First doctoral dissertation in production design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki:

Experiences in Theatrical Spaces

Laura Gröndahl, M.A., production designer, will defend her doctoral dissertation Experiences in Theatrical Spaces – Five Scenographies of Miss Julie at the University of Art and Design Helsinki (Lecture hall, 8th floor, Hämeentie 135 C, Helsinki) on Friday, 5 November 2004 at noon. The opponent is Professor Freddie Rokem from the Tel Aviv University Department of Theatre Arts. The public examination will be conducted in English.

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What Happened to the Naturalism of Miss Julie?

Experiences in Theatrical Spaces is a study of production design in contemporary Finnish theatre. In her dissertation, Laura Gröndahl examines five Finnish productions of Miss Julie by analysing the capacity of the stage set to generate and convey ideas through visual and spatial experiences. She also looks at how modern and post-modern stage design function as part of the production.

The stage set occupies a central place in Miss Julie, the naturalistic tragedy by August Strindberg. Strindberg's stage directions and his ideas about stage illusion challenge the viewers' possibilities to see the world of the play as it is and share this experience with others.

In her analysis, Laura Gröndahl uses as case studies performances of Miss Julie from the last three decades. The earliest, entitled Strindberg 70, was produced by the Draamastudio of the University of Tampere in 1970, the latest by Q Theatre in 1999. The other three productions examined are by Åbo Svenska Teatern in 1979, Kom Theatre in 1983, and the Finnish National Theatre in 1984.

Gröndahl shows how the five productions of the naturalistic play and their scenography steer the play's interpretation through modernism into an increasingly post-modern visual direction. Through a process of challenging and resisting naturalistic interpretation, all productions deconstruct and reassess Strindberg's assertions about the subjective reception of plays. Gröndahl links the scenography of the first four performances to the tradition of Modernism, but places the Miss Julie by Q Theatre within the post-modern frame of dramatic interpretation.

According to Gröndahl, visual variations of the set help viewers to see the world of the performance from different angles. The stage is never looked at and experienced through a single, unified gaze. The post-modern audience, used to image manipulation and visual tricks, has become numb with naturalistic illusion and the credibility of realistic description.

Laura Gröndahl (born 1960) graduated as Master of Arts from the University of Art and Design Helsinki in 1985. She has designed sets and/or costumes for 56 productions. Gröndahl has held permanent posts as set/costume designer at the Seinäjoki City Theatre from 1985–89, and Rauma City Theatre from 1989–90 and 1993–97. As her latest theatrical work, she designed the set and puppets for Teatteri Hevosenkenkä's production Suuri Matka in 2002.

Additional information: Laura Gröndahl, tel. 0400-947 007, e-mail: laura.grondahl@uiah.fi

The dissertation Experiences in Theatrical Spaces – Five Scenographies of Miss Julie is also published on the Internet:http://www2.uiah.fi/julkaisut/pdf/grondahl.pdf