Saana Lavaste, Professor of Directing at Uniarts, Helsinki, is the keynote speaker at Praxis 2025. Her talk, entitled Creating a three-level environment: The stage, the performance, and the rehearsal process, is based on the idea that the director's job is to define a situation as a starting point for the artistic process of a working group. 

If dramatic situations are defined by the six questions (Who, What, Where, When, How, and Why), how does the director answer these questions at three different stages of the play? 

How could the same artistic vision be interpreted at all three levels, as well as in the production process? 

How does the director's job change if one shifts the main focus of the work from one level (eg the stage) to another (eg the production process)? 

How do questions about themes and subjects become reality at these different levels? 

And finally, how does the director's leadership manifest itself at these different levels? 

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Saana Lavaste, professor of directing at Uniarts, Helsinki, is the keynote speaker of Praxis 2025. Her talk, titled Creating the three-level situation: The scene, the performance and the production process, starts from the idea that the work of the director is to define a situation as a starting point for the artistic process of the working group.   

If a dramatic situation is defined by the six questions (Who, What, Where, When, How and Why), how does the director answer these questions in three different levels of the work? 

How could the same artistic vision be expressed on all three levels, as well as on the level of the production process? 

How does the work of the director change if one shifts the main focus of the work from one level (e.g. the scene) to another (e.g. the production process)?    

How do questions of theme and subject matter actualize in these different levels?   

And finally, how does the director's leadership manifest in these different levels? 

Director and playwright Hallveig Kristín Eiríksdóttir will present a talk based on her master's thesis in directing from Uniarts, Helsinki, which discusses how to successfully stage co-created plays within theater institutions. 

The essay is an attempt to define what can be fostered when co-creation works are staged, with an emphasis on the responsibilities of the director, actors and theatre manager, and to find where these three parties can meet despite their different needs. Hallveig explores what steps each party can take towards the middle, in the hope of better defining what the middle is and what the middle can be; with a special emphasis on the director's responsibility in the process. In light of the experience gained from her own co-creation work at Åbo Svenska Teater in the fall of 2024 and in combination with interviews with various artists, Hallveig attempts to take one step closer to normalizing non-textual creative processes within institutional theatres, and to create more space for the unconventional, the unknown and the nonlinear in our best-funded fields. 

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Director and performance maker Hallveig Kristín Eiríksdóttir will do a presentation based on her MA thesis in Directing from Uniarts, Helsinki, which discusses how to successfully stage devised performances within theater institutions. 

The thesis is an attempt to define what can be fostered when aiming to stage devised performances, with a focus on the responsibilities of the director, actors and theater manager, and to find where these three parties can meet despite their different needs. Hallveig explores what steps each party can take towards the middle-ground, in the hope of also defining what the middle-ground is and what it can be; with a special emphasis on the director's responsibility in the process. Drawing on lessons from her own devised performance at Åbo Svenska Teater in the fall of 2024, in combination with interviews with various artists, Hallveig attempts to take one step closer to normalizing non-textual creative processes within institutional theatres, and to create more space for the unconventional, the unknown and the nonlinear in our best-funded stages. 

Postdramatic theatre may have peaked in popularity towards the end of the 20th century, but it has had a lasting impact on contemporary theatre practices. Over the past 25 years, there have been countless adaptations of traditional theatre directed using postdramatic methods. These are performances in which the dramatic narrative of a play is visible but belongs to an artistic framework that has its own non-linear rules of play that are also visible. In the talk, director and professor Kevin Kuhlke uses his own adaptation of Helene Cixous's play, Drums on the Dam, to explore how a creative approach between traditional and postdramatic theatre could make a production relevant to contemporary audiences. Textual analysis, ideological preparation, dramaturgical research and cultural perspectives will be discussed. The talk will also discuss the relationship between postdramatic theatre and postmodernism in general. In addition, examples of an integrated training process that supports script analysis and staging using various psychological methods that help actors fully participate in a postmodern version of Knebel and Stanislavski's active analysis will be given. 

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The popularity of post-dramatic theater may have reached its peak towards the end of the 20th century, but it has had a lasting effect on contemporary theater practice. The last 25 years have seen countless productions of dramatic theater directed with a post-dramatic sensibility. These are productions in which a play's dramatic narrative is present and comprehensible but resides inside an artistic frame that has its own non-narrative performative rules that are also present and comprehensible. This talk will use my production of Helene Cixous' play Drums on the Dam to examine how a creative rapprochement between dramatic and post-dramatic theater might enhance the attempt to make a production relevant for a contemporary audience. Topics covered will include text analysis, conceptual preparation, dramaturgical research and cultural considerations. The presentation will touch on the link between post-dramatic theater and postmodernism in general. It will also give examples of an integrated rehearsal process that augments detailed script analysis and stage composition with the use of various psycho-physical techniques to help actors fully engage in a post-modern version of Knebel's/Stanislavski's Active Analysis. 

This talk examines the role of the "director" from a new perspective, emphasizing existential sustainability in the creative process of performing arts. It explores the concept of the director within different types of performing arts; on stage, off stage, with and without actor participation, with audience participation. It attempts to redefine the role of the director in a context that calls for increased awareness of the balance between artistic, social, and personal aspects. 

Existentially sustainable performing arts is not only about sustaining the energy and creativity of artists and other participants, but also about examining the power structures and forms of collaboration in performing arts. What does the director direct? What is the director's ethical responsibility? How can artistic creation be conceived as a process that nourishes artists and other participants while also being dynamic and rewarding for visitors? 

The talk is based on the artistic research "How Little is Enough?" conducted at the Malmö Academy of Dramatic Arts and highlights possible ways to develop methods that strengthen existential sustainability in the role of the director. The aim is to create a discussion about how new approaches can increase awareness of ethical responsibility and support an existentially sustainable working environment for performing artists. 

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The Sustainable Director – Considering Existential Sustainability in the Performing Arts 

This talk explores the role of the director from a new perspective, emphasizing existential sustainability in the creative process of performing arts. It examines the concept of the director across different forms of performance—on stage, off stage, with and without actors, and with audience participation—seeking to redefine the role in a context that calls for greater awareness of the balance between artistic, social, and personal dimensions. 

Existentially sustainable performance-making is not only about maintaining the energy and creative drive of artists and participants but also about critically examining power structures and collaborative models in the performing arts. What does the director control? What is their ethical responsibility? How can artistic creation be understood as a process that nourishes artists and collaborators while also being engaging and impactful for audiences? 

The talk is based on the artistic research project How Little Is Enough? conducted at Malmö Theater Academy and presents possible approaches for developing methods that support existential sustainability in directing. The aim is to foster discussion on how new perspectives can enhance awareness of ethical responsibility and contribute to a more sustainable working environment for performing artists. 

Directors Una Þorleifsdóttir and Gréta Kristín Ómarsdóttir hold a panel on directing under the title Do I need to prepare? Different methods of directorial preparation and the interaction between flow and organization will be explored. 

Guests: Adolf Smári Unnarsson, Egill Pálsson & Saana Lavaste.

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Directors Una Þorleifsdóttir and Gréta Kristín Ómarsdóttir will host a panel discussion on directing titled Do I need to prepare? They will explore different methods of pre-production and directorial preparation, and the dialogue between the performing arts scene and academia.

Guests: Adolf Smári Unnarsson, Egill Pálsson & Saana Lavaste.