Platform 11+ Artistic Discoveries in European Schoolyards Season 2012 / 2013
PLATFORM 11+ – Artistic Discoveries in European Schoolyards is an artistic network in which 13 theatres from 12 European countries have joined together to collectively create new work for young people aged between 11 and 15 in both the Performing and Visual Arts. As the professional artists go about their work, the young people will be encouraged to express themselves artistically too. At the end of the four year project, PLATFORM 11+ presents a multi-layered portrait of a young European generation, whose presence at the beginning of the 21st century is reflected in numerous works of art.
Partner theatres
Represented in the Advisory Board by
Associated partners
Brageteatret (leading org.) Norway | Drammen
Terje Hartviksen
ATINA Argentina | Buenos Aires
Divadlo Alfa Czech Rep | Pilsenˇ
Tomáš Froyda
University of Agder Norway | Kristansand
Oulun Kaupungin Teatteri Finland | Oulu
Mikko Kouki
Theaterstückverlag Germany | Munich
VAT Teater Estonia | Tallinn
Tiina Rebane
Theater Junge Generation Germany | Dresden
Felicitas Loewe
Elsinor Teatro Stabile d’Innovazione Italy | Milan
Stefano Braschi
Kolibri Gyermek – És Iljúsági Színház Hungary | Budapest
János Novák
Theater de Citadel The Netherlands | Groningen
Rob Bakker
Teatro O Bando Portugal | Palmela
Raul Atalaia
Theatre Institute Bratislava Slovakia | Bratislava
Vladislava Fekete
Pilot Theatre Great Britain | York
Marcus Romer
Emergency Exit Arts Great Britain | London
Deb Mullins
Platform 11+ Artistic Discoveries in European Schoolyards A collaboration of European theatre companies funded by the European Union under “CULTURE 2007– 2013”. Season August 2012 – April 2013
Project Management Artistic Director
Dirk Neldner
Project Coordinator
Sven Laude
Projects Assistance
Johanna Malchow
Literary Manager
Odette Bereska
Education / Engagement
Mandy Smith (Pilot Theatre)
Visual Arts
Andrew Siddall (Emergency Exit Arts)
Performing Arts
Terje Hartviksen (Brageteatret)
Playwrights
Giuditta Mingucci (Teatro Elsinor)
Financial Administration
Marit Holtet, Elin Henninen (Brageteatret)
Website Implementation
Marco Tralles
Website Maintenance
Britta Schöffel
Translation/English Corrections Peter Scollin
Contents Schoolyard Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4th Annual Encounter – Pilsen, Czech Republic 2012
Prefaces
Reflections of Directors & Designers
Introduction Final Production FACE ME Time of Transition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Morten Eriksrød, County Mayor of Buskerud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Ivana Sajevic (DE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Tore Opdal Hansen, Mayor of Drammen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Miguel Moreira (PT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Terje Hartviksen, Artistic Director, Brageteatret Drammen (2012) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Tom Bellerby (GB). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Dirk Neldner, Artistic Director, PLATFORM 11+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Lotte Lohrengel (NL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Ilaria Ariemme (IT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Schoolyard Memories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Gyuri Vidovszky (HU). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Alex Evans (GB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5th Annual Encounter Drammen, Norway 2013
Patrick Bullock (GB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Petr Vodicka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Organisation Team. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Cast FACE ME Time of Transition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Look back on four years of PLATFORM 11+ (Odette Bereska) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 “We’re Getting Very Near the End” (Evaluation, Gunnar Horn). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Schoolyard Memories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
“The Privilege of Being an Associated Partner” (Brigitte Korn-Wimmer). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 3rd Youth Encounter Dresden, Germany. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Schoolyard Memories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Schoolyard Memories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Schoolyard Memories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
PLATFORM 11+ Theatres & Associated Partners
Friends of PLATFORM 11+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Brageteatret (Norway) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Theatre Alfa (Czech Republic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Kolibri Theatre (Hungary). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Elsinor Teatro Stabile d’Innovazione (Italy). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Theatre Addresses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Theater de Citadel (The Netherlands) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Teatro O Bando (Portugal). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Pilot Theatre Company (Great Britain). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Theatre Institute Bratislava (Slovakia). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Emergency Exit Arts (Great Britain) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Oulu City Theatre (Finland) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 VAT Teater (Estonia). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 tjg. theater junge generation Dresden (Germany) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 University of Agder (Norway) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 ATINA (Argentine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 La Factoria (Chile) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Imprint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Aare Toikka, 4 years old
A childhood story. As a child I spent my summers at my grandmother’s farm near Viljandi. I might have been four years old. I was barefoot, had a twig in my hand, and I was observing a frog on the lawn. I remember being afraid of it. Gathering my courage bit by bit, I went
8 Schoolyard Memories
