinations of science and the popular in theatrical events that raises the question if the audience’s understanding of the scientific subject matter itself always was – or has to be – the purpose of the popular science performance, or if it rather was – is – about spurring interest by inspiring sentiments of wonder and reflection on science’s impact on life and outlooks. Newer conceptual developments also suggest that it is not always the case that theatre is a tool for science popularisation, as a specific genre science theatre, but that scientific information and concepts are artistically interpreted by theatre, and not always in ways affirmative of the science. This later variant is called science-in-theatre. The two genres are demonstrated through the analyses of Svarta hål and Kosmos+, the claim being that the first was an ambiguous exposition of science, i.e. science-in-theatre, whereas the second established an artistically visionary affirmation, as regular science theatre.
What is the connection between the performing arts and space? Here I am not aiming at architectural space, but outer space, cosmos. The connection may seem speculative or marginal, but it does exist. Hotel Pro Forma is one of the theaters, which has contributed to the experience of outer space on stage. Based on the concept of space art, in this essay I explore the connection between the performing arts and outer space using Hotel Pro Forma's performance Cosmos+ (2014-15) as the main example. In various ways the performance seeks to present astronomical phenomena, promote the conquest of space and portray human experience of the encounter with the cosmos. I include Cosmos+ in the portion of space art that may be called "space art on stage". Based on an analysis of Cosmos+ I show how the performance relates to the philosopher Dorthe Jørgensen's concept of the experience of beauty. Through such experiences Cosmos+ unfolds its existential, spiritual and political potential for the audience: to experience the both terrifying and liberating sensation of being part of that which is greater than oneself.
When The Royal Theatre, Denmark’s first proper national theatre, opened in 1874 in Copenhagen, it was the result of a very complex cultural and political evolution beginning several centuries earlier. At the same time, it marked a significant turning point in Danish theatre history, whereby theatre developed from amateurism to professionalism, from baroque acting style to naturalism, from regionalism to internationalism, and, eventually, from the private initiative to the obligation of the state, marked by another important turning point, the Theatre Act of 1963.
Until then, theatre had essentially been a private affair, driven by private interests, largely privately funded – and with broad support from the local population. It was the subject of the authorities’ growing vigilance, though, both politically and morally, and one may describe the Theatres Acts passed before 1963 as controlling and limiting, whereas the new Theatre Act sought to be democratizing, decentralizing and supportive. To understand this development, this chapter takes a look at social actors and structures in identifying the basis for the Danish theatre system from the Enlightenment to the present day, from private initiative to public responsibility (Kjeldstadli, Giddens). Our focus in understanding these changes is the concrete facilities in which the performing arts could unfold: The theatre buildings.
The chapter presents the development of the Danish theatre system from a variety of socio-geographic factors previously only to a lesser extent taken into account when the country’s theatrical and cultural histories were written. It is based on a study of the unique theatre construction boom that took place in Denmark from 1874-1914 and reveals furthermore surprising regional cultural differences in, respectively eastern and western Denmark. It is the intention within this context to discuss the sociological mechanisms that control cultural growth by identifying theatrical activities and compare them with the socio-geographical conditions in the country’s different regions. The findings challenge the common perception of Denmark as a country where support for intellectual life has largely been the concern of the state, and where the theatre system is seen as a consequence of cultural policy and decision-making. Furthermore, this article intends to identify the cultural growth drivers in the Danish provinces, and it is obvious that it was the private sector, mainly industrial owners, who with popular support took the initiative to create those structures in the community, which supported social networks – by building theatres to serve as common meeting places. Cultural activities and offerings were not, as one might have expected, resulting from the cultural elite’s initiatives. Private enterprise has historically played a more significant role in the development of the current Danish theatre system than perhaps previously thought. The article draws perspectives of this historic study by finally asking what impact the actors or private initiators might have on the development of structures of today’s theatre system, and to what extent the cultural and other political processes of the 21st century – such as the development of periphery areas – could benefit from a political holistic thinking as well as secure business involvement in efforts to balance the inequality that prevails in the cultural field in the various Danish regions.
The chapter appears in the Polish book Systemy organizacji teatrów w Europie (European Theatre Organisational Systems), edited by Karolina Prykowska-Michalak. Warszawa: Instytut Teatralny im. Zbigniewa Raszewskiego, 2016.
Until then, theatre had essentially been a private affair, driven by private interests, largely privately funded – and with broad support from the local population. It was the subject of the authorities’ growing vigilance, though, both politically and morally, and one may describe the Theatres Acts passed before 1963 as controlling and limiting, whereas the new Theatre Act sought to be democratizing, decentralizing and supportive. To understand this development, this chapter takes a look at social actors and structures in identifying the basis for the Danish theatre system from the Enlightenment to the present day, from private initiative to public responsibility (Kjeldstadli, Giddens). Our focus in understanding these changes is the concrete facilities in which the performing arts could unfold: The theatre buildings.
