A scientific monograph by Tomaž Toporišič examines the repositioning of drama theory and performing arts practices in the time of intermedia and intercultural hybridity. Based on in-depth analyses of selected bodies of work by Slovenian playwrights and directors positioned withing the post-dramatic theatre paradigm (including Dušan Jovanović, Rudi Šeligo, Dragan Živadinov, Simona Semenič, etc.), the author examines the characteristics of contemporary playwriting and theatre based on de(con)struction, decentralization, alinearity, apparent alogic, abolition of binary relations actor – spectator, semiotic – phenomenal, reality – fiction, private – public, singularity – multitude. He argues that one part of the staging practices of the last hundred years – starting from the historical avant-garde in the first half of the 20th century and the neo-avant-garde in the 1960s – deliberately returned to media hybridity and connectivity, trying to combine traditionally separate arts and combine art with life. The monograph focuses on the idea that a drama or text in a dramatized society (R. Williams) have become the site of dynamic overlaps of epistemologies of different discourses and literary and staging tactics. Toporišič observes that the intertextual and intermedial dialogue in contemporary theatre has taken on the dimensions of the process of semiosis, while multiculturalism has been replaced by the creolization of cultures. The book is aimed at theatre scholars and researchers in the fields of cultural studies, humanities, and social sciences, as well as general audience interested in intercultural issues.
COBISS.SI-ID: 297337856
The central topic area examined in the scientific monograph Speech in Education Practices is spoken language as a learning content in the education system (including kindergarten, primary and secondary schools as well as universities and extracurricular education). The impetus for reflection on this topic evolved at four symposia on speech organized by the research group at the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in 2000, 2006, 2013, and 2019. It was observed that the participants often expressed their doubts on adequate and satisfactory attention devoted to speech in primary and secondary schools, and the ways of assessing oral expression at the secondary school leaving exam (matura). The scientific monograph includes articles by 33 Slovenian and foreign authors dealing with different views on speech pedagogy and critical evaluation of curricula and study programmes. It is intended for professional readers (facilitators and speech education planners) and members of general public who are aware that speech is not only a means of communication, but an important part of one’s rational and irrational being that defines one’s private and social role. The latter, in particular, is established also with regard to the individual’s speech self-confidence in public speaking situations. Systematic and high-quality teaching of speech in schools is a necessity that contributes significantly to the improvement of speech culture in general. Despite divergent speech and educational national policies, the monograph Speech in Education Practices is a publication of great relevance as a comparative reference for nationally diverse speech education systems, especially for Slavic countries, as the common linguistic etymology is also reflected in speech pedagogy. Due to its constructive critique of existing forms of (Slovenian) speech education, it can be expected that the book will provide an important starting point for evaluators of language and speech content facilitators in other countries. Presenting innovative methods of speech education, the contributions in the monograph are useful as case studies of good teaching practices and encouragement for Slovenian and foreign teachers. Moreover, the scientific monograph highlights the need for adequate speech education of teachers who regularly teach speech contents in other subjects. It also provides a basis for the evaluation of speech education in other countries.
COBISS.SI-ID: 303010560
The article discusses the development of Slovenian music in the period from the Spring of Nations to the end of the 19th century and its interdependence on socio-political currents. In this period, Slovenian music was integrally involved in the process of gaining national independence and utilized to express national culture. The creators of music were mostly amateurs and teachers, as well as musically educated doctors, lawyers, and military officers. The question arises whether music of this period, in its basic aims, was merely an instrument of propaganda for developing Slovenian sovereignty and was therefore intended for accentuation of national and patriotic emotions. Another question is whether the music of that period also developed its artistic potentials and to what an extent. The most characteristic Slovenian music of this period includes choral compositions (by Jurij Fleišman, Benjamin and Gustav Ipavec, Davorin Jenko, Fran Gerbič), following the example of the German Liedertafel as a distinct medium of nationality. Similar contents are found in the genre of Lied (Kamilo Maše, Benjamin Ipavec, Risto Savin), piano music (Miroslav Vilhar, Benjamin Ipavec), as well as in operetta and opera (Anton Foerster, Benjamin Ipavec, Viktor Parma, Risto Savin). Chamber and orchestra music were exempt due to the impossibility of reproductive ensembles and the absence of a language element as a concept of Slovenian identity, so they were not part of the national movement. The author also examines the extent and intensity of interdependence between Slovenian and German cultures which was a result of political power of the Austrian Empire that was for many centuries dominant and influential in the territory of the present-day Slovenia. The author also shows that within the stylistic characteristics of art music, there was a distinct interaction between German, Czech and the emerging Slovenian music culture. The study was published in a series of monographs entitled Musikgeschichte in Mittel- und Osteuropa. In the past, studies on the history of a variety of musical phenomena in Central and Eastern Europe have been hardly known in Western Europe. Therefore, in 1997 the Department of Musicology at the University of Leipzig founded the series in collaboration with Gudrun Schröder Verlag to publish the latest findings on musical phenomena from this geographical area and to disseminate them in musicological and cultural studies communities in Europe and worldwide. It is expected that the study by Darja Koter published in this prominent series will encourage comparative studies, especially in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe (Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia…). Like Slovenia, they were marked until the end of the First World War by a nationally heterogeneous population and a dominance of German language and general culture. The findings in the case study of Slovenia can be used as a reference point for research in ethnically diverse communities dealing with socio-political, language and general cultural inequality and where live music is part of a socially conditioned mass movement.
