ABSTRACT Mobility and !eatre: !eatre Makers as Nomadic Subjects !is article discusses the pros and cons of theatrical mobility, investigating situ- ations where theatre is breaking its traditional practices of being local and urban by becoming mobile, international and rural. !e main features in this context are guest performances at home and abroad, the importation of guest directors, performers, designers et cetera, and "nally, site-speci"c and open-air produc- tions. !e structure of the analysis is based on these features, partly derived from the historical development of theatre but partly also from the aim of contrary thinking, insisting that contrary to the widespread assumption of nomadism as something indigenous or postmodern, nomadic attitudes can also be detected in quite traditional forms of theatre making and living. While touring at home and abroad provides opportunities for theatre makers to practice nomadic life style, summer theatre creates an opportunity for spectators to experience nomadism in more local spaces. !e above mentioned features are analysed in the context of Estonian theatre, drawing occasional parallels with the neighbouring country of Finland. Each section goes through three periods of Estonian theatre history; 1) the period before the Second World War when theatres belonged to societies; 2) the period between 1940 and 1991 when Estonia was a part of the Soviet Union and all theatrical activities were subject to state control; 3) the period of independ- ence and globalization. Since each period had a di#erent imprint on theatrical mobility, the phenomenon will be investigated in relation to the political, social and cultural contexts, using Bruno Latour’s concept of actor-network-theory as a methodological tool.

Keywords: Estonian theatre, mobility, touring, internationalisation, summer theatre, nomadism, actor-network-theory.

BIOGRAPHY Anneli Saro is Professor of !eatre Research at the University of Tartu (Estonia) and the Editor-in-Chief of Nordic !eatre Studies. She has been a convener of the international working group Project on European !eatre Systems (2004- 2008) and is presently convener of !e !eatrical Event working group. Saro was also a member of the executive committee of the International Federation for !eatre Research. She has published articles on audience research, performance analysis, Estonian theatre history and systems. [email protected]

90 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 Mobility and Theatre Theatre Makers as Nomadic Subjects1

ANNELI SARO

During the twentieth century, theatre has been con- topher B. Balme3 who have used Bruno Latour’s sidered to be more local than global, more institu- actor-network-theory4 for mapping activities of a tional and urban than rural. In my paper, I am going theatre and a manager respectively, taking into con- to analyze the pros and cons of theatrical mobility, sideration their geographical mobility, networking, investigating situations where theatre is breaking its repertoire and audiences. Latour de"nes an actor as traditional practices of being local and urban by be- follows: “… any thing that does modify a state of coming mobile, international and rural. !e main a#airs by making a di#erence is an actor – or, if it features in this context are: 1) guest performances has no "guration yet, an actant.”5 It means that ac- at home; 2) guest performances abroad; 3) the im- tors embrace more than agents in Pierre Bourdieu’s portation of guest directors, performers, designers et theory, covering not only people, groups and insti- cetera; 4) site-speci"c and open-air productions. !e tutions but also objects (like, for example, texts and structure of the analysis is based on these features, technology) that have agency to change the state of partly derived from the historical development of a#airs. And network is de"ned by Latour as “a string theatre but partly also from the aim of contrary of actions where each participant is treated as a full- thinking, insisting that contrary to the widespread blown mediator”.6 He also stresses that a network is, assumption of nomadism as something indigenous "rst of all, a methodological tool: “an expression to or postmodern, nomadic attitudes can also be de- check how much energy, movement, and speci"city tected in quite traditional forms of theatre making our own reports are able to capture. […] It is a tool and living. !e above-mentioned features are ana- to help describe something, not what is being de- lysed in the context of Estonian theatre, drawing scribed.”7 !e value of the actor-network-theory lies occasional parallels with the neighbouring country in its intention to track relations between di#erent of Finland. Each section goes through three peri- actors and to describe movement instead of "xed ods of Estonian theatre history: 1) the period be- entities. Because of that, the theory has been proved fore the Second World War when theatres belonged to be useful for investigating mobility in theatre and to societies; 2) the period between 1940 and 1991 also has the potential to highlight certain aspects of when Estonia was a part of the Soviet Union and all artistic nomadism. Latour’s discourse supports mo- theatrical activities were subject to state control; 3) bility and $uidity and resembles in this regard the- the period of independence and globalization. Since ories developed by Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari8, each period had a di#erent imprint on theatrical Rosi Braidotti and other postmodern thinkers. For mobility, the phenomenon will be investigated in example, he points out that the actor “is not the relation to the political, social and cultural contexts. source of an action but the moving target of a vast A suitable methodological tool for the research array of entities swarming toward it”.9 In addition, has been found already by Ott Karulin2 and Chris- since Latour values thick description as a research

Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 91 tool, the following article describes more than it ex- two years, the Travelling !eatre joined the Drama plains in the conviction that a carefully chosen and Studio !eatre because the constant commuting composed description also has an explanatory value. tended to be exhausting and also provided an un- Only certain aspects of theatrical mobility are stable income. Nevertheless, the group continued described and analysed here, emanating from the travelling all over Estonia, performing, among oth- following research questions. What factors trigger ers, plays by Shakespeare, Schiller and Strindberg, theatrical mobility? What consequences do touring which were all received quite warmly, even in re- and internationalisation have on artistic practices mote places. An actor of the theatre, Alfred Mering, and life styles of theatre makers? And what kinds has described the working conditions as follows: “A of relationships are created with audiences through two month long winter tour on a narrow-gauged theatrical mobility? !us, the central focus of the railway followed. !e winter was extremely cold. As research lies on actors (in the Latourian sense) and always, we used a rented wagon for sleeping. On mobility, and not so much on networks. Neverthe- some days, we rode in horse carriages for 25-30 less, the formation or spontaneous creation of the- kilometres to be able to give a performance at some atrical networks, i.e. theatre troupes is tackled in the distant places from the railway in the evening.”11 second part of the article, while relationships with !e bus as a potential but exceptional vehicle of spectators as important actors in networks in the touring was mentioned only in connection with a "rst part. broken bus.12 Based on the Estonian sources, guest performances seem to have been an extremely aus- tere form of theatre making in the "rst half of the THE INFLUENCE OF TOURING ON THEATRE twentieth century. MAKERS AND PRACTICES Memoires of theatre makers concentrate mostly !e domestic mobility of theatres depends, "rst on exceptional events and conditions. !us often of all, on the national theatre system and cultural the modes of travelling and the vehicles for trans- policy. In Estonia, institutional theatres are mostly portation receive more attention than the actual bound to a certain house(s) or hall(s) where they performances or the reception at the various sites. rehearse and give performances. Contrary to this It is obvious that the use of technology and techno- is the touring system that was widely practiced in logical development in general in$uenced not only Europe until the nineteenth century but also exists theatre making but also the distribution and con- nowadays in the Netherlands, for example. !e Es- sumption of theatre, and this becomes evident also tonian theatre never used the touring system nor in the short history of touring practices presented had a strong central touring company as found in in this article. Sweden10 and in some other countries. In the twen- !e situation described above did not change tieth century, semi-professional or professional the- much after the Second World War. In the Soviet atres were established, even in small towns, so there Union, including Estonia, all theatres had an ob- was no great need for touring theatre. Nevertheless, ligation to give guest performances in the country- almost all institutional theatres have toured to a cer- side and small towns. !e reason for that was not tain extent, sometimes because of the limited size of so much a cultural mission or decentralization but, local audiences, sometimes as a cultural mission of "rst of all, theatre was considered to be an impor- theatre institutions or the state’s cultural policy. !e tant ideological and educational tool and touring "rst two reasons were dominant before the Second was a strategy to reach a wide range of inhabitants World War and all three to di#erent extents after (especially workers and farmers) providing them the war. both professional theatre culture and didactic input. !e "rst and only travelling theatre in Estonia, Every theatre had to have a plan that regulated the the Travelling !eatre (Rändteater), was established work of the theatre and that consisted of, among in 1926 by a group of actors, who left their home in- other things, a "xed and constantly increasing num- stitution because of its poor artistic quality. Within ber of productions, performances (the performances