The chapter presents the development of the Danish theatre system from a variety of socio-geographic factors previously only to a lesser extent taken into account when the country’s theatrical and cultural histories were written. It is based on a study of the unique theatre construction boom that took place in Denmark from 1874-1914 and reveals furthermore surprising regional cultural differences in, respectively eastern and western Denmark. It is the intention within this context to discuss the sociological mechanisms that control cultural growth by identifying theatrical activities and compare them with the socio-geographical conditions in the country’s different regions. The findings challenge the common perception of Denmark as a country where support for intellectual life has largely been the concern of the state, and where the theatre system is seen as a consequence of cultural policy and decision-making. Furthermore, this article intends to identify the cultural growth drivers in the Danish provinces, and it is obvious that it was the private sector, mainly industrial owners, who with popular support took the initiative to create those structures in the community, which supported social networks – by building theatres to serve as common meeting places. Cultural activities and offerings were not, as one might have expected, resulting from the cultural elite’s initiatives. Private enterprise has historically played a more significant role in the development of the current Danish theatre system than perhaps previously thought. The article draws perspectives of this historic study by finally asking what impact the actors or private initiators might have on the development of structures of today’s theatre system, and to what extent the cultural and other political processes of the 21st century – such as the development of periphery areas – could benefit from a political holistic thinking as well as secure business involvement in efforts to balance the inequality that prevails in the cultural field in the various Danish regions.
The chapter is part of the forthcoming book Sustainability and Changebility: Development of Organisational Theatre Systems, edited by Karolina Prykowska-Michalak (Stockholm: STUTS 2016).
Published in double 33, 2016, pp. 6-9
Published in Sztuka i Dokumentacja/Art and Documentation, No. 12, 2015.
The result is a practical model that allows the analysis of experiences of transcendence as created in the staged event through the complex interplay of material properties of staging and cognitive capacities for experience in the spectator’s or congregant’s process of reception – all of which are conditioned by the event’s contexts.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Stiftelsen för utgivning av teatervetenskapliga studier (STUTS), 2018. , p. 407
Series
Theatron, ISSN 0348-2448
Keywords
performance analysis, model, staged event, aesthetics of the performative, metaphysics of experience, immanent transcendence, theatre, ritual, installation, religion, spirituality, Erika Fischer-Lichte, Dorthe Jørgensen
National Category
Performing Art Studies
Research subject
Theatre Studies
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-158504
ISBN: 978-91-86434-54-0 (print)
ISBN: 978-91-86434-55-7 (electronic)
OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-158504
DiVA, id: diva2:1237742
Public defence
2018-10-20, Nordenskiöldsalen, Geovetenskapens hus, Svante Arrhenius väg 12, Stockholm, 10:00 (Norwegian)
Opponent
Hyldig, Keld, Førsteamanuensis
Supervisors
Sauter, Willmar, Professor emeritus
Hammer, Anita Synnøve, Professor
History of science reveals complex combinations of science and the popular in theatrical events that raises the question if the audience’s understanding of the scientific subject matter itself always was – or has to be – the purpose of the popular science performance, or if it rather was – is – about spurring interest by inspiring sentiments of wonder and reflection on science’s impact on life and outlooks. Newer conceptual developments also suggest that it is not always the case that theatre is a tool for science popularisation, as a specific genre science theatre, but that scientific information and concepts are artistically interpreted by theatre, and not always in ways affirmative of the science. This later variant is called science-in-theatre. The two genres are demonstrated through the analyses of Svarta hål and Kosmos+, the claim being that the first was an ambiguous exposition of science, i.e. science-in-theatre, whereas the second established an artistically visionary affirmation, as regular science theatre.
What is the connection between the performing arts and space? Here I am not aiming at architectural space, but outer space, cosmos. The connection may seem speculative or marginal, but it does exist. Hotel Pro Forma is one of the theaters, which has contributed to the experience of outer space on stage. Based on the concept of space art, in this essay I explore the connection between the performing arts and outer space using Hotel Pro Forma's performance Cosmos+ (2014-15) as the main example. In various ways the performance seeks to present astronomical phenomena, promote the conquest of space and portray human experience of the encounter with the cosmos. I include Cosmos+ in the portion of space art that may be called "space art on stage". Based on an analysis of Cosmos+ I show how the performance relates to the philosopher Dorthe Jørgensen's concept of the experience of beauty. Through such experiences Cosmos+ unfolds its existential, spiritual and political potential for the audience: to experience the both terrifying and liberating sensation of being part of that which is greater than oneself.
When The Royal Theatre, Denmark’s first proper national theatre, opened in 1874 in Copenhagen, it was the result of a very complex cultural and political evolution beginning several centuries earlier. At the same time, it marked a significant turning point in Danish theatre history, whereby theatre developed from amateurism to professionalism, from baroque acting style to naturalism, from regionalism to internationalism, and, eventually, from the private initiative to the obligation of the state, marked by another important turning point, the Theatre Act of 1963.
