ETC Spring Theatre Tour 2013 - Press Review

ETC SP R I N G THEAT RE TOUR 2013 NEW PERSPECTIVES FO R N E W TI M E S 18 – 24 APRIL 2013

I NT E RNATIONAL PRESS R EV IEW

CONTENTS 2 SUMMARY OF SURVEY & RESULTS ETC SPRING THEATRE TOUR

CROATIA 70 FRANCE 71 GERMANY

5 ETC SPRING THEATRE TOUR DAY BY DAY PROGRAMME

106 ITALY 122 PORTUGAL

12 OVERVIEW PRESS COVERAGE

125 SLOVENIA 158 SLOVAKIA

15 PRESS COVERAGE

165 SWITZERLAND

15 INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION & DISSEMINATION

166 ETC SPRING THEATRE TOUR PARTICIPANTS

52 BELGIUM 57 1

SUMMARY OF SURVEY & RESULTS ETC SPRING THEATRE TOUR The ETC Spring Theatre Tour, which took place from 18 – 24 April 2013, offered a unique and ambitious opportunity to key opinion leaders and young artists to travel to eight ETC member theaters from Western to Eastern Europe and to attend nine performances in seven different countries. All productions which were seen in each selected venue approached a specific theme. The following themes were discussed: “Theatre and Politics of the City” (Stuttgart), “The Way from Theatre Schools to Professional Stage” (Liège),”Theatre for the Very Young” (Karlsruhe), “Theatre & Media” (Zürich), “Theatre and the Decadence of Europe” (Prato), “Theatre in National Building” (Maribor), “The Paradox of the Old and New” (Bratislava) and “The Contemporary Play” (Zagreb). These were not only themes of discussion at the theatres but also during the bus journey itself.

The ETC Spring Theatre Tour was a pilot project and turned out to be a big success having created a posivite dynamic throughout the journey. As main result, the artists on board formed the Spring Tour Theatre Ensemble and edited while travelling across borders a manifesto formulating their desire and visions of an ideal theatre focusing on three biggest tasks: We want rich theatre, not rich theatres!

We want dialogue and reach!

Our publics are our lifeblood!

The need to dig deeper and to fully absorb the culturally different environments that the Spring bus tour was able to only strive grew stronger every day the bus travelled. In the end, participants of the Spring Tour Theatre Ensemble drafted a project proposal for collaboration with the ETC member theatres, a theatre laboratory: New perspectives for new times, which will be discussed at the next ETC General Assembly.

Despite the wide range of target groups on the bus, the wide range of expectations and obviously not enough time to explore in detail what each theatre and city is characterized by to explore the artistic spirit, it can be said in conclusion that the Spring Theatre Tour gave a positive impulse to the work of the ETC. The participants were able to get an insight into different member theatres and their work. Clearly, the input given during the tour was immense and has led to fruitful reflections on theatre today. And last but not least, also the public became more

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aware of the ETC’s work in member theatres, as one can see evidently through the press coverage.

Quotations from survey conducted after the ETC Spring Theatre Tour “I discovered ETC, I think it is doing an important work, and will pay attention to its next projects “I am not sure that there must be an imperative and ambition of the "next step". Tour itself is a great result.”

“If the discussions we opened goes on, that would be great. Also, I would like to see the theaters and festivals they spoke about on board. I don't think it would be interesting to focus on the past (the shows we saw, etc.), but to look forward. We already have our facebook group, if we create a sort of platform I think that would be good.”

“Just having opportunity to see seven different shows in seven different theatres, gives one a great insight into the picture of European theatre.”

“It's important to understand that, as much as there were downsides to this tour and we all complained at one point or another about the lack of time and the rush of it all, the experience was incredibly important and helpful. The pressure we were under led us to an honest dialogue in the last days and pushed us to do something creative. Looking back, I would do it all again, under the same conditions, without a blink - because the final result, our collaboration, was amazing.”

“I am very grateful to be a part of this journey. It was a laboratory for me and very special mission for my journalistic career. I was all over the world professionally but I didn't experience yet something like that. Thank you” “My personal view is that this was a good thing. I was personally challenged and taken to deep levels of understanding and emotional connection that are rare. I am very glad I was on board!”

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FACTS AND FIGURES AT A GLANCE  

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5 ETC Spring Theatre Tour Ensemble

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artists

6 languages 7 days touring across Europe 7 countries 8 theaters in 8 cities 11 performances

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12 talks and disussions over 40 participants on board the ETC Spring Theatre Tour bus

3100 kilometers travelled more than 4000 people reached in the audience

ETC TOUR PARTNER THEATRES  Staatstheater Stuttgart, Germany  Théâtre de la Place, Liège, Belgium  Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Germany  Schauspielhaus Zürich, Switzerland  Teatro Metastasio di Prato – Stabile della Toscana, Prato, Italy  Slovene National Theatre, Maribor, Slovenia  Slovak National Theatre, Bratislava, Slovakia  Zagreb Youth Theatre (z/k/m), Zagreb, Croatia

BUS PARTICIPANTS Who took part and benefited?

Total number of participants 44 out of it… …Media 13 …Art policy 1 …Artists 5 …ETC members 23 …ETC staff 2 …plus more than 100 ETC staff members and theatre professionals in all of the participating theatres.

ARTISTIC RESULTS  Manifesto  New text by Anne Habermehl  Staff exchange between Nottingham Playhouse (Deborah Stevenson) and Staatstheater Braunschweig in autumn 2013  Creation of ETC Spring Theatre Tour Ensemble & first proposal for new ETC collaboration project to be discussed at ETC General Assembly, autumn 2013

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DAY BY DAY PROGRAMME April 18, Stuttgart Theme: Theatre & Politics of the City Individual arrivals Spring Tour theatre programme, Staatstheater Stuttgart, Germany 16h

Meeting at Staatstheater Schauspiel Stuttgart, artist’s entry Guided visit through theatre

17h15

Departure in ETC Spring Theatre Tour bus to venue NORD

17h30

Venue NORD: ETC Spring Theatre Tour Opening Reception with Cocktail In presence of Jörg Bochow, ETC vice president and artistic vice director Schauspiel Sttuttgart Heidi Wiley, ETC general secretary

19h-20h

Stuttgarter Talks: Public Reflections about the Future Theatre & Politics. Interdependencies between Theatre and Politics in Stuttgart.

Which role does theatre play in societal processes and debates. Where are limits of the arts?

Artistic director Hasko Weber in discussion with the managing director of the Robert Bosch Foundation Dr. Ingrid Hamm, the graphic designer Jochen Rädeker and the stage director Volker Lösch.

English translation is provided.

20h30

Performance “Die Revolver der Überschüsse”. English text provided.

A new play written and directed by René Pollesch

Ca. 22h

Discussion with artistic team of performance Including actors of performance and Christian Holtzhauer, dramaturge English translation is provided.

Light dinner buffet

Ca. 23h30

Transfer with tour bus back to hotels

April 19, Liège Theme: The way from theatre school to professional stage 09h00

Departure by bus to Liège

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Spring Tour bus programm - On the way to Théâtre de la Place, Liège, Belgium Moderation: Jan Linders, Staatstheater Karlsruhe 

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Brief introduction of bus participants in discussion with Jan Linders Dance Advisor and Director of External Affairs, Pierre Thys, Théâtre de la Place will talk on the The way from theatre school to professional stage.

Culture Advocacy Expert & International Policy Researcher, Ivor Davies Theatre-making in a time of political crisis.

Introduction, Economical & political background Stuttgart & Liège European Theatre Collaboration: Theatre Orient Express: from Ankara to Stuttgart, film In presence of Jan Krauter (actor with Orient Express) and Janek Liebetruth, director from Schauspiel Stuttgart presenting current work of the theatre.

Spring Tour theatre programme, Liège, Belgium 16h00

Welcome Reception at « Ecoles supérieure d'acteurs Conservatoire royal de Liège » (ESACT) In presence of Dubravka Vrgoč, ETC president Serge Rangoni, ETC vice-president, General & artistic director Théâtre de la Place Guided visit through drama school Keynote speech by Nathanaël Harcq, director ESACTArrival bus at hotel Ramada Plaza

17h15

Departure bus at Hotel Ramada Plaza / bus Hotel Mercure

18h30

Departure to Théâtre de la Place / Pôle Image

19h00

Opening Festival Emulation Performance « Blackbird », Théâtre de la Place. English surtitles. written by David Harrower, directed by Collectif IMPACT Performance « Des gouttes sur une pierre brûlante », Pôle image.

German surtitles. written by R.W.Fassbinder, directed by Caspar Langhoff

20h30

Departure Pôle Image to Théâtre de la Place

20h45

Performance « Entre Rêve et Poussière » - Carte blanche/Solo de l’ESCAT, Théâtre de la Place

21h15

Departure bus to restaurant Celtic Ireland

21h30

Dinner and encounter with artistic team of the Festival Emulation, Celtic Ireland

23h30

Transfer back to hotels

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April 20, Karlsruhe & Zürich Theme: Theatre for the very young 07h30

Departure by bus to Karlsruhe

10h00

Stop at Autohof Koblenz-Metternich

Spring Tour bus programme - On the way to Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Germany Moderation: Jan Linders, Staatstheater Karlsruhe  

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European Theatre Convention – Celebrating 25 years of European Theatre Dubravka Vrgoč, ETC president Director and choreographer Barbara Fuchs and dramaturge Ulrike Stöck, Staatstheater Karlsruhe Creating work for very young children and discuss artistic and outreach strategies of children’s and youth theatre for the 21st century.

Culture Advocacy Expert & International Policy Researcher, Ivor Davies Theatre-making in a time of political crisis.

Introduction, Economical & political background Karlsruhe

Spring Tour theatre programme, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Germany 12h30

Guided visit through Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Germany

13h00

Lunch

13h40

Departure bus to Junges Staatstheater

14h00

Performance “FrierSchlotterSchwitz” choreography: Barbara Fuchs

15h00

Departure by bus to Zürich

Spring Tour bus programme - On the way to Schauspiel Zürich, Switzerland Theme: Theatre & Media Moderation: Jan Linders, Staatstheater Karlsruhe  Andrea Schwieter, Head Dramaturg of the Schauspielhaus Zürich, and Alexander Keil, Dramaturg of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, will discuss Stefan Pucher’s current production concerning theatre and media.

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 Ann Marie Arioli, Artistic director of Theaterbiennale Wiesbaden 2014, Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, will present one of Europe’s most important theatre festival for new plays  

Culture Advocacy Expert & International Policy Researcher, Ivor Davies Theatre-making in a time of political crisis.

Introduction, Economical & political background Zürich Apéro on board the bus

Spring Tour theatre programme, Schauspiel Zürich, Switzerland 18h30

Guided visit Schauspiel Zürich, Schiffbau

19h15

Departure to Schauspiel Zürich, Pfauen

20h00

Performance „Cat on a hot tin roof“. Schauspiel Zürich, Pfauen.

English surtitles. written by Tennessee Williams, directed by Stefan Pucher Reception for ETC Spring Tour Theatre guests in break of performance

22h40

Walk to hotels

April 21, Prato Theme: Theatre & the decadence of Europe 07h30

Departure by bus to Prato

Spring Tour bus programme - On the way to Teatro Metastasio di Prato – Stabile della Toscana, Italy Moderation: Jan Linders, Staatstheater Karlsruhe  

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Theatre critic Gherardo Vitali Rosati will talk about Theatre & the Decadence of Europe introducing the production “The belle vue” by Ö. von Horvath, staged by Paolo Magelli Reading of the play “The belle vue”, English and German scripts available “Power, Violence, Democracy” at the center of Deutsches Theater Berlin in season 2012/2013. Dramaturges Malin Nagel and Christa Müller will talk about the seasonal focus and introduce the upcoming festival “Autorentheatertage” Young theatre artists on board Deborah Stevenson, Nottingham Playhouse, UK, poet Goran Ferčec, z/k/m Zagreb, Croatia, writer & dramaturge Culture Advocacy Expert & International Policy Researcher, Ivor Davies Theatre-making in a time of political crisis.

Introduction, Economical & political background Prato 8

Spring Tour theatre programme, Teatro Metastasio, Prato, Italy 16h30

Arrival bus at Hotel Art Milano

17h00

Departure to theatre, walk

17h30

Performance “The belle vue”, Teatro Metastasio written by Ödön von Horváth, directed by Paolo Magelli

20h00

Dinner, Caffée del Teatro

21h15

Discussion: Ödön von Horváth and the Decadence of Europe, Ridotto of Teatro Metastasio with Zeffiro Ciuffoletti, historian, Umberto Cecchi, President of Teatro Metastasio, Paolo Magelli, Artistic director of Teatro Metastasio English translation provided.

April 22, Maribor Theme: Theatre & Nation Building 07h30

Departure by bus to Maribor

Spring Tour bus programme - On the way to Slovene National Theatre, Maribor, Slovenia Moderation: Miriam Kičiňová, Slovak National Theatre 

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Artistic Director of Drama, at the Slovene National Theatre Diego de Brea, will discuss the relevance of theatre to nation building Young theatre artists on board Gina Calinoiu, Teatrul National 'Marin Sorescu' Craiova, Romania, actress Anne Habermehl, Deutsches Theater Berlin, Germany, writer & director Culture Advocacy Expert & International Policy Researcher, Ivor Davies Theatre-making in a time of political crisis.

Introduction, Economical & political background Zagreb

Spring Tour theatre programme, Slovene National Theatre, Maribor, Slovenia 18:00

Arrival Hotel Orel

18h30

Departure from Hotel Orel

18h45

Welcome meeting, Slovene National Theatre with Danilo Rošker, Managing Director of Slovene National Theatre

19h00

Performance “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”, Theatre Old Hall. English surtitles. written by Choderlos de Laclos/ adapted by Christopher Hampton, directed by Aleksandar Popovski

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21h30

Panel discussion, Theatre Old Hall

22h15

Reception, Slovene National Theatre

April 23, Bratislava Theme: The Paradox of the Old & the New 10h00

Departure by bus to Bratislava

Spring Tour bus programme - On the way to Slovak National Theatre Bratislava, Slovakia Moderation: Miriam Kičiňová, Slovak National Theatre 

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Robert Roth, Ensemble Actor & Radana Hromníková, Project Manager, from Slovak National Theatre will discuss the play Oriesta in the context of their theme, the Paradox of the Old & the New Young theatre artists on board Daniel Hengst, Theater Dortmund, Germany, video artist Emerging Young European Directors Festival “Fast Forward”, Axel Preusz, Head Dramaturge Staatstheater Braunschweig, Germany, will present the festival and other innovative intercultural projects initiated at the Staatstheater Braunschweig Culture Advocacy Expert & International Policy Researcher, Ivor Davies Theatre-making in a time of political crisis.

Introduction, Economical & political background Bratislava

Spring Tour theatre programme, Slovak National Theatre Bratislava, Slovakia 14h30

Arrival bus at Hotel Austria Trend

15h00

Lunch, restaurant city centre

16h00

Guided walk through the city center of Bratislava. From the old theatre building to the new theatre building.

17h30

Press conference, Slovak National Theatre

19h00

Performance “Oresteia”, Slovak National Theatre. English surtitles. written by Aschylos, directed by Rastislav Ballek

Followed by

Reception, Slovak National Theatre

April 24, Zagreb Theme: The contemporary play 10h00

Departure by bus to Zagreb

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Spring Tour bus programme - On the way to z/k/m Zagreb, Croatia Moderation: Miriam Kičiňová, Slovak National Theatre 

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Ensemble Actor Goran Bogdan will discuss his views on the Contemporary Play while head of PR at z/k/m, Zagreb, Helena Braut, will talk about the work of the theatre.

Representing the Nottingham Playhouse, Susannah Tresilian, theatre director and associate director of the “neat11 festival” (Nottingham European Arts & Theatre Festival in 2011) will talk about the festival that changed Nottingham’s culture landscape and the preparations for neat14 Culture Advocacy Expert & International Policy Researcher, Ivor Davies Theatre-making in a time of political crisis.

Introduction, Economical & political background Zagreb

Spring Tour theatre programme, z/k/m Zagreb, Croatia 15h00

Arrival Hotel Sheraton

16h30

Lunch, Vinodol Restaurant

19h00

Performance, “Yes, really, everything’s all right now”, z/k/m. English surtitles. written and directed by Olja Lozica

21h00

General rehearsal of the performance “Europe”, z/k/m

22h30

Discussion on “ETC Spring Theatre Tour” with all participants and artistic team of “Europe”

23h30

Cocktail & closing party Speech by Dubravka Vrgoč, ETC president and General and artistic director of z/k/m

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OVERVIEW PRESS COVERAGE SPRING THEATRE TOUR 2013

Listed in alphabetical order of countries

INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION & DISSEMINATION Title of Media A Soul for Europe / citiesforeurope.eu Euronews, Rendez vous Euronews, Rendez vous Euronews, Rendez vous Euronews.com Euronews, Le Mag euronews.com, le mag

Date

Circulation/people Medium reached 04.2013 online

12.04.2013 13.04.2013 14.04.2013 15.-28.04.2013 24.04.2013 24.04.2013

EBU - European broadcast union

24.04.2013

europeandme.com europeandme.com europeandme.com europeandme.com europeandme.com europeandme.com europeandme.com etc-cte.org etc-cte.org etc-cte.org etc-cte.org etc-cte.org etc-cte.org etc-cte.org

19.04.2013 21.04.2013 22.04.2013 22.04.2013 24.04.2013 25.04.2013 26.04.2013 18.04.2013 19.04.2013 20.04.2013 21.04.2013 22.04.2013 23.04.2013 24.04.2013

5 400 000 5 400 000 5 400 000 5 400 000 5 400 000 5 400 000 74 media channels in 56 countries 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400 3400 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000

29.04.2013 04.2013 04.2013 04.2013 04.2013 04.2013 04.2013

Circulation/people reached +/-4190 000 +/-4190 000 +/-4190 000 +/-4190 000 +/-4190 000 +/-4190 000 +/-4190 000

TV TV TV online TV online TV online online online online online online online online online online online online online online

BELGIUM Title of Media rtbf.be Rtbf Rtbf Rtbf Rtbf Rtbf Rtbf

Date

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Medium online radio radio radio radio radio radio

CROATIA Title of Media Novi list daily Jutarnji list Večernji list urbancult.hr večernji.hr buro247.hr dalje.com soundset.hr urbancult.hr

Circulation/people Medium reached 28.04.2013 +/- 30.000 print / online 27.04.2013 online 26.04.2013 online 26.04.2013 online 25.04.2013 online 25.04.2013 online 24.04.2013 online 24.04.2013 online 21.04.2013 online

Date

FRANCE Title of Media

Date

La Scène

Summer 2013

Circulation/people Medium reached +/- 10.000 print

GERMANY Title of Media Süddeutsche Zeitung Theater heute Badische Neueste Nachrichten boulevard-baden.de stuttgart.prinz.de blog.die-deutsche-buehne.de ccp-deutschland.de staatstheater.karlsruhe.de facebook.com/bianca.praetorius

Circulation/people reached 8./9.06.2013 420.377 07.2013 +/- 15.000 22.04.1013 129.771 20.04.2013 18.04.2013 17. – 24.04.2013 04.2013 04.2013 04.2013

Date

Medium print print print online online online online online online

ITALY Title of Media Hystrio La Nazione, Prato Youtube TeatroMetastasio youandnews.com pratoblog.it 247.libero.it La Nazione, Prato Il Tirreno, Prato metastasio.it metastasio.it

Date 07.2013 28.04.2013 23.04.2013 22.04.2013 22.04.2013 22.04.2013 21.04.2013 21.04.2013 04.2013 04.2013

13

Circulation/people Medium reached print / online print video / online online online online print Print /online online online

PORTUGAL Title of Media Público, Ípsilon Público, Ípsilon

Circulation/people Medium reached 17.05.2013 41 267 print 10.05.2013 41 267 print

Date

SLOVENIA Title of Media

Circulation/people Medium reached 04.05.2013 + /- 30.000 print / online 29.04.2013 print / online 29.04.2013 + /- 30.000 print / online 26.04.2013 print / online 26.04.2013 + /- 30.000 print / online 25.04.2013 print / online 25.04.2013 + /- 30.000 print / online 24.04.2013 print / online 24.04.2013 + /- 30.000 print / online 24.04.2013 online 23.04.2013 print / online 23.04.2013 + /- 30.000 print / online 23.04.2013 TV Maribor 22.04.2013 print / online 22.04.2013 + /- 30.000 print / online 20.04.2013 print / online 20.04.2013 + /- 30.000 print / online 18.04.2013 print / online 17.04.2013 online 16.04.2013 + /- 30.000 print / online

Date

Večer Delo Večer Delo Večer Delo Večer Delo Večer sigledal.org Delo Večer SNG Maribor Delo Večer Delo Večer Delo sng-mb.si Večer

SLOVAKIA Title of Media Radio devin Radio devin Slovak National Theatre Slovak National Theatre Radio devin Slovak National Theatre STV Jednotka Portal

Circulation/people Medium reached 07.05.2013 +/- 50.000 radio 14.06.2013 +/- 50.000 radio April TV April video 17.04.2013 +/- 50.000 radio 04.2013 radio 29.04.2013 print 04.2013 print

Date

SWITZERLAND Title of Media Tagesanzeiger

Circulation/people Medium reached 28.07.2013 +/- 190-000 print

Date

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PRESS COVERAGE INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATION & DISSEMINATION Cities for Europe, 04.2013, online

Project of the month: ETC Spring Theatre Tour 2013 – from Stuttgart to Zagreb!

The European Theatre Convention (ETC), a non-profit network of European state and municipality theatres, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The “ETC Spring Theatre Tour 2013” will start on Thursday, 18 April 2013 in Stuttgart. The bus tour leads through the European cultural landscape and stops in eight European cities – where the participating theatres will be presented as places, where citizens can face questions caused by the crisis in Europe. Considering the pressing economical worries and rising uncertainty of many Europeans, the theatres will initiate a critical and creative dialogue between the arts and society. In the course of this bus journey, they will invite young artists and journalists to visit various cities and their theatres in Europe to join the current debates.> more

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Euronews, France, TV, Rendez vous, 12.-14.04.2013

Trailer ETC Spring Tour

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Euronews, France, online, 15.-28.04.2013

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Euronews, France, Le Mag, 24.04.2013, TV

25 years of networking public theatres across Europe is certainly a reason to celebrate.

The European Theatre Convention, or ETC, is now the largest pan-european organisation promoting the work of public European theatres.

To celebrate the anniversary, the ETC has organised a spring tour across eight cities in seven European countries starting at the State Theatre in the German city of Stuttgart.

Each city chose a theme illustrating the problems and challenges of today’s public theatre institutions.

In Stuttgart it was about its social role, and particularly how to attract a young audience.

“Enthusing young people about the theatre is as difficult today as it was 100 years ago.” says Artistic Director Hasko Weber. “Maybe times were different but it was never taken for granted that young people wanted to sit in a closed room or space to watch a story told on a stage. This collective and democratic form of experience you always have to redefine and reinvent.”

On board for the tour are theatre professionals, journalists and artists who are involved in the theatre business to discuss and exchange their experiences.

In the Belgian city of Liege the acting school “Ecole Supérieur d’Acteurs Conservatiore” explained new concepts about actor training and work with actors in a theatre ensemble.

Today the European Theatre Convention represents 40 member theatres in more than 20 countries with the aim of increasing the impact of public theatres in European cultural policy discourses and to promote contemporary theatre creations.

