My name is Livia and I’m a graduating student (2016-2019) at Norwegian Theatre Academy at hiOf, doing my last year in the actor-department.
From 1 of October 2018 to 1 January 2019 I spend my semester in Stockholm, Sweden where I was doing an internship at Turteatern (http://turteatern.se/), an institution making experimental theatre. I was going to be an actor in the performance Vikings of Helgeland directed by Marie Bakken Nikazm. (http://turteatern.se/2017/08/16/hon-blir-ny-konstnarlig-ledare-pa-turteatern/) I knew I wanted to go to Stockholm because of trying out the skills as an actor I got form NTA, working intensively with character, voice and ensemble work in a production outside of school.
In the production we started everyday with voice warm up and continue with going into rehearsing scenes. We worked both with long movement improvisations and also with text-scenes. Already the first day at the theatre we started reading the script, the actors were talented and skilled and I had to, from day one, throw myself into the role of being an actor. Except playing theatre from early morning until late afternoon, I took ballet classes once a week; I wanted to work with something really structured and concrete with many rules. This, because during the dayss on the theatre we were working with the unknown. I also started capoeira twice a week, this because I wished to get to know people outside of the theatre.
Doing an internship at an institutional theatre created encounters with actors that had other backgrounds and education then me. Going away for three months as an actor was a rehearsal of how I could adapt my knowledge and improvisations-skills in a production outside of NTA. I figured out that it is possible to intertwine and offer my energy in improvisations with tools I learned in NTA. And now when I’m back I feel that I bring back skills I learned from the other actors at the theatre. In the project I was focused being a performer, which is what I want to do when I graduate from NTA. I fully used voice, my body in improvisation and worked hard together with people that I didn’t knew from before. Creating a lot of material, in short time, work with live-composing was challenging to me, I never knew what I did was enough but doing it a lot made me trust myself and my acting-tools and now I know that I’m able to work in this way.
I hope to work again with the director and the actors after I graduate from NTA.
In the future I will use the methods I learned by working with this director. We were working with costume, light, sounds and scenography simultaneously; every thing had its own space in the production. Another tool I will remember is alternative ways of reaching audiences. We did the whole play within the duration of 12 shows; none of the shows were the same. The rehearsals continued between the shows, and the last show was showed at New Years Eve. Doing a theatre play in the dramaturge with episodes felt like an accessible way for the audience to engage in theatre.
Going from Norway to Sweden was not a long travel, my parents picked me up at the train-station and I was staying at my sisters’ apartment that was empty at that time. Coming to the theatre-institution was more of a challenge, and then I was happy around the comfortable circumstances regarding living situation. I grew up in Stockholm but I have not lived there since 8 years and going back to roots, where everything started for me and the theatre, was an emotional and important trip because know where you comes from effects the way you act, both in life and on stage. Stockholm is the capital city and it is quit expensive to live. Transportation with metro cost monthly 1100 sek, an apartment cost at least 4000 a month but food is much cheaper then Norway. I was lucky to have my family living in Stockholm; they often invited me to dinner.
If someone from the acting department is thinking of going on an exchange/internship I truly recommend them to go. You really get a perspective on what the world outside of school can be like, you are orientating yourself with your skills outside your comfort zone, that makes you trust more you capacity of being able to do difficult tasks. Coming back from the internship is also a learning curve, now I know more clear what I want to focus on during my last time in Fredrikstad. Its has also been a way for me to get to know what I appreciate in my education in Fredrikstad.