closer to it and decided to acquaint myself with the creature. The frog jumped to one side, I blocked its way with the twig. The frog jumped to the other side, I again tried to direct its way. I wanted to make the frog do what I wanted, just for fun. A little ruler raised its head inside of me. Or perhaps my tyrant-like actions were related to my fear, to my hope that once the frog has surrendered, I no longer have to be afraid. Who knows, but unfortunately the frog had its own plans. The frog did not want to surrender to the boy. It fought back. It wasn’t going to let a tad take its freedom. The frog jumped over the twig, it tried to escape and this disobedience made me angry. I remember the pang in my soul. I thought I had done everything for the frog to be subservient to surrender to me. I had conquered my fear, I had realised that I was bigger and stronger than the frog. But the frog didn’t care. It wanted to go its way. And then one moment when the frog jumped away from me again, I kicked it with my bare child’s foot. The frog flew high
and far and then something strange happened. The frog shrieked. It was a screech of pain that this creature flying away from me gave out. I had never heard a frog scream from pain in such a way. I understood that I had really hurt the frog. Thinking back on it I don’t know who screamed. I don’t know if frogs can do that. But in that moment this piercing scream of pain was real, and the fear came back. My anger became fear now. It was not a fear for the frog, but for me. I was afraid that I had killed the frog. That I had become a murderer. I had stepped over the rules of the game. I had taken a life from a living being. This understanding fell on me like the weight of the entire world. I understood that the guilt of murder was upon me and I had to carry this until the end of my days. I was standing there with a twig in my hand, barefoot, and I was too scared to go and see whether the frog was dead or alive. Once I had gathered myself, I went further away in the higher grass where the frog had flown but it was no longer there. I searched
carefully through the entire thinkable area where the frog might have fallen but the frog was not there. The fact that I couldn’t find the corpse of the frog makes me think that it must have been shocked from my kick and simply jumped more quickly than usual towards the ditch. Maybe it got hurt a little and jumped higher from my kick than it would have jumped on its own. It jumped its own way and did its frog things until the end of its days not thinking much of the strange encounter with a four-year-old nature explorer. But for me this encounter with a screeching frog was a revelation in many ways. The frog has probably left this life, but I’m still here and I’m carrying the frog in my memory. I remember the frog screaming from fear from the yard of my childhood summers because it taught a little boy what power and freedom mean, and where the limits of the game are. Aare Toikka Artistic Director VAT Teater, Tallinn, Estonia
A “blonde angel” in a Catholic “enclave”
with the leeches in the river Rott. That was how it was.
I was 10 years old, when I started at a Catholic boarding school for girls in Bavaria’s Pilgrimage Citadel, Altötting. Previously, I led a carefree and relatively unsupervised life in my home town, a small place on the Lower Bavarian border. I was the local butcher’s daughter and my brother, the long awaited son and heir of the family business, was 8 years younger.
Then the disruption came. Someone had brainwashed my parents into thinking that I should enjoy a good education, and so they decided to send me to the “English Young Ladies” boarding school in Altötting. Fortunately, I didn’t suspect anything nasty, otherwise I would have fought tooth and nail against going there. Resisting would have been useless anyway, as in 1969, a young country girl wouldn’t be asked what she wanted to do. One should be content with being allowed to do one’s final schoolleaving-exams, schooling wasn’t considered a good investment for a girl anyway.
As a blonde, somewhat unkempt angel with long plaits, who befriended a young boy from the coal dealer next door, a farmer’s daughter from the next village and a tom cat, Baptiste, I had a wonderful time – since the elementary school was really easy for me –playing at the coal tip, the muckheap, in the hay, in the snow and on top of the silo roofs although that was forbidden. My toes were in cow sludge, in the mud of the village ponds or
Having grown up, girls should marry and have children, they didn’t need a profession. I spent six long years in this nuns’ enclave. Of all the nuns in the boarding school, I only liked five. I started going through puberty in Altötting, a catastrophy, considering
how prude and modest we were expected to be. Between the ages of 14 and 16 we were allowed out of the school grounds once a week for one and a half hours, it was then that we could broaden our horizons outside of the confinement of the school grounds. On the evenings prior to our going out we were given lessons in Brigitte dressed as an angel at a Kindergarten Christmas play, 1964 – how to behave decently in public. “I wanted so much to play the ox or the donkey, but couldn’t because of my hair colour” If a man were to look us in the eye we should humbly and shyly cast After the tenth class, I’d had enough of all our eyes to the ground. Never ever look man this and I managed to convince my parents in the eyes! You can imagine the effect that to send me, as a day student, to the High such advice had on me and my girlfriends. School in Pfarrkirchen, in lower Bavaria. On the weekend we lied black and blue so That was when my adolescence really began, that at last we could go out and behave like I resumed the wild life I’d enjoyed in prianimals. That meant drinking two beers and mary school. returning to the school after midnight via the fire escape stairs, giving a young man Brigitte Korn-Wimmer a first kiss, but never more than one, or sePublisher and Theatre Agent, cretly smoking a cigarette. Germany
Schoolyard Memories 9
We believe that international cooperation is a very valuable experience in today’s society Brageteatret is an institution we are very proud of in Buskerud. It has a long tradition
of ideas across national and institutional borders is an effective antidote against extremism
of producing and performing high quality plays which highlight challenges that chil-
and conflict.
dren and youth encounter in their lives. Over the last few years Brageteatret has also produced plays for adults. This has so far been very successful and we believe that the Theatre will continue its good and exciting work in the years to come.
