Data Scope

IbsenStage provides an extensive dataset of performances of Ibsen's plays all over the world. The scope of the dataset is defined in the following ways:

Focus

The core record is the live event of a play by Ibsen - a distinct happening, defined by title, date/s and venue; typically, a performance or series of performances at a venue. A venue is also broadly defined as a place where an event happens - a building, a tent, an outdoor environment, a locality. The year of the event is required; full dates for first performance, last performance, and opening night may be recorded. We also gather factual information about the organisations involved in conceiving, producing or presenting events, the individuals who contribute in various ways to events, and the material artefacts, textual records and digital traces that form the documentary evidence of live events.

Genre

IbsenStage includes performances in a wide range of genres: spoken-word theatre, ballet and dance, music theatre and opera, circus and puppetry, stand-up comedy, physical theatre and cabaret. IbsenStage distinguishes between the live performance at a venue, and recordings of live performance that are accessed elsewhere. Audio-visual recordings, radio broadcasts and television transmissions are entered as resources that relate to a live event.

Geographic

IbsenStage includes Ibsen-performances world wide. Due to the accessibility of data, the coverage of Europe may be more detailed than of the more secluded parts of the world.

Historical

IbsenStage contains information on all known Ibsen-performances, from The Burial Mound (Kjæmpehøien) in Christiania Theater in Oslo, on the 26th of September 1850, and up until today. The main content in IbsenStage was transferred from the Repertoire database built up by the national project Ibsen.net for the 2006-anniversary of Ibsen. Some of the content was transferred automatically, but many events had to be re-entered manually. The transferring process started in 2013 and was completed in 2018.

Status

IbsenStage includes performances by professional, amateur, pro-am, co-operatives, training schools and colleges, community theatres, and youth theatres. Our strategy for sustaining prospective data entry places an emphasis on professional production and government-funded organisations.

Sources

The retrospective data entry has drawn on many collections, most importantly the library at the Centre for Ibsen Studies, which contains more than 1500 historical theatre programs. In addition to theatre archives in Norway and abroad, data has been gathered from libraries, museums, theatres, databases, collections, newspapers and books. These sources are revisited on a regular basis for new information. The continuous registration of upcoming events is secured through monitoring the web and a continuous harvesting of new results on Ibsen performances.

Disclaimer

IbsenStage continues to be developed in terms of database technology, breadth of data, user interface and server technology. We are still developing and perfecting methods to gather and enter information efficiently, and our researchers continue to fill gaps, extend coverage and standardise records. Care is taken to ensure that information entered into IbsenStage are correct, but no responsibility will be taken for errors or omissions in data. The IbsenStage data set is extensive, but it is not yet comprehensive. Researchers wishing to use IbsenStage data for statistical analyses are advised to contact the Project Manager.