Museum Theatre Musings

In this episode I muse with Emmanuel Jewel Peprah Mensah who is a theatre practitioner, researcher, and the current head of the performing arts department at the Centre for National Culture, Ashanti Region, Ghana, West Africa. We discuss tourism as an incentive for creating museum theatre, working with a range of different stakeholders (including royalty) and process of interpreting important c...

In this episode I muse with Lyn Beasley, who has been a key figure in educational and public programming at both the National Museum of Victoria (now called the Melbourne Museum), and the National Museum of Australia for over forty years. We discuss early inspirations, championing and producing shows, museum education, and the importance of institutional knowledge when developing museum theatre...

In this episode host Jo Clyne muses with the Elizabeth Pickard about her work founding the Teens Make History museum theatre program at the Missouri Historical Society. In this extraordinary initiative, high school students are employed as paid apprentices at the museum to devise and perform shows relating to local histories. We consider the power of students recreating local events such as the...

In this episode host Jo Clyne muses with the Patrick Helean from Questacon, Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre, on how the post-covid era has brought a new energy and momentum to finding ways to collaborate with international colleagues in the museum theatre industry. Patrick and I discuss past, present and exciting future international relationship in museum theatre between Aus...

In episode 8, host Jo Clyne muses with founder of Past Pleasures Mark Wallis about the ins and outs of historical costumed interpretation. We discuss how interpretation has evolved over time, the excitement of introducing characters who challenge the dominant narrative, the difference between seated and roving performance at heritage sites, and the nuances of historical costuming. Some of the ...

In episode 7, host Jo Clyne muses with archaeologist Thit Birk Peterson about her role as curator of the Middelaldercentret Medieval living history museum near Copenhagen. Thit tells us about her Covid lockdown initiative for historical costumed culture walks in Denmark and how Covid had a lasting impact on the use of first-person interpretation techniques at the Middlealdercentret. Jo and Thit...

In episode 6, host Jo Clyne muses with performer/writer/composer Michael Mills from Heaps Good Productions on the process of developing his signature character, singing palaeontologist Professor Flint.  We discuss the route to starting your own museum theatre company, working with youth performers, and the many opportunities that come with creating a utilitarian character who can go back in tim...

In episode 5, host Jo Clyne muses with Angela Pfenninger about the museum theatre scene in Germany.  We discuss being a freelance museum theatre practitioner, seeking inspiration abroad, which eras are most popular for interpretation in Germany, and the absence of performances relating to World War II.  Some of the institutions and organisations mentioned in this episode; Bremer Geschichtenhaus...

In episode 4, host Jo Clyne muses with performer Elizabeth Keaney from Washington DC about the use of participatory theatre when developing characters for cultural institutions. We discuss the apprenticeship that Elizabeth undertook to play Martha Washington at Mount Vernon, and the challenges of playing a character who does not share your moral ideologies.  Some of the institutions and organis...

In episode 3, host Jo Clyne muses with Patrick Watt, one of the founders of the International Museum Theatre Alliance Asia Pacific, about some of his past projects across a range of large and small cultural institutions. We discuss the inspiration for projects, past collaborations, and why Zoom automatically assumes that a dog howling in time to harmonica playing is an unwanted audio interrupti...

Episode 2, in which host Jo Clyne muses with International Museum Theatre Alliance (Americas) president Douglas Color about strategies to get cultural institutions on board with museum theatre as an interpretive tool. The episode covers American institutions who are leading the way with museum theatre programs, the importance of audience evaluations, and how to handle a musical tesla coil. Some...

Episode 1, in which host Jo Clyne muses with director of the Come Alive Festival of Museum Theatre Peter Wilkins. During the podcast we cover the process of developing museum theatre with secondary school students, engaging with schools and teachers, working in partnership with museums and delving into challenging or controversial themes relating to cultural collections and heritage sites. Int...