Amfiteater Journal of Performing Arts Theory
Academic Symposium
Ecology and Performing Arts
9–10 October 2025
Slovenian Theatre Institute, Ljubljana
Climate change, sustainable development and the green transition are buzzwords that have been circulating a lot lately. There is a growing awareness that these issues are not just about the findings of the natural sciences or the search for primarily technological solutions but that the humanities and social sciences should also contribute their perspectives and approaches. New philosophical, social and political paradigms have been emerging in relation to global warming, environmental disasters and the threat of extinction of species, including the human species.
Slovenian Theatre Institute, Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television of the University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana Puppet Theatre and Amfiteater – Journal of Performing Arts Theory organise an International Academic Symposium, that aims to reflect on ecology and climate change in relation to drama, theatre, performing arts and hybrid practices (e.g., performance art, (new) media art). There will be 22 lectures, given by Slovenian and foreign presenters who will examine how to respond to the impending catastrophe and how art can contribute to the green transition. These issues will be examined through the analysis of examples of performances (and other artworks) that address them.
We invite theatre researchers, practitioners, students and other to join us with their own views and perspectives. The working languages of the symposium will be Slovenian and English.
Thursday, 9 October 2025
9.30: Opening of the symposium:
Alida Bevk, MA, Prof, Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television, University of Ljubljana
Gašper Troha, PhD, Slovenian Theatre Institute
9.45
Plenary lecture
Petra Ježková: Cutting Down Trees as a Dramatic and Performative Metaphor of Vulnerability
10.30: discussion
10.45: coffee break
11.00
First session
Moderator: Barbara Orel
Knut Ove Arntzen: Arctic Conditions for Dramaturgy
Kristina Pranjić: Water as Method: The Hydro-Poetic Avant-Garde in the Northern Adriatic
Gašper Troha: Nonhuman Actors in Slovenian Drama
Mateja Pezdirc Bartol: The Secret Life of Trees in the Theatre Productions of Žiga Divjak
12.20: discussion
12.45: lunch
14.30
Second session
Moderator: Gašper Troha
Panel
Bruna Bonanno, Maria Paola Zedda, Giada Cipollone, Anja Dimitrijević, Teresa Masini:
Eco-Epistemologies. Transdisciplinary Horizons in Performance
16.10: discussion
16.20
Tin Grabnar, Ajda Rooss: Project Transport
16.40: coffee break
17.10
Third session
Moderator: Zala Dobovšek
Milena Mileva Blazić: The Ecocriticism in Svetlana Makarovič’s Fairy Tales
Tery Žeželj: Complex Entanglements in Naturecultures: Narrating with Gardens
Saška Rakef, Pia Brezavšček: Sonic Beginnings: Dramaturgies of Care and Ecological Sensibility
18.10: discussion
Friday, 10 October 2025
10.00
Plenary lecture
Janez Strehovec, Maja Murnik: Fire: An Essay on the Producer of Flames on the Stage and Beyond
10.45: discussion
11.00: coffee break
11.15
Fourth session
Moderator: Maja Murnik
Lada Čale Feldman: The Deliberative Ecology of Kyoto
Zala Dobovšek: Ecofeminism in Contemporary Performing Arts
Eszter M. Polonyi, Sašo Grozdanov: Expanding Normative Thinking: Black Holes in the Arts and Beyond
12.15: discussion
12.30: lunch
14.00
Fifth session
Moderator: Gašper Troha
Narvika Bovcon: Artistic Modelling of a Sustainable Balance between Human and Non-Human Actors
Kaja Kraner: Environmental Imaginaries in Contemporary Performing Arts in Slovenia
Aleš Vaupotič: From Egology to Ecology: The Ethics of Infosphere and New Media Art
Jatun Risba: Vital Materiality in the Art Film Series A Tree Doesn’t Fall Far From the Mountain
15.20: final discussion of the symposium
Archival videos of the symposium
Heads of the symposium:: Maja Murnik and Janez Strehovec.
Organising committee: Zala Dobovšek, Maja Murnik, Barbara Orel, Mateja Pezdirc Bartol, Janez Strehovec and Gašper Troha.
The symposium is organised by:
The Slovenian Theater Institute (SLOGI) is a national public institution founded in 2014 as the legal successor of the Slovenian Theater Museum. The institute's mission is the development of theater culture and the promotion of theater art, which is realized through research, study, interpretation, promotion, preservation, documentation and presentation of Slovenian theater culture, theater heritage and theater art in the Slovenian and international space.
The Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television of the University of Ljubljana (UL AGRFT) performs educational, artistic and research work in the fields of theatre, radio, film and television. From its founding in 1945 to 1975, it operated as an independent higher education institution with a rector and then became a member of the University of Ljubljana.
The Ljubljana Puppet Theatre is a contemporary theatre that operates at the intersection of classical puppet forms and contemporary performance poetics. The primary target audience is young adults, and with its puppet shows for young audiences, the theatre co-creates the contemporary field of European performing arts. The theatre operates five permanent venues, where it stages ten premieres a year, and with more than 110,000 visitors annually, it is one of the most visited Slovenian theatres. With its constant presence on the international scene, the theatre has established itself as one of the most important players in this part of the region, while the international festival of contemporary puppetry LUTKE enjoys a reputation as one of the most important puppetry events in Europe.
The Amfiteater – Journal of Performing Arts Theory is a scientific journal that publishes original articles on performing arts with a broad spectrum from dramatic theatre, drama, dance, performance and hybrid art forms. Authors can analyse the forms and content of artwork and art phenomena from the field of performing arts, their history, their present and their future, as well as their relationship to other art forms and the broader (social, cultural, political …) context.
The symposium is organised in cooperation with the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television, University of Ljubljana (UL AGRFT) within the framework of the research programme Theatre and Interart Studies (P6-0376), co-financed by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS) from the state budget.
