Theater und Schule: An Introduction to Museum Theatre as a Method

Education happens in many places. Beyond the school or university context, museums provide a platform for life-long learning. Methods of theatre can serve well as one of several interpretive tools in museum education to get curatorial messages across. But how does theatre in museums or heritage sites actually work? Can it provide more than just entertainment? How does it remain lively and empathetic in spite of sticking to facts and figures?
The talk explores some terminology and methodology of museum theatre (or live interpretation, as it is also called) and gives plenty of examples from across the globe. It aims to open up the vista of what is possible over and above the regular costumed guided tour that is so common in museums nowadays, and how theatre can serve as a means to capture immaterial heritage and vanishing ways of life, or foster empathy and instigate critical discussion.
The lecturer is current Chairperson of IMTAL Europe, the International Museum Theatre Alliance (see www.imtaleurope.com).