In the south western German city of Karlsruhe the theme was about the artistic approaches and strategies for children and youth theatres.

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Todays its important to educate children that theatre is more than just entertainment is also a platform for social-political contention.

Jan Linders, the director of drama at the theatre explains: “Today’s theatre is still able and always will be capable of a collective perception of socially-relevant questions – not necessarily to answer them but to highlight those questions. Theatre is also able to integrate any new media, that is what is wonderful about it – I don’t think theatre will die out somehow just because of new media.”

Next stop was the Swiss city of Zürich to see “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” by Tennessee Williams – an example of how to integrate new media like video on stage.

In most public theatres the majority of the audience is Third generation. A new and younger audience needs to be attracted.

Dubravka Vrgo, the President of the European Theatre Convention, thinks it boils down to money.

“Because of the financial cutbacks, there is no place for young artists, for young actors, for the young directors in Europe and I think this is one of the biggest roles of the European Theatre Convention to care about the young artists, about the young theatre directors to make a Europe possible for them.With them we will find a new audience.”

The tour also crossed the Alps to Prato in Italy for the play “The Belle Vue” (Mit schöner Aussicht) by the Austrian-Hungarian writer Ödön von Horvart. Ödön von Horvat, who died 1938, warned of the upcoming fascism and racism in Germany. The stop in Prato was dedicated to the theme “Theatre and the decadence of Europe”.

Italian stage director Paolo Magelli has already worked all over the world. “I deeply believe that theatre is the place for dreams,” he said, “a free space, a place of freedom where utopia is possible, we must show people that the mind should be free.”

“To travel across Europe and discuss with professionals about today’s theatre, attend plays in seven different countries – this theatre spring tour is the dream of every theatre lover” said correspondent Wolfgang Spindler from Prato in Italy on his way to Zagreb for euronews.

More about: Europe, Theater Copyright © 2013 euronews

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Europe & Me, UK, 19.04.2013

Friday, 19 April 2013 14:51

ETC Spring Tour, day 1: under the spotlight Written by Ioana Burtea

The European Theatre Convention’s (ETC) first ever Spring Tour is in full bloom across the continent. For seven days, a caravan of five young artists, several journalists and ETC members are travelling east to west and north to south in a tour bus, aiming to examine the role of theatre in a time of uncertainty and crisis in Europe. Day one in lovely Stuttgart is already over and opened up discussions on the role of politics in supporting the arts and on theatre as a tool for promoting debate and change in society.

E&M will keep you up to date with all the talks, productions and interesting people met along the way.

First stop: Staatstheater Stuttgart, the largest triple branch theatre in Europe. Housed in two buildings dating back in the early 1900s, it hosts opera, ballet and theatre. Our tour guide was dramaturge Christian Holtzhauer, who showed everyone around the impressive performance halls, the busy backstage and the painting rooms where the sets are put together. The theatre is not only a centrepiece of German architecture – it holds six Opera of the Year awards from the magazine Opernwelt and won Theatre of 20

the Year 2006. Its role is heightened by its directors’ involvement in social and political debates, which are an important focus of the city of Stuttgart and its citizens.

Next on the agenda was a debate on the interdependencies between theatre and politics in Stuttgart, hosted at the Nord venue, where the rehearsal stage of the Staatstheater is. The four participants - artistic director of Staasttheater Hasko Weber, managing director of the Robert Bosch Foundation Ingrid Hamm, graphic designer Jochen Radeker, stage director Volker Losch – discussed a wide range of issues, from the role of foundations in creating platforms for culture to the building of a new train station in town.

Photo: Ioana Burtea A view behind the scenes in Stuttgart Stuttgart 21, the 6.5 billion Euros transport project meant to redefine infrastructure in the city, is a controversial initiative that sparked a lot of reactions from citizens. Worried about spending taxpayers’ money and on the environmental effects of the project, the people of Stuttgart began organising demonstrations, participating in debates and becoming more active in city life. Theatre makers in the area thrive from this new-found social awareness and have managed to bring audiences closer to the arts by addressing such themes.

Why is theatre so important to society? Besides creating social awareness, it makes people more curios and even "intelligent", according to Ingrid Hamm, and it reduces social differences by bringing together cultures and classes. Essentially, theatre is a meeting place and thus it must be competitive in order to attract audiences. The speakers highlighted the need of state theatres to be more than cultural places – they should become intellectual places and host spaces in which people can exchange ideas outside the performance rooms. This is what the Staatstheater Stuttgart does, understanding the importance of architecture: it hosts lounges, bars, elegant lobbies and rooms in which spectators and artists can interact. The idea is to bring everybody to one table to see how they can cooperate more closely to integrate culture in everyday life and politics.

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Photo: Ioana Burtea Discourse? Theatre? Or Discourse Theatre?

The time is perfect for this, because people are more interested than ever to become involved in policy-making and to find solutions to overcome the current crisis. It is also a good time for theatre to take more risks and, in the words of mighty Shakespeare, to "hold a mirror up to society." However, problems remain – racism in theatre is still prominent (black or Asian actors not being cast in roles known as belonging to white people), the funding is dropping and, as the speakers put it, "Europe is too large to be brave." This latter idea seems to be true for much more than just theatre if we look at the uncertainty in the EU area since the financial crisis began in 2008.

The day ended with a new play by writer and director Rene Pollesch, Die Revolver Der Uberschusse, at venue Nord. Rene Pollesch is one of Germany’s most unconventional stage experts and creates "discourse theatre". His plays have no narrative and the actors only recite texts inspired by modern society, philosophy and political issues. The Stuttgart performance took place on a revolving stage and discussed matters of love, abandonment, the philosophy of German 20th century thinker Theodor W. Adorno and death. While the play certainly raises interesting ideas about modern society and alienation, the question raised by many is whether Pollesch’s approach has the depth it claims to have and if it’s more than just a display of artistic rebellion. Its undeniable value, though, is bringing high ideas on modern stages and challenging the audiences’ intellect.

On that note, the ETC caravan is on its way to Liege in Belgium, where more interesting ideas are waiting to be debated. Keep an eye on Sixth Sense these days to find out where European theatre is going and what performances you can’t miss. Alles Gute!

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Europe & Me, UK, 21.04.2013, online

Sunday, 21 April 2013 13:00

ETC Spring Tour, day 2: A portrait of the artist as a young woman Written by Ioana Burtea

Time flies when you’re on tour. Day 2 of the ETC Spring experience brought us to the coquette town of Liege in Belgium, discussing how young students can access the theatre industry and find work.

Nathanael Harcq, director of the ESACTA School of acting in Liege, talked about what his institution does to facilitate the transition from theatre school to work. According to him, the school is already part of the profession of acting, as the students are given the chance to stage their own productions and work. In this respect, the ESACTA functions like a workshop where rules are created collectively by the students and their teachers.

The youngsters are thus encouraged to get to know themselves better and find out what conditions they need in order to flourish as professionals. They are even given electronic keys so that they can go in and out of the school at any time.

Taking this theme further, E&M spoke to one of the young artists on the ETC Spring Tour, namely spoken-word poet Deborah Stevenson. The 23 year-old wunderkind from East London is the founder and director of The Mouthy Poets in Nottingham, a group in 23

which young people learn how to express themselves in verse. She worked with Chanel 4, The Roundhouse in London, The British Council and has been published by Louis Vuitton. Here’s a short interview with Deborah on our busy tour bus.

You told us you’ve been a full-time poet since you were 20. How did you take up poetry in the first place?

I started around the age of 13 or maybe younger. I probably would’ve been 10, actually.

I saw a friend doing it and he won a competition. I just thought that was awesome. Then I started writing poems and showed them to an English teacher, who thought they were good. I started going to The Roundhouse project and really I was in an ideal position – a lot of spoken word poets were coming up from East London, a lot of them came to The Roundhouse.

Why poetry? What drew you to this form of expression?

I honestly don’t feel like there was a decision to be made. I was doing a lot of things: dancing (which I still love), acting, visual arts. I think the decision had to be made more clearly when I was choosing my BA. Even then, I applied to Philosophy, Psychology and I was thinking about Law as well. But when I went to see universities I realised all my interests could be pulled together in one place: poetry. I can address psychology and philosophy and dance and drama and the visual arts through poetry. I was working with Charlie Dark who runs a club for performance poets and he did the same, he brought his interests together in poetry. Then when I was 18 I was published by Louis Vuitton, so you have fashion, visual arts and poetry blending. It just felt like a through-way to all the other things I enjoyed, so I studied Creative Writing. It felt very instinctual. But that’s a retrospective assessment of that situation. At the moment it just felt like that made me happy.

Photo: Ioana Burtea Deborah Stevenson performing in the bus 24

How did you get into teaching?

I did a lot of shadowing since I was 17, when I shadowed the London team poetry slam.

Then I would just shadow anyone, anywhere I could. I’m a very reflective person, so it really felt like every time I was being taught I was shadowing that teacher. I don’t just do the exercise, I corner off a section of my page and write about my experience as a learner and look at the learners around me to see what they’re experiencing. I try to relate that to teaching theory and understand how I want to be as a teacher. Basically, two things happened simultaneously: in my second year of university I was getting very itchy, I didn’t want to work as a waitress, I didn’t want to move back home with my mum, so I needed to be paid to do poetry. There was a strong sense of immediacy. It’s so easy to take on a part-time job waitressing or in retail, but then that kills your enthusiasm and inspiration. You’re tired, it becomes a lot harder and so on. So, I asked the university if I could do a summer school to promote the course, even for free. They said they actually had some funding so they paid me to run promotional workshops for the course. That indicated to the people higher up on that degree my interest in education.

At the same time, I was working unpaid for Lyric Lounge in the East Midlands and they liked me so they asked me to teach. After that, as it happens when you get your first teaching job, it validates the quality of your work and the university offered me a bigger part. That inspired me to start Mouthy. Everything just came together – all my experience, all my contacts.

How is your interaction with your students, being so young?

I was really scared. I started teaching when I was 21. I just tried to take a very honest approach to it. I wasn’t going to pretend like I was better than them. I was honest about what I had to offer. I really love what I do, I graduated top of my class, I got an 85% on my dissertation – so, from an academic level I explained that I could support them. But I actually just care, it’s the main thing, I want to help them. And irrelevant of the type of writing you want to do, you will need to be able to speak. I can guarantee if you haven’t made a conscious effort in that regard, that’s going to have an impact on you professionally and personally. I’m not saying I’m a genius or I’m better – everything happened to me because I was like a rabid dog and I just wanted it. I want it equally as much for them.

We were just talking on the tour about the transition between drama school and the industry. How do you see that happening in the UK? I’m really trying to move on from my biased position on this. Immediately after graduation I got a bit pissed off about it. I think a lot of things need to happen – specifically if we’re talking about Creative Writing. Universities need to create stronger relationships with the community and organisations. They need to integrate those things into the degrees. The practical side of our work needs to be integrated in the course.

Theory can’t happen in isolation of practice and high quality practice does not happen in isolation of theory. I took that responsibility on myself, but I know that I’m weird. I was lucky that I found all the things that I love very early and I was on a BA that let me experiment. But there needs to be a better infrastructure to teach young people to have initiative. Students need to take on something practical and school needs to be more reflective of life.

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What do you find interesting about this tour – what will you take back to the UK? I found out about it a week before it started and I was just coming back from Japan, so I didn’t know much. That was quite nice because I’m usually so organised, so I enjoyed the ignorance. Now I’m engaging more with it and becoming Deborah again. Just earlier this year I started developing poetry for theatre and I didn’t know if I could do it. This tour is creating a really nice foundation of information for me to get more involved in that – the talks, everyone here and the discussions we’re having, all the cities we’re visiting, the architecture. That empirical attack is a nice foundation to have and it made me think of themes for my future work. It’s a good space to be in and we’re talking about the right stuff.

How can people find out about Mouthy and get involved?

You can google us – there’s no other group called Mouthy Poets. We’re currently developing our website – www.mouthypoets.com. It’s not as developed as our blog though, which is www.wordpress.mouthypoets.com. We’re quite artistically strong, but organisationally weak. We still need to work on the website, on defining the kind of work that we do for the online environment. We’re figuring that out, but we know what we stand for and the things that we achieve for young people that we work with.

Tell me what the future will bring for you.

I just got a publisher for my first pamphlet – that will hopefully be coming out in the autumn. I’ve also got enough for a collection of poetry and I’m talking to a publisher about that – that’s a bigger decision to make. A pamphlet can be representative for me as a young writer, but a collection is going to be something heavier. I’ll also have a show coming out for me next year at the playhouse, hopefully. And we’re applying for touring money for Mouthy – we might be touring the Midlands in autumn.

Mouthy’s next event is on the 15th of June at Nottingham Playhouse, during a minifestival of drama and poetry.

The ETC caravan’s next stops are Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia and finally Croatia.

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Europe & Me, UK, 22.04.2013

Monday, 22 April 2013 20:10

ETC Spring Tour, day 3: What's behind the tour?

Written by Ioana Burtea

Children's theatre? Ioana Burtea I don't know about your weekend, but we on the ETC Spring Tour managed to see two plays in two different countries in just a few hours. Day 3 was exhausting, but then again it gives us many tales to share with you.

After leaving Liege, we went back to Germany in the small town of Karlsruhe, near the border with France. There we visited the Badisches Staatstheater and saw an endearing short play for toddlers at the Children's Theatre. All I can say is that I never thought plays for under five year olds could be so lovely – the two actors on stage used body movement and dance to take us on a meteorological journey, from cold lands to warm beaches. Us grownups might have been more excited than the target audience, I'll admit.

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Photo: Ioana Burtea Dubrovka Vrgoc, president of the ETC On the way to Zurich, on the same day, we spoke with Dubravka Vrgoc, the president of ETC. She explained that the idea of the European Tour was born out of a desire to celebrate the 25 years in which the organisation she leads has been promoting an exchange of ideas and collaboration between public theatres in over 40 countries. Mrs Vrgoc believes the timing could not have been better – in a time of crisis across the continent, the ETC wants to address more than just budget cuts and financial plans. The purpose of the tour is to get people discussing about the moral crisis during these turbulent years, as well as a crisis of audiences which have been moving away from theatre and into film.

On that note, we arrived in Zurich in the evening and went straight to Schauspiel theatre where we saw a performance of Cat on a hot tin roof written by Tennessee Williams and directed by Stefan Pucher. The play combined acting with live music and clips, which honestly made our heads spin. All would have been much more bearable without the overly-passionate performances of the actors on stage. The play was of the type that is designed to scream originality and postmodernism, but all too often this is a facade underneath which nothing is truly reinvented.

That's all from Day 3 and the snowy Alps. We visited sunny Italy today and will report much more interesting things in the days to come. Be sure to keep an eye on Sixth Sense. Ciao!

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Europe & Me, UK, 22.04.2013, online

Monday, 22 April 2013 21:59

ETC Spring Tour, day 4: budgeting the future?

Written by Ioana Burtea

The theatre in Zürich Ioana Burtea And on the fourth day they staged a play on the bus and it was good.

The ETC group left Zurich early in the morning and had a long drive to the Tuscan town of Prato. Given that the members of the caravan already feel like family after travelling together for several days, the bus activities on Sunday became more dynamic.

Therefore, after our Italian friend Gherardo – a theatre critic – gave us a few details about the play we were about to see that evening, The Belle Vue directed by Paolo Magelli, part of the group decided to have a dramatic reading of the English version of the text. The impromptu play brought everyone to life and channelled the team's focus, making us forget about the sleep deprivation and the long distances we covered. Later that evening, we saw the show at the Teatro Metastasio di Prato – as lovely as it was, we were better.

Another special moment during our journey to Prato was spoken-word poetess Deborah Stevenson's performance for the group (you already know Deborah from the interview E&M published on Day 2). Deborah performed two poems - one in which she brilliantly impersonated an American pastor - and showed us clips from her earlier artistic experiences in London. The mini-show made us fall in awe with the talented poet and ended in tears and applause. We strongly recommend you keep an eye on Deobrah and her passionate work.

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Day 4 was also about democracy and totalitarianism, following the theme of the play we attended. Our Portuguese friend and journalist Tiago talked to us about the symbolism of the show and its relevance for the meaning of democracy and the role of history. We thought that perhaps when we look at the present state of things around Europe we're looking at the wrong side of the story. We generally see the consequences of a series of irresponsible actions and judge our leaders, but we rarely look at how we vote, why we chose those people and how we view civic duty. This is a topic very close to my heart, so I wish everyone I know would've been present during our discussion.

Right after this, our British friend Ivor spoke to us on the bus about the crisis in theatre and in cultural industries in general. What he advised us to think about is particularly interesting: the original meaning of the word "crisis" is related to "decision". Perhaps, then, what we need to do in this time of crisis is not to close down, guard what we have and cut budgets for the arts. We need to open up and rethink the existing structures.

Most importantly, we need to decide on a course of action (not just plan one) and implement those measures. One would say it is easier said than done – but then again what has the status quo done to improve the situation of the cultural industries since 2008? Closing down theatres and venues, firing artists and cancelling festivals hasn't brought any evolution; it is just halting all the progress that has been achieved. Would it be so awful to take a risk and try something else, even if it proves to be a mistake at a later stage? Mistakes can be corrected and people learn from them, while the alternative – under-financing arts and letting them decay until the damage is too big – will surely not bring anything good.

The effect of political decisions (or indecisions) on the cultural industries and theatre in particular was also the topic of a discussion we had in Prato after the play, with director Paolo Magelli and historian Umberto Cecchi. The talk, considered a bit too abstract by some of the participants, focused on the decadence of Europe and of language.

According to the speakers, one of the main reasons for this is a loss of control on the meaning of words.

We'll leave it at that for now, as I'm sure we've given you plenty to think about until our next diary entry. Rest assured all these big conversations and experiences will be summarised in a feature after the tour ends. The ETC group is on its way to Maribor in Slovenia, where we're watching a performance of Dangerous Liaisons. E&M will keep you up to date with all the fun things we do on the bus and the great discussions we're having about Europe, crisis and theatre. Spoiler alert: this tour is really turning into something else, something bigger thanks to all the special people on the bus.

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Europe & Me, UK, 24.04.2013, online

Wednesday, 24 April 2013 19:04

ETC Spring Tour, day 5: Of Driving Jails and Flying Ideas Written by Ioana Burtea

Ioana Burtea When we saw the programme of the theatre tour – the eight cities, seven days deal – we started thinking about a deadline when everyone would explode. Most of us thought day three was a sensible day to explode on as it was the hardest: the group attended two plays in two different countries (Germany and Switzerland). However, we turned out to be unexpectedly disciplined and the exhaustion only took over on day five. And even then, we managed to turn it into something creative and positive. Here's what happened.

On the way to Maribor (Slovenia), two of our travel buddies staged a short play on the bus. Anne, who is a playwright in Berlin, wrote the script and Gina, an actress from Romania, performed as one of the characters. The moment was particularly inspiring because it was the first time that a part of the group came together to create something after witnessing all the big talks and seeing all the different plays. The topic of the play was borders and how they influence people's lives – especially when borders separate a family. This is something quite common nowadays in Europe, with free movement enabling people to go from one place to the other. However, what does this do to the individual? How does it influence his/her ties to family and origins in general? This is one of the social realities that European theatre could and should address. Everyone on the bus felt quite strongly that the moment Anne and Gina created was one of the most 31

relevant and debate-prompting of the whole tour. Everyone was also left speechless for a number of minutes as we thought about what we should do or say next.

Photo: Ioana Burtea What's it like to stage a play in a bus?

The answer came from Daniel, who is a videoartist in Dortmund. He suggested – and we all approved – that if we keep running around from one city to another and just focus on staying awake until the end, this tour would be a waste. We've been under an incredible amount of pressure and we've been trapped together in our Driving Jail for several days now, so it's been very difficult to sink in what we've been seeing on theatre stages or to clarify the questions we were left with after debates. We all had topics we wanted to discuss in more depth or questions that remained unanswered because of the lack of time.

The alternative Daniel proposed was to use the hours spent on the bus, driving from one city to another, to talk together as a group and address these issues. Furthermore, we agreed that since we've been lucky enough to be part of such a diverse and creative collective – poets, playwrights, journalists, theatre directors and actors – we should continue our collaboration after the tour ends. What we intend to do in these last days is to take some time to really think about what where we could start – Create a platform for collaboration in theatre? Make a project? Get involved in each other's existing projects?

-, what key issues we want to tackle and how we can help each other achieve our professional goals. Maybe Anne and Gina could stage the play they began developing, Daniel could help with the visual arts, Ivor could help with the research and I could write a review of the final product or contribute with my writing skills in some way. We are convinced everyone has a part to play. The fact is, after this intense tour we will be the lucky possessors of certain knowledge about the state of the European theatre, the differences at a national level, the themes that are being addressed (and those which are ignored), so we will be able to create something from an unusually informed perspective. What is painfully clear is that if we don't act and continue what we've started here, our efforts on this tour will have been for nothing.

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After making this very passionate decision to work together, we arrived in the picturesque city of Maribor in Slovenia, where we saw a performance of Dangerous Liaisons. The topic on everyone's minds was our earlier discussion on the bus, though.

As we called it a night, we decided we would start thinking about options for us on the following morning, on the way to Bratislava. What followed and the course of action that we took will only be revealed to you if you keep an eye on E&M for the diary of day six.

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Europe & Me, UK, 25.04.2013, online

Thursday, 25 April 2013 21:59

ETC Spring Tour, day 6: Mephisto, I mean, manifesto Written by Ioana Burtea

The Slovak National Theatre Ioana Burtea Day six of the ETC Spring Tour found us working very hard on the way to Bratislava, Slovakia. After a fiery Monday, the members of our group made a commitment to each other to think about ways to work together and create an artistic product that is relevant to the issues we've been confronted with on the tour. Therefore, we gathered in the front of the bus and, for several hours, we thought and wrote down ideas and issues up for debate.

Despite our continuous exhaustion and being aware of the vagueness of our plans, we realised we needed to clarify the concept of "crisis in theatre" that we've been hearing so much about and pinpoint its symptoms – this way, we'd know what we're trying to solve.

Secondly, we wanted to think about what issues are important to us individually – whether it's the transition from school to work, the outdated themes theatre addresses or the unequal representation of gender and ethnicity on European stages. We knew we wouldn't find the answers to every question we had on the tour, but we thought that we should take advantage of the time we had left on the bus to talk about the future. The matter on everyone's mind was "how do we go on?"

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Photo: Ioana Burtea Working on the manifesto Jan, a journalist from Slovakia, came up with a strategy to clarify at least some of the ambiguity around this issue. We were divided into groups of three or four and worked for a few minutes to decide which issues are most important to us. Each group wrote three main ideas on a piece of paper and then all the writings were passed to our friend and chief researcher, Ivor. He studied them overnight and found three common threads among the groups. This became our "manifesto", a list of issues we want to address as a group, a set of principles we all believe in and the foundation on which we intend to build an artistic project. Here is the first, rough draft of why we decided to work together and what we want to achieve.

We need rich theatre, not rich theatres!

We must build wide public awareness of the real, emotive and inspirational experience that theatre, at its best, offers us (and demand that theatre itself lives up to this). Great theatres serve as an important and distinctive public laboratory for real, shared stories and scenarios that can have the power to live political, psychological and emotional experience, but in a safe and removed place. We must be this theatre!

We want dialogue and reach!

We must find more successful and dynamic ways to represent the full diversity of people, opinions and backgrounds that surrounds each of us. This demands more openness, and building diverse relationships and partnerships and a shared space with voices other than our own. We recognise and welcome different, and even contradictory, perspectives, as these enrich both us and our work, and give us legitimacy in a wider social and political sphere.

