Latvian Academy of Culture in Leipzig: dramaturgy education as a response and responsibility practice
From January 20 to 24, 2026 Latvian Academy of Culture was represented in Leipzig by playwright, theater maker and head of the playwriting program Jānis Balodis, and fourth-year Drama and Text studies student Elizabete Šiklova, as they participated in the Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) training and the international contemporary dramaturgy symposium “Response and Responsibility”, which brought together dramaturgy lecturers and practitioners from more that 14 countries.
From January 20 to 22, the BIP took place, which was dedicated for contemporary dramaturgy teaching strategies, international exchange of experience, and comparison of pedagogical approaches. On the other hand, from January 23 to 24 the symposium “Response and Responsibility: Strategies of Teaching Dramaturgy of Contemporary Performance” took place at Schauspiel Leipzig Residenz theater in Leipzig, which centered around questions about dramaturgy as a practice of response, caretaking, and responsibility in today’s social, political, and artistic contexts.
During the two-day symposium, participants had the opportunity to meet and hear 29 playwrights and drama teachers from various European and other countries, learning about different, but mutually resonant approaches to teaching dramaturgy – from methodologically structured to experimental and performative.
The Latvian Academy of Culture was represented in the symposium with a presentation “Dramaturgy as a Body. A Collective Inquiry” by Jānis Balodis and Elizabete Šiklova together with fourth-year Drama and Text studies students. The presentation was based on an almost 2 hour long collective conversation, which was later transcribed, dramatically structured, and recreated in Leipzig as a 15 minute long performative installment.
Estonian theatre researcher Madli Pesti, upon reflection about the symposium during the final discussion, noted that the presentations can be divided in three groups – performative, philosophically essayistic, and methodological. The presentation by Jānis Balodis, Elizabete Šiklova, and LAC students was highlighted as the most impactful example of the performative approach, especially its playful form, humour, striking metaphors, and care, which runs through the presentation itself, as well as the process of teaching dramaturgy at the Latvian Academy of Culture.
Both lecturers and students from other universities praised the collective thinking form of the presentation, the ability to work out difficult questions through allegories, as well as the recognition of pedagogical relationships as an essential part of dramaturgy education.
The participation in the international programme and symposium was a significant opportunity for the Latvian Academy of Culture and Latvia to be involved in relevant discussions on European dramaturgy pedagogy, to establish professional contacts by exchanging experience and strenghtening LAC as a coequal partner in the field of contemporary dramaturgy education.
Information provided by:
Jānis Balodis
Lecturer, department of Culture theroy and history