Theatre In Palm Residency – A multidisciplinary collaboration

From 12 to 23 August 2024, Intercult welcomed five international emerging artists to Stockholm for a two-week artistic residency as part of the Creative Europe project Theatre In Palm (TIP). Theatre in Palm’s aim is to provide a platform for European emerging artists e.g. by providing concrete opportunities for career advancement and internationalisation. This residency was focused on the collaboration between multidisciplinary artists, working on the themes of Social impact, Society, Environment and Sustainability.

Jana Nunčič, Sebastian Kurtén, Tilde Andersson, Martina Viglietti, William C. Woxlin and their mentor, the choreographer Robin Jonsson are introduced here.

Teater Giljotin

The residency took place at Teater Giljotin, a welcoming place that fosters creation, right in the heart of Stockholm. The artists had access to the stage area to experiment, improvise and develop their creative work, as well as to the cosy foyer, a space to sit down, exchange life experiences, discuss current cultural policies or share a fika break.

The creative process

On the initiative of Robin Jonsson, the artists familiarised themselves with the epic science fiction poem ‘Aniara’ by Harry Martinsson, and the film adaptation directed by Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja, which they drew their first inspiration from.

On the first day, the selected artists met and realised that each of them had expertise in different artistic domains, such as dance, sound, directing, acting, and set design, and that they shared overlapping complementary skills and interests.

The first two days were devoted to creative exercises led by Robin, to get to know each other, understand how each person works and learn to work together. For example, each of them created a short performance to present one another on stage in a creative way, and Robin introduced them to martial arts through a fun Tai-chi and Thai boxing lesson.

From the start they agreed that they wanted to create an actual performance together by the end of the residency.

The creation process started mainly with discussion inspired by the themes of the residency and the movie Aniara, in which oxygen supply in outer space is a concern.

This led them to research and inform themselves about the issues surrounding the lack of good air quality due to climate change and industrialization, and how this could develop in a dystopian future, if the irresponsible and unsustainable human actions continue. How would people survive and move around while lacking oxygen?

Then they started exploring on stage. Aware of the limited time frame, they experimented with everything they had. Inspiration was found in the material surrounding them and the physicality of objects (plastic, mics, vacuum cleaner, bowls…), as well as the movements learned from earlier martial art exercises.

The roles where naturally distributed according to each participants profession and skillset:

Sebastian focused on sound creation, Jana experimented with set design elements and lights, Tilde and Martina improvised and played around on stage, experimenting with physicality and voice, while William took on the director role and worked on the script. However, the creative process remained collaborative and multidisciplinary.

Final performance: “Anoxic Meditation”

The artists were able to present their work twice at Teater Giljotin: first for a general rehearsal at the end of the last residency week. Then during the Theatre Academy, a 3-day performing arts seminar in collaboration with Stockholm Fringe Festival 2024. For this second performance, a large audience came to see their work and the theatre was packed.

The spectators were immersed in an ethereal world, a futuristic meditation that invited them into a vision of a dystopian future. Everyone was impressed by the performance that the artists managed to create in such a short time and without having worked together before. The recorded version of the performance will be made available online, later this autumn.

“Nothing was heard, save a small but heavy and cumbersome breath of dusty air”

Anoxic Meditation is an experimental performance that combines movement, music, sound and text to highlight our impact on the Earth. In a dystopic and post-apocalyptic environment, where oxygen is low, the remaining humans try to survive and find moments of joy, beauty and stillness.

We would like to thank everyone who was a part of this amazing experience. Your passion and dedication has made this residency truly unforgettable!

Special thanks to Teater Giljotin, Stockholm Fringe Festival, the artists Martina Viglietti, Tilde Andersson, William C. Woxlin, Sebastian Kurtén, Jana Nunčič and their incredible mentor Robin Jonsson. It’s not goodbye, just see you soon at our next Theatre in Palm event! Let’s continue to inspire and be inspired!

With the support of the international programme of the Swedish Arts Grants Committee.