92 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 in the country side were a separate category) and night drives, etc.) or the hazards on the road (bro- theatre visits (tickets sold). !us, theatres were very ken engines and tires, snow, mud, etc.). Since there interested in selling a high number of tickets not was no electricity in many performance places, an only because it provided them with an extra income electric generator and in the case of musical produc- but also because it formed a basis for state subsi- tions, a piano often had to be transported. If some- dies (the more tickets sold, the more spectators were thing happened to the generator, performances were ‘served’, thus, the higher was the subsidy). given by candle light or oil lamps. Since technology Since the Second World War the number and was the weakest link in the chain, theatre makers in percentage of guest performances has been in nega- their memoires often describe situations where they tive correlation with the average income per capita were stuck in the road or struggled with exceptional and the development of technology. For example, performing conditions. Sometimes, actors started in the 1950s most Estonian theatres gave approx- guest performances by cleaning and building the imately half of their performances away from their stage. Sometimes, they had to wait for the spectators permanent theatre building and city, but in the sec- to arrive. (In the 1950s guest performances in the ond half of the 1960s the number of guest perfor- countryside started normally around 9 or 10 pm de- mances started slowly to decrease because of a new pending on audiences and ended after midnight.15) trend – kolkhozes and sovkhozes also used their new Sometimes actors had to face the hostility or disin- buses for providing cultural entertainment for their terest of the local people, or sometimes they were workers, i.e. taking them to theatre performances treated as dear guests and invited to dinners, par- in cities.13 !e decreasing trend continued until the ties or weddings.16 !e system of guest performan- end of the 1970s.14 And buses as important agents ces meant that theatre companies mostly returned in the theatre "eld were slowly replaced by cars to their home base after the performance and the that made theatre visits more individualistic and troupe did not have many possibilities to commu- dependent on personal taste and time resources. nicate with the audiences outside of the play. When In retrospect, one can only speculate what kind of theatres were on tour and stayed overnight in the in$uence guest performances had on designing the performance location, completely di#erent relation- theatre-going habits and aesthetic tastes of inhabit- ships developed between the troupe, the audience ants of rural areas. But it is obvious that the in$u- and the local people. !is rather stable touring sys- ence cannot be underestimated. tem for theatre collapsed entirely at the beginning One should take into consideration that the ob- of the 1990s when Estonia became both politically ligation of guest performances also in$uenced di- and economically independent from Russia and a rectly the repertoire and artistic choices of theatre major shortage of gas and other commodities a#ect- makers because productions had to attract country ed the whole society. or working class people with less cultural experience Because of the reasons explained earlier (unsta- and had to be adjustable for small stages with mod- ble artistic standards of performance and discom- est technical equipment. Not to mention the physi- fort of travelling), Estonian theatre did not switch cal discomfort of travelling and constant adjustment back to this half-touring regime after the economic to new environments from the point of view of per- crisis. But one should keep in mind that in addi- formers. !us, touring did not necessarily assure a tion to the theatre system and the cultural policy, stable and high standard of performances. the third in$uential factor a#ecting the mobility of In the second half of the 1940s and in the be- theatres has been the lack of local audiences. !is ginning of the1950s, Estonian theatres used mostly kind of problem has been facing contemporary covered lorries for touring, sometimes having props dance groups who are also targeting international and actors on the same truck. Actors and techni- stages or, for example, the Rakvere !eatre that is cians spent a lot of their time on the road trying to situated in a town with 17,000 inhabitants and has overcome the discomfort of rather primitive means to give more than 50% of its performances out- of transport (cold and bumpy lorries or buses, long side its home town, either in the countryside or in

Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 93 other cities with or without a theatre. Since 1985, been and is practiced in Estonia as in many other the Rakvere !eatre has performed in 200 di#erent European countries.20 Touring has been one of the cities and villages, covering 30-40 venues yearly.17 in$uential factors behind the numbers of spectators It should be mentioned that other institutions also for theatre. For the 1980s, the number of theatre practice touring to a limited extent. !us, regular visits exceeded the number of inhabitants in Esto- guest performances and a lively summer theatre tra- nia and, according to various surveys, approximate- dition also explains why there are so many station- ly half of the Estonian population visits theatre at ary and temporary performance locations in Estonia least once a year.21 Nevertheless, technological de- (see Figure 1) while professional theatre companies velopment has changed travelling by theatre com- are located only in Tallinn, Rakvere, Kuressaare, panies and the quality of their guest performances Pärnu, Viljandi and Tartu. to a considerable extent, and created at the same Because of the rapid development of technolo- time, more opportunities for potential audiences to gy, touring has been made as comfortable as possible reach theatre privately, either by private cars or by for actors and technicians. New buses and personal television. !e immobility of theatres – of course, technological equipment also provide an almost do- if they are attractive enough – activates spectators, mestic life style on the road. As Karl Kalkun (senior) making them (in addition to performers) nomadic argues, technology has ruined the romanticism of subjects in search of artistic experiences. In investi- touring because in a warm and comfortable bus one gating touring in Estonian theatre, the importance can sleep like in your mother’s lap and all the beau- of spectators as in$uential actors in theatrical net- tiful songs fade away.19 works becomes apparent. Moreover, technology as a In conclusion, one can state that a kind of mid- mediator (in the Latourian sense) between perform- dle way between a repertoire and touring system has ers and spectators both in their geographical and

Fig. 1. Number of professional theatre performances in Estonia in 2013 by location.18