Our publics are our lifeblood!

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We can only achieve real legitimacy for our theatre if we establish and maintain the deepest relationships at all levels in the areas that we serve. This extends well beyond our connection with local/regional/national government to the crucial dialogue we have with our publics. And we are locally focused but not parochial: we both seek out and welcome influences and ideas from elsewhere, as these further enrich and inform our work.

While this is still not a clear direction for our group, we only had a few hours to come up with an ethos. Most of all, we really wanted to find a common set of beliefs as we are all from different countries, backgrounds and professions. Having established the above, we can now work towards more concrete steps so that we end up building a space where we feel enabled to create something that represents us and what we stand for.

The more pragmatic ideas actually followed on our last day in Zagreb.

Photo: Ioana Burtea View from the Slovak National Theatre Other than working hard on our manifesto, we did enjoy our short trip to Bratislava. It was probably the first time since the beginning of our journey that we could afford to walk around the city and enjoy the sights. The group visited several theatres – including the state one hosted in a modern building – and strolled along the banks of the Danube, praising the gods of theatre for the lovely weather.

At night, we went to see Oresteia, directed by Rastislav Ballek, staged for the first time in a Slovakian theatre. The production, a melange of experimental theatre and new media, was surely one of the most interesting on the ETC Spring Tour. While some people enjoyed certain aspects of the play deeply – the deconstruction of the ancient story, the new aesthetics and the challenge to find hidden symbols –, others found the message behind the reinterpretation of Oresteia as judgemental and erroneously formulated. It seemed like the director had taken a moral high ground with regard to the characters of the play, confusing ethics with morality – and one cannot judge the ways of an ancient civilisation by the standards of modern society.

After the play, we were invited to a quiet reception at the Slovak National Theatre. The highlight turned out to be when our favourite poetess, Deborah Stevenson, teamed up 36

with a young lady commissioned to play the harp for us and performed a poem with musical background. It was an emotional moment for everyone and a great way to end the day.

With weary bones and big plans, we headed to our final destination – Zagreb. Keep posted tomorrow for the last diary entry of this exciting and eventful tour!

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Europe & Me, UK, 26.04.2013, online

Friday, 26 April 2013 20:40

ETC Spring Tour, day 7: Theatre and long term relationships Written by Ioana Burtea

The end of the tour? Ioana Burtea I put off writing about the last day of the ETC Spring Tour because I didn't want to do it. I knew it was going to be nostalgic and mushy, and it was going to confirm what has already happened – the tour is over and so is our time together in the Driving Jail. Until reaching that point of sobbing though, I'm going to take the Eastern European dignifiedand-unmovable position and write about the full, productive day we had on the way to and in sunny Zagreb.

While on the bus, we gathered as we had gotten used to in the previous days, to discuss our future projects. As you might remember, a large part of the group decided to work together on an artistic project after being inspired by what we saw and talked about during our travels. Also, we had reached a point of frustration because of the packed, fast schedule that didn't fully allow us to absorb what we were going through and give something back to our wonderful hosts in the eight cities we visited. Therefore, we wrote a manifesto with the massive help of Ivor and agreed to think about concrete steps towards our goal.

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Photo: Ioana Burtea The stage in Zagreb The plan started to take a clearer shape on Wednesday morning. We agreed we wanted to organise a similar experience to the ETC Spring Tour next year, but in just one country – Romania. Why Romania? Because everyone thought it would be exciting to go there and Gina, who works at the National Theatre in Craiova, and I offered to help with anything we could. The artists involved in our group would create one or several products which we'd present there, but we also want to give participants the chance to really immerse in the experience. That's why we thought the journey should last at least one week during which we'd organise several workshops or small, interactive plays that would give us and the other guests a space to learn from each other and communicate.

As Deborah said, the point of this would be to show the world "I'm changing this thing, I've made this product – what are you doing?" Looking at all the people in the bus we became certain that all of us, individually, will end up making a difference in our field of work – but we want to start together, now.

The next step was to think about artists' favourite subject: money. How would we fund such an experience? There are certainly several options: European funds, adults' funds for learning and arts funds that we'll certainly research in the weeks to come and later apply for. As Tiago pointed out, the key is not to fall in the trap of acting contrary to what we preach – after all, we are the ones who said that theatres spend money unwisely, yet we need funding for what we want to do. We are painfully aware of this and we will start to think of ways to avoid this contradiction (we have only begun three days ago), but as theatre director Susannah from London said, the money for arts is out there – we need to start believing that we deserve it and can initiate change. After some retrospective time to think, in the poetic words of Deborah, and a long sleep (my personal desire) I'm confident that the image will clarify even more. So, with four feet on the ground and our heads up in the sky, we walk into the future together.

As for Zagreb, I have to say it looks strikingly a lot like Bucharest – at least the areas in which we strolled around. In the evening, we saw a general rehearsal of a new play premiering at the Z/K/M Theatre this month, called "Europa". It is probably fitting to 39

address the subject in the eve of Croatia's accession to the EU, especially since many citizens are not quite convinced by the single ethos. The play, spoken in Croatian, English, German and Polish, was definitely entertaining and had some strong points in highlighting the ridiculousness of several European standards and procedures – one of which was, go figure, applying for arts funds. However, my Croatian, German and Polish are a bit rusty these days and only part of the dialogue had supra-titles in English, so I missed a reasonable chunk of the show. It is meant to be confusing and the action could be understood reasonably well from the actor's performances and stage settings, but on tour this could become a problem for audiences. Daniela, our journalist friend from Bruxelles, also pointed out a trap into which the writers of the play fell – representing East Germans according to existing stereotypes, in a play that criticises the uniformity of the EU.

Photo: Ioana Burtea Discussing "Europa" in Zagreb The show was followed by a discussion with the writers of the script and a series of short speeches marking the end of the tour. We heard from Susannah, Deborah and Anne who travelled across Europe with the gang, and also from the ETC president, Dubravka Vrgoc. We were a little sad because we weren't able to present a small performance we prepared on the bus – simulating a bus journey, of course – and announce our future plans in more detail, due to a lack of time. Hopefully the premiere will still take place, if only in Romania, during our own event.

Our journey ended with the typical wine and food party, a big Happy Birthday sung to the ETC on its 25th anniversary, and a lazy walk to the hotel, holding on to each other's weary bones and talking about how we'd start our project.

The next morning we all made the admirable effort to wake up early for one last breakfast, since everyone had flights to catch that day. There was omelette and fresh fruit and coffee and hugging and crying. But besides an emotional departure, there was e-mail exchanging, step planning and reinforcing our commitment to each other. We now have an online group where we keep in touch and decide on where to go next.

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We're ready to see if this long-distance, long-term relationship will be successful – if I'd have to bet though, I'd bet on this rather than any other boyfriend.

I arrived in London after noon, along with Deborah, Susannah and Ivor. On the Heathrow Express, the girls were sending Ivor anonymous texts so he'd think it was his alcoholic ex-constructor again. There was colossal laughter. Several minutes later, we were all hugging on the platform in Paddington. Ivor was the first to leave, up the stairs to the Circle Line. We joked about being Ivor's Angels and headed to the end of the platform. Deborah went down to the Bakerloo Line, Susannah took a bus and I hopped on a taxi to West London.

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ETC Daily Diaries, 18.04.2013, online

April 18, Stuttgart Key word: Risk Should we talk about risks? And should we take them? At whose expenses? Talking about theatre today when Europe is in such a turning point might seem pointless but haven’t we always expected responses from an art form that has always portrayed itself as a mirror of society? And by doing so, enabling society to become more aware of the choices that were made to get to the point we are?

On the first day of the Spring Theatre Tour, organized by the European Theatre Convention to celebrate its 25th anniversary, the word on the table was risk. And risks taken with several implications. The first one by putting together 44 cultural agents, from artists to programmers, from journalists to teachers coming from 11 different countries for a 7 day travel tour across 7 countries and stopping in 8 different cities. This is not only a risk that puts the stakes in a very high level, but also a task. Firstly because it questions what it means to be in Europe, considering which frontiers, being defined by which sights, with which cultural references. Secondly because, by doing so, it provokes a question that was risen by stage director Volker Lösch at the panel discussion “Theatre and Politics: Which role does theatre play in a societal processes and debates?

Where are limits of the arts?” held at the Staatstheater Stuttgart, the first stop of this tour: “Are we risking everything?”

Maybe we’re not and cultural networks play an essential role in a reality that is far from being a privileged one. The complexity of producing such an event can be used as a metaphor for what Ingrid Hamm, managing director of the Robert Bosch Foundation, answered to Mr Lösch: “Take into account failure”, she said, delivering a not at all predictable answer to what Volker Lösch said was being done with money: “Too safe”, he said.

Therefore, how to take into consideration the fact, that such a tour, which will take the group to meetings with different topics throughout the cooperating theatres, is happening at a time, when the EU’s budget for culture is still in discussion? How to prove that this is a risk and how to create a space for risks to be acknowledged as such and not as an ephemeral experiment?

Rene Pollesch’s new play “The Revolvers of Excess” – showed at the Schauspiel Stuttgart Nord – proposed a word, another one, to what the bus, the idea of Europe and the concept of theatre can be: heteropia, following Michel Foucault’s definition of a place that exists and it does not. In a sense, just like theatre (even if Pollesch was talking about love, labour and, in some ways, loss – yes, Shakespeare is always around us).

We must not forget, that the etymological sense of the Greek work theatron means “the place from where you see”, therefore a place of power. And that theatre combines, at the same time, a space and an idea. A venue, hence the place where one that sees, 42

inhabits the place from where the city is being seen (the metaphor that theatre is a mirror of the society). But it also means theatre as a concept, one that has no form except when being seen and when it is later shaped through description. Therefore, when being experienced through its material form and its ephemeral form. A place that exists and a place that is evoked. A bus that crosses former borders – and by doing so moves a step further from Europe’s recent past– but also a vessel that eludes to what exists behind the windows but does not allow the passengers to live it.

On the first day, the many questions raised can be collected in the same frame: how do we create a platform for understanding where all the expectations if not attended, at least are taken into account? And how can theatre and theatre discourse produce words, concepts, images and hopes – therefore, future, or road, if we want to remain within the metaphor of the bus – which allow us to expect never to know if it’s risky enough? Or sufficient enough?

Next stop: Liége, April 19th Tiago Bartolomeu Costa for European Theatre Convention

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ETC Daily Diary, 19.04.2013, online

April 19, 20 Liège and Karlsruhe Key word: Co-dependence Let’s think of theatre as a chain where co-dependency works as a system.

Réné Pollesch used Michel Foucault’s “heterotopia” to define it (see Daily Diary I), I would like to use Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guatari’s concept of “rhizome”. It underlines the delicacy of discussing the relation between theatre and education, a topic raised by Liége’s Theatre de la Place and Karlsruhe’s Badisches Staatstheater. The term “rhizome” was first used in the 1970’s by the two philosophers talking about a book and its metastases. By replacing the word “book” with “theatre”, the outcome is as follows: “Theatre is not the image of the world, despite this known belief. It produces rhizome with the world; there is a non-paralled evolution between theatre and the world, theatre grants the de-territorialisation of the world, but the world produces a de-territorialisation of theatre, which de-territorialises itsself inside the world and on its own (if it may and if it can do such thing)”.

This comes into one’s mind when thinking about theatre and education, the theme discussed in Liège and Karlsruhe. The day before, in Stuttgart, moderator Hasko Weber had already questioned the panel about the importance of training and about the fact that the actual focus tends to be on young audiences.

In Liège the unique Festival Emulation - which also gave space to new creations from names having recently emerged-, has been asking a similar question: when is an actor ready to perform in public and how can he be supported effectively?

Theatre is both: a co-dependent and an interdependent system, just like “rhizome”.

From one edge you can go to another end, and each end is a starting point for something new. It is also a matter of responsibility. Nathanael Harcq, head of ESACT, the school that launched three of the performances presented at the festival (including “Des Gouttes Sur Une Pierre Brulante” , by R. W. Fassbinder, directed by Casper Langhoff, son of the great master Matthias Langhoff) gave a specific example that might trouble the conventional relations between institutions: the school provides each student with a key, a key that opens every door of the school, transferring the responsibility for the whole lot to each single student. “It’s not common”, said Nathanael Harcq. It certainly isn’t, but it touches a point that relates to the notion of “rhizome”: one movement affects the whole issue and the ensemble is composed by single choices.

The territorialisation is built upon the expectation that everyone plays a key part and it is, at the same time, self-sufficient and inter-dependent.

During a day when education and training are at stake, the importance of all counterparts to get involves into an open relationship, where responsibility is shared, can’t be emphasized enough.

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But how does it work, when the counterparts are minor and totally self-dependent? In “FrierSchlotterSchwitz”, Barbara Fuchs’s show performed at the Junges Staatstheater in Karlsruhe, simple and recognizable elements point towards a reality that children recognize beyond the walls of a theatre: cold, heat, shivers, exhaustion. The choreographer explained that the hardest thing is to go beyond a preconceived strategy and to remain open to intuition. The children’s perception of reality will have implications on the show, the same way it can affect future choices. The next question coming up is how to proceed afterwards: Give a key or open the door? Pave the way or show where the bricks are?

In the end education, training and responsibility in a rhizomatic system are, in fact, like preparing a risotto – we were laughing about this in the bus- : the more you want to control it, the more it remains a matter of intuition. There’s no way you’ll know when it’s the right moment to stop, you always have to try it out.

Artistic education leads to the formation of a responsible citizen as much as the freedom in teaching arts leads to a more open theatre form. Both systems work in mysterious ways, hoping that the possibilities created might lead to an evolution that goes beyond theatre. Or, to go back to the topic of the first day, towards new concepts that might define, why we still believe that theatre is a mirror of society.

Tiago Bartolomeu Costa for European Theatre Convention

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ETC Daily Diary, 20.04.2013, online

April 20, Zuerich Key word: Virtual reality Theatre - provocateur Alfred Jarry once said that “the audience has only understood ancient Greek tragedies and comedies, or so it says, because they were based on universal fables which were always explained in every play, knowing that a character from the play would sometimes be chosen in the prologue”. In other words, the audience knew what they were going to see. And they wanted the story to be told (even if they knew it already).

But in times, when theatre seems to be contaminated by what is conventionally called new media, what is the importance of the text? And what sort of relation is being created between the stage and the audience, when the creative industries, the digital art or the new media are the ones doing the lobbying for culture nowadays?

The staging of Cat on a hot tin roof at the Schauspielhaus Zurich, directed by Stefan Pucher, is a good example for the topic of the day: “Theatre and Media”.,not only in the bus but also in the current discussions inside the European Commission, where everything has to be digitally driven. What does “Theatre and Media” mean? What sorts of frontiers are being raised and where can we establish borders that acknowledge the limitations of each discipline?

One example: In the bus two colleagues are following the tour doing short videos of the several activities and discussions. Wolfgang Spindler is a journalist from Euronews and Daniel Hengst is a visual arts artist and both are creating a visual approach to our journey. In a way this comes close to the famous segment NO COMMENT, that has become a trademark of Euronews. “It was strange at the beginning”, Wolfgang Spindler explained, adding that the concept had been adopted, because the editors had nothing to propose which could fill the gaps between their news segments. It will be strange as well, to see a visual reconstruction of what happened after the end of this tour. Even these diaries add a new dimension to our journey; they are not necessarily diaries in the sense of describing what happened.

What it is is a non-edited, non-commented approach to reality? Can we translate this to theatre? Can a performance be received with no editing? Yes and no.

Yes, because the frictions between theatre and the media have to do with a transformation of the way the media are perceived today. And yes, because the media produce a change of the core elements of theatre, they influence the relationship between the actor, the stage and the audience profoundly.

No, because what we see today on stage sometimes calls for an autonomy of reality, that may lead to shows reflecting society in a way that provokes epidemic reactions of disgust. Another reason is that this normally occurs with interpretations of theatre texts 46

on stage that cut through the commonly accepted dramatic canon. Just like Cat on a hot tin roof did, back in the 1950’s when it was premiered. This also happened during this Swiss staging of the play: cultural references were manipulated in order to create several new layers of interpretation. Video is used to produce new meanings, but it should not impose these meanings upon the text. In between, the audiences tend to say, that they do not recognize themselves in the social and moral decadence shown through this kind of dramaturgy. Stefan Puchers Cat on a hot tin roof is a good example of what the difficult relationship between the object of affection – the chosen text – and an approach that nowadays has invaded the European theatre, can become. And, to some extent, his interpretation has replaced good craftsmanship by virtual elements.

These are phenomena widely legitimated by criticism, which have been particularly defined through a misreading of the term of post-dramatic theatre. The cross-referential performance shown in Zurich might imply that media are used to over-compensate the lack of trust in an actor to say his text. But there are things that media cannot bring about or add to the richness of a text and to the live interaction between an actor and its audience in theatre.

It seems like a metaphor to leave Zurich crossing the Alps, not very far from the “Alpsee”, the lake, where King Ludwig II forced the famous actor Kanzia to row a boat, because he wanted to see the beauty of those mountains in detail. He needed an actor to do this, someone who could tell him a story. The boat - like the new media – was only a means, not the purpose.

Tiago Bartolomeu Costa for European Theatre Convention

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ETC Daily Diary, 21.04.2013, online

April 21, Prato Key word: Words At the end of a very long day, the following sentence seems to resume the situation in Europe: “Words are the closest weapons at reach and the situation today, being a crisis of values, is also a verbal war. Search for words and you will find the violence that has taken Europe aside”. This is how Zeffiro Ciuffoletti, professor and philosopher resumes the conflicts in Europe proposing a new politic of perception. He did so after the performance of “Zur Schönen Aussicht (Hotel Belvedere, a tart comedy, written by the German playwright Ödön von Horvath in the beginning of the 1920’s. The play already reflects the main reason for the permanent European crisis: the clash of different goals and objectives between different countries.

Professor Ciuffoletti approached the subject late at night at the Teatro Metastasio after Paolo Magelli’s staging of Horvaths play during the ETC-panel about the topic „Theatre and the decadence of Europe“. It led us into the center of this ETC Spring Theatre Tour’s purpose: to create an opportunitiy for artists to focus on how to prepare the european future. In a sense, this also means how words can be transformed into action.

In Horvath’s text, set in a hotel somewhere in Europe, it’s everyone’s ambition to stop the European progress and at the same time to impose strategies, which will lead – as it was proved later on – to war and destruction. In the bus, reading the play while crossing the Swiss Alps a question arose: how can today’s young generation, coming from different European countries, deal with the words of a young dramaturge who already predicted what was going to happen 100 years ago, and tried to alert us through theatre. „Words are actions,“ Virginia Woolf said. And in a tour that intends to produce solutions for the next 25 years of ETC-work – and of the course Europe will be taking – the participants were asked to think about how their work and art will be influenced by the current crisis and how they perceive the Europe of today.

And indeed - nine hours of bus travel do produce a lot of thinking and doubts. While reading the play –there were no English subtitles during the performance– the participants became improvised actors and realized that words weren’t just words, they were symbols reflecting the changes in Europe one hundred years ago. They also realized the power of a metaphor. Like Ortega y Gasset once said: „It’s the greatest invention of mankind“.

Tiago Bartolomeu Costa for European Theatre Convention

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ETC Daily Diary, 22.04.2013, online

April 22, Maribor Key word: Actions And then everybody felt the need that something had to be done. After 5 days of travelling, an outburst of emotions, the wish to progress, the group recognized that something must change. As Italian writer Tommasio di Lampedusa said in Il Gattopardo: “Future is yet to be written.” The group experienced the need to share a common purpose besides the circumstantial fact of being on the same bus and visiting a different theatre every day.

Whether it was Horvath’s theme or the fact to get to Prato after 9 hours of bus travelling, which prepared the ground for this transformation we’ll never know. But from today on, discussions developed and decisions were made. Words are actions and actions require plans. Going to the Eastern countries of Slovenia and Slovakia produced a more concrete discussion that, eventually in the future, will lead to projects which will maintain a connection between the passengers in the bus.

Before the performance, a bottle of champagne was waiting for us, a courtesy of Danilo Rosker, managing director of the Slovenian National Theatre. May be it is too early to open it. But one thing is sure; someone is taking care of us. Milka, the maid,left a signed card on the table. It feels good to be welcomed this way.

The performance, “Dangerous Liaisons”, (“Les Liaisons Dangereuses”), written by the French author Chorderlos de Laclos adapted for the stage by Christopher Hampton and directed by Aleksander Popowski was about love and its possible aberrations, a theme that doesn’t have much to do with the political discourses of today.

But during the following discussion “Theatre and Nation Building” the subject of the European culture and politics was taken up again. For the Slovenian partners it was important that they could participate using their own language. So even if the window opened up to Slovenian theatre was only a small one, it was an important one. It emphasized the importance of cultural differences in Europe and how essential it is, to respect them and to take them into account, when trying to resolve which is commonly referred to as the “European crisis”.

Tiago Bartolomeu Costa for European Theatre Convention

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ETC Daily Diary, 23.04.2013, online

April 23, Bratislava Key word: Consequences “What a difference a day makes, twenty-four little hours…”, just like the song taught us.

Heading to Bratislava, there is a different mood, a sense of transformation, the slight possibility of a change. What a difference a day makes, in fact!

It was George Orwell; who said; that when one controls language he would also be able to control the description of reality. And by doing so, the mind and the terms of political discourse could be controlled as well.. There are two ways of reading this idea: One, a totalitarian approach – clearly shown, for instance, in Horvath’s play “Zur schönen Aussicht (Hotel Belvedere)” which led us to this dead-end situation that Europe was facing in the first third of the last century. Then there is a more positive interpretation, like the one that was conceived by the group on the way to Bratislava. In town, the walks in the sun, the possibility of leaving later than usual, the nice lunch in the city centre, and the encounter with the city by visiting its theatres were appreciated by everybody. The group discussed the possibilities to transform society by using the potential theatre only as a vessel, instead of a means to do it.

After words and actions one has to live with the consequences. The plan is to start producing a document that could serve as a working tool in future actions, either by ETC or by the participants of the Spring Tour. The intention is to find ways to stretch the active participation of everyone involved in the process of theatre making: from actors to audience, from artistic directors to journalists. At the core of this plan, the ETC tour guests believe, lays the chance for a larger acceptance of the impact of theatre, perceived now as a cultural, social, philosophical, political and economic tool.

Theatre is both a venue and an idea, with material and immaterial parts. However, the way we perceive it, is directly linked to the way we receive it. For instance, in Bratislava, while visiting the state funded theatres: From the ancient opera house to the more small drama house – where the memories of the political history of the city are still present – and then to the new centre, so ambiguously close to another genre of theatre, a shopping mall! What becomes obvious here is, that the idea of theatre as an approach to reality clearly depends upon the way a city wishes to present itself as a stage.

We, the players of today, mere protagonists of the play of our lives, cannot simply be silent witnesses to the changes that are being done. That is what Aeschylus wrote about, that is what Horvath’s predictions are about, and that is what the participants of the Spring Tour realized after 6 days of travelling: Europe will stand as long as its theatres are standing.

Tiago Bartolomeu Costa for European Theatre Convention

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ETC Daily Diary, 24.04.2013, online

April 24, Zagreb Key word: Europe I was often asked, why I was using quotes from different authors within my daily diaries for the ETC Spring Theatre Tour 2013. The answer is easy: these were authors that, through their work, thought Europe. Europe is first and foremost an idea. Then it became a political project (and now it seems it is only an economic project). There is this famous myth stating that Jean Monnet, the father of the European Community, once said that if ever they had to start all over again, they should start with culture. Apparently he has never said such a thing, but it is still a beautiful idea.