We highly appreciate the high profile of this project across geographical as well as institutional borders in Europe. It has received good reviews in many circles, and not only the cultural circles. A rich cultural life in continuous development is an invaluable quality for Drammen
We believe that international cooperation is a very valuable experience in today’s society. This
and Buskerud. Being responsible for political processes and development at the regional level
goes both for children, youth and adults. However, it is maybe even more important for the
I am happy to welcome participants from the whole partnership of Platform 11+ to Drammen.
next adult generation who will live and work in an even more globalized world. Abilities such
I truly hope that your meetings and work here will be fruitful and that you will enjoy your stay.
as cooperation skills and good knowledge of cultural differences will be highly in demand in a future working life.
Morten Eriksrød County Mayor of Buskerud
The project Platform 11+ has managed to give youth a clear and sound voice. That is an important experience for the youth themselves, but it also represents a democratic quality that is crucial to maintain in Europe. In times where both financial and social crisis affects societies across the continent in dramatic ways, cooperation, understanding and exchange
10 We believe that international cooperation is a very valuable experience in today’s society
PLATFORM 11+ – a cultural flower in Europe For almost 4 years, the culture- project Platform 11+ has contributed with positive
In our region, Brageteatret has performed plays from Platform 11+ more than 200 times. One
cultural impulses in many European countries. It is an artistic network comprising of
of the plays, ‘Before the Bell’, is based upon discussions with the pupils of Galterud School in
12 European countries. A number of plays, exhibitions and festivals have taken place
Drammen. ‘Before The Bell’ was awarded the Hedda Prize, which is the highest achievement
during this period. Many theatres have co-operated, exchanging ideas in various artistic
in performing arts for Children in Norway.
mediums, co-producing plays and a great number of texts which all have been performed on stages throughout Europe. Several plays have been nominated for their good
As the mayor of Drammen, I am proud that Brageteatret has been the leading organization of
quality, and some of them awarded with prestigious prizes.
this project. I am pleased that organizations and companies in Drammen share and exchange
It is both remarkable and exciting that so many professional theatres are focusing on this
Platform 11+, and to all the participants: A warm welcome to Drammen in March!
knowledge and skills, enhancing the city to prosper and develop. Good luck with the final target-group, a generation too old for children’s theatre, and a little too young for grown-up theatre. To create new plays that concern this young generation is the goal of Platform 11+, it aims to encourage youth and the future. To experience and acquire empathy, to sense and
Tore Opdal Hansen
understand cultural and human relations, is enriching for all people. Through projects like
Mayor of Drammen
these, this young European generation can have the leading part in their own educational journey. Listening to the youth, offering them an arena for expressing themselves, will make them believe that it is worth caring. All this fits with Drammen’s vision of being an international future town.
PLATFORM 11+ – a cultural flower in Europe 11
The goals were ambitious and many Five years ago, leaders from many theatres in Europe met to discuss the common chal-
As the Artistic Director for the Platform 11+ leading organization, I thank each and every one
lenges we were facing. We quickly agreed that the target group of young people (11–15
of the participants in the project. We have all put in a tremendous effort. Should anyone be
yrs.) suffered from a lack of attention in many countries. Knowing that many important
mentioned above others, it is the Artistic Director Dirk Neldner, the project coordinator Sven
decisions are made in these years, it is crucial for the theatres to establish a relation-
Laude, and literary manager Odette Bereska. Their knowledge, skills and ability to find solu-
ship with this important audience. And with this, the founding – or the platform, for our
tions to every challenge have been extraordinary. Without these 3 the project never would
project was established. And four years ago, the Platform 11+ was a reality!
have been realized.
The goals were ambitious and many. Throughout these 4 years, several ideas have come to
In March 2013 we will meet again, in Drammen – Norway. It is time to evaluate, agree on the
fruition, resulting in a number of productions. Festivals, workshops, co-productions, exchange
future direction, play theatre and make an exhibition. And we will thank each other for the
of skills and resources, several new plays, many new scripts, youth encounters, exhibitions
co-operation so far (personally I will probably shed a tear for this amazing project). WELCOME
and co-work with schools – all this realized within this project. Some of the plays have even
TO DRAMMEN!
won awards! But the biggest achievement is that all the theatres, and many of our followers, have acknowledged the importance of the ‘forgotten’ target group. Meaning, we are getting closer to our task.
Terje Hartviksen
It still is a long way to go until we can declare ourselves satisfied. Let us hope that Platform
Artistic Director, Brageteatret (2012)
11+ can continue this important work. The participating theatres have established a positive and close relationship that means a lot to all of us. Resulting in a network in which we all can trust and giving opportunities to co-operate on a number of fields also outside the Platform 11+. It inspires and invites us to continuous efforts, creating ‘great plays for the most important audience’.
12 The goals were ambitious and many
Stop Overs Dear Friends, for the fifth and (for the time being) last time, approximately 100 European artists will
umbrella theme ‘Schoolyard’, in a very uncomplicated way, stimulated the imagination and
meet for the P11+ Annual Encounter. We will use this get-together to critically review
prompted one to start thinking.
what we have achieved but also to formulate new visions for the future. On the basis of this we could mount our many-layered project. The prospects of the biggest It was more than 7 years ago that we started our first conceptual discussions about a very
possible EU subsidy increased our motivation to formulate unusual terms and conditions for
ambitious project, which would put 11–15 year old young people at the centre of diverse ar-
the partners. These conditions were to be different from the daily theatre work and should be
tistic activities. We were curious to learn more about this generation, which will make its mark
marked by the exchange of the differing skills of the partners. We knew that it’s difficult to get
on the Europe of the future. We wanted to know what goes on in this group’s daily life, what
this heterogeneous age group, located between the end of childhood and the beginning of
moves them emotionally, what they think about themselves and their environment.
puberty, interested in culture.
