Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Research in Drama
Research in Drama
Research
Strategy
for
Theatre
and
Music
Drama
Academy
of
Music
and
Drama,
University
of
Gothenburg
Introduction
Artistic
research
in
theatre
and
music
drama
is
a
young
research
field
under
development,
particularly
in
a
Swedish
and
Nordic
context.
The
Academy
of
Music
and
Drama
has
been
running
senior
research
projects
and
a
research
education
subject
within
the
field
since
the
middle
of
the
2000s.1
For
many
years,
the
academy
has
also
been
accommodating
teachers’
artistic
development
projects.
The
research
environment
in
the
collegiate
units
for
theatre
and
music
drama
includes
doctoral
students,
master
students,
and
researching
teachers
and
supervisors,
who
meet
regularly
in
a
joint
seminar,
“The
research
forum.”
This
places
the
Academy
of
Music
and
Drama
at
the
forefront
of
development,
in
many
respects,
among
theatre
and
opera
academies
in
Sweden.
The
artistic
research
in
theatre
and
music
drama
at
the
Academy
of
Music
and
Drama
emphasises
the
artistically
reflective
and
laboratory
effort.
The
research
methods
are
often
performative,
action-‐oriented
and
experience-‐based.
The
studies
are
usually
aimed
at
analysing
and
making
visible
the
artistic
process,
but
also
at
experimenting
with
and
staging
new
laboratory
situations.
The
closeness
between
the
different
art
fields
within
the
Academy
and
the
Faculty
creates
an
environment
with
many
cross-‐disciplinary
meeting
points
and
collaborations.
The
shrinking
scope,
for
economic
reasons,
for
reflective
and
experimental
work
at
theatre
institutions
in
Sweden
today
has
underlined
the
importance
of
artistic
research
and
has
created
an
even
stronger
interest
in
this
activity.
This
means
that
artists
now
enter
the
academy
in
order
to
examine
critically
their
own
situation
in
the
arts
and
in
society.
Three
research
directions
have
been
outlined
for
future
development:
1)
Research
in
the
field
of
music
drama
connected
to
gender
issues
and
performative
strategies
2)
Research
on
the
work
of
the
actor
-‐
methods,
traditions,
conditions
3)
Research
on
post-‐dramatic
theatre
and
physical
performance
A
number
of
strategic
aspects
have
been
considered
in
this
context:
1)
The
competence
profile
and
research
interest
at
the
institution
(researchers,
teachers,
supervisors,
doctoral
students);
2)
The
importance
of
developing
peak
competence
in
relation
to
other
academies
in
the
field
of
the
performing
arts,
in
Sweden
as
well
as
internationally,
especially
in
a
Nordic
context
(competitive
strength);
3)
An
assessment
of
which
research
areas
will
be
attractive
and
important
in
the
future
in
1 Two senior research projects, both financed by The Swedish Research Council, were running between
2005-‐08
(see
footnote
2
and
4
below).
The
research
education
subject
is
entitled
Performance
in
Theatre
and
Music
Drama,
and
was
introduced
in
2006
when
the
first
two
doctoral
students
were
accepted.
relation
to
the
art
fields
in
question
(market
analysis);
4)
Research
areas
that
can
play
an
important
part
in
the
dynamics
at
the
department
between
bachelor,
master
and
doctoral
educations
and
senior
research
and
development;
5)
The
need
for
further
development
of
the
artistic
research
within
the
performing
arts;
a
continuation
of
the
development
of
our
competence,
methodologies
and
position
within
the
field
of
dramatic
artistic
research.
Description
of
research
directions:
1)
Research
in
the
field
of
music
drama
connected
to
gender
issues
and
performative
strategies
Research
within
music
drama
is
to
be
found
both
in
the
field
of
music
and
in
the
field
of
the
performing
arts.
In
a
national
perspective,
research
in
music
drama
is
a
small
field,
but
the
international
character
of
the
art
field
contributes
to
creating
a
wider
forum.
In
an
international
perspective,
networks
such
as
the
Nordic
Network
for
Early
Opera,
the
Yale
Baroque
Opera
Project
and
The
European
Association
of
Conservatoires
(AEC)
play
an
important
role
in
creating
a
research
context
and
an
exchange
within
the
discipline.
The
Academy
of
Music
and
Drama,
embracing
music,
opera
and
theatre,
is
a
most
adequate
place
for
this
cross-‐disciplinary
research.
The
academy
has
developed
research
in
music
drama
since
2006,
in
the
form
of
senior
research,
doctoral
studies
and
artistic
development
projects.2
Many
of
the
projects
connect
specialist
knowledge;
for
example,
within
the
field
of
early
opera
with
historical
research,
singing
and
acting
practice,
performative
strategies
and
gender
issues.
