Workshop | 28. November 2025

Oral History – Collecting, Preserving and Making Experiential Knowledge on Theatre and Dance Accessible

Online working meeting “Collection Meets Research” VI (2025)
Friday, 28 November 2025, 09.30 a.m. – 05:00 p.m. (via Zoom)

While oral history is widely used in historical studies, this method has significantly less tradition in German-language theatre and dance studies. Nevertheless, recent studies have addressed a variety of research questions using interviews. Interviews are also the method of choice when events and processes need to be documented for which there are insufficient written sources. Unlike letters, printed matter or files, recorded oral interviews are documents that would not exist without a specific research or collection interest.

There are many questions associated with the topic: In which work contexts does it make sense to realise interviews? What happens with the created source material? How can it be evaluated and preserved, under which legal and archival conditions may it be stored, published or reused for other purposes? What is best practice to organise a new oral history project, and what can we learn from other researchers’ or archivists’ experiences?

On November 28, the digital working meeting will deal with these questions. Since its first issue in 2020, the formats’ base is the exchange between preserving institutions, and individuals from research and practice. This year's focus on oral history and experiential knowledge, which is passed down orally, will bring together archivists, researchers, and artistic practitioners to explore the opportunities and possibilities offered by interviews. The programme includes both introductory sessions and workshops which present and discuss individual projects with varying focuses.
“Collection Meets Research” has been taking place since 2020 once a year. It is organised by the AG Archiv (working group ‘Archive’) of the Society for Theatre Studies (gtw) and the Association of Theatre Collections in German-speaking countries – TheSiD. On their behalf, the Specialised Information Service for the Performing Arts is preparing the sixth edition.
Anyone interested is warmly invited to take part - either in the whole event or in selected parts. The meeting will mainly take place in German. Workshop 4 will be held in English.
Find here the registration form.

Programme

09:30 a.m. Welcome and Outlook on the Day
Prof. Dr. Patrick Primavesi (AG Archiv of the Society for Theatre Studies), Stephan Dörschel (Association of Theatre Collections in German-speaking Countries - TheSiD - e.V.), Franziska Voß (Specialised Information Service for the Performing Arts - FID DK)

Interviews with individuals who were involved in an event or process are important sources for researchers. Furthermore, interviews may also be of central importance to archives, museums and knowledge management. As an expression of individual, subjective experiences, interviews reveal a person's perspective on certain events or facts at the time of the conversation. The day's programme addresses various aspects of the topic of oral history. Five workshops and two FAQ panels will highlight corresponding plans, projects and results from the field of theatre and dance and also name difficulties and challenges in dealing with knowledge passed down orally.
The working meeting with its various programme items offers space for exchange, discussion and reflection. After the welcome, an opening panel will formulate key questions for the day. Participants are invited to contribute their own questions and thoughts.

10:00 a.m. Introduction: How and why Oral History in Theatre and Dance Studies? A conversation.
Dr. Julia Wehren (Institute of Theatre Studies, University of Bern / Foundation SAPA), Dr. Marten Weise (Institute for German Literature, Humboldt University Berlin)
Moderation: Dr. Christiane Schwerdtfeger (FID DK)

Oral history is a method of creating sources where none exist and revealing knowledge that would otherwise remain inaccessible except through oral tradition. In recent years, the importance of this method has been increasingly recognised in the fields of dance and theatre. Indeed, the generation of sources facilitates not only the identification and resolution of research and material gaps, but also the re-evaluation of the canon and historical narrative. Marten Weise and Julia Wehren discuss the conversational process, the co-authorship and the challenges of source criticism. They share their experiences of the pitfalls and lucky moments they have encountered as oral historians researching the performance history of the Ernst Busch University of Theatre Arts in Berlin and a translocal Swiss dance history.

11.00 a.m. – 12.30 p.m. Workshops (I)
Research, collection and documentation projects with different focuses are presented and discussed. The workshops take place simultaneously.

