Presentasjoner

Erlend J. Birkeland er utdannet billedkunstner på Statens kunstakademi. Han har arbeidet som scenograf siden 1988, og har ca 60 ulike teaterproduksjoner i Norge og Sverige, samt film. Sammen med Gard Eidsvold startet han Oslo Moderne Teater i 1996 som  bl. a. var ansvarlig for teaterproduksjonen ”Sult” av Hamsun. Han representerte Norge på den internationale Quadrinalen i Praha, med scenografien til ”Fuglane” i 1999. Han arbeider for tiden med Dostovjeskijs ”De besatte” på Stockholms Stadsteater og Riksteatrets produksjon av ”Birkeland og Eyde”.

Helen Nicholson is senior lecturer in drama and theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London, where she teaches courses in applied theatre, drama education and contemporary performance. Following a teaching career in secondary schools, Helen worked at the University of Cambridge where she trained teachers. Her most recent book is Applied Drama: The Gift of Theatre, published by Palgrave MacMillan.

Her lecture will begin by discussing the implications of the various terms used to describe dramatic practice in community and education contexts, and will suggest that the words used to describe the work is less important than the moral and ethical values which inform it. Following this, she will raise questions about the place of applied drama and drama/theatre pedagogy in an era of increasing globalisation. Particularly focused on the contribution drama might make to the education of young people, it will consider the role of drama in preparing them for a future world. Given the radical history of drama education, how might drama educators and applied theatre practitioners respond to the current climate? What new opportunities are presented? How can we ensure that the gift of theatre is always welcomed?