During the course of this tour we’ve seen several plays: Four of them contained deep reflections about what the Europe of today is or can be and questioned the role theatre plays in this continent: Rene Pollesh’s The revolvers of excess in Stuttgart, Paolo Magelli’s staging of Horvath’s Zur schönen Aussicht (The belle vue) in Prato, Rastilav Ballek’s Orestea in Bratislava and finally an exclusive preview of Europe signed by Lutz Hubner, Malgorzata Sikorska-Miszczuk, Tena Stivicic and Steve Waters, and staged by Janusz Kica in Zagreb. These four plays, each in its own way, offered thoughts and considerations about perceiving Europe by using theatre as a vessel. They also showed the difficulties an ephemeral art like theatre faces in order to play an active role and a short-term part in a long-term changing process.

Croatia is close to become an EU member state. This fact can serve as a metaphor for the chances of transformation. What can a new country teach the ones already belonging to the club? How can theatre transform an over-saturated society? What can one individual do for the sake of an idea? These three dimensions were at stake throughout this one week’s journey, which we gently called “The driving Jail”. They were used as starting points for open discussions and an on-going process, just like the “project” Europe is.

What defines our cultural identity? What do we wish to keep as “a souvenir”? And how can theatres and individuals – whether they are members of the audience, professionals or plain citizens – manage to always be on the verge of beginning? And what are we supposed to do, when we finally understand that we’re inside “the system” and at the same time outside of it, wishing to keep a distance and a clear mind in order to believe that we can still change this system?

During one week the 44 participants of the ETC’s Spring Bus Tour had to deal with one question only: And then what? On the day after, when we’re all back home, the question has changed: And now what? It couldn’t get more hopeful than this.

Tiago Bartolomeu Costa for European Theatre Convention

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BELGIUM RTBF, Belgium, 29.04.2013

Aujourd'hui en Europe: le théâtre européen face à la crise

Les directeurs des théâtres publics européens font le tour des institutions pour élaborer un plan de survie Face à l'austérité et aux coupes budgétaires, chacun se débrouille pour survivre. En Italie, en un an les budgets théâtre ont baissé de 5% et déjà de 10% l'année précédente. Les directeurs des grands théâtres publics européens ont fait leur tour d'Europe des institutions pour mieux se rencontrer et élaborer un plan d'entraide.

"A l'heure du virtuel et d’internet, rien ne remplace pour le théâtre une bonne soirée sous les ors et drapés avec des acteurs en chair et en os sur scène, ça peut aussi être dans un lieu improbable, et pas forcément dans un beau théâtre bourgeois". C'est ce que se sont dits les directeurs des grands théâtres publics européens. Ils se sont rassemblés dans une convention il y a 25 ans, un réseau de 40 membres dans 20 pays.

Le but c’est de protéger, développer, et promouvoir l'art dramatique à travers l'Europe et au-delà.

Une sorte de plate forme. Ils sont tous sont montés dans un bus avec des critiques, des journalistes, des sociologues, des anthropologues,... pour scruter et diagnostiquer l'austérité qui frappent les théâtres. Ils ont parcouru des kilomètres pendant une semaine. Allemagne, Italie, Belgique, Slovénie, Slovaquie etc. Une façon de voir comment les uns et les autres pratiquaient chaque soir une pièce de théâtre dans un pays différent, avec un style, une institution différente.

Les situations sont diamétralement opposées d'un pays à l'autre, d'un contexte à l'autre.

Prenons l'Allemagne et l'Italie pour cerner le problème de la culture et de ses finances en Europe. L’Allemagne résiste mieux à la crise puisque c'est à la réunification qu'elle a encaissé ses périodes les plus difficiles. A l'époque, les théâtres institutionnalisés, 52

organisés avec les salariés, ont dû partager la manne avec les théâtres de l'Est. Avec pour conséquences des réduction de salaires, des budgets,...

En Allemagne, c'est 40 millions de budget, 650 personnes appointées pour une année au théâtre de Karlsruhe.

Jan Linders en est le directeur et il explique que, oui, ça paraît beaucoup mais c'est en fait très peu : "Je produis 14 spectacles par an et je joue chaque jour presque deux spectacles. Nous sommes presque complets tous les soirs mais le public est trop âgé et ça c'est un problème. Le budget du théâtre Karlsruhe, en tout c'est 40 millions. ça semble beaucoup mais nous sommes 650 personnes à y travailler, et aussi les invités, les metteurs en scène,... Tous sont des extras. Naturellement, il y a la crise mais la crise en Allemagne a commencé il y a 20 ans. Parce qu'avec la réunification des deux Allemagnes, la période dorée des années 70, ça a été fini".

Et puis en Italie, l'idée en vogue c'est : "le théâtre coûte cher et ne sert à rien. Sauvons d'abord l'économie en prenant l'argent de la culture"... C'est un peu la catastrophe, les financements publics ont beaucoup baissé ces dernières années, les grands théâtres ne peuvent pas inviter les grandes compagnie.

D'ici un mois, les premières propositions sortirons de ce tour d'Europe de la Convention théâtrale européenne.

F.B.

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RTBF, Belgium, 04.2013 - INTERVIEW 1 Françoise Baré (F.B): Le Théâtre de la place à Liège, le théâtre national de Karlsruhe en Allemagne, celui de de Prato en Italie, celui de Maribor, de Zagreb, de Londres, de Porto, de France – on se parle, on s’entraide, analyse, compare, une nécessité d’expériences.

Serge Rangoni est le directeur du théâtre de la place à Liège : Serge Rangoni : Comment peut-on faire pour essayer de faire des choses en plus puisque tout va nous pousser à faire des choses en moins. Et donc de couper, bien sûr, des premières choses qui sont les échanges entre les théâtres, entre les cultures, entre les pays. Donc il faut une énorme conviction en disant que c’est au centre de notre travail d’éducation, d’ouverture vers l’autre, que l’on doit lutter que l’on doit continuer à faire ce genre de chose là.

F.B. : L’allemand Jan Linders est directeur au théâtre de Karlsruhe. Lui vie une réalité financière bien différente de toutes les autres théâtres européens du Portugal à l’Italie.

650 personnes sont appointées : Jan Linders : Je produis 14 spectacles par ans et je joue chaque jour presque deux spectacles.

On est presque plein tous les soirs mais le public est trop âgé. Ça c’est un problème. Le budget du théâtre de Karlsruhe en tout est de 40 millions d’euros. Ça semble beaucoup mais on est 650 personnes qui travaillent là et aussi les invites et les metteurs en scène tous sont des extra.

Naturellement il y a la crise mais la crise en Allemagne a commencé il y a 20 ans avec la réunification des deux Allemagnes les années dorées, les années 70 c’est fini.

F.B. : Georgio Vitali Rosati critique théâtral italien: Georgio Vitali Rosati : C’est un peu la catastrophe. C’est-à-dire que les financements publics ont beaucoup baissé ces dernières années. Les grands théâtres ne peuvent pas inviter des grandes compagnies et donc ça donne beaucoup plus d’opportunités aux jeunes, parce que leur travail coûte moins cher et c’est plus simple pour eux d’être invités dans des théâtres.

Les projets essentiels pour la défense des spécificités de chacun avec une même ambition : que vive le théâtre en Europe et son expression !

- INTERVIEW 2 Jan Linders : Les salaires des artistes ont baissé. On fait plus qu’avant. L’état par exemple pour les décors n’a pas augmenté les subventions. Les années dorées, les années 70, c’est fini. On n’est pas riche au théâtre.

F.B. : Votre budget c’est combien ?

Jan Linders : Le budget du théâtre de Karlsruhe en tout est de 40 millions d’euros. Ça semble beaucoup mais on est 650 personnes qui travaillent là et aussi les invités et les metteurs en scène tous sont des extra. On est une très grande structure F.B. : Est-ce-que vous pensez que le modèle allemande est le modèle qui devrait exister partout en Europe ? Je veux dire dans les théâtres.

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Jan Linders : Non, pas du tout. Je trouve que, il faut sauver ce modèle. C’est très fort mais il faut changer le modèle.

F.B. : Vous avez vu Liège. Qu’est-ce-que vous pensez ? Qu’est-ce-que vous intéresse dans le fonctionnement ?

Jan Linders : A Liège c’est intéressant d’avoir le choix artistique, d’avoir les personnes qui sont juste pour ce projet. Les inviter, leur dire qu’ils sont juste là pour ce projet, on le fait. Il faut voyager. Il faut avoir maintenant des acteurs qui parlent, par exemple l’anglais ou le français ou une autre langue pour être prêt à collaborer avec des autre pays, parce qu’il faut des spectacles en plusieurs langues. On a maintenant une génération des politiciens que ne savent pas, plus que le théâtre peut faire. Et ce n’est pas là, et pour moi ce n’est pas une chose utile, mais ce n’est aussi pas une chose de luxe, mais c’est alimentation. Il faut avoir l’art mais il faut savoir que le sens de l’art n’est pas de donner des réponses mais de demander des questions.

La crise ça veut dire décision mais pour moi ça veut dire questions. Il faut ouvrir les espaces pour les questions. Il ne faut pas demander au théâtre de donner des réponses. Ce n’est pas la télévision. Ce n’est pas un discours politique. Mais les publics et les politiciens et les sponsors du théâtre doivent être prêts à accepter les questions et répondre ensemble. Avoir un discours public. Les théâtres sont les deniers lieux publics. Alors je ne trouve pas que ce soit un danger s’il y a toujours des jeunes générations qui sont fascinées au théâtre.

- INTERVIEW 3 F.B. : Théâtre de la place à Liege, Serge Rangoni, le directeur, reçoit ceux qui font du théâtre leur vie. Ils sont des quatre coins de l’Europe, ils sont là pour voir de jeunes comédiens de l’école d’acteur du conservatoire de Liège.

Jérôme de Falloise : Aujourd’hui faire l’acteur pour moi c’est un acte utile. Et le théâtre c’est le denier endroit de liberté total je crois, ou les choses peuvent se dire.

F.B. : Black Bird, sur scène, une création collective d’impact.

Jeune comédien 2 : On se bat beaucoup, on accepte de travailler pour pas grand chose. Créer une pièce de théâtre ne rapporte pas d’argent aux personnes qui ont créé cette pièce de théâtre. Elle permet juste de faire bouffer toutes les personnes qui ont travaillé autour – si on a les moyens de faire bouffer les gens qui ont travaillé autour.

Jeune comédien 3 : J’ai un espoir que ça puisse faire évoluer un petit peu l’esprit critique des gens.

F.B. : David Dobresse, lui, est sorti l’année dernière de l’école d’acteur et même caractéristique : le talent, certes, mais surtout leur âme.

David Dobresse : Le chômage finance la culture, c’est toujours ça. Quand on fait du théâtre c’est impossible d’être sous contrat toute l’année.

F.B. : Vous ne craignez pas quand vous formez vos étudiants de les envoyer au cassepipe ?

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Nathanaël Harcq : Si. On ne travaille pas avec ceux avec qui ont croit pas. On ne consomme pas de l’étudiant. Moi, je me pose souvent la question, est-ce que c’est légitime aujourd’hui de former des acteurs, mais je ne peux pas renoncer à ça parce que c’est une question qui se pose aussi pour un ingénieur à vrai dire, pour un instit.

La conviction nourri la détermination et fait avancer. Reste à conquérir le public et aller faire venir au théâtre – ce qui est aussi un autre combat.

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CROATIA Novi List daily, Croatia, 28.04.2013

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Jutarnji list, Croatia, 27.04.2013

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VeÄ?ernji list, Croatia, 26.04.2013

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Urbancult, Croatia, 26.04.2013, online

Predstave Zkm-a oduševile europske kritičare

vezane vijesti Predstavljanjem projekta „Europa“ redatelja Janusza Kice nastalog u koprodukciji s Repertoarnim kazalištem iz Birminghama, Državnim kazalištem Dresden i Poljskim teatrom iz Bygoszcza za kojeg su zajednički tekst napisali Lutz Hübner, Malgorzata Sikorska-Miszcuk, Tena Štivičić i Steve Waters te izvedbom predstave „Sada je, zapravo, sve dobro“ Olje Lozice, u srijedu, 24. travnja, završila je Proljetna turneja Europske kazališne konvencije organizirana u povodu 25. godišnjice te velike mreže europskih kazališta pod geslom „Nove perspektive za nova vremena“.

Na završnoj svečanosti nazočne je u ime gradonačelnika Milana Bandića pozdravila zamjenica gradonačelnika Jelena Vukičević Pavičić te ravnateljica Zagrebačkog kazališta mladih i predsjednica Europske kazališne konvencije Dubravka Vrgoč.

Na turneji su uz Dubravku Vrgoč bili i Goran Ferčec, dramaturg i dramski pisac, glumac Zagrebačkog kazališta mladih Goran Bogdan te novinar Novog lista Zdenko Duka. Tijekom šest dana - kazališni kritičari, dramaturzi, dramski pisci, glumci, ravnatelji kazališta - iz europskih zemalja obišli su šest država i sedam gradova i to Staatstheater Stuttgart u Njemačkoj, Théatre de la Place Liége u Belgiji, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe u Njemačkoj, Schauspielhaus Zürich u Švicarskoj, Teatro Metastasio di Prato- Stabile della Toscana Prato u Italiji, Slovensko narodno gledališče Maribor u Sloveniji, Slovenské národné divadlo Bratislava u Slovačkoj te Zagrebačko kazalište mladih.

Kazališni kritičari i novinari Melita Forstnerič Hajnšek iz slovenske Večeri, Petar Rak iz Dela, Jan Sklenar sa slovačkog Radija Devin, Tiago Bartolomeo Costa koji piše za portugalski blog El publico, Anja Quickert iz uglednog njemačkog kazališnog časopisa Theater heute, Bianca Praetorius iz njemačkog Deutsche Bühne, Mounia Meiborg iz Süddeutsche Zeitunga te brojni kazališni umjetnici i djelatnici - nakon odgledanih sedam ponajboljih europskih predstava složili su se da su ih upravo predstave viđene u Zagrebačkom kazalištu mladih ponajviše oduševile.

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„U ZKM-u smo susreli istinski suvremeni umjetnički europski teatar“, bio je zaključak sudionika turneje koji su se zahvalili ravnateljici Vrgoč na izuzetnom kazališnom doživljaju, naglasivši da se ZKM svojim predstavama otvoreno i hrabro suočava s aktualnim temama i problemima koji se tiču Europe današnjice, Europe u ekonomskoj, političkoj i moralnoj krizi.

26. 4. 2013. http://www.urbancult.hr/predstave-zkm-a-odusevile-europske-kriticare-16348.aspx

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Vecernji, Croatia, 25.04.2013, online

Proslava u ZKM- u

U Zagrebu okončana velika turneja Europske kazališne konvencije Članovi su u samo tjedan dana prošli osam gradova u sedam država od Njemačke do Hrvatske predstavljajući nove kazališne projekte i promičući međunarodnu suradnju

Međunarodni susret kazalištaraca Foto: arhiv ZKM Tagovi proljetn turneja, Europska kazališna konvencija Piše: mz/vlm Cjelovečernjim druženjem u Zagrebačkom kazalištu mladih proslavljen je kraj velike proljetne turneje Europske kazališne konvencije, čiji su članovi u samo tjedan dana prošli osam gradova u sedam država od Njemačke do Hrvatske predstavljajući nove kazališne projekte i promičući međunarodnu suradnju. Za strance koji su bili dijelom kazališne karavane u ZKM-u je izvedena predstava "Sada je, zapravo, sve dobro" Olje Lozice te proba projekta "Europa", koji danas ima premijeru. http://www.vecernji.hr/kultura/u-zagrebu-okoncana-velika-turneja-europske-kazalisnekonvencije-clanak-544399

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Büro 24/7, Croatia, 25.04.2013, online

Predstavljanjem projekta Europa redatelja Janusza Kice, nastalog u koprodukciji s Repertoarnim kazalištem iz Birminghama, Državnim kazalištem Dresden i Poljskim teatrom iz Bygoszcza, za kojeg su zajednički tekst napisali Lutz Hübner, Malgorzata Sikorska-Miszcuk, Tena Štivičić i Steve Waters te izvedbom predstave "Sada je, zapravo, sve dobro" Olje Lozice, u srijedu, 24. travnja, završila je proljetna turneja 64

Europske kazališne konvencije organizirana u povodu 25. godišnjice te velike mreže europskih kazališta, pod geslom "Nove perspektive za nova vremena".

Tijekom šest dana - kazališni kritičari, dramaturzi, dramski pisci, glumci, ravnatelji kazališta - iz europskih zemalja obišli su šest država i sedam gradova te nakon odgledanih sedam ponajboljih europskih predstava složili su se da su ih upravo predstave viđene u Zagrebačkom kazalištu mladih ponajviše oduševile. "U ZKM-u smo susreli istinski suvremeni umjetnički europski teatar", bio je zaključak sudionika turneje, koji su se zahvalili ravnateljici Vrgoč na izuzetnom kazališnom doživljaju, naglasivši da se ZKM svojim predstavama otvoreno i hrabro suočava s aktualnim temama i problemima koji se tiču Europe današnjice, Europe u ekonomskoj, političkoj i moralnoj krizi.

Projekt Europa premijerno će biti predstavljen zagrebačkoj publici večeras, 25. travnja, te će igrati još samo 26. i 27. travnja s početkom u 20h.

Tekst:T.K. Foto: PR 25 travanj 2013 13.30 http://buro247.hr/culture/Kazaliste/12755.html

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Dalje, Croatia, 24.04.2013

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Soundset, Croatia, 24.04.2013

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Urbancult, Croatia, 21.04.2013

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FRANCE La Scène, France, Sommer 2013, print

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GERMANY S端ddeutsche Zeitung, Germany, 8./9.06.2013, print

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Theater heute, Germany, 07.2013, print

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Badische Neueste Nachrichten, Germany, 22.04.2013, print Karlsruhe | LOKALE KULTUR | 22.04.2013

Quer durch Europa in acht Tagen Internationale Theaterleute machten auf Busreise in Karlsruhe Station

GRUPPENFOTO VORM STAATSTHEATER: Die Teilnehmer der ETC-Rundreise, darunter Karlsruhes Schauspieldirektor Jan Linders (sitzend, Zweiter von links). Foto: Klenk Von Stuttgart nach Lüttich, über Karlsruhe nach Zürich und dann vom italienischen Prato über Bratislava nach Zagreb – und das in sieben Tagen per Bus. Das ist eindeutig keine Butterfahrt, sondern eine Theaterreise, mit der das Netzwerk European Theatre Convention (ETC) sein 25-jähriges Bestehen feiert. Als der Bus mit rund 30 Theaterleuten sowie einem Dutzend internationaler Journalisten am Samstagmittag in Karlsruhe Station machte, da hatte die bunt gemischte Truppe bereits Aufführungen in Stuttgart und Lüttich gesehen und eilte nach einem kurzen Rundgang durch das Badische Staatstheater in die Nachmittags-Aufführung „Frierschlotterschwitz“, einem Tanztheater für Kinder ab drei Jahren. Denn das Reiseprogramm widmet sich verschiedenen Schwerpunkten: In Stuttgart diskutierte man im Kontext einer RenéPollesch-Produktion die Themenfelder „Risiko“ und „Krise“, in Karlsruhe wiederum ging es um den Trend zum Theater für die Allerkleinsten. „Es geht um Kontakt und Austausch“, erklärt Heidi Wiley, Generalsekretärin des ETC. Insgesamt werden auf der Tour acht Theater besucht, beispielsweise das Teatro Metastasio in Prato, das als eines der ersten italienischen Häuser das En-Suite-Prinzip durch das in Deutschland bekannte Repertoire-System mit einem festen Ensemble abgelöst hat. „Ein europäisches Festival an einem zentralen Ort zu organisieren, wäre zu aufwendig gewesen – nun ergibt sich das Festival für uns durch die Reise“, beschreibt Wiley den Impuls zur Tour, die zwar die erste Busreise der ETC ist, nicht aber die erste mobile Aktion: „2009 haben wir das Staatstheater Stuttgart und das Theater in Ankara mit der Aktion ,Orient Express‘ verbunden“, berichtet Wiley. „Das war ein sehr erfolgreicher Beitrag zum Knüpfen internationaler Netzwerke.“ Von Karlsruher Seite aus ist Schauspieldirektor Jan Linders mit im Bus, in dem täglich während der Fahrt ein ausgiebiges Seminarprogramm abgehalten wird. Andreas Jüttner

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Boulevard Baden, Germany, 20.04.2013, online

Artikel Boulevard Baden.de (online) Link: http://www.boulevard-baden.de/lokales/kultur-lokal/2013/04/20/etc-spring-theatretour-macht-halt-in-karlsruhe-601289/

ETC Spring Theatre Tour macht Halt in Karlsruhe 20. April 2013 | 18:38 Uhr

Ein Tour-Bus mit 30 jungen Theaterkünstlern, Dramaturgen, Schauspielern, Intendanten und Journalisten aus ganz Europa ist seit Donnerstag unterwegs und wird in den darauffolgenden sieben Tagen 8 von 40 Mitgliedstheater der ETC European Theatre Convention ansteuern.

Am Freitag ging es zum Festival Émulations nach Lüttich, am Samstag stoppte der Bus für eine Führung durchs Haupthaus des Staatstheaters und das Tanzstück für die Allerkleinsten “Frierschlotterschwitz” in der Insel. Der Schauspieldirektor Jan Linders ist bis Prato in Italien als Moderator und Vertreter des Staatstheaters mit an Bord. (Foto: Jochen Klenk) Karlsruhe (bb). Europa’s ältestes Netzwerk europäischer Stadt- und Staatstheater, die European Theatre Convention (ETC), erforscht die Rolle, die das Theater in Zeiten von Unsicherheiten und Krisen im Europa von heute spielen kann. Anlässlich ihres 25.

Geburtstages veranstaltet die Organisation erstmalig die ETC Spring Theatre Tour vom 18 – 24 April 2013, 25 junge und talentierte Künstler, bekannte Theatermacher, Journalisten und führende Repräsentanten der europäischen Kulturszene wurden zu 80

dieser einmaligen trans-europäischen Theater-Busreise eingeladen. Sie sollen miterleben und dokumentieren, wie das Theater als Kunstform an politischen und sozialen Prozellen teilhaben und diese mitgestalten kann. An vielen der besuchten Theater, passiert nämlich genau das, wenn sich Abend für Abend der rote Vorhang hebt.

Die Tour führt von West- nach Osteuropa. Ausgangspunkt ist das Staatstheater Stuttgart, Deutschland. Dann geht es weiter zu den Mitglieds-Theatern Théâtre de la Place, Liège, in Belgien und dem Badischen Staatstheater Karlsruhe in Deutschland, über das Schauspielhaus Zürich in der Schweiz, das Teatro Metastasio di Prato-Stabile della Toscana, in Prato, Italien, und das Slovene National Theatre, in Maribor, Slowenien, bis hin zum Slovak National Theatre, in Bratislava, Slowakei und dem Zagreb Youth Theatre (z/k/m), in Zagreb, Kroatien. In Zusammenarbeit mit diesen Institutionen verfolgt die Tour das Ziel, die sowohl kulturell als auch politisch relevante Arbeit von Europa’s öffentlich subventionierten Repertoire-Theatern, die oft nicht gewürdigt wird, zu fördern.