The schoolyard was the inspiring location for us because it is the meeting place in which first
That’s why we were interested in finding partners who could deal with the interdisciplinary
identity-forming-experiences take place. The social behavior of young people in their school
approach (Performing and Visual Arts) and who were willing to enter into an artistic dialogue
grounds mirrors the society in which they are growing into. Everyone with whom we shared
with young people.
our first thoughts quickly came up with their own ‘Schoolyard memory’ and confirmed our assumption that this place, the schoolyard, provides a very important stop-over in life for many
For me, this is the central aspect of P11+: Young people were actively involved in every stage
people regardless of their social and cultural backgrounds. Out of this we learnt that our
of the project, they could playfully change the perspective from receiver to communicator.
Stop Overs 13
The project began with the work of the authors: they conducted thematic research in the Euro-
It’s impressive to read the list of Friends of PLATFORM 11+, all the artists, educators, teachers
pean schoolyards; their new plays were converted for the professional theatre. Simultaneously
and young people who were actively involved in P11+ over the last four years.
new plays from young people evolved. For all of these people, we have built up a platform enabling encounters, intense exchange Visual artists operated in a similar way, many of them accompanied the performances: they
and mutual stimulation which, without doubt, will continue to function long after the period
too stimulated the young people to be visually active. Along with the three major international
of the EU project. The contacts have been established, all of these people have distinctive
Youth Encounters (Tallin/ EE 2011, York/GB 2012, Dresden/DE 2012) the most obvious exam-
memories of P11+ and its international colleagues. Here too the 5th Annual Encounter forms
ple of this interchangeable communication was in the final P11+ production FACE ME, which
a stop-over on a long journey.
therefore will also be performed again in Drammen/NO. Most of the 12 theatres will meet again in a follow-up project and through this will make use The dialogue between professional artists and amateurs was rarely a one-way street in which
of their varied and valuable P11+ experiences. The theatres experienced how essential the in-
only the young people benefitted. Many artists described that they were surprised how much
tense and continual discussions with colleagues on a common theme is, and how the variety
benefit they had derived from the artistic exchange with the target group.
of different cultural approaches richens one’s own creativity and extends artistic boundaries.
The over 50 plays, which were written and performed for this age group during the last four
This preface, and this project, cannot come to an end without me thanking my team. Odette
years in the framework of P11+, show the seriousness and depth of this dialogue between
Bereska and Sven Laude launched P11+ together with me and made it shine. Without them,
professional artists and young Europeans.
this multitude of artists would not have had the basis for their international accomplishments.
We can be particularly proud of this result! It’s difficult to imagine another international project,
stimulating spirit of P11+.
Both are reliable contact persons and motivators who thus could shape the harmonious and which could refer to a similar productive and qualitative testimonial to its work. With Johanna Malchow and Elisa Braun, we have two colleagues who, in an admirable way, P11+ has thus achieved its main goal: the creation of a new, up-to-date repertoire for young
combine artistic understanding and organizational skill and hence have a significant position
people aged between 11 and 15. We can be sure that many of these tried and tested plays
in the P11+ family.
will be performed in the future too, making the performances for P11+ only a stop- over.
14 Stop Overs
We were very happy to have the competent expert advice from Andrew ‘Sid’ Sidall (work with the visual artists), Mandy Smith (work with young people/ educators) and Gunnar Horn (Evaluation). All three curators were not only of great assistance in their special areas, they were also amicable helpers. But what would the most beautiful idea and the best organizational skills be without artists who trusted this idea and made it into their own? For this I thank the commendable work within the Board of Directors. One cannot emphasize enough how constructively we worked together in this combination over such a long period of time. The friendships, which have resulted will remain a witness to this. My final and most significant thanks goes to Tertje Hartviksen, the artistic heart and soul of Brageteatret. He had faith in the idea of P 11+ from the first moment, he made his theater available and, as the applicant body, made the realization of our plans possible. I am really happy that we can now temporarily bring P11+ to an end in his Norwegian theatre – well knowing that this too means merely a stop- over for our own very personal collaboration. Dirk Neldner Artistic Director, Platform 11+
These books, including the CDs with the complete texts of the plays, can be ordered from all theatre companies or from odette@platform11plus.eu
Stop Overs 15
When I was a child, my sister would get me and my brother ready for school in the mornings. I never wanted to eat breakfast. I would ask my friend to come, and she secretly ate the breakfast instead of me. At school I protected the weak and the sick. Even then I realized my positive attitude to being different. I was inclusive, because I played with the Roma children from the special school. And I got lice from them. I liked Slovak classes and writing essays. My Slovak class teacher was a really likeable person. And I liked the music class. When we didn’t know the right answer, the geography teacher would say: If that was correct, I would be Sofia Loren. Sometimes I decided to get better at P.E. A friend and I started running in our free time and we received better results in crosscountry run. We had ‘excellent’ teachers at high school. Once a teacher said to my classmate: “You, stand up, I can see you are tired, but you
16 Schoolyard Memories
should live according to ‘carpe diem’. Start exercising.” She started doing some exercise at the window and the teacher said: “You know, why the dog is barking outside? Well, because it’s had a good run.” And she sent my classmate to run circles around the school. I lived in a dorm, where we had comrade teachers. One of them had evening reports like: Dear girls, tomorrow we will have a rewarding day. Yes, we are having a potato brigade! Let’s go with a motto: Let the peace plough (dig) our fields! In the dorm we used to evoke ghosts in our rooms, we were girl rebels. I sang in a choir and travelled across Europe. I attended an afternoon art school, where I played a piano and learned to perceive beauty. I fell in love with Frederic Chopin. Eva Docˇolomanská Actress, Slovakia
Eva Docolomanska and her brother
Snowballs of Fire My childhood memories are full of snow. Where I grew up, far north of the Polar Circle, we used to say that “the year consists of nine months of winter and three months of bad skiing conditions.” My primary school was a central feature of my small town, and all kinds of kids went there, for example several runners from the downtown area as well as some like me from the new residential areas springing up right outside the centre. In fact, the school was divided in two schools – one wooden building for the girls and one brick building for the boys standing next to each other. There were also two separate playgrounds separated by a low fence that was tantalizingly possible yet forbidden to climb over. The boys’ playground was a bit higher up than the girls’, so we could literally look down at them while they were playing. We often stood along the fence, watching and envying the girls all their fun games. Oh, how we wanted to join them in their hopscotch and singing games. However, after watching for a little while, we usually went back to our common pursuits of either fighting or playing football.
