Ibsen Summer Academy is a five-day summer school organised by Skien municipality, Sølvåren Ibsen centre, and the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN). The course takes place during the first week of August, in Ibsen's hometown, Skien.
– This is a unique opportunity for everyone interested in Ibsen, especially students. Both to have on your CV, but also to learn. It is useful to participate in creative processes where you don’t quite know the outcome, says Mette Bunting, who is the project manager at USN.
READ ALSO: Spend the summer with Ibsen
Follow in Ibsen’s footsteps
The participants range in age from 20 to 70 years and come from different backgrounds, but share a common interest in Ibsen. This year, four of the participants were students, two of them from USN.
We meet Ben Schäfer, Lina Marie Ramm, Helene Sollid and Marte-Mari Schinnes on one of the excursions. Lina is a master’s student in cultural studies at the University of Potsdam, Germany, and Helene is pursuing a master’s in Norwegian in Vestfold, while Marte-Mari is studying to be a teacher in Notodden.
Ben is from Germany and is doing a master’s in engineering and political analysis at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands.
– Although this is not my field, I am an Ibsen enthusiast. I always attend Ibsen productions when they are performed near where I live, says Ben.
The summer course was an opportunity not only to observe theatre but also to work more with the texts behind the performances.
– Ibsen addresses interesting themes that are relevant both to society and to individuals today, he believes.
Ben was recommended the summer school by a friend at USN.
Experiences so far
The students are among the youngest in the group and agree that the composition works well. It feels good to work together in a diversity regarding age, background, interests and nationality.
In addition, they emphasise that it is not necessary to know much about Ibsen to participate.
– We learn so much from each other and have many good conversations, they say.
The students also appreciate that they do not analyse the play but that it forms a base for their work. The tasks involve putting themselves into situations, characters and events from their own standpoint. Thus, the participants get to experiment and together develop their own and a shared understanding.
Tour around Skien
Besides delving into the drama Ghosts, the participants have been on a city walk and eaten in the Ibsen family’s apartment in Snipetorp, visited the Ibsen Museum at Venstøp, specially opened for the participants to see how, among other things, the dark attic inspired young Ibsen.
Ibsen Summer Academy will be held again. If you are interested in participating either in 2027 or in Ibsen’s jubilee year 2028, or are just curious, please send an email to mette.bunting@usn.no.