Support for the Norwegian Theatre Academy
BIT Teatergarasjen strongly encourages the preservation of the Norwegian Theatre Academy in Fredrikstad, allowing it to continue being an essential actor that enriches and contributes as a crucial asset to our field. The closure of this educational institution would represent a significant loss for both the Norwegian and international performing arts fields, erasing years of thorough and meticulous work.
Cuts to higher education are now affecting theater and performing arts programs at universities and colleges and will soon have critical consequences across the broader performing arts sector. A diversity of educational offerings within our field is absolutely necessary, and both students and faculty at the Norwegian Theatre Academy are essential contributors to maintaining a reflective, innovative, and ongoing discourse, in which the connection between theory and practice is thoroughly understood. As an institution engaged in international artistic exchange, BIT Teatergarasjen would also like to emphasize the unique and positive impact the Academy of Performing Arts has had in internationalizing the independent Norwegian performing arts sector. We are additionally concerned about the potential impact on the ongoing work to establish a Ph.D. program in artistic development, in collaboration with Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences and the University of Tromsø.
The Norwegian Theatre Academy offers educational tracks in acting, scenography, and performance, and since all instruction is conducted in English, there is a substantial presence of international students and faculty. They contribute a practice framed by critical, open, and experimental approaches, which have over the years been important to BIT Teatergarasjen. This importance extends to strengthening the discourse in our field, as well as their role as artists in our program, both in our seasonal programming and the Prøverommet series, as well as in our biennales Oktoberdans and Meteor. The fact that this education focuses on developing artistic practices on their own terms is a fundamental reason why graduates find their way to our stages so quickly, and we emphasize that we will lose a vital source of new Norwegian performing arts talent if this education is discontinued.
BIT Teatergarasjen believes the current The Norwegian Theatre Academy is an invaluable contributor to the development of the independent Norwegian performing arts field, and therefore, the entire performing arts sector in Norway will be weakened without it. We therefore strongly urge that this important educational institution be preserved.