And we had lots of snowball fights. Something which was strictly forbidden on the playground. One day a terrific snowball fight broke out among the boys. Suddenly, someone started throwing snowballs over the fence towards the girls’ playground. Some of the girls shot back, and the intertribal war had started. There were no teachers on the playground at that moment, so the escalation was immediate and dramatic. The girls were the first to invade enemy territory. And they were a lot of them, so many that we soon understood that we could not win. My classmate Helge, who was the most brutal boy in class, found a stone and stuffed it into a snowball, which he threw with great force, hitting one of the girls right in the forehead. While a snowball hitting your forehead would normally not do any harm, the snow being fairly loose and soft, one with a stone inside is a different story – and it caused a completely different result. The wounded girl fell to her knees as we saw the snow slowly turning red from her dripping blood. Then she collapsed onto the cold, snowy ground.
The total chaos of screaming and running around turned into the complete silence within seconds: the appearance of blood can turn any sort of activity upside down in an instant. “Gunnar! You’re the teacher’s pet. Go and find him”, ordered Helge. I had no choice. “All right”, I said, but only if Harriet, the girl I fancied most, and that I happened to stay right beside, would join me. Off to the staffroom we went in search of our teacher. We were afraid that it would be no easy task explaining to him why there was a bleeding girl lying in the boys’ playground without revealing the snowball fight. And how could we explain our own participation as messengers? Unfortunately, no brilliant ideas popped into our heads as we slowly made our way up the the corridor. We stopped a moment, hesitating outside the door to the teachers’ lounge. Then the fire alarm started howling… Out came all the teachers in a great hurry, heading for the playground. So how did it all end? The injured girl had recovered very quickly after wiping the blood away with a handful of snow right after we had left her. Perhaps more importantly, all
the girls had gone back to their playground before the teachers ever came out. Luckily, the adults never asked me what I was doing in the corridor in the first place. Finally, there was no fire, and the whole thing was only a false alarm. And Harriet became my first girlfriend. Gunnar Horn Professor (University of Agder), Norway
Schoolyard Memories 17
PLATFORM 11+
5th Annual Encounter Drammen, Norway Programme
Thursday, 7 March
Saturday, 9 March
Sunday, 10 March
12.00 – 20.00 Rehearsals FACE ME Time of Transition
Rehearsals FACE ME Time of Transition
Rehearsals FACE ME Time of Transition
14.00
Lunch
10.00 – 16.00 Excursion including lunch
15.00
Evaluation
17.00
19.00
Rehearsal ‘Farewell-Finale’
18.00 Last performance:
20.00
Dinner
21.00
Rehearsal ‘Farewell-Finale’
20.00 Dinner
Friday, 8 March Rehearsals FACE ME Time of Transition 20.00
Welcome Dinner
22.00
Presentation ‘Farewell’ – Songs / Poems
Coffee FACE ME Time of Transition
19.50
Finale & Reception
20.00
Dinner & Farewell-Party
Opposite: Union Scene and Brageteatret, Drammen
5th Annual Encounter – Programme 19
PLATFORM 11+
5th Annual Encounter Organisation Team
Artistic Directors
PLATFORM 11+
Brageteatret
Terje Hartviksen
Project Coordinator
Sven Laude
PLATFORM 11+
Dirk Neldner
Literary Adviser
Odette Bereska
Project Assistance Johanna Malchow
Team Brageteatret Managing Director
Marit Holtet
Head of Marketing
Cathrine Berg-Nielsen
Technical Manager
Kjetil MoslĂĽtten
Administration Assistant Elin Henninen Marketing Assistant
Cecilie Bergli
Lighting Technician
Thomas Evensen
Sound Technician
Magnus Dahle Larssen
20 5th Annual Encounter – Organisation Team
Elisa Braun Exhibition Curator
Andew Siddall
5th Annual Encounter, Drammen After 4 years, the circle is complete in Brageteatret in Drammen (Norway): There, the artistic directors met for the first time in May 2009, in order to start the PLATFORM 11+ project, and there, one of the most extensive EU cultural projects will finish with the 5th Annual Encounter. Here again, in hindsight, the most important achievements of PLATFORM 11+, step by step: • At the 1st Annual Encounter in August 2009, hosted by Kolibri Theater (HU), more than 100 artists from the partner countries meet each other for the first time to exchange ideas. These artists include theater educators, literary adviser, directors and visual artists. 12 actors put together the unique theater event Schoolyardcrossing, based on character descriptions provided by authors from all participating countries, in the playing area of a Budapest school. • In Budapest, the Stepping Exhibition was initiated: On the basis of the Schoolyardcrossercharacters school children in each of the P11+ participating countries, create objects of art, which are then sent on a journey to other European schools.