These
activities
include
experiments
with
cross-‐dressing
and
gender-‐critical
workshops,
involving
opera
students
at
all
different
levels.3
We
see
the
combination
of
historical
studies,
artistic
techniques
and
development,
gender
perspectives
and
performative
experimentation
as
a
most
fruitful
research
orientation
to
be
further
developed
in
the
future.
The
rich
possibilities
for
cooperation
with
humanistic
fields
within
the
University
of
Gothenburg
open
up
for
interesting
connections
with
fields
such
as
Gender
Studies,
Sociology,
Psychology,
Musicology
and
Theatre
Studies4.
Today,
research
on
gender
and
performativity
are
important
areas
within
such
fields
as
Theatre
Studies,
Anthropology
and
Sociology.
The
possibility
of
linking
such
theoretical
work
with
practical
exploration
of
the
body,
with
emotions
and
with
the
voice
is
of
great
interest,
not
only
to
artistic
research
but
also
to
other
academic
disciplines.
2 For example the research project Passion for the Real 2006-‐08, run by prof. Eva Nässén and the artistic
development
project
Kvinnorollen
och
mansrollen
i
opera
då
och
nu
2010,
run
by
prof.
Gunilla
Gårdfeldt
and
Marianne
Khoso,
and
the
doctoral
project
'Lasciate
mi
morire'
o
'faro
la
finta
pazza'
-‐
Embodying
vocal
nothingness
on
stage
in
Italian
and
French
17th
century
operatic
laments
and
mad
Scenes,
by
Elisabeth
Belgrano
(completed
2011).
3
Both
prof.
Gunilla
Gårdfeldtʼs
explorations
and
Katarina
Karlssonʼs
doctoral
project
(in
Musical
Performance
and
Interpretation)
are
important
references.
Between
2007-‐2009,
the
national
gender
project
Att
gestalta
kön
(To
perform
gender)
was
carried
out
at
all
four
theatre
academies
in
Sweden.
The
project
was
led
by
several
researchers
and
has
had
a
very
strong
impact
on
both
teachers
and
students
at
the
department.
4
Different
kinds
of
cooperation
exist;
for
example,
with
the
departments
of
Psychology,
Musicology
and
Drama/Literature
at
the
University
of
Gothenburg,
and
these
could
be
further
and
more
strategically
developed
in
the
future.
The
aim
is
to
develop
this
direction
of
research
further,
thereby
creating
possibilities
for
senior
research
and
new
doctoral
projects.
The
possibility
of
connecting
this
research
to
the
field
of
Cultural
Heritage
and
to
new
ventures
within
Culture
and
Health
at
the
University
of
Gothenburg
will
be
investigated.
Collaboration
with
humanistic
researchers
should
be
encouraged.
2)
Research
on
the
work
of
the
actor
-‐
methods,
traditions,
conditions
Writings
on
acting
methods
and
questions
related
to
the
art
of
the
actor
have
a
long
history,
even
if
most
of
the
material
has
been
produced
in
the
last
century
(and
mainly
by
directors).
However,
penetrating
and
detailed
research
into
acting
from
the
actor’s
own
perspective,
with
a
concrete
connection
to
the
reality
of
the
stage,
is
exceedingly
rare.
Artistic
research
into
the
field
of
theatre
is
in
development
in
Sweden
today.
A
knowledge
base
around
the
art
of
the
actor
is
gradually
being
built
at
the
department,
through
a
number
of
finished
and
on-‐going
research,
artistic
development
and
doctoral
projects
that
focus
on
the
work
of
the
actor.
The
projects
focus
on
working
methods
and
specific
questions
related
to
acting,
creating
and
to
the
conditions
that
surround
this
art
form5.
Recent
projects,
not
least
doctoral
projects,
formulate
problems
from
the
viewpoint
of
the
actor
in
new
and
intriguing
ways,
thereby
paving
the
way
for
future
research
in
the
field.6
The
aim
is
to
continue
developing
research
centred
on
the
art
of
the
actor,
but
also
to
gather
this
kind
of
research
in
the
form
of
a
platform
or
forum:
“Forum
for
the
art
of
the
actor”
(Forum
för
skådespelarkonst).
The
purpose
of
this
platform
is
to
create
a
knowledge
base
for
this
kind
of
research,
to
promote
it
at
a
national
(and
international)
level
and
to
initiate
an
open
dialogue
between
the
academy
and
the
art
field.
An
important
step
towards
creating
this
forum
is
the
founding
of
an
open
seminar,
where
researchers,
artists,
teachers
and
students
meet
together
with
invited
guests
and
in
projects
exploring
the
art
of
the
actor
in
different
ways
(a
kind
of
“actor’s
studio”).
There
is
also
a
plan
to
create
a
centre
at
the
Academy
associated
with
the
Yat
Malmgren
acting
method,
as
a
result
of
the
unique
profile
of
the
acting
education7.