Während die Gäste an Bord des Busses mit den unterschiedlichsten Zuschauergruppen zusammenkommen und eine inspirierende Mischung herausragender Theaterproduktionen sehen werden, stellt jedes beteiligte Theater noch ein zusätzliches Thema zur Diskussion. Das Programm der ETC Spring Tour stellt also Fragen in den Mittelpunkt der Reise, die im Kontext der Kultur des heutigen Europa von zentraler Bedeutung sind. Die Themen werden sowohl an den Theatern vor Ort, als auch im Bus während der Reise in Form einer Reihe von Talkrunden, Besichtigungstouren, Probenbesuchen und weiteren Aktivitäten präsentiert. Folgende Fragestellungen stehen auf dem Programm: Theater und Stadtpolitik (Stuttgart), Der Weg von der Theaterhochschule auf die professionelle Bühne (Liège), Theater für die Allerkleinsten (Karlsruhe), Theater und die Medien (Zürich), Theater und der Zerfall Europas (Prato), Theater und Nation Building (Maribor), Das Paradox von Alt und Neu (Bratislava) and Das zeitgenössische Theaterstück (Zagreb).

Im Bus sind fünf junge Künstler mit von der Partie, die die unterschiedlichsten Theaterdisziplinen repräsentieren. Dazu gehören: Anne Habermehl, Autorin/Regisseurin (Deutschland), Gina Calinou, Schauspielerin (Rumänien), Daniel Hengst, Video Artist (Deutschland), Goran Ferčec, Theaterautor/Regisseur (Kroatien) and Deborah Stevenson, Poetin (England) Sie alle wurden von einem der ETC-Mitgliedstheater nominiert, um die Möglichkeit zu haben, die Arbeit der beteiligten europäischen Stadtund Staatstheater kennenzulernen und vor Ort künstlerische Prozesse anzuregen. Im Rahmen der ETC Spring Tour werden sie Ihre eigene Kunst vorstellen und ihre Eindrücke von der Arbeit in den teilnehmenden zeitgenössischen Theatern präsentieren

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Prinz Stuttgart, Germany, 18.04.2103, online

Prinz Stuttgart: Vorankündigung ETC Spring Theatre Tour

ETC Spring Theatre Tour Schauspiel Stuttgart - Nord, Stuttgart, Do, 18.04., 17:30 Uhr

Locationfoto 'Schauspiel Stuttgart - Nord' Die ‚European Theatre Convention (ETC)‘, der das Schauspiel Stuttgart seit Beginn der Intendanz Hasko Webers angehört, veranstaltet die ‚Spring Theatre Tour‘. Auftakt der Bus-Tour ist am Donnerstag, dem 18. April in Stuttgart, anschließend geht es weiter nach Lüttich, Karlsruhe, Zürich, Prato, Maribor, Bratislava und Zagreb. Das Thema in Stuttgart ist Theater und die Politik der Stadt.

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Die Deutsche Bühne (blog), Germany, 17. – 24.04.2013, online

Tag 6 und 7. Bratislava//Slowakei.

Zagreb// Kroatien #ETC Spring Tour 2013 Veröffentlicht am 17. April 2013 von Bianca Praetorius Tag 6 und 7. Bratislava//Slowakei. Zagreb// Kroatien Ich stoße in Bratislava wieder zur Reisegruppe hinzu. Die letzten beiden Tage haben ohne mich stattgefunden, Berichte dazu, auf Englisch, gibt es hier. http://www.etc-cte.org/base.php?code=852 http://www.europeandme.eu/sixthsense/item/280-etc-spring-tour-day-5-of-driving-jailsand-flying-ideas Einen Film gibt es hier: http://www.euronews.com/2013/04/24/european-theatre-silver-anniv-tour/ Bratislava. Es ist viel geschehen, während ich in Berlin war. Wer sich fremd ist und gemeinsam einen Bus bezieht, wird zu einer Familie in 5 Minuten. Mit allen verteilten Rollen, die es von Weihnachtsfeier bis Klassenfahrt so geben kann, die gibt es hier auch. Alles unter Dauerrauschen der Autobahn und jeder Schritt, den man im Bus tätigt, muss sorgfältig balanciert werden, damit man nicht umfällt oder jemandem die nassen Zehen zertritt. Ein bisschen ein Drahtseilakt, ein bisschen ein Spielplatz. Fallhöhe geht so – um was geht’s hier eigentlich?

Um was es hier denn eigentlich geht, diese Frage schwebt in kleinen Wolken durch alle Köpfe Flüstergespräche im den Bus. Als ich nicht da war.

Die Zeit ist getacktet wie am Fließband, wie viel Programm und Theater/ Europafragen man in 8 Tage packen kann, war mir vorher nicht klar, aber es ist viel. Und eigentlich bin ich ein Fan von „Viel“. Immer gewesen, schnell und mehreres gleichzeitig ist mir stets eine funkelnde Freude. Selbstüberforderung als Theatermoment und das Weichklopfen der eigenen Grenzen und Denkabläufe. Dass das aber nicht jedem so geht und vielleicht nicht immer der effizienteste Weg zum großen Glück und der größten Klarheit ist, ist eine der hundertzwanzig Sachen, die ich zwischen Süddeutschland und Kroatien lernen werde.

Die großen Fragen sollen hier diskutiert werden, es geht um Perspektivwechsel/die Rolle des Theaters in Europa/politische Möglichkeiten der performativen Künste/Das Paradox des Neuen und des Alten. Aber es bleibt bei den Überschriften, weil man im ersten Satz bereits die Ausfahrt zur nächsten Überschrift nehmen muss. Sieben Tage sind eben kein Jahr.

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Der Bus ist voll mit Menschen, deren Zentralanliegen jedoch tatsächlich im Beantwortungsversuch dieser Fragen liegt. Ganz inhaltlich, wenn es so etwas gibt. Das Bedürfnis, Europas Vielfalt begreifen, zu verhandeln und zu diskutieren, ist durchaus konkret, wenn auch unempfindbar. Allerdings scheinen wir nie weiter als zur Überschrift zu kommen, warum weiss man nicht genau. Vielleicht ist das absehbar gewesen und danach zu fragen naiv. Aber ich komme einfach nicht drüber weg.

In Bratislava sehen wir ein wenig von der Stadt. Es ist warm, und die Stadt ein Juwel. Überall treffen alte auf neue Gebäude, eine lange Promenade am Fluss führt uns zum Slowakischen Nationaltheater Bratislava. Der Weg dorthin ist gepflastert mit hip designten Cafés und Restaurants, in denen frische Kräuter aus den Tischen wachsen. Überall junge, schöne Slowaken. Das Theater ist voll mit jungen Leuten, alle sind in Abendkleider und Smoking gekleidet. Für meine Augen ist das neu, Smokings und Abendkleider beim Theatergang junger Menchen zu beobachten – fast seltsam das zu sehen, in jedem Fall bemerkenswert.

Wir sehen die “Orestie” von Aischylos. Große Bühne, sehr große Bühne. Es ist kaum zu glauben, aber es ist die erste Inszenierung der “Orestie” in Bratislava überhaupt. Der Regisseur Rastislav Ballek gilt als einer der modernsten Regisseure der Slowakei.

Tatsächlich kommt bei Abendbeginn der Intendant kurz auf die Bühne und begrüßt die ETC Reisegrupe persönlich zu unserm Besuch. Ziemlich große Geste.

Die Inszenierung ist etwa so wie die Reise bisher. Auf der Bühne acht Schauspieler, die autonom voneinander ihre Geschichte spielen. Am oberen Rand der Bühne lesen wir Übertitel auf englisch. Meine Aufmerksamkeit führt einen stetigen Kampf mit dem Text und dem Geschehen auf der Bühne. Unüberraschenderweise wird viel Kunstblut vergossen, ein bisschen Sex, Maskenspiel und viel, viel Pathos.

Das Publikum tobt, es beschenkt das Ensemble mit standing ovations und für viele wird es sich an diesem Abend gelohnt haben, im Ballkleid erschienen zu sein.

Nach der Vorstellung werden wir beschenkt, mit einem fantastischen Buffet-Empfang gemeinsam mit dem künstlerischen Team des Hauses. Außerdem gibt es ein Konzert mit Harfe und Klavier. Wir fühlen uns so reich beschenkt, dass es langsam ein massives Bedürfnis gibt, in irgendeiner From etwas zurückzugeben. Für wahre Diskussionen ist keine Zeit, aber für Gesten vielleicht.

Deborah Stevenson, die Spoken Word Poetin des Nottingham Playhouse http://www.mouthypoets.com, die mit in unserem Bus sitzt, performed live eines ihrer Gedichte zur Harfenimprovisation die Musiker. Es ist eine große Freude und ich wünsche mir auch kurz ein Ballkleid.

Tag 7// Zagreb, Kroatien.

Der letzte Tag unserer Reise steht an, Zagreb, Kroatien.

Auf dem Weg lernen wir Daniel Hengsts Arbeit kennen, der Videokünstler am Schauspiel Dortmund ist. http://www.theaterdo.de/biografie/?persid=68 er erzählt über Roboter, den Chaos Computer Club und Theater. Trotz der Überforderung tauchen ab 84

jetzt immer mal wieder ein paar wehleidig in Falten gelegte Augenbrauen auf, die davon erzählen, dass es eben doch irgendwie schade ist, dass die Reise bald vorbei ist. Alle sind sich ans Herz gewachsen und Überforderung ist im Nachhinein ja auch nicht spürbar, nie. Die letzte Vorstellungsrunde im Bus findet statt, Thema ist das zeitgenössische Stück und junges Theater in Europa.

Helena Braut und Ensembleschauspieler des z/k/m Theatres Goran Bogdan erzählen von ihrer Arbiet am Jungen Theater Zagreb.

Auch Susannah Tresilian, Regisseurin am Nottingham Playhouse und künstlerische Leiterin des „neat14 festivals“ http://www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk/news/neat11/, ist mit an Board des Buses. Alle drei sprechen über die Wichtigkeit, die jungen europäischen Theaterschaffenden zu unterstützen und zusammen zu bringen. Es sind die Jungen, die neue Sprachen finden und die Zuschauerlücken schließen können könnten. Diese Einsicht wird nicht weniger wahr, auch wenn man sie schon so oft gehört hat.

Mit einer kleinen Verspätung kommen wir ab Zagreber Z/K/M Theatre http://www.zekaem.hr/en/about-theatre an, werden, wie überall, mit den herzlichsten Worten begrüßt, diesmal wieder von der uns bereits bekannten Präsidentin der ETC und Intendantin des Z/K/M Zagreb Dubrovka Vrgoc.

Was wir dann an Theater sehen werden, drückt uns alle in und beim Applaus reißt es uns von den Stühlen. Ola Lozicas „Yes, really, everything’s all right now“ ist mein absolutes performtes Highlight der Reise.

Eine kleine Kammerbühne, sechs Türen, ein paar ausklappbare Tische, alles mit dichtem Gras bewachsen. Eine grüne Bühne und sechs Schauspieler um die 55.

Die Schauspieler, die alle einen kleines bisschen zu groß sind, um auf der Bühne wirklich Platz zu finden. Alle sind ein kleines bisschen zu alt, um so nah zu sein, ohne dass es einem nicht auffallen würde, dass der Altersdurchschnitt des spielenden Ensembles kein Zufall sein wird.

Wir sehen eine Collage an Szenen, in denen es grundsätzlich um Scheitern, Verzweiflung, Verlust geht. Aber genau läst sich nicht sagen. Ich habe die englischen Übertitel kaum mitgelesen, so gefesselt bin ich gewesen. Ich sah Körper, die verzweifelt wiederholen, mehr Geräusche als Worte ausdrücken, Schreien, fallen, versinken. Ein Tanzstück, ohne dass getanzt wird, das Setting des „zu“ alt/ „zu“ groß-Seins, verleiht dem Abend eine Poesie, die ich auf dieser Reise nicht mehr erwartet habe zu sehen. I’m so glad i was wrong.

Das schönste war – die Bühne war simpel. Sie war klein, jeder saß der Inszenierung auf dem Schoß, ein Kammerspiel, das genau wegen dieser Nähe eine derartig zärtliche Gewalt entwickelte. Der ganze Saal stand auf, diesmal zu recht, keinen Grund jemandem eine Geste zu unterstellen.

Und das führt mich zum meinem Fazit.

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Natürlich konnte man in 7 Tagen Europa nicht einmal eine Idee von Europa bekommen.

Nicht einmal eine Idee von europäischem Theater. Natürlich nicht, zum Glück nicht, wahrscheinlich.

Aber eine Sache habe ich mitgenommen, als Eindruck und aus den Beobachtungen meiner rumänischen, slowakischen, slowenischen, englischen, kroatischen, portugiesischen, belgischen und auch deutschen Busverwandschaft: Theater soll berühren, soll relevant sein und soll ehrlich sein.

Keine Frage, keine Diskussion. Deswegen möchte ich über Räume nachdenken und über die Verwendung von finanziellen Mittel.

Wie viel Geld hat welches Land zu Verfügung und was wird damit getan.

Wir haben die Bustour begonnen mit einer geführten Tour durch das Stuttgarter Haus am Schlossgarten. Das war die erste Erfahrung, die wir alle miteinander gemacht haben.

Am massivsten beeindruckt hat mich die Größe der Augen, die meine osteuropäischen Mitreisenden gemacht haben, als sie diese mächtigen, prunkvollen Hallen betraten. Und der wohl bemerkenswerteste Aspekt daran ist, das meine Augenbrauen gar nicht sonderlich nach oben schnellten – weil ich ja gar nicht überrascht gewesen bin. Es ist mir kaum aufgefallen, was da für ein Palast steht. Was ist normal?

Jetzt hat sich diese Erfahrung zusammengegossen mit den Eindrücken der gesamten Reise im allgemeinen. Im Besonderen aber mit zwei Momenten bei den „Stuttgarter Gesprächen“ am ersten Abend.

Der erste Moment war: Als wir trotz simultaner Übersetzung unseren Mitreisenden nicht die Relevanz vom Kampf um „Stuttgart 21“ begreiflich machen konnten.// ” they are talking about a trainstation, right?”// Und dass uns die Besonderheit vom Kampf um Stuttgart21 nicht zu vermitteln gelang, lag weder an uns, noch an den anderen. Sondern daran, dass es nicht um einen Bahnhof ging, aber um die Frage, wie mit Steuergeldern umgegangen wird, in Zeiten wie diesen. Dass überhaupt ein Kampf stattfand, war so besonders. Was ist ein Wutbürger?

Der zweite Moment fand im selben Gespräch statt. Es wurde über eine Renovierungsmaßnahme des Schauspielhauses gesprochen, die in Stuttgart stattfand.

Die Ersatzspielstätten haben eine andere Ästhetik. Eine ohne visuelle Schwellen. Das war eine besondere Erfahrung, sehr nah und niederschwellig. Die Stuttgarter Bürger um mich herum haben heftig genickt, “dass das eigentlich ganz schön war.” Es kamen leichter Menschen ins Theater, die ansonsten am Schlossgarten eher lieber draussen auf der Wiese sitzen.

Ein Palast aus Stuck und Geschichte zieht einige Leute an, und ja, es ist ein Schatz an Kulturgut. Aber ist es zwingend ein Ort, in dem ausschließlich Theater stattfinden muss?

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Das Badische Staatstheater Karlsruhe stellt sein Zwischendeck tagsüber Studenten als Co-working Space zur Verfügung. Ein öffentlicher Raum wird also auch ausserhalb der Vorstellung als öffentlicher Raum genutzt, mitsamt seinen Vorteilen die er hat: Zentralität, Infrastruktur und Besitz in öffentlicher Hand.

In Zeiten, in denen Geld unter allen knapper wird und Europa sich durchmischt, könnte man unsere Theaterhäuser nicht noch mehr als öffentlichen Raum nutzen? Als Aufenthaltsort? Als Lesekreis? Als Co-Working Space?

Also, Theater noch mehr (als bereits geschehen) in die Stadt treiben? Dass Theater allen gehört, ist jedem klar. Müssen es Theatervorstellungen sein, die im großen Haus stattfinden? Was sind wirklich neue Wege das auch zu tun?

Heftiges Nicken erntete auch Volker Lösch bei diesen Stuttgarter Gesprächen, als er sagte, dass inzwischen in jedem Spielzeitheft steht, “Theater müsse mehr in die Stadt”.

Aber ob diese Möglichkeiten schon an ihren Limits ist, ist eine andere Frage.

Die Überschrift der Tour hieß „New Perspectives for new times“. Das schreit nach „changes“. Wenn man die Theater – und ich rede auch bzw vor allem von den Zuschauersälen – noch mehr für alternative, öffentliche Dinge nutzen würde, dann würden diese wunderschönen Hallen sich nicht nur der Stadt zugehörig fühlen, sondern auch andersrum.

Das Stück Theater, was uns allen mit Abstand am besten gefiel, uns am tiefsten berührte, war dieses einfache, mit günstigen Mitteln produzierte zeitgenössische Stück im Z/K/M Theater Zagreb “Yes, really everything’s all right now”. Ich zehre jetzt noch von dem, was ich dort erlebt habe. Dafür braucht es keinen Saal, kein Stuck und keine Historie, die ich visuell den ganzen Abend automatisch mitdenke. Wahrscheinlich hätte das sogar noch Distanz in mein Theatererlebnis hineinsickern lassen. Das ist mein subjektiver Eindruck und Wunsch, wenn es um Theater geht: Einfachheit, (dadurch mehr) Vielfalt und Nähe. Ohne den geschichtlichen Unterbau, den es zwar hat – aber vielleicht gar nicht brauch. Neue Perspektiven für neue Zeiten eben.

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Tag 3. // Karlsruhe. Und. Zürich// Es ist früh, es regnet und es geht weiter. Ich beginne mich an das Tempo zu gewöhnen.

Muss ich auch, denn heute essen wir die Weihnachtsgans gleich zweimal: Wir fahren erst ans Staatstheater Karlsruhe, sehen eine Mittagsvorstellung, fahren dann weiter nach Zürich, um am Abend im Züricher Schauspielhaus zu sitzen.

Auf der Fahrt im Bus passiert immer eine Menge. Jan Linders moderiert die Umgebung, erzählt von den Städten an deren Rändern wir vorbei fahren. Von Staatstheatern, Stadttheatern, deren Unterschied und von der Mosel, die uns immer wieder vom Wegesrand zu winkt.

Im Bus tauschen alle Reisenden täglich mehrfach lautlos die Sitzplätze. Ansonsten sind die dominierenden Geräusche der Mahlautomat der Espressomaschine, geschäftiges Tippen und zimmerlautes Englisch, in den verschiedenen, europäischen Einfärbungen, in immer wechselnden Zusammenstellungen. Es gibt keinen Sitzplan, erstaunlicherweise auch kaum sich wiederholende Sitzmuster. Alle unterziehen sich bei jeden neuen Streckenabschnitt systematisch einem Perspektivwechsel an der Mosel.

Wir fahren zwar schon nun zweieinhalb Tage miteinander durch Stadt und Autobahnlandschaft. Jeder hier hat dem Anderen hier literweise zu erzählen und wir eine Menge zu diskutieren.

Aber – du kannst mit einem Schwamm nicht das Meer aufsaugen. Du kannst ein paar Tropfen abzapfen und versuchen ein Parfum vom Meeresspiegelduft zu destillieren.

Nichts anderes versuche ich hier auch, es bleibt der wohl subjektivste Blog der Welt.

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Dieses intuitiven Verhalten im Bus, ist übrigens – ganz absichtlich – eines der Hauptanliegen die European Theatre Convention. Wir lernen jetzt offiziell die Präsidentin der ETC kennen, die seit Liège zwei Stationen mit uns fährt und dann in Zagreb wieder zu uns stößt: Dubravka Vrgoc. Eine freundliche, klare, warme, blonde Frau. Viele Jahre Theaterkritikerin in Zagreb, leitet und gründet mehrere europäische Theaterfestivals, bis sie in den Vorstand der ETC gerufen wird. Vorne im Bus, vor dem Panorama der Autobahn, stehen jeden Tag unterschiedliche Protagonisten und berichten über ihre europäischen Theaterinseln.

Aufgabe der ETC ist es, die europäische Theatergemeinschaft zu stärken, einander zu verstehen und die handgewebten Stege zwischen den Inselgruppen zu mehrspurigen, viel befahrenen Brücken mit Fußgängerübergang wachsen zu lassen.

Regelmäßig organisieren sie Koproduktionen und Belegschaftsaustausch der künstlerischen Teams, aber auch besonders des technischen Personals an den Häusern. „Durch das Zusammentreffen und vor-Ort-sein wird Europa erlebbar, nicht nur theoretisch.“ Hm. Ein Satz, der in zahlreichen und unterschiedlichsten Zusammenhängen heutzutage gerne ge- und miss- braucht wird, in dem Fall stimmt es aber wirklich, ich merk das ja. Das ist auch das Ziel dieses Reiseexperiments. Ein tourendes Gemisch aus Journalisten und Künstlern, die wie eine Theatergruppe von Stadt zu Stadt ziehen, so wie es in vielen Ländern Europas noch üblich ist. Ganz nebenbei wird das Netz dadurch dichter, engmaschiger und es lässt sich viel leichter darüber tanzen.

Auf dem Weg nach Karlsruhe begleiteten uns auch die Regisseurin und Choreographin Barbara Fuchs sowie die Dramaturgin Ulrike Stöck, die für „FrierSchlotterSchwitz“ am Karslruher Schauspielhaus verantwortlich sind, das wir uns mittags ansehen. Eine Vorstellung für die Allerkleinsten, es sehen Kinder ab 2 Jahre zu.

In Karslruhe angekommen erleben wir einen faszinierend reibungslos getackteten Prozessablauf: Wir kommen an, besuchen eine Probe, werden vom Schauspieldirektor des Staatstheaters Karslruhe (und Moderator für unsere exklusive Bustour) Jan Linders durch das (wie ich finde: ziemlich schöne!) 60er-Jahre-designte Schauspielhaus geführt.

Wir treffen den Intendanten Peter Spuhler zum Mittagessen und sehen uns das (wie ich finde: massiv bezaubernde!) „FrierSchlotterSchwitz“ mitsamt einer hochkonzentrierten Mannschaft 2-5-jähriger Karlsruher Zuschauer an. Eine Performance, die sich mit Temperaturen beschäftigt. Es spielen Sebsatian Reich und Ralf Wegner. Sie ziehen gefrorene Daunenjacken an, Kuscheltanzen im Schnee und veranstalten ein Regenballett mit Wasserzerstäubern. “Was ist deine erste Theatererfahrung?” ist immer eine der ersten Fragen, die wir uns im Bus gegenseitig stellen. Wenn die erste Theaterbegegnung eine so sinnliche ist, wie bei „FrierSchlotterSchwitz“, kann ich mir nicht vorstellen, dass man sich über das nachwachsende Theaterpublikum auch nur irgendwelche leisesten Sorgen machen muss.

Wir müssen weiter, wir fahren immerhin heute noch in die Schweiz. Zurück im Bus stellt Ann-Marie Arioli die Theaterbiennale Wiesbaden 2014 vor, deren künstlerische Leiterin sie ist. Das Theaterfestival präsentiert neue Stücke aus Europa, um junge Autoren auf dem europäischen Markt zu etablieren.

