What Does an Authorial Project Mean? Or Collectively Devised Theatre? Who are the authors? Who is the author of the dramatic text if there’s no script at the first rehearsal? What does a dramaturge do, what about the director, and what’s the actor’s role? What is it like to be a set or costume designer in an authorial process that goes “until the very last minute”? How does the composer manage? How do producers keep a project full of question marks under control? What does the audience think about all this? Does it even matter to them if something is labeled an “authorial project”? What happens when improvisations need to turn into structured, rehearsed scenes? Is it true that writers would never come up with what is collectively created in authorial projects? Why do 5 out of 13 productions at the Croatian Drama Festival not credit playwrights for the text, and why was last year’s winner—yet again—an authorial project?

An authorial project in theatre often sounds like total artistic freedom, something alluring, yet it frequently becomes a real challenge. In this panel discussion, we open the doors to the creative process—we’ll discuss how an authorial project comes to be, from idea to premiere, how obstacles arise from working without a fixed script, the evolution of ideas collectively, and how to produce a work that still doesn’t entirely exist.

Our guests—dramaturges, directors, performers, and producers—will share their personal experiences about the unique nature of authorial projects. In conversation with the audience, moderated by Višnja Kačić Rogošić, they’ll attempt to demystify theatre practices and tools, as well as role divisions that differ from those of traditional, text-based dramatic productions.

Join us for the panel and discover everything you ever wanted to know about authorial theatre—but were afraid to ask.