About the theater department

This is where the performing arts are created!
We are responsible for the content, form and artistic staff that make our performances possible and magical - such as actors, directors, playwrights, set designers, costume designers, mask makers, composers, choreographers, musicians and light and sound designers. The artistic director is Johanna Salander, who works closely with dramaturge Tora von Platen.

Our conditions
Västerbottensteatern is a county theater in Västerbotten based in Skellefteå. The theater produces 4-5 new productions per year and annually plays about 400-500 performances in Skellefteå, Umeå and on tour in the region.
The theater cherishes and builds on Västerbotten's rich and vibrant tradition of storytelling.
Västerbottensteatern also has a unique expertise in our department UngHästen, which works with theater as an educational tool in middle school, high school and high school. In 2020 we celebrated 40 years as a county theater.
In 2021, we moved into the beautiful brand new Sara Kulturhus where we have two of our own stages in the middle of Skellefteå.

Artistic council and lab
One of our goals is for the performing arts we produce to be perceived as having been created in Västerbotten by Västerbottensteatern - all to help make Västerbotten an even better place to live.
Anchoring is important to us - that's why we have an artistic council where almost all artistic staff and representatives from the other departments meet, talk and workshop during four full days a year.
We also try to give creators we want to collaborate with the opportunity to 'lab' - try out/develop an idea with us, to see if we can and want to take it to production decisions. It also gives the theater staff a better insight at an early stage into what might be produced in the future.

Theme year
To have something to bounce against artistically, we have been working with annual themes since 2020.

2020 - Classics - we made new versions of Three Sisters, Romeo & Juliet and The Emperor of Portugal, among others
2021 - Västerbotten and the time when the people of Västerbotten gained human dignity. Among other things, we made the edutainment performance "Freedom, equality and nalta faith" and had the world premiere of PO Enquist's "The exit of the musicians"
2022 - Identity - We have the Nordic premiere of the British play "Rotterdam" and the premiere of the newly written musical "Wendy and Peter Pan" and the all-ages show "Mira - the girl from far away"

Would you like to work with us?
We are far ahead in our planning and much of the repertoire for the coming years is already laid out, but we are happy to meet performing artists who want and can think long-term and who are curious about creating great art based on Västerbotten's fantastic conditions.

Apply to us in particular - not in general.