3)
Research
on
post-‐dramatic
theatre
and
physical
performance
The
third
research
area
under
development
is
post-‐dramatic
theatre
and
physical
performance.
Current
directions
in
the
performing
arts,
not
least
at
an
international
level,
point
towards
new
definitions
of
art
forms
and
genres.
Traditional
categories
and
set
values
are
increasingly
being
questioned
and
transgressed.
There
has
been
a
growing
debate
on
post-‐dramatic
theatre
during
the
last
couple
of
years
in
Sweden.
The
interest
in
postmodern
concepts
and
in
certain
European
directions
(for
example,
the
German
tradition)
has
been
highlighted
in
the
theatre
lately.
5
To
mention
some
of
them:
the
research
project
Practical
Methods
in
Artistic
Research
within
the
field
of
theatre
2005-‐07,
run
by
Cecilia
Lagerström;
an
artistic
development
project
on
the
Yat
Malmgren
method
by
Per
Nordin;
several
on-‐going
doctoral
projects,
such
as
Lena
Dahlén’s
exploration
of
the
actor’s
pathway
from
reading
to
performing,
or
Ulf
Friberg’s
study
of
the
connection
between
the
actor’s
craft
and
working
conditions
and
power
structures
at
the
theatre.
6
Actors
are
now
formulating
their
experiences
and
explorations
in
new
forms,
both
written
and
performative
ones.
7
These
possibilities
will
be
further
investigated
in
the
future.
There
is
also
a
request
from
Robert
Bosnak
in
the
US
to
create
a
centre
for
his
method
”Dream
work
for
actors,”
at
the
Academy
of
Music
and
Drama
in
Gothenburg.
The
consequences
and
possibilities
of
realising
this
request
will
be
analysed.
At
the
same
time,
it
is
a
fact
that
post-‐dramatic
theatre
work
has
played
a
modest
role
in
Swedish
theatre
tradition
for
a
long
time,
with
little
space
at
the
different
acting
academies.
Physical
theatre,
for
instance,
is
a
field
with
no
obvious
home
in
the
Swedish
theatre
institutions.
It
is
of
great
importance
for
the
Academy
of
Music
and
Drama
not
only
to
participate
in,
but
also
to
be
at
the
forefront
of
this
development
and
discussion8.
The
long
tradition
of
teaching
in
movement
and
physical
performance
at
the
Academy
has
recently
entered
into
new
dialogue
with
contemporary
work
in
the
fields
of
performance
and
movement
art.
Recent
courses
and
projects
at
the
department,
such
as
those
aimed
at
master
students
and
the
cooperation
with
the
Valand
Academy,
have
focused
on
acting
in
relation
to
performance
art.
International
visiting
professors
and
groups
in
the
fields
of
physical
performance
and
post-‐
dramatic
theatre
make
important
imprints
on
this
development9.
An
on-‐going
project
on
post-‐
dramatic
theatre
and
a
master
education
at
the
crossroads
between
physical
performance,
dance
for
screen
and
sound
art
in
public
spaces
are
also
important
in
this
context.10
The
current
situation
at
the
department,
with
many
new
collaborations
and
projects
within
this
field,
creates
possibilities
for
interesting
research,
artistic
renewal
and
cross-‐disciplinary
encounters,
and
for
establishing
a
unique
profile
at
the
Academy.
The
aim
is
to
develop
further
this
kind
of
research
by
creating
frameworks
and
possibilities
for
senior
research
and
doctoral
projects.
Opportunities
within
Cultural
Heritage
(University
of
Gothenburg),
Research
Councils
and
the
EU
-‐
and
possible
partners
in
the
art
field
-‐
will
be
investigated.
8
The
concept
of
post-‐dramatic
theatre
is
very
broad
and
an
important
task
for
the
strategic
work
in
the
future
is
to
narrow
down
and
specify
in
what
sense
it
defines
a
field
of
exploration
at
the
Academy.
The
term
‘physical
performance’
is
a
way
of
both
broadening
and
specifying
the
concept
of
physical
theatre.
9
Such
as
Liz
Aggiss
from
Britain,
Karina
Holla
from
Holland
and
She
She
Pop
from
Germany.
10
For
example,
the
artistic
development
project
‘Post-‐dramatic
Theatre
as
Method
and
Practical
Theory,
inside
and
outside
of
Academia,
2010-‐12,
run
by
Cecilia
Lagerström
and
Pia
Muchin,
or
Johan
Petriʼs
doctoral
project
dealing
with
the
creation
of
meaning
in
performance
work
based
on
non-‐narrative
texts.
The
artistic
development
project
‘The
Actor
in
Virtual
Environments’,
run
by
Pia
Muchin
in
collaboration
with
Chalmers
Media
lab,
1999-‐2002,
is
also
important
to
mention
in
this
context.
The
name
of
the
master
programme,
which
was
started
in
2012,
is
‘Contemporary
Performative
Arts’.