94 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 aesthetic means acquires the status of an actor and nition abroad is Jaan Tätte, an actor by profession, modi"es the relationships between actors and also mostly with his plays Highway Crossing, or the tale the artistic input. of a Golden Fish (1997, translated into 8 languages and produced more than 50 times) and !e Bridge (2000, 6 languages, approx. 10 productions). THEATRE EXPORT Guest performances abroad have a clear corre- In general, the importation and export of theatre is lation with the economical welfare of the country not as widely practiced as, for example, the interna- and to a certain extent also with political freedom. tional "lm and music business or the translation of !eatrical exchange with other countries expanded books. !is can be explained by the fact that trans- in Estonia in the 1930s (with the increase in eco- porting performers and productions from one site nomic welfare), in the 1970s23 (with the increase in to another is "nancially and also logistically quite political freedom and economic capital) and in the complicated (not to mention the ecological foot- twenty-"rst century (with the increase in economic print). !is is true even in the "eld of dance and welfare and the outcome of the state’s and European music theatre that has more of an international or Union’s cultural policy). universal character than spoken theatre. At the same Between 1956 and 1990, leading Estonian time the cultural policies of the countries of the Eu- theatres performed quite often in Moscow and St. ropean Union stress more persistently the impor- Petersburg on the occasion of di#erent celebrations tance of international collaboration and exchange and competitions but the visits can hardly be con- and the increasing impact of creative industries sidered as theatre export because Estonian theatre both in the "eld of economics and culture. In the was part of the Soviet theatre system and the visits following paragraphs, a historical overview of devel- illustrated the obligatory ties between the territorial opments and trends of export of Estonian drama centre (Moscow) and the periphery (all the rest of and theatre are given. the USSR). Guest performances of such peripher- One notices that verbal language as the main al theatres abroad were quite rare and especially to tool of communication is the biggest obstacle in capitalist countries because of the Cold War. All the the export of theatre. Nevertheless, plays tend to be trips of the theatres to other states within the Soviet the most common international commodity, cen- Union or abroad were controlled by the Ministry trifugal actors in creating networks at least in the of Culture of the USSR and the organisation was "eld of spoken theatre. Estonian plays by Lydia extremely bureaucratic and time-consuming, nor- Koidula, August Kitzberg, Eduard Vilde and Hugo mally taking from a year to two years and some- Raudsepp have drawn moderate attention mostly times the trips were cancelled without any obvious in neighbouring countries like Latvia, Russia and reason.24 Finland. Estonian drama achieved its highest pop- !e "rst clear breakthrough towards liberation ularity during the period of the Soviet occupation and the freedom to travel happened already at the when Estonia belonged to the union of “brother end of the 1980s in the context of perestroika and a states” and thus also enjoyed the privileges of the second one at the turn of the new century, when Es- centralized distribution system of new Soviet plays. tonia became a member of European Union (2004). For example, several socialist realist plays by August For example in 2012, Estonian theatres gave 187 Jakobson were staged in 30-40 theatres all over the performances abroad with 50 productions in 28 Soviet Union, and !e Lost Son (1958) by Egon countries to 66,000 spectators. (!e numbers were Rannet in more than 200 theatres all over the East- not stable of course – in 2013 they were respective- ern bloc, etc.22 Contemporary Estonian drama has ly 117 performances, 47 productions, 23 states, di%culties in competing with the remarkable in- 25,655 spectators25). !e most famous Estonian di- ternational success of the Soviet Estonian plays or rector at home and abroad is currently Tiit Ojasoo, with contemporary Finnish playwriting. !e only who often works in tight collaboration with sce- author who has experienced a more lasting recog- nographer, director and performance artist Ene-Liis

Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 95 Semper. One "fth (36) of all the guest performances this, guest performances abroad create looser and abroad were presented by Ojasoo’s theatre NO99. more occasional relationships with spectators com- In second place was the project-based theatre the pared to touring in the homeland but they de"nite- R.A.A.A.M. (31), in third place was the produc- ly strengthen cultural ties between theatre institu- tion house of contemporary dance the Kanuti Gildi tions and countries. !is leads us to the next topic. SAAL (20) and fourth was the Estonian Puppet and Youth !eatre (18). Unusually, it is the productions by the !eatre THE IMPORTATION AND EXPORT OF GUEST NO99 and R.A.A.A.M which are mostly word- DIRECTORS, PERFORMERS, DESIGNERS, ETC. based that are the most heavily exported at the Directors and designers travelling across the borders moment, while dance and children’s theatre (often of their home country are the most common and small scale productions) traditionally represent the the easiest form of theatrical mobility nowadays, more mobile forms of theatre.26 !e largest num- if artists have achieved a certain fame at home or ber of performances were given in Germany but the abroad, of course. In their work, language issues most often visited countries were neighbors Russia can be solved quite easily. But historically the situ- and Finland.27 (Similarly the most visited countries ation has been di#erent. Already in the "rst half of by Finnish companies were respectively Sweden, the twentieth century, several Estonian actors (Paul Russia and Germany during this period.28) Pinna, !eodor Altermann, Liina Reiman, etc.) For the sake of balance, the importation of the- were working temporarily either in Germany, Rus- atre should also be included in this overview. Since sia or Finland, performing in local languages, not approximately 25% of the Estonian population is to mention quite regular study trips of all kinds of Russian speaking, many theatres from Russia make theatre makers to Europe or Russia. !e situation regular visits to the country: for example in 2013, 17 changed considerably after the Second World War. out of 65 productions were performed by theatres First, there were obligatory instructional ties with from Russia.29 Otherwise it is di%cult to make any Moscow and Leningrad, but Estonian-speaking convincing generalizations about the cultural back- actors hardly performed in Russia because of their ground of companies and performers coming from heavy accent in Russian (in Soviet movies actors Europe because often the groups are multi-national, from the Baltic countries played mostly Germans sometimes including Estonian performers. As con- because then their accents were not distracting31). cerns genres, contemporary dance is an important For example Voldemar Panso, the leading director feature from the Western countries, while drama is of the time and the head of the Estonian !eatre the main import from the Eastern countries. School, travelled quite a lot as a tourist outside of In conclusion, one can state that the biggest ob- the USSR but hardly with his troupe or productions stacles to international theatre export are the limited and never produced anything abroad. Panso, like "nancial resources, as well as the language and men- several other established directors and actors who tal barriers. (From a historical or world perspective, enjoyed the privileges of travelling, wrote detailed political restrictions should also be mentioned.) reports about the foreign countries they visited,32 But the "rst step to overcoming these obstacles paying special attention to everything that di#ered concerns theatre makers and managers who have from Soviet conditions. For example in 1965, the to depart from their comfort zone and start look- Estonian Drama !eatre had guest performances in ing for collaboration and exchange outside of their Helsinki and as an outcome of this an essay “About own theatre houses. A similar kind of message was Finland, Finns and Finnish !eatre” was written given by the Minister of Culture of Finland, Paavo by Panso, giving a detailed overview about Finnish Arhinmäki, when he nominated the state prize of nature, architecture, people and theatre.33 Finland performing arts in 2013 to three small theatres (two was also the "rst capitalist country with which the from Finland and one from Estonia) for their artis- exchange of stage directors was carefully established tic collaboration and exchange of actors.30 Despite in 1960.34 Nevertheless, since the background of

96 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 guest directors and ideological stances of their pro- board to Western Europe or America. Local opera ductions were rigorously controlled during the Cold or ballet artists work either at home or abroad, while War, not much of signi"cance was born out of this less talented ones are forced to "nd other possibil- kind of cultural exchange across the borders of the ities to make a living. Another issue that has been Soviet Union. !e situation did not change rapidly problematic is the di#erent salary standards for local after the (re)independence of Estonia because in- and guest artists. Since the average income in Es- ternational collaboration continued to have certain tonia has been among the lowest in the European obstacles. Union, guest artists’ fees often exceed the ones paid Analyzing the dynamic of theatrical mobility for locals because living standards in the country of by theatre makers, one can repeat again the biggest origin has been taken into consideration. !us, the obstacles of international exchange – the lack of negative aspects of theatrical internationalization money, linguistic di%culties and mental barriers. include an inequality in salaries, a negative (displac- In addition to that, one can detect two contrary ing) impact on local theatre cultures and cultural tendencies at work: "rst the search for novelty and homogenization. new perspectives, such as exoticism, and at the same Erika Fischer-Lichte has pointed out that one of time conservatism in accepting novelty and new the most urgent issues facing theatre research today perspectives. To put it plainly, guest directors or de- is the question of how theatre is a#ected by the signers often experienced the feeling of an intellec- rapid processes of globalization. !ree rather new tual and emotional vacuum when working abroad phenomena play important roles in the process: and the spectators at the same time could experi- internationally composed opera, dance and theatre ence a sense of estrangement from the production; companies; the ubiquitous workshop culture; and this might happen even when the production dealt international theatre festivals. Addressing them does with universal topics.35 Despite certain reserva- not simply mean carrying out intercultural studies tions, however, guests de"nitely broke the routine on theatre, but – in many respects – opening up a of theatre making and sometimes led to wonderful completely new "eld.36 Artists and troupes travelling works. Directors who have been able to "nd a com- freely from one country to another have the biggest mon language with local actors and audiences have potential to represent truly nomadic subjects. become persistent guests in Estonia. For example, In conclusion it can be stated that internation- Adolf Shapiro (since 1971) and Sasha Pepelyaev alization and growing trends of cultural exchange (since 2002) from Russia and Georg Malvius (since de"nitely need more investigation and conceptual- 1989) from Sweden have in$uenced the Estonian ization that exceeds the limits of the current article. theatre "eld quite a lot with their successful produc- Opposing the problems of globalisation, more at- tions and working methods. Often, guest directors, tention should also be paid to local, regional mo- who work in tight collaboration with certain set and bility. costume designers or assistants, take their colleagues with them abroad, making the exchange multidi- mensional. SITE-SPECIFIC AND OPEN AIR PRODUCTIONS !e importation of guest directors or perform- In this section, the summer theatre tradition in ers not only brings cultural diversity but also in- Estonia will be analysed since it o#ers interesting tensi"es professional competition and raises artistic examples of theatrical mobility. !e term ‘summer standards. !is has led to the situation where the theatre’ (suveteater in Estonian) covers all produc- Estonian opera companies Estonia and Vanemuine tions staged during the summer months, mostly have become more international: most opera and from June to August, the o#-season for professional ballet directors are invited from abroad, and the theatre, both indoors and outdoors, either in found leading roles are performed by guest singers and the places or in permanent theatre houses (however, the majority of dancers of the ballet troupes are from latter happens rather rarely), either by professionals other countries using the theatres often as a spring or by amateurs (the latter is rare by contrast with

Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 97 other Nordic countries). Institutions that tend to perform only in the summer are also sometimes named and called summer theatres, for example Emajõe Suveteater in Tartu. It is also noteworthy that summer theatre activities are not regulated by state or municipalities and usually also not by big theatre institutions. !erefore, they can mostly be considered as the personal initiative of theatre mak- ers or managers, often driven by two contrary wish- es to earn some extra income and to spend the sum- mer vacation in a pleasant environment (preferably outside of the city) and in good company. !ere are several reasons why summer theatre has not deserved much attention in theatre histo- ries or statistics. First, summer theatre tends to be semi-professional, semi-amateur and because of the latter it has often fallen out of the study of profes- sional theatres. In theatre histories, summer produc- tions are sometimes brie$y tackled in chapters that analyse city theatres and the cultural life in the area. Second, often summer theatres provide light enter- tainment that has not been valued highly in theat- rical research. And third, the de"cit of information covering most areas of a country and most artistic projects can be considered as a main obstacle for Fig. 2. The Three Musketeers (1995), Tallinn City extensive research. Theatre, directed by Elmo Nüganen. A former Both local theatres and guest troupes started to construction site is transformed into an open-air give open-air performances more regularly in the theatre. Photo: Priit Grepp. second half of the nineteenth century, but these spectacles were mostly just removed from indoors 10-15 years there have been approximately 30-40 to outdoors and performed on a raised stage. Special new summer productions every year and altogether open-air productions on an unmarked stage area ap- 40-60 productions per season. peared in Estonian at the beginning of the 1920s. In general, Estonian summer theatre implies !roughout the twentieth century, theatres per- traveling and settling on new territories both by formed sporadically during the summer and sporad- theatre makers and spectators. Summer productions ically also outdoors. But a sudden change occurred can take place inside or outside of manor houses, in 1995 as a result of the highly successful summer beside picturesque river bends, in ancient castle production of !e !ree Musketeers in the Tallinn ruins, on small islands, in the forest or a bog, etc. City !eatre (Fig. 2) that earned as big a pro"t as (Fig. 3) By contrast with the Finnish situation,37 Es- all the other productions of that theatre during the tonian theatre makers are rarely faithful to one spe- year. !is event encouraged not only institutional ci"c location for summer performances but rather and private theatres but also independent directors tend to be in constant search for new exciting envi- and theatre managers to produce special summer ronments. Furthermore, the comfort of audiences is productions, mostly with newly composed profes- not an important issue in Estonian summer theatre, sional troupes in diverse found places and spaces but rather the aim is to provide new or unusual ex- (some indoors, some outdoors, some in the cities, periences. but mostly in the countryside). During the last Summer theatre should not be analyzed as an

98 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 isolated phenomenon. !e so-called Estonian sum- are short and often cold and rainy, one has to catch mer culture in general underwent a boom at the end every sunny day and ray of sunshine. One must of the last century. In addition to various theatre also emphasize the implicit connection with nature productions, folk and popular music festivals, and felt by Estonians, who are for the most part "rst or concerts of classical music in small towns (e.g. the second generation city-dwellers. !is is manifested Tamula Lake Music concerts in Võru) or in rural in the many pantheistic features of their worldview areas (e.g. the Leigo Lake Music) should also be and, more speci"cally, in the summer cottages in the taken into account. !ese open-air events targeted countryside that are owned by almost every fam- the general public, combining art, the natural en- ily. It means that during the summer season most vironment, and food and drink. Summer culture is of the inhabitants practice a small scale nomadism often consumed by people who would not attend commuting back and forth between their city and an indoor performance of classical music and would country home or moving permanently to the coun- probably not go to the theatre either. Such extraor- tryside and accepting, through that, a new identity dinary and ‘exclusive’ events became a compulsory and lifestyle for that period. component of the vacations of the nascent middle !e importance of national epics and their pop- class and a natural part of their lifestyle, thereby ac- ularity among summer audiences in Estonia may be quiring a considerable symbolic importance. Open- a sign of a nostalgic yearning for national ideals and air events often take people to new, naturally beau- a feeling of solidarity. !e large number of specta- tiful parts of Estonia, providing an opportunity for tors at open-air performances intensi"es the feeling pleasantly spending time with family or friends, and of solidarity that was so strongly felt in the recent maybe even, with a little luck, enjoying an artistic past, yet has all but been forgotten in everyday life experience. and con"rms the existence of certain traditional or In the Nordic countries, where the summers common ideals. Despite accelerated urbanization and inter-