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Außerdem besucht noch Alexander Keil unsere Busbühne mit dem beweglichen Hintergrund. Er ist Dramaturg der Züricher Produktion „Die Katze auf dem heißen Blechdach“ unter der Regie von Stefan Pucher, die wir am Abend sehen werden. Keil erzählt, dass bei Pucher keine Probe ohne Film und Popkulturzitate stattfinden. Selten ist ein Schauspieler alleine auf der Bühne, immer muss er sich im Kontext zu den Medien verhalten.

In Zürich angekommen sehen wir dann auch das Ergebnis davon. Julia Jentsch und Markus Scheumann spielen Maggie und Brick in der medienreichen VideoWohnzimmer-Collage mit Livemusik von Multiinstrumentalistin und Sängerin Evelinn Trouble. Viel Pop mit einer klassisch erzählten Inszenierung. Die Dikussion über den Wert von Medien im Theaterkontext werde ich leider verpassen.

Denn ich bin für 2 Tag in Berlin und stoße erst in Bratislava wieder zur Reisegruppe Europa hinzu. Ich werde ab Bratislava wieder berichten.

In der Zwischenzeit, auf Englisch, ist hier das Daily Diary der ETC Spring Tour von Tiago Bartolomeu Costa zu finden. http://etc-cte.org/base.php?code=848

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Tag 2. Liège// Belgien. #ETC- Springtour 2013

Freitag, Tag zwei, 8.30 Uhr. Es war eine kurze Nacht und gerade angekommen, geht es auch schon weiter. Nichts bleibt nie stehen und deswegen hier auch nicht.

Zwar lassen sich viele müde Augenpaare unter den Reisenden finden, aber der frisch gebrühte Kaffee im Bus veranstaltet kleine Wunder gegen alle Arten von Wehwehchen. Wir verlassen Stuttgart und bewegen uns nach Liège / Belgien. Vor uns liegt eine siebenstündige Fahrt. Ein Großteil dieser Reise findet – logischerweise- on the road statt. An uns vorbei ziehen frischgrüne Landschaften, die Mosel und Wälder, Städtchen und Sonnenstrahlen und die deutsch/ belgische Grenze. Europa rast hinter der Glasscheibe unseres Raumschiffs an uns vorbei. Dieses Bild wird uns innerlich und äußerlich noch eine kleine Weile begleiten.

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In Stuttgart zu uns an Bord gestoßen sind auch Schauspieler Jan Krauter und Regisseur Janek Liebetruth vom Schauspielhaus Stuttgart. Wir nutzen die Fahrt in all ihren Möglichkeiten aus und der gute Kaffee ist nur der Klebstoff dazwischen. Wir sehen uns eine Dokumentation der ETC Collaboration „Orient Express“ an, ein in 2009 durch die Turkei, Kroatien, Slowenien, Serbien und Deutschland fahrendes Bühnen-SchienenExperiment, an dem auch Jan Krauter Teil war. Wir sprechen mit Kulturexperte Ivor Davies über sein Thesenpapier „Theatre-making in the time of crisis“ und mit dem Director of external Affairs des Lièger Théâtre de la place Pierre Thys über den Weg der belgischen Theaterstudenten ins professionelle Berufsleben als Künstler.

Unser erstes Treffen in Liège ist eine große Willkommensbegrüßung der gesamten Leherschaft der ESACT, der “Ecole supérieur d’acteurs Conversatoire royal de Liège”. Der Schuldirektor Nathanael Harcq spricht über die besondere Ausbildung des Institituts und über die Notwendigkeiten, jungen Studenten zu helfen, ihre eigenen Mittel für die Bühne zu finden.

Anschließend fahren wir zur Eröffnung des „festival émulation“ am Théâtre de la place Liège. Ein Festival, das jungen Künstlern und Kollektiven die Chance gibt, sich unter professionellen Bedingungen einer Öffentlichkeit zu zeigen.

Ich sehe mir „Blackbird“ (David Harrower) vom Collectif IMPAKT an. Eine minimalistische, erdrückende Stunde auf der Hinterbühne, die noch hinter dem gewaltvoll herunter knallenden eisernen Vorhang stattfindet. Jérôme Falloise und Sarah Lefévre liefern eine einen befremdlichen Sog erzeugende Performance in Kälte und Dunkelheit. Nichts außer einem Geräuschteppich und einer Stahltür, um den Fall einer sexuell/ romantischen Begegnung eines Mannes und einer Minderjährigen zu erzählen. Das Stück wird in französisch gespielt, mein französisch ist ausbaufähig. Die Bühne wurde mit englischen Übertitel ausgestattet, ohne Glaskasten, einfach schriftlich auf der schwarzen Bühnenkante. Nach dem Abend konnte man sich kaum daran erinnern, ob „Blackbird“ tatsächlich auf französisch, englisch oder deutsch gespielt wurde, so unfassbar und nah rückte einem die Geschichte in Kopf und Körper. Das ist den fantastisch präzisen Schauspielern zu verdanken, die beide vom ESACT ausgebildet wurden.

Im Anschluss besuchen wir gemeinsam noch „Entre Rêve et poussière“ von, mit und über David Daubresse. Der junge Schauspieler erzählt von seinem eigenen Leben als Kind. Es geht um die Maßregelungen, den Druck und die Angst, die sich für ihn während seiner Schulzeit vor ihm auftürmten. Er dachte er sei dumm, dabei wollte er nur Tänzer werden. Eine 30-minütige Vorstellung, in der seine eigene neunjährige Schwester Shirley Daubresse sein junges Ich spielt. Videoinstalationen, herzzerreißende Kinderlieder und tanzende Schulpsychologen. Übertitel gab es nicht und die 30-minütige Performance war auf französisch – das ich immer noch nicht beherrsche. “Entre Rêve et poussière” war eine berührende Freude und ich bilde mir ein, jedes Wort verstanden und geliebt zu haben.

Wir beenden den Tag mit einem Abendessen in der Lièger Innentadt mit der künstlerischen Leitung des Festivals. Wir verlassen Liège morgen früh um nach Karlsruhe und dann nach Zürich zu fahren.

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Ich brauche einen zweiten Schwamm um all die wertvollen Eindrucke verschlingen zu kรถnnen. Der Tag braucht ab morgen 176 Stunden.

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Die Crew des schwarzen Busses trifft heute zum ersten mal aufeinander. Diese Menschen werden die nächsten 8 Tage 24/7 einander Umfeld sein. Neugierig freundliches Beschnuppern, Lächeln und zögerliches Englisch, jeder bekommt ein 99

Namensschild und einen ETC-Jubiläums-Jutebeutel mit allem, was man brauchen könnte, um für die nächsten Tage bewaffnet zu sein, liebevoll wie eine Schultüte.

Sowieso fühlt sich alles aufregend nach Klassenfahrt an. Mit Fremden. Zu einer Marsexpedition. Keiner weiß, was ihn erwarten wird, aber alle freuen sich, inklusive mir.

Wir fahren los. Christian Holtzhauer, Dramaturg am Schauspiel Stuttgart, moderiert die Fahrt vom Schloßgarten bis zur Spielstätte NORD. Für die meisten der Crewmitglieder ist Stuttgart Neuland und fremdester Boden. Zwei Minuten Fahrt, bumm, wir stehen im Stau. Es klopft die Gelegenheit an den Zaun, jetzt Stuttgarts besonders zärtliches Verhältnis zu Autos, Benz und Porsche zu erwähnen. Für mich ein selbstverständliches Detail. Für meine europäisch gemischten Kollegen jedoch wertvolle Information, um in dieser blitzkurzen Zeit auch nur den Hauch einer Ahnung dieser Stadt zu bekommen.

Immerhin wollen wir bis Mittwoch acht Städte zu einem Europadeckchen zusammenhäkeln können. Noch ist es für mich Heimspiel, Europa beginnt schließlich erst außerhalb von Zuhause.

Im NORD stehen gleich zwei Veranstaltungen auf unserm Stundenplan. Zuerst die “Stuttgarter Gespräche” mit dem Intendanten Hasko Weber, Grafikdesigner Jochen Rädeker, Hausregisseur Volker Lösch und Dr. Ingrid Hamm, Geschäftsführerin der Robert Bosch Stiftung . Auf der Bühne stehen ein kleines Wohnzimmer, ein Tisch und Stühle. Durch die vierte Wand lauscht unsere Reisegruppe, gemeinsam mit interessierten Stuttgarter Bürgern, der Diskussion über die Rolle des Theaters in gesellschaftlichen Auseinandersetzungen und wie diese aussehen kann/soll/muss. Auf Hochgeschwindigkeit wird in Echtzeit, aus einem Glaskasten in die Kopfhörer der NonStuttgarter, ins Englische übersetzt. Volker Lösch spricht über die Schönheit der Verschränkung von Theater und politischem Aktivismus und inwiefern das Theater die Proteste gegen Stuttgart 21 mitgestaltete.

Die Dimension dieser Stuttgart 21-Bewegung ist für mich sonnensuperklar, für die nichtdeutschen Gäste aber nur schwer nachzuvollziehen. “But hey… they are talking about a Trainstation, don’t they??”. Well. Its much more than that, ist doch klar, denke ich. Hm. Ich erwische meine Zehen hier zum ersten mal dabei, mitten in meiner eigenen Kulturblase herum zu tappen. Mit Sicherheit nicht das letzte mal bis Zagreb. Deswegen bin ich ja hier.

Im Anschluss sehen wir gemeinsam René Polleschs “Die Revolver der Überschüsse”. Ein klassischer Polleschabend, meine Zehen haben ihre Freude und planschen fröhlich im Seifenschaum. Um mich herum allerdings eher ratlose Augenbrauen. Diesmal gibt es keine Übersetzerin in einem Glaskasten. Nur viel Text, Video und eine riesige Drehbühne, die nickt, tanzt und mitspielt.

Einer der Crew-Journalisten (aus Portugal) hat die englische Übersetzung auf seinem Schoß und liest Wort für Wort mit. Sicher nicht ganz unanstrengend aber wahrscheinlich abendrettend. Es ging um fließendes Leben, Wiederholungen, die großen Themen der Menschheit, Liebe und Tod. Nach der Vorstellung treffen wir uns mit den Schauspielern auf ein kleines Buffet und sprechen in deutsch und englisch über die Inszenierung, das Sterben an sich sowie über Lieblingsstadtteile und Nachbarschaften in Berlin.

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Es wird spät, alle nehmen ihre Namens-Schildchen ab und fallen tot in ihre Betten. Morgen früh geht es nach dem Frühstück weiter nach Liège. Europa liegt vor uns, die Schwammfasern haben noch Kraft, saugen die eigene Seife jetzt ein, wringen sie aus und sind bereit neues, belgisches Wasser zu kosten. So geht es zumindest meinen Schwammfasern. Ich freue mich schon, mich außerhalb meines eigenen Referenzsystems zu verirren und über die lokalpolitischen Eigenheiten und Theatergewohnheiten Belgiens zu staunen….

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CCP Deutschland, Germany, 04.2013, online

Cultural Contact Point | Germany Die nationale Kontaktstelle für die Kulturförderung der EU. Ein Projekt der Kulturpolitischen Gesellschaft e.V. Jubiläumstour der European Theatre Convention Datum: 18.04.2013 - 24.04.2013

Die European Theatre Convention (ETC), Europas führendes Netzwerk öffentlicher Theater, feiert 2013 ihr 25-jähriges Bestehen. Dieser 25.

Geburtstag wird mit vielen Aktivitäten gefeiert, die aus dem Berliner Büro der paneuropaweiten Organisation gesteuert werden. Vom 18. Bis 24. April 2013 wird die erste ETC Frühlings-Theatertour durch Belgien, Deutschland, der Schweiz, Italien, Slowenien, der Slowakei und Kroatien touren. Diese großangelegte Initiative beabsichtigt die öffentlich finanzierten Repertoiretheater Europas als einen zentralen Ort der Vitalität von Kunst und Kultur zu fördern, als Schmelztiegel für ästhetische und soziale Innovation zu bekräftigen und die Bedeutung der ETC-Mitgliedstheater als kreative Zentren für Europas Städte, Regionen und Bürger aufzuzeigen. Anstatt kleine Theaterproduktionen zu touren, wird die ETC einen Bus organisieren, in dem Künstler, führende Meinungsbildner und wichtige politische Interessenvertreter zu verschiedenen Mitgliedstheatern reisen, um sich dort beispielhafte, erstklassige Inszenierungen in ihrem lokalen Umfeld anzusehen. Staats- und Stadttheater präsentieren auf der Tour einen Ausschnitt ihres reichhaltigen künstlerisch und gesellschaftlich vielschichtigen Repertoireprogramms, das die ausgewählten Buspassagiere zusammen mit den lokalen Zuschauern aus authentischen Blickwinkeln erleben werden. mehr

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Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Germany, 04.2013, online

Vorankündigung Website Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe link: http://www.staatstheater.karlsruhe.de/aktuell/news_id/413/

ETC SPRING THEATRE TOUR mit Stop in Karlsruhe Europas ältestes Netzwerk europäischer Stadt- und Staatstheater, die European Theatre Convention (ETC), erforscht die Rolle, die das Theater in Zeiten von Unsicherheiten und Krisen im Europa von heute spielen kann.

Anlässlich ihres 25. Geburtstages veranstaltet die Organisation erstmalig die ETC Spring Theatre Tour vom 18 – 24 April 2013: 25 junge und talentierte Künstler, bekannte Theatermacher, Journalisten und führende Repräsentanten der europäischen Kulturszene wurden zu dieser einmaligen trans-europäischen Theater-Busreise eingeladen. Sie sollen miterleben und dokumentieren, wie das Theater als Kunstform an politischen und sozialen Prozellen teilhaben und diese mitgestalten kann. An vielen der besuchten Theater passiert nämlich genau das, wenn sich Abend für Abend der rote Vorhang hebt.

Die Tour führt von West- nach Osteuropa. Ausgangspunkt ist das Staatstheater Stuttgart in Deutschland. Dann geht es weiter zu den Mitglieds-Theatern Théâtre de la Place, Liège, in Belgien und dem Badischen Staatstheater Karlsruhe in Deutschland, über das Schauspielhaus Zürich in der Schweiz, das Teatro Metastasio di PratoStabile della Toscana, in Prato, Italien, und das Slovene National Theatre, in Maribor, Slowenien, bis hin zum Slovak National Theatre, in Bratislava, Slowakei und dem Zagreb Youth Theatre (z/k/m), in Zagreb, Kroatien. In Zusammenarbeit mit diesen Institutionen verfolgt die Tour das Ziel, die sowohl kulturell als auch politisch relevante Arbeit von Europas öffentlich subventionierten Repertoire-Theatern, die oft nicht gewürdigt wird, zu fördern.

Während die Gäste an Bord des Busses mit den unterschiedlichsten Zuschauergruppen zusammenkommen und eine inspirierende Mischung herausragender Theaterproduktionen sehen werden, stellt jedes beteiligte Theater noch ein zusätzliches Thema zur Diskussion. Das Programm der ETC Spring Tour stellt also Fragen in den Mittelpunkt der Reise, die im Kontext der Kultur des heutigen Europa von zentraler Bedeutung sind. Die Themen werden sowohl an den Theatern vor Ort, als auch im Bus während der Reise in Form einer Reihe von Talkrunden, Besichtigungstouren, Probenbesuchen und weiteren Aktivitäten präsentiert. Folgende Fragestellungen stehen auf dem Programm: Theater und Stadtpolitik (Stuttgart), Der Weg von der Theaterhochschule auf die professionelle Bühne (Liège), Theater für die Allerkleinsten (Karlsruhe), Theater und die Medien (Zürich), Theater und der Zerfall Europas (Prato), Theater und Nation Building (Maribor), Das Paradox von Alt und Neu (Bratislava) and Das zeitgenössische Theatersstück (Zagreb).

Im Bus sind fünf junge Künstler mit von der Partie, die die unterschiedlichsten Theaterdisziplinen repräsentieren. Dazu gehören: Anne Habermehl, Autorin/Regisseurin (Deutschland), Gina Calinou, Schauspielerin (Rumänien), Daniel Hengst, Video Artist 103

(Deutschland), Goran Ferčec, Theaterautor/Regisseur (Kroatien) and Deborah Stevenson, Poetin (England) Sie alle wurden von einem der ETC-Mitgliedstheater nominiert, um die Möglichkeit zu haben, die Arbeit der beteiligten europäischen Stadtund Staatstheater kennenzulernen und vor Ort künstlerische Prozesse anzuregen. Im Rahmen der ETC Spring Tour werden sie Ihre eigene Kunst vorstellen und ihre Eindrücke von der Arbeit in den teilnehmenden zeitgenössischen Theatern präsentieren Mehr Details zur Tour finden Sie auf unserer website: http://www.etc-cte.org/.

Insbesondere die Rubriken “Highligt of the day” und “Daily Diary” warden regelmäßig mit neuen Informationen versorgt.

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Bianco Praetorius, Germany, 04.2013, facebook online

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ITALY Hystrio, Italy, 07.2013, print/online

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La Nazione, Prato, Italy, 28.04.2013, print

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TeatroMetastasio, Italy, 23.04.2013, video youtube

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You and News, Italy, 22.04.2013, online

You and News Quotidiano online La Repubblica di Weimar specchio dell’Europa contemporanea Monday, 22 April 2013di Niccolò Lucarelli PRATO - Lo Spring Tour 2013 della Convenzione Teatrale Europea (ETC), ha fatto tappa al Metastasio Domenica 21 Aprile, in occasione dell’ultima rappresentazione di Hotel Belvedere, lo spettacolo di von Horvàth allestito da Paolo Magelli, che è una profonda riflessione sociale e politica sull’Europa degli anni Venti, così come una sorta di profezia sui decenni futuri.

E per riflettere su questo interessante testo drammaturgico, il professor Zeffiro Ciuffoletti dell'Università degli studi di Firenze, introdotto dal Presidente del Teatro

Umberto Cecchi, ha tenuta, presso il Ridotto del Teatro, una breve lezione sull'Europa turbolenta e instabile degli anni di Weimar, traendone un parallelo con l’Europa contemporanea, non meno turbolenta, con le sue guerre economiche e i suoi contrasti sociali.

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Alla lezione è intervenuto anche il regista Paolo Magelli, il quale ha ribadita la pungente attualità del drammaturgo fiumano, del quale sono stati tradotti in Italia soltanto quattro testi. Eppure, la sua opera sembra scritta appena ieri, tanto è contemporanea, sia nel parlare della crisi politica, sia nelle critiche che rivolge alla sinistra (di allora), incapace di proporre idee per il progresso sociale. Puntò il dito contro il Parlamento tedesco degli anni Venti, le cui decisioni erano in realtà frutto di scelte della Cancelleria.

Anche oggi, il Parlamento Europeo si trova nelle stese condizioni, ingabbiato dalle decisioni prese dai poteri finanziari, veri organi esecutivi a livello mondiale. Ma un Parlamento che non controlla i capitali, non ha un potere effettivo. L’Europa di oggi è come la Germania degli anni Venti, attraversata da divisioni economiche e speculazioni, dall’incertezza politica e dall’individualismo, senza più ideali né fantasia.

Come spiega il professor Ciuffoletti nella sua lezione, pur non riproponendo mai situazioni esattamente identiche, la Storia insegna che certe macro-dinamiche possono comunque ripresentarsi a distanza di secoli o decenni, e quanto accaduto negli anni di Weimar si sta di nuovo manifestando in questi anni. Andiamo con ordine: all’indomani della Prima Guerra Mondiale, l’Europa si ritrova profondamente cambiata; sono scomparsi i grandi Imperi Centrali, veri e propri punti di riferimento per milioni di individui (La cripta dei Cappuccini ce ne dà una struggente elegia), nonché veri e propri esperimenti di unità a livello continentale, andati purtroppo falliti per un eccesso di bellicismo e per non aver compresa l’esigenza democratica dei loro popoli.

Milioni di persone, in Austria come in Ungheria, nei Balcani come in Germania, si ritrovarono a dover gestire quelle novità per cui tanti avevano combattuto, ovvero l’autodeterminazione da un parte, e la democrazia, appunto, dall’altra. In Germania nacque la Repubblica di Weimar, esperimento formalmente all’avanguardia per la costituzione che si riuscì a stilare, giudicata tecnicamente ineccepibile. In realtà, il corso della Storia non andò come sperato; all’instabilità sociale causata dall’inflazione e dalla crisi economica, si aggiunse il radicalismo delle classi sociali più elevate - nobiltà e alta borghesia -, ostili all’ordinamento democratico, mentre invece guardavano con favore al partito armato dei nazionalsocialisti, visto come ultimo baluardo contro il pericolo rosso.

Scioperi e manifestazioni di piazza sfuggirono al controllo della sinistra spartachista, che indirettamente può essere vista come responsabile della radicalizzazione di destra, che serpeggiò anche in larga parte del ceto medio. La scelta del Maresciallo Hindenburg come Presidente della Repubblica avvenne anche a causa dell’astensione al voto della sinistra. Alla sua incapacità di formulare concrete proposte politiche, si aggiunse da destra la volontà di porre un freno all’ingovernabilità consegnando il Paese allo NSDAP, che poteva contare, ricordiamolo, sulle guarnigioni di SA poi trasformate in SS. La follia di Hitler mirava a far sì che la comunità si facesse Stato, e si esprimesse con una sola voce, quella del Cancelliere.

Ne derivò una delle più spietate dittature del Novecento, e una nuova guerra mondiale.

Eppure, anche dopo di essa, la cui prima scintilla fu proprio la crisi di Weimar, furono ripetuti quegli errori strutturali, verrebbe da dire, che avrebbero “garantita” quella pericolosa instabilità politica. È il caso dell’Italia, costituitasi in Repubblica all’indomani del referendum del Giugno ’46, e dove era ancora forte il timore di una deriva autoritaria; fu questa considerazione a far decidere per una costituzione che non garantisse troppa 111

forza al governo, ma la conseguenza principale è stata l’ingovernabilità: dal 1948, soltanto un esecutivo ha portato a termine il mandato di cinque anni.

Una situazione che ha creato nei decenni un forte distacco fra politica e Paese reale, con i cittadini sempre più delusi e amareggiati nei confronti di partiti senza idee. Proprio la fine degli ideali, in aggiunta a una grave crisi economica, fanno sì che oggi in Italia si ripropongano, è l’analisi di Ciuffolotti, le condizioni a causa delle quali cadde la democrazia di Weimar. La rielezione di Napolitano, la mancanza di un governo a due mesi dalle elezioni, il proliferare dei movimenti di piazza, l’aumento del disagio in conseguenza della crisi economica, sono segnali che non fanno ben sperare per una rinascita sociale dell’Italia. Ma timori del genere esistono anche per la Grecia.

Se analizziamo invece il caso tedesco, possiamo vedere come la lezione di Weimar abbia lasciato il segno, e siano state prese le dovute precauzioni per ridurre al minimo l’ingovernabilità, che si è capito essere un rischio per la stabilità democratica. E governi stabili hanno maggior margine di manovra per garantire la tenuta del sistema finanziario interno. Tuttavia, la perdita di potere dell’Unione Europea, soggiogata ai voleri della finanza, potrà avere forti ripercussioni anche sulla tenuta economica della Germania.

