Besides working on his own stage works and interactive installations (see Freuden | Tanz, I-Care-Us and .txt pages), Stephan has been working as a video designer for other choreographers and theater directors. Originally coming from dance and choreography, his approach can be best described as ‘kinaesthetic video design’ or ‘transmedia choreography’. In other words, Stephan adopts an embodied approach to programming interactive systems and video mapping as an integrative part of the performance. Here are some recent examples:
No tempo da água (2024)
No tempo da água (2024)
360° film and immersive installation for Teatro do Silêncio
Lavadouro Público de Carnide, Lisbon, July–October 2024
No tempo da água is an immersive visit to the Lavadouro Público de Carnide, created by Teatro do Silêncio specifically for the site: a 360° film viewed in the washing-tank area and a sound piece in the drying area. It tells the story of an astronaut crossing planet Earth who pauses at the wash-house to evoke ancestral memories through her body and touch, visiting a time and a planet without water. Stephan worked on the diverse 360° capture techniques and collaborated on the design of the VR film.
Film credits: direction James Riordan; script Maria Gil; sound Sérgio Milhano; editing Roger Oliveira; camera Roger Oliveira and Stephan Jürgens; performance Leonor Keil and Luana Fernandes. Production Teatro do Silêncio; support República Portuguesa – Direção-Geral das Artes, Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, Junta de Freguesia de Carnide.
Histórias de além terra | Stories from beyond earth (2019)
Histórias de Além Terra, São Luiz Teatro Municipal, Lisbon (2022)
Histórias de Além Terra - dance version (2022)
Video design for Leonor Keil / Cão Danado
São Luiz Teatro Municipal, Lisbon, 9–13 February 2022
A dance and media work conceived, created and performed by Leonor Keil, with texts by Regina Guimarães. What began as a solo in three chapters, presented annually, became a single show in the form of a triptych, each panel with its own point of view and viewing protocol. Co-produced by Cão Danado, Teatro Viriato and São Luiz Teatro Municipal, it was presented in the Sala Bernardo Sassetti of São Luiz Teatro Municipal and at Teatro Viriato, Viseu (International Dance Day, 29 April 2022).
Credits: conception, creation and performance Leonor Keil; text Regina Guimarães; performance Sara Barbosa (voice over) and Luís Elgris (voice and video); lighting design Cárin Geada; sound design Pedro Augusto; set design Sebastião Soares, Rita Negrão and António Muralhas; costumes Sara Barbosa; video direction Roger Oliveira; video design Stephan Jürgens. Cão Danado is funded by República Portuguesa – Cultura / Direção-Geral das Artes.
Histórias de além terra | Stories from beyond earth (2019)
Histórias de Além Terra, Planetário do Porto (2019)
Histórias de Além Terra – full-dome version (2019)
Video design for full-dome projection, for Leonor Keil / Cão Danado
Planetário do Porto – Centro Ciência Viva, premiere 18 January 2019
The first chapter of Histórias de Além Terra, created by Leonor Keil from texts by Regina Guimarães, was conceived for the dome of the Planetário do Porto, turning outer space into a stage for dance. Stephan created content and video design for full-dome projection. The piece ran at the Planetário from 19 January to 17 February 2019 and was also presented at the Anozero – Coimbra Biennial (2019).
Credits: conception, creation and performance Leonor Keil; texts Regina Guimarães; video design Stephan Jürgens; editing and final production Roger Oliveira.
The Divine Comedy - Inferno (2017)
A Divina Comédia – Inferno (2017)
Corporeality and video design for João Brites / Teatro O Bando
Teatro Nacional D. Maria II, Lisbon, 12 May – 4 June 2017
Inferno is the first part of Teatro O Bando's staging of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, directed by João Brites, a six-year project initiated as a co-production with Teatro Nacional D. Maria II. With a cast of 21 performers, the production premiered at Teatro Nacional D. Maria II and toured to Teatro Nacional São João, Porto (15–18 June 2017), and the Convento de São Francisco, Coimbra (24 June 2017). Stephan's contribution combined work on the performers' corporeality with the video design. He presented this work at the 6th Cognitive Futures in the Arts and Humanities conference (University of Kent, 2018) in the paper "The Neuroscience of The Divine Comedy – Inferno: somatic dramaturgy and kinaesthetic video design as a relational theatrical system".
Credits: dramaturgy (dramatografia) João Brites and Rui Francisco; direction João Brites; set design Rui Francisco; music Jorge Salgueiro; costumes and props Clara Bento; corporeality and video design Stephan Jürgens; lighting design João Cachulo; sound design Sérgio Milhano; director of photography Alexandre Nobre. Creation and production Teatro O Bando; co-production Teatro Nacional D. Maria II, Teatro Nacional São João, Câmara Municipal de Coimbra / Convento São Francisco.
Merci (2016)
Merci (2016)
Design and video programming for Sara Vaz
Festival Temps d'Images Lisboa, Rua das Gaivotas 6, Lisbon – world premiere
MERCI is a video-installation performance by Sara Vaz, built from three films (M#1, M#2 and M#3) shot on an iPhone. Starting from a journey through Europe and a love story between the author and "X" — who is always also the spectator — the piece moves between documentation and invention, fact and fiction, reality and farce. MERCI is the first part of a diptych. Stephan was responsible for the design and video programming of the installation.
Credits: direction, text and performance Sara Vaz; editing Duarte Pedroso de Lima and Sara Vaz; sound and original music BlackBambi; design and video programming Stephan Jürgens; outside eye Luís Miguel Fonseca; scenography support Marco Balesteros; video operator Duarte Pedroso de Lima. Co-production Horta Seca / Festival Temps d'Images Lisboa; support Fundação GDA.