Above: 1st Advisory Board Meeting, Drammen, May 2009 Opposite: 5th Annual Encounter poster
5th Annual Encounter, Drammen 21
• The 1st Play Fair is part of the 1st Annual Encounter: Stage readings of new written plays by P11+ authors take place around P11+ activities in all the participating countries. • The project Schoolyardstories starts in Ibero-America, initiated by the Assitej Argentina, an project, which, like P11+, aims to develop plays for young people. 2 guests from Argentina take part in the P11+ Annual Encounter. • One focus of P11+ is the professionalization of teachers in the use of theatre techniques in daily school life. Already in Autumn 2009, the first of 3 Teachers’ Workshops took place in Salo (IT), under the direction of experienced theatre educators. • In the National Phase 2009/10, all of the theatres commission playwrights to write a play for 11-15 year olds, on the basis of Schoolyard-research. The 17 new plays are performed by the theatres as National Productions. • In June 2010, 13 visual artists from Europe come together for a 3-week Plein Air, on the grounds of the Portuguese Teatro O Bando. The artists finish their work with an open-air performance, which is presented in front of approximately 100 European colleagues as the opening of the 2nd Annual Encounter. • During the 2nd Annual Encounter 650 spectators come to the European Midsummer Night’s Theatre Event in Teatro O Bando.They watch short excerpts from the P11+ National Productions on 13 small stages, and then see all artists performing in a collective finale. Left: Exhibits from the Stepping Exhibition
22 5th Annual Encounter, Drammen
European Midsummer Night’s Theatre Event, Palmela (PT), June 2010 • In October 2010, the 1st P11+ Youth Encounter, Shared Stories from Schoolyards, takes
• In the Co-Writing Phase, 2– 3 playwrights develop 8 new, mostly multi-lingual plays
place, in VAT Teater in Tallinn (EE), with the involvement of 50 young people from Great
through their trans-national work, which again are performed by the participating theatres
Britain, Slovakia, Estonia and the Czech Republic. The 10 shared days end with a presenta-
as co-productions in the 2010 /11 season.
tion in the National Estonian Library. • At the 3rd Annual Encounter at tjg. Theater Junge Generation Dresden (DE) in June 2011, • In the framework of the co-operation between the South-American project Schoolyardstories and P11+, the co-production in Buenos Aires WC School emerges with the Pilot
the 8 co-productions, plus a Chilean production, which is the result of the South-American co-operation, are presented at a PLATFORM 11+ festival.
Theatre (GB), which also visits Europe.
5th Annual Encounter, Drammen 23
24 5th Annual Encounter, Drammen – Organisation Team
Stepping Exhibition in Palmela (PT)
SALTO MORTALE Coproduction (VAT Teater, EE & Theatre Institute, SK)
• For the conclusion of the 3rd Annual Encounter, 100 young people from Dresden show
• The co-productions and selected National productions tour around to Minifestivals at part-
the result of the previous one-week Workshops with P11+ artists, in an open-air perfor-
ner theatres and are accompanied by intensive theatre education projects.
mance in tjg. • In preparation for the P11+ Final Production, playwrights from Europe and Ibero- America • 25 of the European plays which came out of the National and co-writing phase appear
write 23 short texts along the theme of ‘Goodbye and Farewell’.
in the 1st part of the anthology, New Theatre plays from Europe and South America for Young People ages 11–15, as well as 5 texts from Ibero-America.
• In April 2012, the 2nd Youth Encounter takes place in York (GB), organized by the Pilot Theatre, with the participation of more than 50 young people from Norway, Portugal, Estonia, Great Britain and the Netherlands. The 10-day encounter ends with one unique pre
Opposite: Schoolyardcrossing – 1st Annual Encounter, Budapest (HU), 2009
sentation in a sacred place.
5th Annual Encounter, Drammen 25
26 5th Annual Encounter, Drammen – Organisation Team
Coproduction HELP (Kolibri Theater/HU & Teater VAT/EE)
Playwright workshop Berlin (DE), May 2009
• In June 2012, 24 artists from all partner countries come together for a 3-week rehearsal
• The multi-lingual production FACE ME goes on tour to partner theatres in Autumn and
process in the Czech Bykow. Under the artistic leadership of the 7 directors, and inspired
Winter 2012/13. These performances are also accompanied by numerous theatre educa-
by the playwrights’ texts, the Final Production FACE ME Time of Transition has its premiere.
tional activities.