Fig. 3. The Republic of Wargamäe (2008), Tallinn City Theatre, directed by Elmo Nüganen. Photo: Siim Vahur.

Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 99 nationalization, theatre makers and audiences in and technological progress. Estonia still have strong bonds not only with na- Guest performances abroad have had a clear cor- ture and the countryside but also with local iden- relation with the economic welfare of the country tities and communities. !eatre practice is a way and to a certain extent also with political freedom. of bridging urban and rural cultures and life styles. But even when economic, political and cultural con- !e consumption of culture in a natural environ- ditions are favourable to an international exchange ment is an attempt by a recently urbanized people of productions or theatre makers, language and to blend nature and culture. !e symbiosis of na- mental barriers cannot be eliminated or overlooked ture and art, the low and the high, the everyday so easily. !e positive impact of internationalization and the elitist appears to the Nordic people living in the performing arts lies in an increase of cultural in twenty-"rst-century post-modern society to be diversity, artistic standards and professional compe- the most natural possible combination. In addition, tition. Nevertheless, the negative aspects of interna- summer culture as a special form of art and living tional mobility – the displacement of local theatre has a similar e#ect both on artists and spectators, cultures and cultural homogenization – should also o#ering them the role of nomadic subjects for a cer- be kept in mind. An alternative strategy for cultural tain and short period of the year. Artists are more or diversity can be found in the acceleration of domes- less bound to one or two locations, but spectators tic theatrical mobility in the framework of summer of summer culture are welcome almost anywhere theatre. While nomadism is mostly related to the where cultural events are performed. lifestyle and identity of artists, summer theatre and culture create an opportunity for spectators to expe- rience nomadism in more local spaces such as in a CONCLUSIONS city or rural venue. !us, the aims or forces behind !is article provides an overview of di#erent types theatrical mobility and networking, and also the of mobility or nomadism in the "eld of theatre subjects, institutions and objects (like for example, using Estonian theatre history as empirical materi- the environment, technology and texts) as actors in al. Bruno Latour’s actor-network-theory served as a these networks deserve further research and interna- background for the research and brought to the fore tional comparison. the following questions. What factors trigger theat- rical mobility? What consequences do touring and internationalisation have on artistic practices? And what kinds of relationships are created with audi- ences through theatrical mobility? Based on the analysis presented above, it is pos- sible to state that touring and guest performances at home tend to depend mostly on the theatre system and cultural policy but, to a large extent, they are also dependent on the number of local spectators, the economic conditions and technology. !e latter can be related mostly to the development of vehi- cles for transportation (trains, horse carriages and lorries were replaced by comfortable buses and later on personal cars) and to the development of theatre technology (and aesthetics) that set higher standards for performance places. In Estonia, the number and percentage of guest performances has been in nega- tive correlation with the average income per capita

