Pioneering Aspects of Marie Steiner-von Sivers‘ Work and Anthroposophy‘s Contribution to Theatre
Publication information:
Abstract
The 100th anniversary of Rudolf Steiner’s death marks a turning point in the anthroposophical discourse. It invites a renewed examination of anthroposophy’s contributions to various academic disciplines, viewed in the light of developments over the past century. This calls for a new perspective for the coming 100 years—one that engages in a living dialogue with the spirit of our time in order to clarify what contributions anthroposophy can make today and in the future.
The Paper, as part of the PhD at the Institute of Theatre Studies, University of Bern, with a dissertation project titled Marie Steiner-von Sivers as a Pioneer of Directing, aims to examine the contributions of anthroposophy to theatre studies and the pioneering work of Marie Steiner-von Sivers (1867–1948) in the fields of theatre directing. The work takes as paradigmatic example the preparatory and training course in speech formation and dramatic art, which emerged from her collaboration with her husband, Rudolf Steiner, and took place in September 1924 in Dornach, Switzerland.
But what role does Marie Steiner-von Sivers play in the development of Rudolf Steiner’s theatrical conception? The thesis of the present work is that the development of Rudolf Steiner’s theatrical conception cannot be separated either from the work of Marie Steiner-von Sivers and from the development of Anthroposophy understood as a theory of knowledge.
The research project focuses on the pioneering elements in the work of Marie Steiner-von Sivers and her contribution to the theatre out of anthroposophical knowledge. A methodological approach is employed that combines feminist, theatre-historiographical, staging analysis and archival research methods.
Presenter Biography
Gaia Termopoli (1984) is conducting a PhD at the Institute of Theatre Studies, University of Bern, with her dissertation project titled Marie Steiner-von Sivers as a Pioneer of Directing. She is trained as theatre actress at the National Academy Silvio d'Amico in Rome (Italy). After an international theatre production (France and Switzerland), she returned to Italy and dedicated herself to the independent theatre scene. She founded a women’s collective focused on “new languages for theatre” and children’s theatre as a high-quality artistic form for all audiences (winner Premio Scenario Infanzia 2010). She received a Master’s degree in Educational Science at the University of Urbino, where she graduated magna cum laude with a thesis entitled “Creativity and Artistic Processes as Tools for Vocational Training.” She has focused on speech formation, puppetry and since 2024 is working with Mystery Theatre.