Alongside professional artists, from 12 P11+ countries, more than 90 young people from Pilsen are involved in the production. At the 4th Annual Encounter, they witness 3 perfor-
• The 3rd P11+ Youth Encounter takes place in January 2013 in the tjg, Theater Junge
mances in a Secondary School in Pilsen, as a component of the international SKUPOVA-
Generation Dresden (DE). Young people from Great Britain, Finland, Italy and Germany take
Festival.
part in workshops for 10 days. The results of the workshops are to be performed in the closing ceremony.
Opposite: 1st Teachers Workshop Salo (IT), 2009
5th Annual Encounter, Drammen 27
28 5th Annual Encounter, Drammen – Organisation Team
Coproduction BABEL (Citadel Theatre/NL & Teatro Elsinor, IT)
Stepping Exhibition, Milano (IT)
• The 23 texts which were written for the Final Production appear in the 2nd volume of the
Approximately 100 European artists meet for the last time at the 5th Annual Encounter. They
Anthology ‘More New theatre plays from Europe and South America’, as well as the 16
work, discuss, and celebrate their parting, after four eventful and productive years. Many of the
new plays for 11–15 year olds which grew out of the National Playwrights’ Contests.
contacts and experiences which resulted out of PLATFORM 11+ will live on: When set and costume designer Patrick Bullock (GB) has participated in the current Kolibri Theatre production
• FACE ME Time of Transition is performed for the last time in March 2013 at the 5th Annual Encounter in Brageteatret in Drammen (NO), to mark the end of the Platform 11+ activities.
‘DELETE’ in Budapest and when Lotte Lohrengel (NL), Tom Bellerby (GB), Guiditta Mingucci (IT) and Ilaria Ariemme (IT) meet for intense discussions about a new project, it will surely be just the beginning of a trans-national work, flowing beyond European borders.
• At this final Annual Encounter, all of the exhibits from the Stepping Exhibition are presented. Opposite: Plein Air Palmela (PT), June 2010
5th Annual Encounter, Drammen 29
30
“We’re Getting Very Near the End” We are approaching the end of Platform 11+, and this is a modest attempt to summarize and look back on our experiences. While it has not been possible for me to observe all the project activities, what follows is based on the very interesting and useful response to a questionnaire to all the theatres, and a certain amount of assumptions, secondhand information and of course my own observations. Let me start by stating that the response to the questionnaire has been very positive, and also constructive. It shows more of what has been good than what has not been so good. I think it may serve as a good reference for an eventual new project. It has been quite a complex project, involving several different institutions and very diverse activities. Although it has been demanding for others than those most intensely involved in the project to foresee all of its parts, the project has for the most part been capably managed, and as a result it has held together well.
Achieving the basic goals
“A wonderful idea and target. The evaluation of outcomes depends on everyone’s indi-
The basic goals for Platform 11+ have been: the authorship of new theatre plays, theatre and
vidual attitude, responsibility and ability for international co-operation and work with
visual arts productions, the artistic exchange and dissemination of artistic products, and finally
young people. A great idea and great people – great meals all over Europe – could
the activities together with the target group. All the theatres are positive to the achievement of
there have been more time to work together? Crazy, innovative and invigorating.”
these goals. Here are some quotations from the theatres’ answer to our evaluation questions:
János Novák (Kolibri Thveatre, HU)
Opposite: 1st Annual Encounter, Budapest (HU), 2009
“We’re Getting Very Near the End” 31
“The project, which gives another dimension to the puppet theatre and provides endless
What is high quality youth theatre?
opportunities for cooperation, for networking cultures and competenc. It allows younger
The various participating institutions’ structures, materials and artistic visions differ from one
people to express themselves and share the multicultural nature of Europe through the
another, a fact that has come to light during our discussions regarding organizational and
purest form of art.”
not least artistic decisions with respect to co-productions, Annual Meetings and final produc-
Tomáš Froyda (Alfa Theatre, CZ)
tion work. The theatres’ consistently have differing interpretations of what the definition of high-quality youth theatre should be; however, in the course of this project, we have had the
“Every theatre brings different view, ideas. This diversity gave us an even better understanding for each other.”
possibility of seeing one another’s work as well as working together, so there is good reason to believe that overall consciousness with respect to what good theatre for 11+ is has increased.
Vladislava Fekete (Theatre Institute Bratislava, SK) “It clarified – or brought into discussion the differences between what adults consider “An important occasion for Europe, a very good way of working and cooperating for the
good topics for theatre for young people and what young people themselves want to
companies involved, an opportunity for all the kids reached by the activities.”
see – the role of comedy for example –
Stefano Braschi (Theatre Elsinor)
The conflict between getting young people to attend theatre as independent audience members and programming work, which will be attractive to schools, gatekeepers.”