COBISS.SI-ID: 2844039
A thematic issue of Amfiteater, a scientific journal of performing arts theory, entitled Castration of the Political and Contemporary Slovenian Theatre (edited by Tomaž Toporišič) examines a condition of contemporary theatre, in which after 2010 there is a growing tendency towards presenting political engagement and political activism. But the political nature of theatre is apolitical (castrated) if its performing strategies – despite the direct address to the audience – remain outside a joint reflection on key social issues. Are we living in a world in which the castration of the political is complete, and the power of the individual, theatre and culture has been stripped away, as have been the sources of power? This is a key question that is at the heart of the debate. The authors (Lev Kreft, Blaž Lukan, Aldo Milohnić, Barbara Orel, Gašper Troha, Krištof Jacek Kozak, Tomaž Toporišič and Nenad Jelesijević) note that contemporary Slovenian theatre is aware of its social function; however, its real political scope is debatable, since satisfying the need for critique can also be a generator of a merely apparent political stance that bears no real impact on social change. It is at this point that the field of castration of the political in contemporary Slovenian theatre begins. The thematic issue of the Amfiteater journal is of interest not only for Slovenian readers, but also generally, as the castration of politics is one of the essential elements of neoliberal capitalism.
COBISS.SI-ID: 4525403
In the years 2009–2015, a comparison of theatre systems in seven smaller European cities was conducted and named the STEP City Study. Dr Maja Šorli, a member of the programme group was one of the STEP research team members and is listed as the first author of the article. The study included empirical reception research, conducted with an extensive questionnaire, and qualitative research comprised of focus groups and interviews with audience members. One of the surprising results showed that, generally, the spectators enjoyed the performances a lot, but at the same time, did not rate them as very personally or socially relevant. That is why we decided to explore the notion of relevance in this article, or in other words, to examine what we are measuring when we ask the audience if the performance was relevant for them. In this study, we combine reception research and performance analysis of the shows that were evaluated as the most personally or socially relevant. The shows had either existential or contemporary political topics, were created in rather traditional ways, and did not stand out in any particularly innovative theatrical approach. We also conclude that relevance is a complex issue expressed in different dimensions of theatrical experience and cannot be straightforwardly measured. Theatre constantly aims to form opinion on the issues of personal and social relevance of its own medium. This study is one of the first examples of analysing the responses of a large number of audience members combined with performance analyses. In the introduction the study refers to some partial research studies of the theatrical experience which were conducted either on very small and unrepresentative samples, or else they analyse the responses to individual outstanding theatrical performances in capital cities. In contrast, the present study is based on the empirical results of theatre reception obtained in the comparative European City Study as part of the STEP project, with more than 5,800 completed questionnaires on productions of various genres and public acclaim. The data are interpreted by way of the analysis of performances of selected theatrical events from Estonia and the United Kingdom, combining two methods, qualitative and quantitative, which also opens up new methodological approaches. Such research studies have not been found in the available literature so far, so the international STEP group is working on a scientific monograph to be published by the prominent Routledge publishing house in its series on audience research (Theatre & Performance Series and Audience Research).
COBISS.SI-ID: 4670299