Until then, theatre had essentially been a private affair, driven by private interests, largely privately funded – and with broad support from the local population. It was the subject of the authorities’ growing vigilance, though, both politically and morally, and one may describe the Theatres Acts passed before 1963 as controlling and limiting, whereas the new Theatre Act sought to be democratizing, decentralizing and supportive. To understand this development, this chapter takes a look at social actors and structures in identifying the basis for the Danish theatre system from the Enlightenment to the present day, from private initiative to public responsibility (Kjeldstadli, Giddens). Our focus in understanding these changes is the concrete facilities in which the performing arts could unfold: The theatre buildings.
The chapter presents the development of the Danish theatre system from a variety of socio-geographic factors previously only to a lesser extent taken into account when the country’s theatrical and cultural histories were written. It is based on a study of the unique theatre construction boom that took place in Denmark from 1874-1914 and reveals furthermore surprising regional cultural differences in, respectively eastern and western Denmark. It is the intention within this context to discuss the sociological mechanisms that control cultural growth by identifying theatrical activities and compare them with the socio-geographical conditions in the country’s different regions. The findings challenge the common perception of Denmark as a country where support for intellectual life has largely been the concern of the state, and where the theatre system is seen as a consequence of cultural policy and decision-making. Furthermore, this article intends to identify the cultural growth drivers in the Danish provinces, and it is obvious that it was the private sector, mainly industrial owners, who with popular support took the initiative to create those structures in the community, which supported social networks – by building theatres to serve as common meeting places. Cultural activities and offerings were not, as one might have expected, resulting from the cultural elite’s initiatives. Private enterprise has historically played a more significant role in the development of the current Danish theatre system than perhaps previously thought. The article draws perspectives of this historic study by finally asking what impact the actors or private initiators might have on the development of structures of today’s theatre system, and to what extent the cultural and other political processes of the 21st century – such as the development of periphery areas – could benefit from a political holistic thinking as well as secure business involvement in efforts to balance the inequality that prevails in the cultural field in the various Danish regions.
The chapter appears in the Polish book Systemy organizacji teatrów w Europie (European Theatre Organisational Systems), edited by Karolina Prykowska-Michalak. Warszawa: Instytut Teatralny im. Zbigniewa Raszewskiego, 2016.
Until then, theatre had essentially been a private affair, driven by private interests, largely privately funded – and with broad support from the local population. It was the subject of the authorities’ growing vigilance, though, both politically and morally, and one may describe the Theatres Acts passed before 1963 as controlling and limiting, whereas the new Theatre Act sought to be democratizing, decentralizing and supportive. To understand this development, this chapter takes a look at social actors and structures in identifying the basis for the Danish theatre system from the Enlightenment to the present day, from private initiative to public responsibility (Kjeldstadli, Giddens). Our focus in understanding these changes is the concrete facilities in which the performing arts could unfold: The theatre buildings.
The chapter presents the development of the Danish theatre system from a variety of socio-geographic factors previously only to a lesser extent taken into account when the country’s theatrical and cultural histories were written. It is based on a study of the unique theatre construction boom that took place in Denmark from 1874-1914 and reveals furthermore surprising regional cultural differences in, respectively eastern and western Denmark. It is the intention within this context to discuss the sociological mechanisms that control cultural growth by identifying theatrical activities and compare them with the socio-geographical conditions in the country’s different regions. The findings challenge the common perception of Denmark as a country where support for intellectual life has largely been the concern of the state, and where the theatre system is seen as a consequence of cultural policy and decision-making. Furthermore, this article intends to identify the cultural growth drivers in the Danish provinces, and it is obvious that it was the private sector, mainly industrial owners, who with popular support took the initiative to create those structures in the community, which supported social networks – by building theatres to serve as common meeting places. Cultural activities and offerings were not, as one might have expected, resulting from the cultural elite’s initiatives. Private enterprise has historically played a more significant role in the development of the current Danish theatre system than perhaps previously thought. The article draws perspectives of this historic study by finally asking what impact the actors or private initiators might have on the development of structures of today’s theatre system, and to what extent the cultural and other political processes of the 21st century – such as the development of periphery areas – could benefit from a political holistic thinking as well as secure business involvement in efforts to balance the inequality that prevails in the cultural field in the various Danish regions.
The chapter is part of the forthcoming book Sustainability and Changebility: Development of Organisational Theatre Systems, edited by Karolina Prykowska-Michalak (Stockholm: STUTS 2016).
Published in double 33, 2016, pp. 6-9
Published in Sztuka i Dokumentacja/Art and Documentation, No. 12, 2015.
Special Inaugural Issue:
Spiritual and Religious Performances of Activism and Protest