The discussion will include leading designers and theatre makers that are bringing an ecological ethic to their work through their relational and reciprocal engagement with place, audiences, materials, and processes. We will examine what Ecoscenography means for our field, including the challenges and opportunities that an ecological approach to theatre production brings. Questions to the panel will include: What does Ecoscenography or an ecological approach to theatre making mean to you? How has sustainability influenced the way you work? And what new aesthetics have emerged in your practice as a result of engaging with a sustainable ethos?
To gain an understanding of the current ecological turn in the performing arts, our panel of theatre artists includes: Andrea Carr (UK), Imogen Ross (AU), Silje Sandodden Kise (NO), Tomáš Procházka (CZ). The discussion will be moderated by Dr Tanja Beer (Griffith University, Australia) and will include topics related to Beer’s recently published book: Ecoscenography: An Introduction to Ecological Design for Performance (Palgrave Macmillan 2021).
The Show Must Go On/OFFline online discussion series, featuring guests drawn from the ranks of theatre and dance artists, curators, cultural managers and theorists from the Czech Republic and abroad, addresses the performing arts’ sensitivity and responsiveness to contemporary social issues. Key themes include the adaptation of theatre, dance and contemporary circus to the virtual environment as a result of the anti-pandemic measures and questions related to the sustainability of our current quality of life and of the performing arts themselves. While it seems that the critical need for social change discussed in the fields of ecology, economics, politics and culture has been overshadowed in recent months by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, concerns about the sustainability of the field itself are gaining ground in the performing arts. Does a hybrid existence in real and virtual space amount to a dead-end for disciplines that rely on audience contact, or might it open up new worlds and possibilities? Will spectators stay at home forever? How are artists, organisers of cultural events, public funding bodies and arts education institutions responding to this crisis? How are they orientating themselves? What do they believe in and where are they headed? How do they communicate? In dialogue with our guests, we will try to map the performing arts’ emerging strategies and first responses to this global paradigm shift.
This series is produced by ATI’s International Cooperation Department as part of the Promotion of Czech Performing Arts Abroad program and in collaboration with the European project Create to Connect -> Create to Impact and the Performing Arts Central Europe (PACE.V4) network, with support from the International Visegrad Fund. International discussions take place on the Zoom platform and are held in English. Viewers have the chance to ask guests questions during the discussions and recordings of the webinars are made available on the jsmeIDU Youtube channel.
Moderator
• Tanja Beer (AU) / Ecological Designer & Community Artist, Senior Lecturer in Design at Griffith University (Australia), Author of Ecoscenography: An Introduction to Ecological Design for Performance (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021)
Speakers
• Imogen Ross (AU) / Wollongong-based theatre and event designer who enjoys the collaborative challenge of making a silk purse from a pig's ear
• Silje Sandodden Kise (NO) / freelance scenographer and costume designer, working in theatre, dance and music based productions; chairwoman of The Norwegian Scenographers Association in Creo
• Tomáš Procházka (CZ) / theatre director, founder of Handa Gote research & development performance group, artistic director of Alfred ve dvoře theatre, teacher at Department of Alternative and Puppet Theatre DAMU (Prague)
• Andrea Carr (UK) / ecoscenographer, artist, performance maker and facilitator; co-founder of Ecostage online initiative - placing ecological thinking at heart of creative practice
Practical information
• The meeting will take place on ZOOM; it is not necessary to download the application in advance.
• After filling out the registration form, you will receive an e-mail with a link to access the webinar.
• If possible, please register 15 minutes before the start of the event to allow time to complete the registration process.
• The webinar will be held in English.
