Theatre in the City
An international scientific conference on European theatre systems organised by the Research Programme of the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television of the University of Ljubljana (AGRFT UL) in collaboration with the Maribor Theatre Festival and the Project on European Theatre Systems (STEP)
23 October 2015 | 10.00 | A. Trstenjak Hall, University of Maribor
The international research group STEP will present the results of its several-year research on theatre systems and audiences in seven European cities: Maribor (Slovenia), Debrecen (Hungary), Tartu (Estonia), Groningen (the Netherlands), Aarhus (Denmark), Bern (Switzerland) and the area of Tyneside (UK). Slovenia is represented by the city of Maribor, for which Maja Šorli and Ksenija Repina Kramberger performed one part of the research.
The STEP City Study comprises a comparison of the theatre systems in these cities from different perspectives as well as an analysis of a one-year period of theatre productions, classified according to the number of premières and reprises of various types, the number of audience attendance, etc. The researchers will also present an audience analysis from different demographic angles as well as a comparison of theatre reception of the various types and genres of theatres in four of these European cities. The group also utilised a unified questionnaire to inquire among target groups in four cities (Groningen, Tartu, Debrecen, Tyneside) on the ways in which theatre addresses its audience.
The group STEP, whose mission is to deal with the studying of theatre systems, was established in 2005 by the professors and researchers Hans van Maanen (Groningen, the Netherlands) and Andreas Kotte (Bern, Switzerland). Shortly after, they were joined by theatre researchers from smaller European countries, with Barbara Sušec Michieli representing Slovenia. In 2009, they published their first scientific monographic study Global Changes – Local Stages: How Theatre Functions in Smaller European Countries (Rodopi).
The one-day conference will be held in English. The presentations of the research results will be followed by moderated discussions in the morning and in the afternoon.
Participants: Andreas Kotte and Beate Schappach (University of Bern, Switzerland), Magdolna Balkanyi and Attila Szabó (University of Debrecen, Hungary)), Anneli Saro and Hedi-Liis Toome (University of Tartu, Estonia), Maja Šorli (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia), Quirijn Lennert van den Hoogen, Hans van Maanen, Marline Lisette Wilders and Antine Zijlstra (University of Groningen, Netherlands) as well as Slovenian practitioners and theatre theorists.
Head of event: Maja Šorli, PhD, AGRFT UL
Programme committee: Hans van Maanen (University of Groningen, Netherlands), Andreas Kotte (University of Bern, Switzerland), Anneli Saro (University of Tartu, Estonia), Maja Šorli (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia), Joshua Edelman (Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom), Attila Szabó (Hungarian Theatre Museum and Institute, Hungary), Hedi-Liis Toome (University of Tartu, Estonia).