DFL-NTNU Symposium

Drama for Life (DFL) and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) will host this symposium.

This second DFL-NTNU Symposium will offer a critical moment for delegates to engage with cutting-edge theorising and definitions, based on Drama for Life’s praxis in the discipline of Applied Drama and Theatre Studies.

 Within the current post-democracy context, questions about the role of education, media, and the arts and culture have become burning issues. Applied Drama and Theatre praxis has historically held the mantle of an informed and engaged approach to social change, particularly within the South African context. The post-truth era has seen a rise in populism, nationalism and violence. This, coupled with on-going psycho-social trauma in the post-war context of South Africa, has challenged the assumption that Applied Drama and Theatre is ‘naturally’ a liberatory force.  It is timely that we engage in a rigorous dialogue about Applied Drama and Theatre Studies and praxis from a theoretical, methodological and systemic point of view. It is a space begging for engagement. There is an urgent need to foster a training that is rooted in a human rights and social justice discourse, supported by people-centred arts-based approaches, and enhanced by partnerships that build meaningful relationships between academic, public and community arts spaces. The DFL-NTNU Symposium offers an opportunity for us to create a platform to begin this process.

Teachers, artists, students and researchers of Applied Drama and Theatre, who care about our societies and our human conditions, are invited to attend this 1-day symposium focused on the following questions:

• How can we effectively use the arts, without compromising its aesthetic power, to bring about meaningful, sustainable social transformation and healing in post-democratic and post-war contexts?
• What role can Applied Drama and Theatre play in seeking political inclusion that invites a variety of viewpoints especially the stories of the unheard and unseen?
• What are community arts practitioners doing to develop multimodal aesthetic understandings in the context of democratic agency?
• What role can cultural leadership play in fostering effective, ethical and sustainable Applied Drama and Theatre projects?
• How can we leverage university-society collaboration and strengthen existing relationships between academic partners and Applied Drama and Theatre partners in the field?
• How can we together learn to be resilient in our Applied Drama and Theatre praxis, without compromising our humanity, as we engage with the enormous challenges of change in the 21st century?

This 2^nd symposium forms part of the 'Democracy through Theatre' partnership project between Drama for Life, based at the University of Witwatersrand’s School of Arts, and the Department of Arts and Media Studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The project aims to strengthen applied drama and theatre collaborative projects, applied theatre postgraduate education and research through course development, and student and teacher exchange by jointly addressing a thematic focus of investigation: contemporary and crucial issues of global democracy with specific reference to Norway and South Africa. The 1^st NTNU-DFL symposium was staged in Norway in November, 2017.

For the full programme, please follow this link DFL_NTNU Symposium Programme

Registration Fee:

Private Practitioners/Corporates: R300
Wits Staff/NGOs: R150

Students: Free (on presentation of a valid student card)

No card payments will be accepted at the venue. Please send an email if an invoice is required for EFT or cash payments.

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