La serata si è svolta alla presenza di numerosi inviati speciali di giornali europei e di registi internazionali, giunti a Prato per assistere allo spettacolo Hotel Belvedere, nell’ambito dello Spring Tour, una sorta di esperimento culturale fortemente voluto dall’ETC, che per una settimana vede riuniti attori, registi, critici teatrali, i quali hanno la possibilità di assistere insieme a una serie di spettacoli in vari teatri europei, dalla Germania al Belgio, all’Italia e alla Slovacchia; un’occasione per sviluppare dialogo e conoscenza reciproca, confrontare le diverse drammaturgie, visitare nuove città e allargare i propri confini. Già intellettuali e artisti del Settecento, da Goethe a Schiller, avevano compresa l’importanza del “viaggio d’istruzione” attraverso l’Europa, con l’Italia sosta privilegiata per la sua bellezza artistica e naturale. L’ETC ripropone questa esperienza, perché il teatro è anche e soprattutto uno spazio di dibattito democratico e di crescita intellettuale, dove ci si pongono domande e si cercano soluzioni per arginare il declino socioculturale che sta attanagliando l’Europa.

Tags: prato, teatro metastasio

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PratoBlog, Il quotidiano on line di Prato e provincia, Italy, 22.04.2013, online

La Repubblica di Weimar specchio dell'Europa contemporanea Monday, 22 April 2013di Niccolò Lucarelli PRATO - Lo Spring Tour 2013 della Convenzione Teatrale Europea (ETC), ha fatto tappa al Metastasio Domenica 21 Aprile, in occasione dell’ultima rappresentazione di Hotel Belvedere, lo spettacolo di von Horvàth allestito da Paolo Magelli, che è una profonda riflessione sociale e politica sull’Europa degli anni Venti, così come una sorta di profezia sui decenni futuri.

E per riflettere su questo interessante testo drammaturgico, il professor Zeffiro Ciuffoletti dell'Università degli studi di Firenze, introdotto dal Presidente del Teatro Umberto Cecchi, ha tenuta, presso il Ridotto del Teatro, una breve lezione sull'Europa turbolenta e instabile degli anni di Weimar, traendone un parallelo con l’Europa contemporanea, non meno turbolenta, con le sue guerre economiche e i suoi contrasti sociali.

Alla lezione è intervenuto anche il regista Paolo Magelli, il quale ha ribadita la pungente attualità del drammaturgo fiumano, del quale sono stati tradotti in Italia soltanto quattro testi. Eppure, la sua opera sembra scritta appena ieri, tanto è contemporanea, sia nel parlare della crisi politica, sia nelle critiche che rivolge alla sinistra (di allora), incapace di proporre idee per il progresso sociale. Puntò il dito contro il Parlamento tedesco degli anni Venti, le cui decisioni erano in realtà frutto di scelte della Cancelleria.

Anche oggi, il Parlamento Europeo si trova nelle stese condizioni, ingabbiato dalle decisioni prese dai poteri finanziari, veri organi esecutivi a livello mondiale. Ma un Parlamento che non controlla i capitali, non ha un potere effettivo. L’Europa di oggi è come la Germania degli anni Venti, attraversata da divisioni economiche e speculazioni, dall’incertezza politica e dall’individualismo, senza più ideali né fantasia.

Come spiega il professor Ciuffoletti nella sua lezione, pur non riproponendo mai situazioni esattamente identiche, la Storia insegna che certe macro-dinamiche possono comunque ripresentarsi a distanza di secoli o decenni, e quanto accaduto negli anni di Weimar si sta di nuovo manifestando in questi anni. Andiamo con ordine: all’indomani della Prima Guerra Mondiale, l’Europa si ritrova profondamente cambiata; sono scomparsi i grandi Imperi Centrali, veri e propri punti di riferimento per milioni di individui (La cripta dei Cappuccini ce ne dà una struggente elegia), nonché veri e propri esperimenti di unità a livello continentale, andati purtroppo falliti per un eccesso di bellicismo e per non aver compresa l’esigenza democratica dei loro popoli.

Milioni di persone, in Austria come in Ungheria, nei Balcani come in Germania, si ritrovarono a dover gestire quelle novità per cui tanti avevano combattuto, ovvero l’autodeterminazione da un parte, e la democrazia, appunto, dall’altra. In Germania nacque la Repubblica di Weimar, esperimento formalmente all’avanguardia per la 113

costituzione che si riuscì a stilare, giudicata tecnicamente ineccepibile. In realtà, il corso della Storia non andò come sperato; all’instabilità sociale causata dall’inflazione e dalla crisi economica, si aggiunse il radicalismo delle classi sociali più elevate - nobiltà e alta borghesia -, ostili all’ordinamento democratico, mentre invece guardavano con favore al partito armato dei nazionalsocialisti, visto come ultimo baluardo contro il pericolo rosso.

Scioperi e manifestazioni di piazza sfuggirono al controllo della sinistra spartachista, che indirettamente può essere vista come responsabile della radicalizzazione di destra, che serpeggiò anche in larga parte del ceto medio. La scelta del Maresciallo Hindenburg come Presidente della Repubblica avvenne anche a causa dell’astensione al voto della sinistra. Alla sua incapacità di formulare concrete proposte politiche, si aggiunse da destra la volontà di porre un freno all’ingovernabilità consegnando il Paese allo NSDAP, che poteva contare, ricordiamolo, sulle guarnigioni di SA poi trasformate in SS. La follia di Hitler mirava a far sì che la comunità si facesse Stato, e si esprimesse con una sola voce, quella del Cancelliere.

Ne derivò una delle più spietate dittature del Novecento, e una nuova guerra mondiale.

Eppure, anche dopo di essa, la cui prima scintilla fu proprio la crisi di Weimar, furono ripetuti quegli errori strutturali, verrebbe da dire, che avrebbero “garantita” quella pericolosa instabilità politica. È il caso dell’Italia, costituitasi in Repubblica all’indomani del referendum del Giugno ’46, e dove era ancora forte il timore di una deriva autoritaria; fu questa considerazione a far decidere per una costituzione che non garantisse troppa forza al governo, ma la conseguenza principale è stata l’ingovernabilità: dal 1948, soltanto un esecutivo ha portato a termine il mandato di cinque anni.

Una situazione che ha creato nei decenni un forte distacco fra politica e Paese reale, con i cittadini sempre più delusi e amareggiati nei confronti di partiti senza idee. Proprio la fine degli ideali, in aggiunta a una grave crisi economica, fanno sì che oggi in Italia si ripropongano, è l’analisi di Ciuffolotti, le condizioni a causa delle quali cadde la democrazia di Weimar. La rielezione di Napolitano, la mancanza di un governo a due mesi dalle elezioni, il proliferare dei movimenti di piazza, l’aumento del disagio in conseguenza della crisi economica, sono segnali che non fanno ben sperare per una rinascita sociale dell’Italia. Ma timori del genere esistono anche per la Grecia.

Se analizziamo invece il caso tedesco, possiamo vedere come la lezione di Weimar abbia lasciato il segno, e siano state prese le dovute precauzioni per ridurre al minimo l’ingovernabilità, che si è capito essere un rischio per la stabilità democratica. E governi stabili hanno maggior margine di manovra per garantire la tenuta del sistema finanziario interno. Tuttavia, la perdita di potere dell’Unione Europea, soggiogata ai voleri della finanza, potrà avere forti ripercussioni anche sulla tenuta economica della Germania.

La serata si è svolta alla presenza di numerosi inviati speciali di giornali europei e di registi internazionali, giunti a Prato per assistere allo spettacolo Hotel Belvedere, nell’ambito dello Spring Tour, una sorta di esperimento culturale fortemente voluto dall’ETC, che per una settimana vede riuniti attori, registi, critici teatrali, i quali hanno la possibilità di assistere insieme a una serie di spettacoli in vari teatri europei, dalla Germania al Belgio, all’Italia e alla Slovacchia; un’occasione per sviluppare dialogo e conoscenza reciproca, confrontare le diverse drammaturgie, visitare nuove città e allargare i propri confini. Già intellettuali e artisti del Settecento, da Goethe a Schiller, 114

avevano compresa l’importanza del “viaggio d’istruzione” attraverso l’Europa, con l’Italia sosta privilegiata per la sua bellezza artistica e naturale. L’ETC ripropone questa esperienza, perché il teatro è anche e soprattutto uno spazio di dibattito democratico e di crescita intellettuale, dove ci si pongono domande e si cercano soluzioni per arginare il declino socioculturale che sta attanagliando l’Europa.

Tags: prato, teatro metastasio

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247 libero, Italy, 22.04.2013, online

Da stasera al Metastasio “Hotel Belvedere”, la storia di un’Europa frastagliata tra incertezze e incomprensioni 10 Aprile 2013

Categoria: Cultura, Spettacoli

Da stasera sbarca al Metastasio la nuova produzione dello Stabile, in prima nazionale nel teatro di via Cairoli: da oggi, mercoledì 10 aprile, a domenica 21 aprile (feriali ore 21, festivi ore 16) si alzerà il sipario su “Hotel Belverdere”, opera di Odon Von Horvarth per la regia di Paolo Magelli, direttore artistico del Met che ha curato anche la traduzione. Ödön von Horváth scrisse Hotel Belvedere nel 1923, all’età di ventidue anni.

Nella prima stesura del testo, sul manoscritto, appare più volte la dicitura poi cancellata ma che sembra riemergere sempre e con forza, “Hotel Europa”.

Come ben sappiamo l’Europa che l’impero austriaco gestiva fu il primo tentativo di unire popoli diversi in un sistema di monarchia associativa (Franz Ferdinand venne ucciso a Sarajevo anche per la sua visione moderna e tollerante di questa idea politica). Horváth era ossessionato dalla incapacità che l’aristocrazia e la borghesia intellettuale mitteleuropea mostravano nei confronti delle utopie positive: fu il primo a riconoscere che dietro la facciata della grandezza si nascondeva un mondo volgare, malato e esclusivamente legato al potere del denaro. Un materialismo che avrebbe portato direttamente al nazismo. Il bambino Horváth aveva capito che dentro le cupole dorate dello Jugendstil, dietro gli ori di Klimt e dentro gli occhi dei personaggi di Schiele, c’era il vuoto e la disperazione, e i sette personaggi che si incontrano nel polveroso “Hotel Belvedere” lo dimostrano in ogni atomo della loro presenza scenica.

Una pièce che dimostra l’attualità di un testo steso diversi decenni fa, che vuole anche essere una riflessione sulla nostra Europa.

Per tutti gli interessati, sabato 13 aprile si terrà un incontro con la compagnia al Metastasio; coordina il giornalistia e critico teatrale Gherardo Vitali Rosati, ingresso libero.

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La Nazione, Prato, Italy, 21.04.2013, print

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Il Tirreno, Prato, Italy, 21.04.2013, print/online

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Teatro Metastasio di Prato, Italy, 04.2013, online

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Teatro Metastasio di Prato, Italy, 04.2013, online

Preannouncement: Website Teatro Metastasio di Prato

Informazioni IL TEATRO DI ÖDÖN VON DECADENZA DELL’EUROPA ETC DA

STOCCARDA

SPRING A ZURIGO,

HORVÁTH

THEATRE PARTENZA IL

18

E

LA

APRILE

TOUR 2013

La Convenzione Teatrale Europea (European Theatre Convention - ETC), la massima rete no-profit di teatri pubblici in Europa, sfrutta il suo 25° anniversario per esaminare il ruolo del teatro europeo in un’epoca di incertezza e di crisi del continente.

Nel suo primissimo ETC - Spring Theatre Tour (18/24 aprile 2013), un numero selezionato di giovani artisti e teatranti, di giornalisti all’avanguardia e di operatori culturali, è stato invitato ad unirsi al viaggio in bus per l’Europa, per testimoniare non soltanto come il teatro sia una forma d’arte che partecipa all’agenda politica e sociale del paese, ma anche per visitare alcuni di quei teatri che fanno sì che questo accada.

Iniziando dallo Staatstheater Stuttgart in Germania, l’ETC - Spring Theatre Tour continuerà il suo viaggio in Europa da ovest a Est, viaggiando durante il percorso verso i teatri membri dell’ETC - Théâtre de la Place, Liegi, Belgio, Badisches Staatstheater, Karlsruhe, Germania, Schauspielhaus, Zurigo, Svizzera, Teatro Metastasio Stabile della Toscana, Prato, Italia, Slovene National Theatre, Maribor, Slovenia, Slovak National Theatre, Bratislava, Slovacchia e Zagreb Youth Theatre (z/k/m), Zagabria, Croazia.

Entrando contatto con questi teatri il tour mira a promuovere il lavoro culturalmente e politicamente rilevante, ma spesso ignorato, portato avanti dai teatri d’Europa finanziati pubblicamente.

Mentre gli ospiti del bus si uniranno ai pubblici delle diverse località per assistere in ciascuna sede a un mix di stimolanti produzioni, i teatri promuoveranno anche uno specifico tema. Il programma dell’ETC Spring Theatre Tour perciò riflette, o si interroga, sui temi centrali rilevanti nel contesto culturale dell’Europa di oggi. Questi temi saranno affrontati attraverso una serie di dibattiti illuminanti, di attività, visite guidate in loco e prove, sia nei teatri che durante lo stesso viaggio in bus.

I temi sono: Teatro e Politica nella vita di una città (Stoccarda), Il percorso dalle scuole di teatro al palco professionale (Liegi), Il teatro per i giovanissimi (Karlsruhe), Teatro & Media (Zurigo), Il Teatro e la decadenza dell’Europa (Prato), Il teatro nel processo di costruzione di una nazione (Maribor), Il paradosso del vecchio e del nuovo (Bratislava) e La drammaturgia contemporanea (Zagabria) 120

Sul bus ci saranno 5 giovani artisti teatrali, che rappresentano la varierà delle diverse discipline teatrali. Questi artisti sono Anne Habermehl, scrittrice/direttrice (Germania), Gina Calinou, direttrice (Romania), Daniel Hengst, artista video (Germania), Goran Ferčec, drammaturgo/direttore (Croazia) e Deborah Stevenson, poetessa (UK).

Ciascuno è stato nominato da un teatro membro dell’ETC per questa opportunità di entrare in contatto con il lavoro dei teatri pubblici d’Europa e incoraggiare lo sviluppo di pratiche artistiche. Ogni giorno uno di loro discuterà e presenterà la propria arte e le proprie impressioni nel lavorare nel teatro contemporaneo oggi.

Per maggiori dettagli sul tour è possibile consultare il sito www.etc-cte.org, specialmente nelle sezioni “Highligt of the day” e “Daily Diary” , che verranno regolarmente aggiornate.

Information and contact: Barbara-Ann Rieck PR & Campaign Manager | European Theatre Convention c/o Deutsches Theater | Schumannstr 13 A | 10117 Berlin | Germany Email: barieck@etc-cte.org. T: 0049 30 28441 207 | F: 0049 30 28441 488 www.etc-cte.org Heidi Wiley - Email: hwiley@etc-cte.org | Tel: + 49 30 28441 461

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PORTUGAL PĂşblico, Portugal, 17.05.2013, print

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PĂşblico, Portugal, 10.05.2013, print

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SLOVENIA VeÄ?er, Slovenia, 04.05.2013, print/online

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Delo, Slovenia, 29.04.2013, print/online

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Sigledal, Slovenia, 24.04.2013, online

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Delo, Slovenia, 23.04.2013, print/online

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VeÄ?er, Slovenia, 23.04.2013, print/online

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TV Maribor, Slovenia, 23.04.2013, TV

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Delo, Slovenia, 22.04.2013, print/online

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VeÄ?er, Slovenia, 22.04.2013, print/online

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Delo, Slovenia, 20.04.2013, print/online

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VeÄ?er, Slovenia, 20.04.2013, print/online

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Delo, Slovenia, 18.04.2013, print/online

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Slovene National Theatre, Slovenia, 17.04.2013, online

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VeÄ?er, Slovenia, 16.04.2013, print/online

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SLOVAKIA Radio devin, Slovakia, 07.05.2013, radio https://soundcloud.com/skleno-1/rozhovor-k-etc-r-dio-dev-n

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Radio devin, Slovakia, 14.06.2013, radio

https://soundcloud.com/skleno-1/etc-interviewdubravka-radio?utm_source=sound

Dubravka Vrgoc: The European Theatre Convention is a theatre network of almost 40 members. I mean it is the strongest European Network of theatres across Europe, from Oslo to Turkey or Cyprus. Our members speak 22 languages. It was established 25 years ago in France. The basic aim was to promote European theatres, to promote mobility, intercultural dialogue, exchanging not only the performances but also the staff. At the moment we are doing a lot of activities and mostly financed by the European Commission programme 2007-2014. I would like to mention the biggest projects in the last few years. There was the Orient Express, the train theatre project which started in Ankara and finished in Stuttgart with a big festival and there were six countries involved in this with a new play based in the topic of transition and mobility. Then the Young Europe 1 and Young Europe 2 which put together 8 different theatres in the first edition and 8 theatre in the second edition which are from different parts of Europe.

Those theatres produce a performance which is based on the text for teenagers and which is mostly about the same topic which is interesting for Europe today. At the moment we got the money for art ageing, as we used to call it active ageing, it is also a project between 8 theatres, putting together 4 plays based on the problem between generations and mostly about old people.

Jan Sklenar (J.S.): Why did you decide to organize the Spring Theatre Tour and actually travel through Europe?

Dubravka Vrgoc: The initial idea was to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ETC. So we thought about how we could do it to get more attention for Europe for the ETC, but not only the European Theatre. So we decided to make a bus tour across Europe and to connect as much theatre and countries as we can connect in one bus tour. So it is a one week bus tour across Europe. We will try to discuss about some of the main topics which theatres face today. But also it is important to inform not only our members what it going on in the different theatres but also to inform the journalists what is taking place in the European Theatre Convention. I mean as the ETC we think we need to take the responsibility for the future of the theatre and we really care about it. In our opinion it is a difficult time at the moment for the European theatre facing not only financial crisis but different kind of crisis. The crisis of the audience, the crisis of the young artists who at the moment do not have a real chance to participate in the European theatre in the way they had 10 years ago. So there are many topics we think we have to discuss and even if we don’t have the time to discuss just to pay attention to these topics and to make theatre more present in the European context.

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J.S.: As we said, we are already in the Bus and are travelling through Europe. In the bus we have people who are artists, who are journalists, who are actively working in theatre as dramaturges or as directors. Why did you decide to make this mixture of people? Is this also a place where we have to discuss all these problems?

Dubravka Vrgoc: Yes. I think always used to talk in the theatre canteen about the theatre problem and I don’t think it’s enough. I mean we need to open the discussion and to make it more present in the public life. That I think is the aim of theatre… Sometimes it’s too exclusive for people who like the theatre and I mean no all the audience but a small group of people who are attending the theatre. I think at the moment when we try to protect and support the theatre we need to talk in a public way. We need to be more present in the public, in the whole community. So, I really like this mix in the bus, this mixture of the people, who are all in some way attached to theatre in different ways. But all of us I think care for the theatre. I think this a good opportunity for us to be in the same place, in this case the bus.

J.S.: When we are talking about European Theatre, how can we actually evaluate the quality of theatre?

Dubravka Vrgoc: It’s different. We are different and the quality of theatre is different. Ok, we cannot be equal. It is nice that we are different but we need to be aware of what we need to protect at the moment. It is not to make theatre … in the market. I mean this is something what easily could happen and it happened in some European countries like Spain. They closed the theatre. They just keep the Opera in Holland when 40% of their budget is cut, in Serbia they don’t’ have enough money for the performances. So it means they just push the theatre to be more commercial and I think this is the real fear of the future, of the theatre. And I think this is important for us to keep this theatre which we are doing in a different quality. But we call it socalled …. This is the only possibility what theatre can do nowadays.

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Slovak National Theatre, Slovakia, video

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Radio devin, Slovakia, 17.04.2013, radio https://soundcloud.com/skleno-1/etc-spring-tour-jarn-divadeln

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STV Jednotka, Slovakia, 29.04.2013, print

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Portal, Slovakia, 04.2013, print

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SWITZERLAND Tagesanzeiger, Switzerland, 28.07.2013, print

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ETC SPRING THEATRE TOUR PARTICIPANTS Ann-Marie ARIOLI, Artistic Wiesbaden (Germany)

Director

Theaterbiennale

Wiesbaden

2014,

Staatstheater

Born in Bern, Switzerland in 1969, Ann-Marie studied German Literature, Economic History and Philosophy in Zurich and Vienna and holds a Master degree in culture management. She started working in theatre as assisting director, co-director and dramaturge at theatres as Theater Neumarkt (Zurich), Schauspielhaus Zürich, at the Volksbühne am Rosa- Luxemburg-Platz (Berlin) and the Schauspielhaus Wien. From 1999 to 2003 she worked as dramaturge at the Luzerner Theater. In 2004 she was part of the Artistic Direction and Manager of the Festival »New plays from Europe« at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden. From 2005 to 2010 she was head of dramaturgy and Deputy Artistic Director at the Theater Aachen (Germany). Since 2010 she has been Co-Director at the Theater Chur.

In 2014 she will be part of the Artistic Direction and Festival manager of the next edition of »New plays from Europe«.

Stephanie AUER, ETC Intern (Germany) Born in Rum, Austria, Stephanie completed degrees in “Management and Economics” and “Sociology” at the University of Innsbruck in 2011. After her studies she worked among others at the “Innsbruck Festival of Early Music” (Austria) and for two years she has been the organiser of the “Rattenberger Advent” (Austria). Since February 2013 she has been engaged as project assistant for the ETC Spring theatre tour.

Françoise BARÉ, Journalist (Belgium)

Francoise has been a journalist and chief director in RTBF Radio since 1991. Besides that she works as journalist for TV documentaries, as editor for TV Journal and since 2004 for RADIO, with a focus on society and cultural affairs. She obtained a PHD in Archeology and History of Art Medieval period, a PHD in Philosophy, a PHD in History of Religions and Christianism of ULB (University of Brussels) and a PHD in Actual Art.

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Goran BOGDAN, Actor, Z/K/M (Croatia)

Goran was born in Široki Brijeg, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1980. He enrolled in the Zagreb Academy of Dramatic Art in 2005. He has appeared in the Zagreb Youth Theatre productions Koko in Paris, Gulliver’s Travels, Zagreb Pentagram, Around the World in 80 Days, The Garage, This Could Be My Street, The Man Who Saved Europe, The Ugly Duckling, A Letter to Heiner Müller, My Son Only Walks a Little Slower, Love’s End, Yellow Line, The Seagull, Tartuffe. He has also appeared in the plays Mourning Becomes Electra, A Respectable Wedding, Drunken Process, Look Back in Anger, Pillowman as well as in the films Sonja and the Bull (2012), In the Land of Wonders (2009), Some Other Stories (2010), The Show Must Go On (2009), Behind the Glass (2008), Night Ride (2007), The Naiveté of Boys (2007).

Helena BRAUT, PR Officer, Z/K/M (Croatia) Born in Zagreb, Croatia in 1970, Helena Braut graduated in Philosophy and Comparative Literatures at the faculty of Humanities and Social sciences at the University of Zagreb and pursued postgraduate doctoral studies in Literature, Performing Arts, Film and Culture. With a strong interest in performing arts, drama art and postdramatic theatre, she worked as a theatre critic and cultural journalist for Croatian daily newspapers Slobodna Dalmacija (1993-1994) and Vjesnik (1994-2012), where she was in charge as deputy editor for the culture section. She collaborated with publications such as Kazalište, Hrvatsko glumište and was involved in artistic committees (Gavelline večeri, Međunarodni festival malih scena, Naj naj naj festival, SKAZ, Internenational festival „Without translation”, Užice, Srbija). Since 2012 she works as PR manager at the Zagreb Youth Theatre.

