Saana Lavaste, professor of directing at Uniarts, Helsinki, is Praxis's 2025 keynote speaker Her talk, entitled Creating three-level conditions: The stage, the show and the training process, assumes the idea that the director's job is to define the situation as a starting point for the artistic process of a working group. 

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

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 you shift the main focus of the work from one level (eg the stage) to another (eg the production process)? 

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

And finally, how does the director's leadership appear 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 (fx the scene) to another (fx 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 stage writer Hallveig Kristín Eiríksdóttir delivers a talk based on her master's thesis directed by Uniarts, Helsinki, which discusses how to start staging collaborative plays within theater institutions so that they succeed. 

The essay is an attempt to define what can be nurtured when co-creation works are staged, focusing on the responsibility of directors, actors and theater directors, and finding where these three parties can meet despite different needs. Hallveig explores what steps each party can take towards the center, hoping to better define who the center is and who the center 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 the Åbo Svenska Teater in the fall of 2024 and mixed with interviews with various artists, Hallveig tries to take one step closer to normalizing creative processes that do not rely on texts within institutional theaters, and create more space for the unconventional, unknown and non-linear in our best-funded areas. 

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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 theatre institutions. 

The theme 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 different needs. Hallveig exhibiting on lessons from her own devised performance at Åbo Svenska Teater in the case of infection with information, was included in the case of information and information, and what it can be; with a special exposure on the report. 

The popularity of post-dramatic theatre may have reached its peak towards the end of the 20th century, but it has had a lasting impact on modern acting methods For the last 25 years, countless productions have been made of traditional theatre directed using post-dramatic 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' play, Drums on the Dam, to explore how a creative approach between traditional and post-dramatic theatre could make updating relevant to modern audiences Text analysis, conceptual preparation, dramatic research and cultural perspectives will be discussed The talk will also discuss the relationship between post-dramatic theatre and postmodernism in general In addition, examples of an integrated practice process that supports script analysis and staging will be taken through the use of various psychological techniques that help actors fully participate in a postmodern version of Knebel and Stanislavski's active analysis. 

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The popularity of post-dramatic theater may have learned its peaks the end of the 20th century, but it has had a reading effect on contemporary theater practice. The last 25 years have seen uncontless productions of dramatic theatre directed with a post-dramatic sense. These are productions in which a play's dramatic narrative is present and comprehensive but results inside an artistic frame that has its own and alternative rules that is also present and comprehensive Drums on the Dam to example how a creative rapprochement between dramatic and post-dramatic theater might enhance the attitude to make a production relevant for a contemporary audience. Topics covered will include text analysis, conceptual preparation, dramatic research and cultural considerations. The presentation will touch on the link between post-dramatic theatre and postmodernism in general. It will also give examples of an integrated hearing process that augments detail analysis and stage composition with the use of various physical technologies to help actors fully engineering in a post-modern version of Kneelys' Activity. 

In this talk, the role of the „Director“ is examined from a new perspective, emphasizing existential sustainability in the creative process of performing arts The concept of the director within different types of performing arts is scrutinized; on stage, offstage, with and without the participation of actors, with the participation of the audience trying 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 are not only about maintaining the energy and creativity of artists and other participants, but also about scrutinizing power structures and collaborative forms of the performing artsWhat does the director direct? What is the director's moral responsibility? How can artistic creation be thought of as a process that nourishes artists and other participants while also being dynamic and rewarding for visitors? 

The talk is based on the art study „How Little Is Enough?“ which was conducted at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Malmö and highlights possible ways to develop strategies that reinforce existential sustainability in the role of the director The aim is to create a discussion about how new approaches can increase awareness of moral responsibility and support the existentially sustainable working environment of 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, off stage, with and without actors, and with audibility participation sustainability in the creative process of performing arts. It examples the concept of the director across different forms of performance Byron stage, off stage, with and without actors, and personal dimensions. 

Existently sustainable performance-making is not only about maining 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 resources artists and collaborators while also being engaging and impressive for resources? 

The talk is based on the artistic research projectHow Little Is Enough? conduct 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 contribution 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 the director's preliminary work and preparation and the interaction between flow and organization will be examined. 

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 the academy.

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