Workshop 1
Interviews as a Working Method: Rehearsal Documentation and Audiologies
Katharina Kolar, Prof. Dr. Andreas Wolfsteiner (Deutsches Archiv für Theaterpädagogik - German Archive for Theatre Education, University of Applied Sciences Osnabrück / Campus Lingen), Lüder Wilcke (Akademie der Künste Berlin, Performing Arts Archive), Moderation: Stephan Dörschel

The workshop will highlight various aspects of interviews in the archival context using two practical examples. The archive of the Institute for Theatre Pedagogy (DATP) at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, Lingen campus, contains audio recordings of conversations between theatre scholar and dramaturge Christel Hoffmann and the pioneer of Soviet children's theatre Asja Lācis from the late 1960s. The Akademie der Künste (AdK) in Berlin has conducted interviews with theatre makers directly involved in the work process for many years to document rehearsal processes in the theatre production documentation. Both institutions face common challenges: the preservation and digitisation of existing audiovisual materials, and the restoration of their usability; as well as questions relating to rights clearance, publication and the content-related purpose of the recorded conversations. Are the interviews biographical or do they focus on specific work contexts? Are they structured by directed questions or are they open? Their initial objectives largely shape the content and perspective, which may influence their accessibility and relevance for research.

Workshop 2
Cultural Heritage GDR: Between Contemporary Witness Experiences and Institutional History
Caroline Helm, Prof. Dr. Patrick Primavesi (Institute of Theatre Studies, University of Leipzig, Dance Archive Leipzig e.V.), Haiko Hübner (Akademie der Künste, Historical Archive), Moderation: Dr. Melanie Gruß (Institute of Theatre Studies, University of Leipzig)

There is a wide range of archival material on dance, theatre and culture in the GDR, whether in personal bequests or in collections originating from former GDR archives and institutions. However, the latter pose a particular challenge as a source for research, as they often reflect the official line of state cultural policy. Contemporary witness interviews can help to contextualise the sources to approach the artistic work besides ideological standards. In interviews with contemporary witnesses conducted as part of the research project ‘Cultural Heritage of Dance in the GDR’, it became apparent that the 1990s in particular caused ruptures in the personal biographies of many dance, theatre and cultural professionals, which are highly emotionally charged. These influence not only the memories of the concerned persons but also their current artistic creative processes. As well, the transformation of the cultural landscape in eastern Germany in the 1990s led to massive changes in the institutional structures of artistic work. A striking example of this is the merger of the East and West Academies of Arts (Akademien der Künste Ost und West) in Berlin. The specific interplay between personal experience and institutional history has hardly been studied and requires specific methodological approaches.
The workshop discusses the possibilities and challenges of the reappraisal of this time period with the help of narrative interviews from the perspective of collecting and research.

12:30 p.m. Lunch break

01:45–02:30 p.m. FAQ
How can oral history sources be preserved? Under which legal and archival conditions may they be stored, published or used for other purposes?
The FAQ sessions take place simultaneously.

FAQ 1
Indexing, Archiving and Researching Interviews. Technical Support Options
Dr. Cord Pagenstecher (Freie Universität Berlin, Oral-History.Digital)

Ensuring the long-term preservation, findability, accessibility and reusability of audiovisual oral history research data is a major challenge for individual projects which are often limited in duration. However, recent technical developments have made it possible to support researchers in a variety of ways. The Oral-History.Digital platform for example allows institutions such as museums, universities and foundations to upload their audio and video interviews with accompanying materials, edit them using transcription or tagging tools, and make them available for educational and scholarly purposes. People from research, education, and the public can search through the interviews across collections using filters and full-text search. Registered users can view interviews with subtitles and accompanying material, they can also annotate, analyse and quote using the workbook and other functions.
In addition to an introductory presentation on various usage scenarios, there will be ample opportunity to ask questions on this topic. Interested parties are welcome to submit individual questions in advance.

FAQ 2
Legal Issues Relating to the Creation, Use and Reuse of Eyewitness Interviews
Dr. Dr. Grischka Petri (FIZ Karlsruhe)

Interviews convey the history of life and experience, they are valuable resources for research. From the creation, interpretation and processing to publication and archiving of interviews, in all phases legal and ethical questions occur, not at least related to the consequences of open access. These are mainly related to copyright law, data protection law and general personal rights. In some cases, archive law provides established mechanisms for the necessary balancing that can be used as models for curating digital access.
The input will present the phases with their associated challenges and then open up the opportunity for discussion.

