Expanding the Dramaturgical Possibilities In the Age of Digitalization and Polarization

A hallmark of a functioning democracy has been — and remains — a functioning public sphere: a shared, polyphonic space for expressing and contesting opinions, maintaining a relative balance among various actors and interests. In response to the privatized discourse of social media, driven by “likes” and “dislikes,” the rise of artificial intelligence challenging trust and intellectual property, and the decline of traditional cultural journalism, this project seeks dramaturgical strategies and formats that can serve as bulwarks and counterforces to the fragmenting tendencies of today’s public sphere.

The Concept of “Samhøring” ((Co)hearing)

The idea of “Samhøring” is rooted in a belief in the performing arts as an advanced kind of “campfire” — a space for reflection, concentration, and dialogue. The term itself implies three dramaturgical building blocks: First, the importance of “hearing”, emphasizing listening (not just seeing) theatre. Secondly “Hearing together”, the difference between listening alone and listening attentively together with others at the same time and space (co-presence). And finally, “Samhøring” as a possibility for creating new communities, cultivating new forms of resonance and collective understanding in a context marked by individualization and fragmentation.

The guiding research question becomes:
What dramaturgical parameters and strategies can facilitate such “Co-hearings”?

This encompasses spatial arrangements between performers and audiences, actor techniques, the composition of auditory environments, and the integration of music and musicians into the dramaturgical/performance framework. Additionally, this also implies the critical awareness of dramaturgical practices that could obstruct such experiences.

Methodological Approach: The concept of the Étude

From a methodological perspective the research process relates heavily on the concept of études, as it is developed and articulated in Tore Vagn Lids Book Reflexive Dramaturgy - Études for the (performing) arts in a time of change (Cappelen Damm 2018). Drawing inspiration from classical music’s approach to études — where isolated techniques are practiced over time before being integrated into larger compositions — this principle is adapted here into a broader artistic research methodology.

In collaboration with various presenters and partners, the different études will be developed and incorporated into a “suite” of public presentations (“Samhøringer”). Each étude represents a specific, manageable investigation based on distinct artistic focuses and participants.

The practical ambition is a longitudinal concretization (operationalization) of the research question, where different areas of focus (and different involved participants) serve as the basis for specific investigations and exercises. Examples include étude-based work exploring the relationship between performer and spectator, the development of interplay between live performance and radio drama ("radio theatre"), an investigation into the book ("reading drama") and the dramaturgy of reading, as well as auditory and visual experiments aimed at creating shared experiential spaces (ambient rooms) through the interplay of sound design and live music.