Costume Dramaturgies
(2026)
author(s): Christina Fossaas Lindgren, Charlotte Østergaard
published in: Stockholm University of the Arts (SKH)
With the artistic research project Costume Dramaturgies we explore the dramaturgy that emerges when performance takes an unconventional starting point: a costume – a thing. By approaching dramaturgy as an assembly of things, we shift perspective from the human to the non-human, giving agency to costume, props, and light in performance. We argue that the dramaturgy of things remains an under-researched area in the performing arts.
The one-year project is funded by Stockholm University of the Arts and brings together 12 researchers from costume design, dramaturgy, mime acting, LARP, film direction, theatre studies, scenography, and performance art. This multi-perspective, poly-vocal approach aims to generate a nuanced understanding of dramaturgy of things, and includes workshops based on devising methods—most notably the Costume Jam Session, where participants interact with costumes through chains of action, followed by reflection on the dramaturgy that emerges. The project is a continuation of the artistic research project Costume Agency.
OSAMSAS - A movie on how to develop scenography
(2022)
author(s): Linn Henriksson Strååt
published in: Stockholm University of the Arts (SKH)
This movie is an attempt to capture how I develop scenograpies using devising
Orange Polar Bear - a cross-cultural performance piece for teenagers in Seoul and Birmingham
(2020)
author(s): Peter Wynne-Willson
published in: Research Catalogue
Orange Polar Bear (2014-19) is an innovative bilingual theatre project created by Hanyong Theatre, the National Theatre Company of Korea and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. The main research aims were to develop a methodology for devising and presenting bilingual work in a way that maintains equality between collaborative partners, and, by focusing on the experience of teenagers in Seoul and Birmingham, to consider what young people can teach adults about bridging cross-cultural and language divisions.
The research resulted in a novel methodology for devising bilingual theatre leading to a cross-cultural performance for young people in two languages, presented in the same form in South Korea and the UK. It was unique among Anglo-Korean collaborations for its focus on the experience of teenagers, and conscious balance of languages, cultures and practices. Additionally, the research demonstrates the value of adopting a child-led approach to creating cross-cultural theatre and has created new insights into long-term approaches to developing fair and equal cross-cultural partnerships.
Basic Bitch, a theatrical midlife crisis introspective
(last edited: 2025)
author(s): Nanna Gunnarsdóttir
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
This is an overview of the research behind the making of a final project by Nanna Gunnars, an MA student in Performing Arts at Iceland University of the Arts. The final project culminates in a stage performance titled Basic Bitch in January 2026, but this research is presented a month earlier.
The research shows the continuous change that takes place during the creative process. How many tumbles and changes does the creative process go through during the making of a devised theatre performance?
The performance is yet to be finished, so readers are placed in the midst of the thought process and given an insight into the author's thinking process and devising methods.