Diego de BREA, Director, Slovene National Theatre (Slovenia) Director Diego de Brea (1969) has brought a distinctive and original poetics to the Slovenian theatre. Studied Comparative Literature, Art History and Theatre Directing. His graduate work received an award at the international festival of theatre student's productions in Brno. He has directed many acclaimed performances in both institutional and experimental theatres and has received several awards for his work. De Brea has worked in the majority of Slovene theatres as well as in Italy, covering various genres but is best known for his staging of complex classical and contemporary dramatic texts.

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Ioana BURTEA, Journalist (UK)

Ioana is a master’s student in Creative Writing (Nonfiction) and she has been a journalist for seven years. Right now she is based with Europe & Me and New Eastern Europe writing about Eastern European issues and she is writing a book about national identity in Moldova for her master’s programme.

Gina CALINOIU, Actress, National Theatre of Craiova (Romania) Born in Filiasi, Romania in 1978 Gina has been a member of the regular ensemble of the National Theatre of Craiova since 2001. In addition she has worked as an acting teacher with the arts department of the University of Craiova for two years. While developing her artistic career with the National Theatre Gina was also keen to improve and broaden her professional skills and for this reason became actively involved in both theoretical and practical artistic research. Her PhD thesis, based on Jerzy Grotowski’s work, opened for her the opportunity to work and collaborate with some of the most famous theatre makers, such as Anatoly Vassiliev, Eugenio Barba and Thomas Richards.

Gina lives in Craiova.

Tiago Bartolomeu (Portugal)

COSTA,

Journalist Tiago Bartolomeu Costa is a performing arts critic and journalist based in Lisbon. Working for the newspaper PÚBLICO, he has also founded and ran the performing arts magazine OBSCENA (20072011). Founder of the international magazines network TEAM Network, he was awarded in 2009 the British Council's Grant for Cultural Leadership International and in 2011 the International Prize Carlos Porto for Cultural Journalism. He serves as advisor for the programme Chantiers d'Europe 2013, run by Theatre de la Ville, in Paris, as well as the committee for educational grants in theatre for the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, in Lisbon and the International Theatre Advisors of the Divadelna Nitra Festival (Slovakia).

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Ivor DAVIES, Independent Advisor in Cultural Policy (UK) Born in the UK Ivor Davies is an independent adviser and researcher in international cultural policy. He has worked for many years in theatre in different capacities. He has extensive experience of local, regional and national cultural policy development in the UK, working for 10 years to 2010 with Arts Council England as Director of Performing Arts (Yorkshire region) and was national Director of International Strategy (2009). Ivor now has a transnational focus, including conference speaking and moderation, policy research and lecturing and advising in cultural policy in the UK. For 6 years he was a board member (and Treasurer) of Culture Action Europe, the panEuropean ‘network of networks’ and is now associated with Relais Culture Europe, the Parisbased European cultural resource agency and Malta Council for Culture and the Arts. Ivor lives in Sheffield.

Zdenko DUKA, Journalist (Croatia)

Born in Split, Croatia Zdenko graduated in Comparative Literature and Philosophy at the Zagreb University. He is editor and columnist in the Zagreb office of Novi list daily, which is based in Rijeka, Croatia. He is also president of the Croatian Journalists' Association.

Goran FERČEC, Freelance Writer, Dramaturge, Theatre Maker, Z/K/M (Croatia) Born in Koprivnica, Croatia in 1978 Goran studied Art History and Polish Language and Literature at the University of Zagreb. Following this he graduated as a dramaturge at the Academy of Dramatic Arts. He is a member of the editorial board of the Performing Arts Journal Frakcija and cofounder of the DK – a dramaturgy collective initiative which organizes public stage readings of plays by young Croatian authors. Since 2005 Goran has been publishing performance texts and theory in various journals throughout Croatia and on Croatian radio. He is also the author of the novel THERE WILL BE NO MIRACLES HERE (Fraktura, 2011).

His play LETTER TO HEINER MÜLLER, directed by Bojan Djordjev premiered in 2011 at Z/K/M and received a staging at La MaMa in New York in December 2012 as part of the first ever ETC Young Director’s Forum. Goran lives in Zagreb.

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Melita FORSTNERIČ HAJNŠEK, Journalist (Slovenia) Melita graduated at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana.

Since 1985 she has been working as a journalist in the culture department of the Večer newspaper. She has been the editor of the culture department of the Večer (Evening) newspaper and editor of the Večer supplement on Saturdays. Melita has collaborated with various culture and culture-related media. The areas of her journalistic work ranges from culturalpolitical phenomena, cultural politics, media culture, diaspora, up to cultural history and beyond. Melita published the monographic book “Jože Košar – humanist and publisher” and in Slovene-Croatian “Slovenians of Zagreb from 2005 to 2007”.

Barbara FUCHS, Director and Choreographer, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe (Germany) After her studies at the Folkwang School in Essen, Barbara Fuchs worked as a dancer and founded her own label tanzfuchs PRODUKTION in 2003. Her production “Kopffüßler”, a dance performance for children aged 0 to 4 years, toured successfully nationally and internationally. In 2012 she developed the childrens’s performance “Raus aus dem Haus” at the Comedia Theater Cologne for children aged 2 years.

Anne HABERMEHL, Playwright, Deutsches Theater Berlin (Germany) Born in Heilbronn, Germany in 1981 Anne studied Dramatic Writing at the University of Arts Berlin from 2004 to 2008. Her plays have been performed at Thalia Theater Hamburg, Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel München and at Schauspielhaus Wien, amongst other theatres. In 2008 she took part in the workshop for Dramatic Writing at the Theatertreffen Berlin and was subsequently awarded a commission for her workshopped play.

Another one of her plays LAST TERRITORY was invited to the Autorentheatertage Hamburg 2008 and 2009 to the festival Radikal Jung. Anne was also awarded scholarships to work at Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus and at Obrador d’Estiu Sala Beckett in Barcelona. The debut performance of SACR AREA; which she directed, was invited to the Autorentheatertage 2011 at the Deutsches Theater Berlin. Anne lives in Berlin.

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Daniel HENGST, Videoartist, Theater Dortmund (Germany) Born in Leipzig, Germany in 1981 Daniel studied Media Technology from 2001 to 2007 at the HTWK Leipzig. Since then he has worked as a cameraman, editor and co-director on a number of documentaries and short movies including the 2009 documentary DEMOCRACY IN MOTION, a depiction of Joseph Beuys’ social sculpture OMNIBUS on its 10-week journey across 12 countries in South-East Europe, and the performance film NIJINSKY-PROJECT (Dir: Miriam Horwitz), which he produced in 2010. Daniel has also worked extensively as a video artist and technician in theatre projects based in Leipzig, Dessau, Hamburg and Dortmund, including the Theater Dortmund where he was an integral part of the company during the 2011/2012 season. Daniel’s current project is an experimental documentary charting the relationships between work, the economy and the human body.

Radana LUKÁČIKOVÁ HROMNÍKOVÁ, Project Manager and Dramaturge, Slovak National Theatre (Slovakia) Radana was born in Bratislava in 1977. She studied Cultural Studies and Marketing Communication at the Commenius University, and afterwards Film Production at the University of Arts. Before she has been engaged at the Slovak national theatre she had worked in a marketing department for a bank.

She has been in the Slovak national theatre since august 2007. She is responsible for international relations and administration regarding the plays on the repertoire (licence fees, contracts, etc.)

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Alexander KEIL, Dramaturge, Artistic Planner, Schauspielhaus Zürich (Switzerland) Born in Meißen, Germany in 1982 Alexander studied Opera Directing at the Theatre Academy of the University of Music and Theatre in Hamburg as well as Communication and Cultural Management (Master) at the Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen.

After graduating directing, he worked as assistant director at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden (artistic director Wilfried Schulz) for/with Roger Vontobel, Barbara Buerk and Friederike Heller among others.

He was able to realize own directorial work at the Munich Biennale for New Music, the St. Pauli Theater Hamburg and the State Theatre Tübingen.

Since 2011 he has been a fellow of the "Akademie Musiktheater heute" of the Deutsche Bank Foundation. In the same year he took over the artistic direction of the festival Seekult at Lake Constance, which he co-founded.

Since the season 2012/13 Alexander works at the Schauspielhaus Zürich and is in charge for special events and touring activities besides his work as dramaturge for "Die Katze auf dem heissen Blechdach“.

Miriam KIČIŇOVÁ, (Moderator), Dramaturge and Lector of Dramaturgy, Slovak National Theatre (Slovakia) Miriam is a graduate of the Conservatory in Košice, Department Music and Dramatic Art. In 2009 she graduated from University of Performing Arts in Bratislava, where she studied Theatre science and Dramaturgy. Since then she has continued to work with the University as a dramaturge for the school’s theatre productions as well as working in as a freelance dramaturge with a number of different theatres throughout Slovakia (Nitra, Prešov, Košice). Miriam has also worked as a critic and has written for theatre magazines KØD and Javisko.

She is a member of the jury at the showcases of Slovak amateur theatre and currently she works as a lector of dramaturgy at the Slovak National Theatre, where she is also responsible for the educational activities of the theatre. Miriam lives in Bratislava.

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Jan KRAUTER, Actor, Staatstheater Stuttgart (Germany) Born in Wilhelmshaven in 1984 Jan holds a drama degree at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. For his performance of Woyzeck (directed by Isabel Osthues) he received in June 2008 the “Award for drama students of the Federal Minister for Education and Research” at the "Theatertreffen deutschsprachiger Schauspielstudierender” and the "19th Federal Competition of the Federal Ministry of Education and research of the Federal Republic of Germany for the promotion of the young Actors” at the Academy of Music and Theatre in Rostock. The award ceremony took place on a proposal from the jury by Andreas Dresen, Nicole Heesters, Michael Neuenschwander, Gertrud Roll and Christiane Schneider.

Janek LIEBETRUTH, Artistic Director, Staatstheater Stuttgart (Germany) Born in Wernigerode, Germany in 1980 he studied American Studies, Media Studies and Theatre Studies at the University of Potsdam and the Freie Universität Berlin/Free University of Berlin. In the course of research for his master's thesis he founded the "Bühnenkunst Theatre Company" in South Dakota, for which he operated as artistic director and which produced his debut staging !Frühlings Erwachen!. From 2007 to 2009 Janek was engaged at the Hans Otto Theatre Potsdam where he made his German debut as director with Sartre's "Geschlossene Gesellschaft" in the series of Freistil. Since the season 2009/10 he has been engaged at the Staatstheater Stuttgart as an assistant director. He worked together with Michael Thalheimer, Hasko Weber, Nuran David Calis, Annette Pullen and Thomas Dannemann among others. With Fassbinder's "Tropfen auf heiße Steine" in the season 2011/12, he introduced hisself for the first time in front of the Stuttgart audience as a director and in this season he will produce the stage comedy 'Adam and Eve' by Peter Hacks on the Main Stage at NORD.

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Jan LINDERS, (Moderator), Drama Director, Staatstheater Karlsruhe (Germany) Born in Hamburg, Germany, studied German Literature, Philosophy, Musicology in Hamburg and Baltimore, USA. During his theatre formation years he worked, among others, with George Tabori, Robert Wilson, Heiner Müller. Jan was a board member of the “Dramaturgische Gesellschaft” 20032013. In 2009 he was appointed director of Drama at Theater & Orchester Heidelberg and Artistic Director of Heidelberger Stückemarkt. He initiated a 2 year theatre partnership with Israel and the ETC membership. In 2011 he moved to his current position as director of Drama at Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe.

Mounia MEIBORG, Journalist (Germany) Born in 1984, works as a freelance theatre critic and reporter in Berlin. She writes for Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit, Zeit online, Deutschlandfunk and others.

Christa MÜLLER, ETC General Secretary, Deutsches Theater Berlin (Germany) Studied History of Dramatics, German and English Literature at the University of Munich, went to acting classes. Started as a dramaturge and actress at the theatres in Dinkelsbühl, Landshut and Kaiserslautern (1969-1981). Gained experiences in the adaptation and translation of plays, some of them are published.

Worked as a reader for publishers of German drama.

Ulrich Khuon (the present artistic director of Deutsches Theater Berlin) got her as a dramaturge to Stadttheater Konstanz (1983-93), as director of artistic production to Staatstheater Hannover (19932000), as director of ‘Thalia in der Gaußstraße’ and dramaturge to Thalia Theater Hamburg (2000-09) and finally as dramaturge in charge of international contacts and the festival ‘Berliner Autorentheatertage’ to Deutsches Theater Berlin.

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Malin NAGEL, Dramaturge, Deutsches Theater Berlin (Germany) Born in 1984, she studied Literature, Musicology and History at the University of Kiel and dramaturgy at the Academy of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" in Leipzig. She joined the team of the ‘Deutsches Theater Berlin’ at the season 2011/12, first as the assistant of dramaturgy, next season she`ll continue working there as a dramaturg. During the last years she has worked together with many different directors, for example Stephan Kimmig, Tom Kühnel/ Jürgen Kuttner, Michael Thalheimer, Felicitas Brucker and Max Claessen and has organised several festivals for art and theatre in Leipzig in Berlin.

Bianca PRAETORIUS, Journalist (Germany) Bianca is blogging for the national theatre magazine "Die Deutsche Bühne". She is based in Berlin, writes for both the digital and print version of "Die Deutsche Bühne", the young theatre magazine "Die Junge Bühne" and the berlin-focussed online theatre critics blog www.unruheimoberrang.net. Her special interest belongs to the digital future and the changes that might come with it for the arts.

Axel PREUSZ, Head Dramaturg, Staatstheater Braunschweig (Germany) During his studies, he worked with independent drama groups and as an assistant director at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. From 2002 to 2005, he was head dramaturg and deputy director at the Landestheater Tübingen (LTT), and from 2005 to 2009 artistic director and deputy director at the Theater Heidelberg, where he also led the festival for young playwrights »Heidelberger Stückemarkt«.

Since 2010 he is head dramaturg at the SB. He initiated the international cooperation »Achtung: Pioniere!« with the theatre z/k/m Zagreb and leads the diversity-festival »Themenwochenende Interkultur« since 2011.

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Anja QUICKERT, Journalist (Germany) Anja lives in Berlin and writes for the Berlin based Magazin „tip“ about theatre and for the German magazine „Theater heute“. In addition to her work as journalist, she is the executive secretary of the “Internationale Heiner Müller Gesellschaft”.

Peter RAK, Journalist (Slovenia) Born in Maribor, he studied History of Art at University of Ljubljana. Since 1996 he has been a journalist and an art critic for the leading Slovene newspaper Delo. In addition, he writes for the magazine Pogledi (Views), which is edited twice a month.

Robert ROTH, Ensemble Actor, Slovak National Theatre (Slovakia) Born in Bratislava, Slovakia, in 1972, Robert has become one of the most important Slovak actors of our times. From his early childhood on, he worked in a drama group for children with the Slovak radio.

After graduating from the Conservatory in Bratislava in 1993, he has been working in several theatres (Trnavské divadlo in Trnava, Nova scéna in Bratislava, Puppet Theatre in Žilina). Since 2000 he is a member of the Slovak National Theatre's actors' ensemble. During his artistic career he played many important roles such as Ariel, Hamlet, Faust, Ivanov, Ján Hollý etc. He received several awards, the most important one is the DOSKY Slovak Theatre Award 2010 for the role Ján Hollý in a performance of Hollyroth and in 2011 he received the Crystal Wing Award in the category Theatre and Audiovisual Art.

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Andrea SCHWIETER, Head Dramaturg and Vice General Director, Schauspielhaus Zürich (Switzerland) Born in Basel in 1973, Andrea studied History and German philology at the University of Basel and at the Humboldt University in Berlin, before joining the Volksbühne in Berlin as dramaturge. In 1999 she joined the team of the artistic directors of the 1st International Theatre Academy Ruhr in Bochum. She then worked as dramaturge at the Schauspielhaus Zürich (artistic director Christoph Marthaler), the Theater Basel as well as at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus. She worked with Barbara Frey, Alvis Hermanis, Lars-Ole Walburg, Stefan Bachmann, Rimini Protocol, René Pollesch, Sebastian Baumgarten amongst many others. In addition, she teaches at the Zurich University and the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Since 2009/10 Andrea Schwieter is Head dramaturge and Viceartistic director of the Schauspielhaus Zürich.

Ján SKLENÁR, Journalist (Slovakia) Jan is currently working as moderator and editor in Slovak Radio 3 (culture and art focus Radio Devin) with a passion of small things which are in fact huge.

I love music, contemporary art and everything that keep my soul in peace...

Wolfgang SPINDLER, Journalist (France) Born 18th of April 1960 next to Stuttgart, in the South of Germany. After his B.A degree in German Literature, Philosophy and Political Science at the University of Stuttgart he joined the theatre company “Die Rampe” as an actor and stage director. Three years later Wolfgang obtained a M.A. in Political Science and joined the public television SDR (today SWR) in Stuttgart as a freelancer, working in the news department Tagesschau/Tagesthemen and in the foreign affairs office. Since 1992 he works for the international news channel Euronews in Lyon and is today responsible for the daily cultural programmes "Le Mag" and "Cinema" covering mainly cultural events around the world for Euronews including cinema, visual and performing arts.

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Deborah STEVENSON, Poet, Nottingham Playhouse (UK) Deborah has taken her poetry from Camden to Shanghai working with organisations such as Chanel 4, The Roundhouse and The British Council. She teaches poetry on the BA Creative and Professional Writing program at the University of Nottingham and has recently returned from a two month poetry research scholarship in America. She has been published by Louis Vuitton and has received commissions from the likes of BBC Radio 3 and The World Freerunning Championships. She is also the founder and director of The Mouthy Poets, the largest poetry collective in the region, in residence at Nottingham Playhouse.

Ulrike STÖCK, Dramaturge and Stage Director, Staatstheater Karlsruhe (Germany) Born in Halle an der Saale, Germany in 1975, she studied German and Jewish Studies at the University of Potsdam. Until 2004, she worked as a dramaturge and stage director at Theater Senftenberg, then as a freelancer in Heidelberg, Rostock, Linz and Bremerhaven. Since autumn 2011, she heads the newly formed department JUNGES STAATSTHEATER with theater, opera and dance for children and adolescents at the Staatstheater Karlsruhe. In April 2013, she directed her first opera "Border".

Pierre THYS, Head of Communication, Théâtre de la Place (Belgium) A studied historian, Pierre has been working for more than 15 years in communication, press, public relations and production for major European culture institutions: Charleroi/Danses Centre Chorégraphique de la Communauté française in Belgium (direction: Frédéric Flamand), The National Ballet of Marseille, France (direction: Frédéric Flamand), The Dance Festival of Cannes, France edition 2011 (direction artistique: Frédéric Flamand) ... In September 2012 he was appointed head of public relations/ artistic advisor for dance at the Théâtre de la Place in Liège, Belgium (direction: Serge Rangoni).

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Susannah TRESILIAN, Theatre Director, Nottingham Playhouse (UK) Susannah has worked extensively around the UK and Europe specialising in the exploration and propagation of international theatre, both in her role as Artistic Director of Envision Theatre from 2002 to 2009, and as a freelance director. Amongst her most recent work she directed Golden Fables 2012 for Lincolnshire Cultural Olympiad, performed as part of the Olympics 2012, and My Mother Medea at the National Theatre of Cyprus. In 2011 she was appointed Associate Director for Nottingham Playhouse's European Theatre Festival (NEAT 2011), a post she will take up again for NEAT 2014.

She was shortlisted for the National Theatre's Leverhulme Bursary for Emerging Theatre Director in 2010 and in 2008 worked as Assistant Director in the UK, France, Croatia and Norway under ACE and ETC sponsorship. www.susannahtresilian.com Gherardo VITALI ROSATI, Journalist (Italy) Gherardo Vitali Rosati is a freelance theater critic. He is regularly working for the Florentine supplement of Il Corriere della Sera (Corriere fiorentino), as well as for journals like Hystrio, Theater Magazine, La Règle du Jeu, Il Manifesto, Myword, and Drammaturgia. He currently writes and hosts the TV program Chi è di scena?. He is also working with La MaMa Theater, as a consultant for La MaMa Umbria International.

He obtained his Ph.D. in Florence (Italy) in 2011, with a thesis about Pietro Chiari and Carlo Goldoni. One of his plays, Une Algérie: 1830-1954 was published and performed in France by Le Théâtre des Minuits.

Dubravka VRGOČ, (Croatia)

Artistic & General Director, z/k/m & World Theatre Festival Zagreb Born in Croatia Dubravka started her career as a theatre critic and journalist in the early 80s. She worked also as a contributing author and scriptwriter to various TV and radio programmes before completing completion her dramatist studies at the University of Zagreb. For over 20 years she has been involved in the Croatian arts sector, acting as jury or board member with organisations such as the Croatian Centre of ITI-UNESCO and the Croatian Drama Festival. In 2003 she founded the World Theatre Festival in Zagreb and in 2004 became artistic director of Zagreb Youth Theatre. Since 2011 she has been president of the European Theatre Convention (ETC). She has worked for the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as an international relations advisor for the cultural department of the City of Zagreb. She conducted research projects on “Theatre for the 21st century” in London and in New York

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Daniela WEINGÄRTNER, Journalist (Belgium) Daniela is an EU correspondent for the "Badische Zeitung" (Freiburg, Germany). She is based in Brussels since 2000, and worked there first as correspondent for "tageszeitung" and "Parlament".

She also works with the German television and "German Times". Before specialising in EU-affairs, she covered German interior politics in Bonn for "Deutsche Welle". Daniela has two children.

Heidi WILEY, ETC General Secretary (Germany) Heidi holds MA degrees in “International management and marketing” from the University La Sorbonne, Paris and “Cultural studies” from the Leuphana University, Germany, graduating with her thesis exploring “Forms of fringe theatre – Nouveau Cirque”. Over the last 15 years Heidi lived and worked in the UK, the US, France and Germany. She produced and managed international theatre companies and artists incl. Victoria Thierrée Chaplin and the Tiger Lillies, touring extensively through Europe and Asia. As cultural manager she worked for European cultural networks and programmes (European Film Promotion, Erasmus) and collaborated with international education and scientific institutions as consultant for international cooperations (DAAD, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft). In 2009 Heidi has been appointed general secretary of the European Theatre Convention (ETC).

Lucia ZIMMERMANN, Press Officer, Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden (Germany) Lucia works as a press officer at Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. As Head of Press of Public Relations she is responsible for the Theatre Biennale NEW PLAYS FROM EUROPE (www.newplays.de) and the International May Festival. Before, Lucia worked as a cultural manager for the Robert Bosch Foundation at Qendra Multimedia (Kosovo) from 2009 to 2011, organizing cultural projects in the fields of theatre, literature and film. As artistic director and festival manager she organized the International Theatre meeting “PLAYgrounds between facts and fiction” in Pristina with thematic panels as well as stage readings and plays from 12 countries to reflect on the role of social and historical reality in contemporary theatre (playgroundstheatre.wordpress.com).

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ETC SPRING THEATRE TOUR 2013 18 APRIL Staatstheater Stuttgart, Germany

19 APRIL Théâtre de la Place, Liège, Belgium

20 APRIL Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Germany

20 APRIL Schauspielhaus Zürich, Switzerland

21 APRIL Teatro Metastasio di Prato, Stabile della Toscana, Prato, Italy

22 APRIL Slovene National Theatre, Maribor, Slovenia

23 APRIL Slovak National Theatre, Bratislava, Slovakia

24 APRIL Zagreb Youth Theatre (z/k/m), Zagreb, Croatia

www.etc-cte.org