The Institutet för
Scenkonst (Institute for Scenic Art) is a laboratory theatre and an international
meeting point for artists. It was founded in 1971 in Storhögen (Sweden)
by Ingemar Lindh who directed it until his death in 1997.
1976 marked the start of a nomadic period for the group with work all around Europe and stays in Switzerland, France, Spain, and Italy. In 1984 the group established its base in Italy, renting an old theatre building, the Teatro della Rosa, in Pontremoli. The International Centre for Auto Pedagogy and Theatre Research was founded at this period, as was the yearly pedagogical project 'University of Theatre'. In 1985 the Institutet formalises its stay in Italy and constitutes itself also as the Italian Cultural Association 'Istituto di Arte Scenica'.
Since 1998 the Institutet för Scenkonst has been based once again in Sweden (Munkängen, Nygård) under the direction of Magdalena Pietruska and Roger Rolin. In 2006 we founded X-Project, an international network of performing artists, that since 2008 carry out 'Imagine...', a project for theatre research and socio-cultural interaction aimed at small villages and suburbs.
Our
theatre work, which embraces performances as well as pedagogy, is based
on our laboratory research work on the art of the actor. The distinctive
features of this work are an emphasis on the actor as auteur, collective
improvisation, and performance conceived as an ongoing process.
Throughout its history, the Institutet för Scenkonst has been a touring
group with a base in small villages and communities. Apart from producing
our own performances and pedagogical projects, we work internationally by
directing performances for other theatre groups and by giving seminars and
talks at universities, drama schools, and other situations.
For
further reading: Stepping Stones by Ingemar Lindh (Icarus Publishing
Enterprise, 2010/Routledge, 2013); in Swedish: Stenar att gå på
(Gidlunds förlag, 2003), and in Italian: Pietre di guado (Bandecchi
& Vivaldi, 1998)
