The amateur theater has repeatedly played the role of a place where theatrical changes take place. Whether it was the beginnings of professional theater in our country (Dramatic Society), alternative theater groups (e.g. Living Theatre, Gledališče Pupilije Ferkeverk, EG Glej, Pekarna) or the promotion of contemporary dance. The rise of the precariat nowadays once again opens up the questions of different possibilities of professional and semi-professional activities in culture. Nevertheless, amateur theater is rarely the subject of scholarly interest. The present symposium will try to fill this gap. It will focus on the historical role of amateur theater in Slovenia, on the current image of some theatrical phenomena (theatre of the oppressed, Škofjeloš passion, Čufarjevi dnevi, children's groups...) and on the search for parallels with amateur theater in some other European countries (Denmark, Estonia, Malta, Hungary, Netherlands, Switzerland, Great Britain). The scientific symposium is complemented by a round table on the state and opportunities of amateur theater today.
The symposium will be held in Slovenian and English.
Symposium leader: Maja Šorli
International Preparatory Committee: Maja Šorli, Gašper Troha, Nika Leskovšek, Anneli Saro, Joshua Edelman, Vicki Ann Cremona
Program of the symposium
FRIDAY, November 8, 2019
9:00 a.m. to 9:20 a.m
Arrival and registration
Introductory address
9.30-11.30
Tomaž Toporišič:
Between the seduction and suspicion of the experimental, the amateur and the professional
Barbara Orel:
Amateur theater and alternative theater of the seventies
Ana Kocjančič:
Valo Bratina: architectural and scenographic work for folk and working-class stages (Hrastnik, Duplica, Trbovlje, Štore, Vrhnika, Ljubljana (Moste, Bežigrad) etc.)
Ana Vrtovec Beno:
"This is what is most ours!"
Preservation, presentation and use of cultural heritage through examples of amateur theatre
Discussion: 11:00-11:30
BREAK: 11.30-12.00
12.00–13.20
Quirijn L. van den Hoogen:
Deep in the province: a proposal for a comparative study on the role of culture and art in the periphery of the European space
Louise Ejgod Hansen:
Participatory theater as a challenge to the strict demarcation between professional and amateur theater
Attila Szabó:
The National English-Language Drama Theater Festival in Veszprém, Hungary: Artistic Development, Social Functions and Local Community Building
Discussion: 13:00-13:20
LUNCH: 13:20-15:00
15:00–17:30
Aldo Milohnić:
The workers' stage and the amateur effect of the "proletarian play"
Barbara Polajnar:
Theater of the Oppressed as a form of artistic theater in Slovenia
Tomaž Krpič:
"Passion is healing!"
Elements and contradictions of the theater community Škofjeloški passion
Kaja Novosel:
Čufarjev days - a festival of culture in Jesenice
Manica Maver:
Speech and theater education in children's and youth drama groups
Discussion: 16:40-17:30
SATURDAY, November 9, 2019
9:30 a.m.–11:10 a.m
Gasper Troha:
Image and self-image of amateur theater in Slovenia
Anneli Saro, Hedi-Liis Toome:
Challenges of Estonian amateur theatre
Beate Schappach:
Research on amateur theater in Switzerland
Vicki Ann Cremona, Marco Galea:
From cultural politics to amateur theater and back
Hans van Maanen, Marline Lisette Wilders:
On the relationship between the complexity and competence of the spectator experience: A comparison of amateur and professional theater and their audiences
BREAK: 11.10-11.30
11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m
Round table: Amateur theater and its role today
Amateur theater has played various roles in history. From educational, religious, national awakening to dissident. What is the role of amateur theater today? What is its place in the Slovenian cultural space?
Participants: Barbara Orel, Marko Bratuš, Aleksandra Kmetič (KUD Trzin), Peter Militarev, Gojmir Lešnjak – Gojc
Moderator: Matjaž Šmalc, JSKD
The Slovenian Theater Institute in cooperation with the Amphitheater, the research group of the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television of the University of Ljubljana, the Public Fund of the Republic of Slovenia for Cultural Activities and the international research group STEP (Project for the Research of European Theater Systems).
The symposium was held in cooperation with UL AGRFT within the framework of the research program Theater and inter-art research (P6-0376), which is co-financed by the Public Research Agency of the Republic of Slovenia from the state budget.
Videos of the symposium
Barbara Orel: Amateur theater and alternative theater of the seventies
Ana Kocjančič: Valo Bratina: architectural and scenographic work for folk and working-class stages (Hrastnik, Duplica, Trbovlje, Štore, Vrhnika, Ljubljana (Moste, Bežigrad) etc.)
Aldo Milohnić: The workers' stage and the amateur effect of the "proletarian play"
Barbara Polajnar: Theater of the Oppressed as a form of artistic theater in Slovenia
Tomaž Krpič: "Passion is healing!", Elements and contradictions of the theater community Škofjeloški Passion
Kaja Novosel: Čufarjev days - a festival of culture in Jesenice
Manica Maver: Speech and theater education in children's and youth drama groups
Gasper Troha: Image and self-image of amateur theater in Slovenia