100 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 NOTES AND REFERENCES Rahvakultuuri Arendus- ja Koolituskeskus, TPÜ RASI, 1 !e research for this chapter has been supported by the TPÜ Nüüdiskultuuri Uurimiskeskus, Tallinn 1999, p. Estonian Research Council (grant “Emergent Stories: 32; Kultuuritarbimise uuringu aruanne 2006, www.and- Storytelling and Joint Sensemaking in Narrative Envi- memasin.eu, p. 7.) ronments”; PUT 192). 22 Rähesoo, op. cit., pp. 287-8, 343. 2 Ott Karulin, Rakvere Teater “täismängude” otsinguil aas- 23 Eesti sõnateater 1965-1985, I köide, EMTA lavakunsti- tail 1985-2009, PhD thesis, Tartu Ülikool, Tartu 2013. kool, Eesti Teatriliit, ETA Underi ja Tuglase Kirjandus- 3 Christopher B. Balme, “!e Bandmann Circuit: !eatri- keskus, Tallinn 2015, p. 37. cal Networks in the First Age of Globalization” in !eatre 24 Ibid., pp. 38-9. Research International, vol. 40, no. 1, 2015, pp. 19-36. 25 Eesti teatristatistika 2013, http://statistika.teater.ee/stat/ 4 Bruno Latour, Reassembling the Social. An Introduction to main/show/29 (accessed 15 September 2014). Actor-Network-!eory, Oxford University Press, Oxford 26 In 2011, at the top of the list of Finnish theatre exports 2005. was dance theatre and circus: 42 Finnish dance groups 5 Ibid, p. 71. and dancers performed in 28 di#erent countries to 6 Ibid, p. 128. 59,000 spectators and 14 circus troupes performed in 25 7 Ibid, p. 131. countries to 110,000 spectators. Considering the clear 8 Also the terms ’network’ and ’rhizome’ have essential dominance of spoken theatre in Finland, only 30 the- similarities. atres and groups (among them "ve puppet theatres for 9 Ibid, p. 46. children) were performing abroad for 31,000 spectators. 10 S. E. Wilmer, Pirkko Koski, !e Dynamic World of Finn- (Suna Vuori, “Teatteri ei ole vientibisnes” in Helsingin ish !eatre. An Introduction to its History, Structures and Sanomat, 13 May 2013, p. C1.) Aesthetics, Like, Helsinki 2006, p. 128. 27 Lühiülevaade 2012. aasta Eesti teatristatistikast, http:// 11 Alfred Mering, Elu lugu. Teatrimälestused, Eesti Raamat, statistika.teater.ee/stat/main/show/27 (accessed 1 April Tallinn 1986, p. 52. 2014). 12 Ibid., p. 43. 28 Vuori, op. cit. 13 Jaak Rähesoo, Eesti teater. Ülevaateteos. I, Eesti Teatriliit, 29 Eesti teatristatistika 2013, op. cit. Tallinn 2011, p. 298. 30 “Ministeri Arhinmäki jakoi musiikin, näyttämötaiteen 14 Jaak Viller, Teatriorganosatsiooni areng Eestis XX sajandi II ja tanssitaiteen valtionpalkinnot”, http://www.minedu. poolel, MA thesis, Tartu Ülikool, Tartu 2004, pp. 21, 52. "/OPM/Tiedotteet/2013/11/musiikki_nayttamo_tans- 15 Karl Kalkun senior, Karl Kalkun junior, Teatrimemuaare, si_valtionpalkinnot_2013.html?lang=" (accessed 1 April Vanemuise Seltsi Kirjastus, Tartu 2000, pp. 148-9. 2014). 16 Ibid, pp. 131-5, 146-50; Reet Neimar, Pille-Riin Purje, 31 See for example the documentary “Nazies and blondes” Jüri Järvet, Narr ja Kuningas, Eesti Teatriliit, Tallinn (2008, director Arbo Tammiksaar, Kuukulgur Film, 2009, p. 100. Subjektiv Filma). 17 Karulin, op. cit., pp. 66-70. 32 Voldemar Panso, Laevaga Leningradist Odessasse, Eesti 18 Eesti teatri Agentuur, http://statistika.teater.ee/stat/main Riiklik Kirjastus, Tallinn 1957; Voldemar Panso, Maa- (accessed 15 September 2014). ilm Arlekiini kuues, Eesti Raamat, Tallinn, 1973; Ants 19 Ibid, p. 134. Eskola, Näitleja on ajastu lühikroonika. Mälestused, Eesti 20 Hans van Maanen, Joshua Edelman, Magdolna Balka- Raamat, Tallinn 1986. nyi, Mathias P. Bremgartner, Louise Hansen, Anneli 33 Voldemar Panso, “Soomemaast, soomlastest ja soome Saro, Beate Schappach, Hedi-Liis Toome, Attila Szábo, teatrist” in Maailm arlekiini kuues, op. cit., pp. 36-48. Maja Šorli, ”!eatre Systems Compared” in Am"teater, 34 Karin Kask, Eesti nõukogude teater 1940-1965. Sõnala- vol. 3, no. 1 (forthcoming). vastus, Eesti Raamat, Tallinn 1987, p. 313. 21 !e number of steady theatre goers in 1985 was 88% 35 Sven Karja, Anneli Saro, “Teatrielu 2003: saateks ja ta- of respondents, in 1993 63%, in 1998 44%, in 2003 gasivaateks” in Teatrielu 2003, Eesti Teatriliit, Tallinn and 2006 53% (Malle Järve, ”Kultuuritarbimise trendid 2004, pp. 12-14. 1990ndate Eestis” in Rahvakultuur ingliska ja internetiga, 36 Erika Fischer-Lichte, ”Interweaving Cultures in Perfor-

Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 Nordic Theatre Studies vol. 27: no. 1 101 mance: !eatre in a Globalizing World“ in !eatre Re- search International, vol. 35, no. 3, 2010, pp. 293-4. 37 Pälvi Laine, Teatteri ilman esirippua – tila suomalaisessa kesäteatterissa, MA thesis, Helsingin yliopisto, Helsinki 1998.

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