SHARED ENVIRONMENTS Draft 2

A Signdance / Four Nations Outdoor Journey

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Signdance Collective (UK) • Znakovni Ples (Croatia) • Ana Monro Theatre (Slovenia) • Transmitter Performance (Austria) • 73 Degree Films

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What Shared Environments Is

Shared Environments is an international outdoor performance journey exploring how Deaf, disabled, deafened, sight‑impaired and physically disabled artists create work in real weather, real terrain, and real public spaces.

 We worked on and travelled with these works :

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• NOTIZEN — signdance + puppetry

• Stream Walkers — night‑time, light‑based performance

Across the tour, performers adapted to heat, wind, darkness, noise, uneven ground and shifting conditions — without interpreters or add‑ons on stage . Everyone signs. Everyone adapts. Everyone works together. Communication comes from within the ensemble — a shared language built through signdance, movement, rhythm and awareness.

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Where We Went

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A journey across Europe:

• Graz (Austria) — parks, shade, relaxed audiences, council‑supported refreshments

• Maribor (Slovenia) — LENT Festival, riverside wind and light

• Ljubljana (Slovenia) — NOTIZEN under the trees, excellent support, relaxed pacing

• Wales (UK) — the unforgettable, noisy, vibrant Wrexfest

• Croatian Islands — 40°C daytime conditions, shade‑based choreography

• England (UK) — performances next week — dates to be added in D3

 

Guest artists joined across borders: Scot, ( Neurodiverse Welsh Jounalist) Zhiling Guo (PHD Candidate University Of Warwick) , England , Luka (DeafBlind photographer Graz Austria ) — each contributing new perspectives and strengthening the shared methodology.

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How We Worked OutdoorsOutdoor performance demands adaptation. The ensemble developed simple, powerful methods:

• Preparation — arriving early, mapping terrain, testing light

• Terrain Investigation — identifying safe pathways, shade, obstacles

• Pacing — adjusting movement for heat, darkness or wind

• Breath & Water — regulating energy in extreme temperatures

• Shade & Breaks — essential daytime survival

• Environmental Awareness — responding to wind, sound, light

• Shared Cues — stable signals for Deaf, DeafBlind and sight‑impaired performers

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These approaches came from lived experience — and from working together as one ensemble.

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Anecdotes From the Tour

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Ljubljana — NOTIZEN under the trees A calm, shaded performance with excellent support. The ensemble found a relaxed, steady rhythm before, during and after the show — PACE, BREATH, WATER, PLANNING, AWARENESS.

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 Croatian Islands — 40°C The ensemble slowed the choreography, worked in shade, and used breath‑based pacing to stay safe and expressive.

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Wrexfest, Wales Performing beside a rock festival, the group tested vibration‑based cues and obstruction awareness — proving that communication can thrive even in extreme noise.

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Graz, Austria The city council provided refreshments for audiences — a gesture of care that matched the ensemble’s own commitment to audience comfort.

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Maribor, Slovenia LENT Festival’s riverside wind transformed puppetry, making objects part of the environment.

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High Wycombe England 

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The Companies

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Signdance Collective (UK) A 40‑year disability‑led company pioneering signdance theatre — where movement, sign languages and music create a unique visual performance language.

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Znakovni Ples (Croatia) Signdance Europe’s home base, supporting international touring and development.

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Ana Monro Theatre (Slovenia) Masters of outdoor performance and dramaturgy.

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Transmitter Performance (Austria) Innovators in interdisciplinary music and visual‑music dramaturgy, bringing depth and clarity to NOTIZEN.

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73 Degree Films (Rob Corcoran) Exploring streaming, digital intervention and adaptive filming for outdoor signdance — especially in night‑time environments.

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Why It Matters

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Shared Environments shows that outdoor performance can be:

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• inclusive

• adaptive

• resilient

• creative

• international

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It proves that disability‑led methods offer powerful tools for working in unpredictable environments — and that outdoor arts grow stronger through collaboration across nations.

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PART  2

​Methods & Artistic Practice

Working in Shared Environments

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Outdoor performance is shaped by weather, temperature, terrain, light and unpredictability. Shared Environments brought together two contrasting works:

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• NOTIZEN (daytime) — bright, exposed, socially charged

• Stream Walkers (night‑time) — torches, reflections, shadows, water.

These extremes created a shared research field.

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Artistic Strengths

• signdance + puppetry (NOTIZEN)

• night‑time light dramaturgy (Stream Walkers)

• disability‑led movement language (SDC)

• interdisciplinary music & Deaf-informed composition (Transmitter)

• outdoor dramaturgy (Ana Monro)

• object theatre (Barbara Bulatović)

• film & virtual access development (73 Degree Films)

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Hybrid Vocabulary Developed

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• signdance

• puppetry

• object manipulation

• light‑responsive gesture

• environmental listening

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 Access & Climate‑Responsive Methods

​Access as Creative Engine

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Access is not support — it is architecture. The ensemble built access directly into the choreography:

• mapping uneven ground

• adaptive footwork

• tactile & proxemic cues

• rest, pacing, sensory regulation

• movement anticipating environmental change

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Communication Systems

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Outdoor conditions disrupt standard signing. The ensemble used:

• enlarged signing

• directional gestures

• shadow‑based cues

• light‑responsive movement

• tactile communication for DeafBlind performers

Visibility as Artistry

• torches, lanterns, reflective materials

• controlled shadows

• expanded signing in bright sunlight

Climate‑Responsive Practice

Environmental strategies tested:

 

​heat — hydration, shade, pacing

• cold — layering, breath‑timing

• wind — anchored gestures, weighted objects

• darkness — light cues, reflective surfaces

• unstable terrain — slow‑mapping, shared balance

What Worked

Embracing unpredictability

 

light & shadow as communication

• ensemble care as structure

• letting the environment “speak back”

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  Findings, Recommendations & Future Directions

Key Findings

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Outdoor environments demand adaptive, disability-led methods

• Access structures enhance creativity

• Mixed-ability ensembles thrive through interdependence

• Climate conditions shape dramaturgy

• Light, shadow, water and terrain become expressive partners

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Surprises

• multilingual signing adapts quickly outdoors

• puppetry transforms in wind & shifting light

• night-time performance heightens cohesion

• environmental extremes create new emotional textures

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Further Research

• climate-responsive touring models

• sustainable independent access provision

• cross-border sign language systems

• documentation for unstable environments

• daytime vs night-time methodologies (NOTIZEN = day, Stream Walkers = night)​

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Future Directions

• further outdoor development of both works

• expanded multilingual signing systems

• touring across Europe & the Caribbean ( expanding)

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Potential Co‑Productions

• new outdoor signdance works

• interdisciplinary residencies

• international training labs

• expanded digital & streaming experiments​

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Shared Environments continues to evolve as a transnational, disability-led performance practice — one that listens to the environment, adapts with intelligence, and creates with resilience.

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