There Is a Story Behind This Object: The University Museum as a Stage

ABSTRACT Objects are a critical part of most museum exhibitions and their purpose within a university museum setting is linked to the stories they carry and how these are in turn communicated to museum visitors. This paper explores these stories through the practice of museum theater, which uses performance to bring historical stories within the museum to life. Through this idea of storytelling, which is fundamental to performance, the paper unpacks how museum objects speak in different ways and how they are shaped and influenced by the university museum staff who work with them. Using a Practice‐Led Research and ethnographic lens, the stories identified by the interviewed University of Pretoria Museums' staff will be explored, unpacking how they interact with objects in the museum's collection as part of their practice. The professional role that each staff member occupies influences how they connect with objects and how the object biographies emerge. These biographies link back to museum theater's aim of sharing stories associated with exhibitions with museum visitors so that the stories connect the exhibitions to the wider community. The idea that objects are “alive” with stories is enforced so to encourage exhibitions to be relevant to the various players who engage with them.