Center for performing arts archive formation, research, and dissemination at Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium
Short introduction
About
KUBEN: Center for Performing Arts Archive Formation, Research, and Dissemination is a department under Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium that runs the internal archive at the theatre and develops and initiates projects within archiving and performing arts.
Background
KUBEN is located on the top floor of the theatre, where the internal archive is housed. The archive (re)presents a valuable collection of historical documents that can be dated all the way back to the beginning of Odin Teatret in Oslo, 1964.
Under the direction of Mirella Schino, the first extensive archive creation at the theater took place from 2008-2015. During these years, Schino and her colleagues collected, recorded, and cataloged documentation from the first 50 years of the theatre's history. Schino has described this work in The Odin Teatret Archives, a book which, by virtue of its detailed inventory list and detailed descriptions of the archive's holdings, constitutes an indispensable guide to the documents, photographs, and audiovisual material available in the archive.
The establishment of the Odin Teatret Archives (OTA) was supported by Aarhus University. For a long time, the archive had center status as part of Aarhus University under the name Center for Theatre Laboratory Studies (CTLS).
There has always been – even before the establishment of the archive – a strong tradition of documentation at the theatre. This culture, where the traces from the artistic, educational, scientific, and administrative processes have been given importance from the beginning, is the basis for the testimony that the existing collection constitutes.
Young company. Great history
At the beginning of 2023, the theatre completed a planned generational change. Per Kap Bech Jensen took over management of Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium from the former artistic director and founder of Odin Teatret, Eugenio Barba. Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium has, throughout the years, worked as an umbrella organisation for ensembles, including Odin Teatret, who have had their home in Særkærparken. Today, Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium is no longer an umbrella for such independent groups of artists but works instead as a theatre in its own right.
KUBEN is responsible for establishing and maintaining a new functional archival program for Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium. In addition, KUBEN is concerned with developing and strengthening young stage artists' awareness of themselves as archive creators. Therefore, we offer education, talks, and workshops, which support a personal documentation practice as part of a perhaps a short-lived work practice.
Library
KUBEN manages an internal library which is open to anyone with an interest in theatre and performance studies. The library is built on the basis of donations and contains, among other things, the book collections of Ove Sprogø, Torgier Wethal, and Christian Ludvigsen. The library also contains a large number of theses, essays, and articles about Odin Teatret, as well as an ever-growing collection of theatre magazines and periodicals from all over the world.
Practical information
Accessibility
Odin Teatrets' historical archive has been donated to the Royal Library in Copenhagen, and the transfer process is expected to be completed in 2024. After this, original materials can only be consulted at the Royal Library, while digital copies will continue to be available in KUBEN at Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium in Holstebro. All our archives are also registered in the nationwide database Arkibas and can be accessed via www.arkiv.dk.
KUBEN charges for certain services. The prices cover working hours for research, digitisation, etc.
Visiting the archive is always free. Here, you can get help scanning your items and use the reading room for free.
Contact
Inquiries regarding the archive should be made to office@ntl.dk or tel.: +45 97 42 47 77
Visit our new digital archive
Up until 2023, it was not been possible to gain insight into our archive unless you were physically at the theatre. We are in the process of changing that.
We have made an agreement with the company that operates the registration system Arkibas: Arkibas has been specially developed for use by Danish local and city archives but is also widely used by art and museum collections, special collections, and companies. Via the registration system, it is possible to present your collection to the public at www.arkiv.dk, where you can go and see an extract from our collection today.
As the registration work progresses, more and more of the theatre's collection will become available to all interested parties.
Timeline
Snapshots from the history of Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium – Odin Teatret.
1966 - Arrival in Holstebro
1966 was the year that Odin Teatret moved from Oslo, Norway, to Holstebro, Denmark. Holstebro Municipality offered them a farm located by Særkjær – an area slightly outside of town. The actors themselves transform the farm into a theatre, where NTL – Odin Teatret still stands to this day.
From left: Agnete Strøm, Tor Sannum, Anne Trine Grimnes, Eugenio Barba (Odin Teatret's founder), Torgeir Wethal and Else Marie Laukvik.
1978 - Street Theatre
Odin Teatret on one of many trips – here to Peru, where the people at the time were subject to a dictatorship.
Actress Roberta Carreri performs on the street with her character Geronimo in Ayacucho, Peru. Photographer: Tony D'Urso.
2004 - 40th Anniversary
In connection with Odin Teatret's 40th anniversary, the theatre got officially married to Holstebro Municipality at the local Town Hall.
Actress Iben Nagel Rasmussen is seen here in the role of Trickster with the mayor at the time, Arne Lægaard. Photographer: Tony D'Urso.
2017 - Holstebro Festival
During "Holstebro Festuge" 2017, Odin Teatret organised "Animaglyphe", a meeting with 100 horses in the natural landscapes of West Jutland.