02:30–04:00 p.m. Workshops (II)
Research, collection and documentation projects with different focuses are presented and discussed. The workshops take place simultaneously.

Workshop 3
Dance Practitioners Share Their Stories: How Oral History Can Make Knowledge Visible
Margrit Bischof and Nicole Fiedler (German Dance Association), Miriam Althammer (University of Salzburg), Moderation: Irene Brandenburg (Derra de Moroda Dance Archives)

The workshop will demonstrate how interviews with contemporary witnesses in the field of contemporary dance can contribute to the examination of cultures of remembrance, as well as the documentation and expansion of dance knowledge, by using two projects as examples. The project ‘Tanz erzählt. Tanzplattform – Die ersten Jahre’, invited dance professionals from the 1994, 1996, and 1998 issues of ‘Tanzplattform’ to discuss the cultural and socio-political aspects of the independent dance scene in the 1990s. These interviews are continuously expanding the Platform's performance archive, which is managed by the German Dance Association (Dachverband Tanz Deutschland). The research project ‘Scenarios of Transition’ examines the theorisation of oral history in dance studies using a collection of 50 interviews with dancers and choreographers from South-Eastern Europe. It demonstrates how their memories and body transformations can be employed to recount alternative dance narratives that transcend Western-influenced archives and canons.

Workshop 4
Strong in the Streets and in the Fringes: Capturing Stories
Judith Pieper, M.A. (Freie Universität Berlin, SFB 1512 "Intervenierende Künste"); Simon Sladen (V&A Museum, London), Moderation: Dr. Sascha Förster (Theatre Museum Düsseldorf)

Street theatre and fringe theatre arose as alternatives to mainstream theatre in exploring political and creative freedom and rethinking theatre. However, alternative theatre is rarely included in performing arts collections. Judith Pieper therefore has little existing archive material to draw on for her research about street theatre in the Federal Republic of Germany. She is therefore “creating” her own research material through oral history interviews. For over 20 years, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London has been collecting stories about the various forms of British fringe theatre, especially the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in its audio archive ‘TheatreVoice’.
The workshop will present these projects and bring Judith Pieper and Simon Sladen, Senior Curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum, into conversation about perspectives on trust and responsibility towards the interview partners. The discussion also considers whether responsibility also means a responsibility on the part of collections towards the diversity of theatre forms. By reflecting on the success of ‘TheatreVoice’ on podcast platforms, the workshop ultimately seeks to explore the extent to which oral history can offer opportunities for communicating collection work to a broad public.

Workshop 5
Audiences and Theatre Histories – Creating Theatre History Together
Jennifer Becker (Theatergemeinde München e.V. / Thea Kulturklub), Dr. Katrin Dillkofer (art historian), Sibylle Steinkohl (theatre enthusiast), Moderation: Dr. Dorothea Volz (Deutsches Theatermuseum, München)

Who tells theatre history and theatre stories? Feuilleton and arts pages, theatres themselves, theatre associations, museums and archives, academics. But what about the audience's perspective, the theatre fans? How can people who have been involved in cultural life as recipients for many years, such as members of theatre communities, community theatres and friend circles as well as fans of the independent scene, also create theatre knowledge that continues to have an impact? During writing workshops, in the sound studio or during video recordings, contributions could be created from individual memories that complement what has already been collected, perhaps offering a new perspective.
Is there any interest at all on the part of the archives in taking these contributions into account so that theatre, opera or concert experiences can survive the moment? We discuss this and derive possible projects and partnerships from the results.

04:15–05:00 p.m. Closing Panel: Preserving Knowledge, Making Experiences Accessible
Dr. Christiane Schwerdtfeger and Franziska Voß (Specialised Information Service for the Performing Arts)

The workshops demonstrated how conversations and interviews can be used in various ways in theatre and dance research and documentation. After the participants from research, from collections and from the field of artistic practice have shared insights into their work, the final panel will be focussed again on the questions from the beginning of the day. It opens up space to summarise fundamental aspects of oral history in the performing arts at the end of the working meeting.