“One of the best international projects that combines an atmosphere of hospitality with
Marcus Romer (Pilot Theatre, GB)
professional exchange. Growing working relationships allow in-depth discussions, intensive continuous dialogue and a productive culture of debate. Especially valuable is
“I have confirmed for myself that young people are young people wherever they live, and
its consistent focus on an age group that is usually forgotten by society.”
they find answers in spite of differences.Young people in Europe have in many ways the
Felicitas Loewe (tjg.Theater Junge Generation, DE)
same base, but they need to get the opportunity to discover this themselves. They don’t like to be told by adults what is right or wrong. Therefore Platform 11+ is a fantastic opportunity for them, and for the theatres.” Terje Hartviksen (Brageteatret, NO)
32 “We’re Getting Very Near the End”
“Awareness of, and engagement with other people’s approach to engaging the age-
“The project also helped some of the theatre staff to get international work experience
group, offered the opportunity and increased ability to reflect on our own methodology.”
that will give added value to the theatre also later. Finding out and learning about other
Deb Mullins (Emergency Exit Arts, GB)
theatres will also benefit the theatre in many ways.” (Oulu City Theatre, FI)
“It was interesting to see how perceptions of what constitutes work for this target age group is different country by country and the discussion and exploration of the cultural differences therein. This was particularly apparent watching the co-productions in Dres-
“Working together, that was the most important thing.” Stefano Braschi (Theatre Elsinor)
den and the final 3 productions in Pilsen.” Marcus Romer (Pilot Theatre, GB)
“The Platform11+ ideas are wonderful, but it is the purely concrete that really matters. The outcomes have not always been of the highest artistic standard.” (Oulu City Theatre, FI)
Across Europe – the meeting place The artists have expressed that their encounters with other artists from other countries have been positive. It has also been inspiring to speak with young actors who have worked in
Working together
co-productions or final production phases, as they have stated that this work has been both
The performances have spanned over a broad range of genres, from performances with in-
exciting and educational, and that they have made many new contacts and gotten insight into
credibly realistic dialogues to mime, comedy and musical theatre. The relationship between
how to work in other countries and cultures.
stage and audience has also been an object for experimentation. Some theatres have worked together with children, while others have chosen interactive forms and still others have
“The opportunities offered to both professional theatre workers and young people and
caused their audiences to stop and pause awhile in public places. All this is connected with,
teachers to meet new people, experience and learn from others and re evaluate one’s
among other things, views regarding young people’s theatre, aesthetic choices as well as
work are significant and unique.”
practical and cultural ones. Some performances have been given in the school arena – in
Marcus Romer (Pilot Theatre, GB)
corridors, classrooms or schoolyards, while others have been given in theatres. These choices have to a large degree been a result of and influenced both content and form.
“We’re Getting Very Near the End” 33
“And the cooperation taught us a lot about our theatre and about dealing with differ-
“Could have been more meetings for educators and opportunities to exchange the spe-
ent cultures and methods even if we look very similar from the outside. This project
cial experiences.”
changed in many ways also the way we produce performances.”
Tiina Rebane (Theatre VAT, EE)
Terje Hartviksen (Brageteatret, NO) The fact that the theatres have significantly different frameworks has probably been one of “Very positive personal artistic experiences of actors, writer, visual artist and teacher.” Raul Atalaia (Teatro OBando, PT)
the project’s greatest practical difficulties. It must have been complicated to undertake coproductions when you have such different frameworks as you have had in this project. Many theatres emphasize the good and important collaboration with the partner schools.
Textual production has been a central element in the project, and it is obvious that some
I have watched with interest while Brageteatret (which I have watched most closely) has
texts have enjoyed greater success than others. A certain number have had a strong literary
acquired a great deal of insight and new inspiration through its work with the target group.
foundation, while others have had a stronger visual or mimetic basis. Some texts have already been widely dispersed and are being performed by other theatres, including ones outside of Platform 11+.
“The most important value of the project is that this is a project dedicated to the young people: To listen to them, to see them and to give them a voice.” Terje Hartviksen (Brageteatret, NO)
“We aimed to create a platform for (--) writers participating in the creation of youth plays; where we could help their work, and thus enhance their introduction to the
Meetings between equals
international scene as well as their professional/artistic success. With Platform 11+
Youth Encounters has been a great experience for the young people who have had the
we finally received the chance to realize this aim. Publication and translations played
chance to participate in them, and is considered by some to be one of the most fruitful parts
a major part in attracting international attention to the work.”
of the project. While the selection of participants has taken place along different criteria, all
János Novák (Kolibri Theatre, HU)
the participants have been motivated young people, and both teachers and the young people themselves have expressed that their participation gave them a great experience.
The authors have expressed that it has been inspiring to meet other authors and theatres. Some also emphasizes the role of the educators:
“The Youth Exchanges were a highlight of the activity of Platform 11+ – as was the installation of the performances and the visual artists on the hill in Palmela.” Marcus Romer (Pilot Theatre, GB)
34 “We’re Getting Very Near the End”
“Bringing together facilitators, teachers and artists to work together with young people across Europe has had direct impact on the work we produce in our own communities.” Deb Mullins (Emergency Exit Arts, GB)
“Now I see that we probably could have discussed and arranged seminars about our results, methods, quality and “is there a common theatre expression in Europe”. We have discussed this a lot, but maybe we should have lifted these discussions up in a common level. Not to find THE RIGHT ANSWER, but to give us all a deeper understand-
My collaboration with the visual artists has become less pronounced as the project has de-
ing of our different choices. To make theatre is to choose.”
veloped, but many of the theatres state that this collaboration has opened up new ideas, and
Terje Hartviksen (Brageteatret, NO)
new aesthetic insight. Some of the visual artists have been directly connected to the theatre as scenographers and the like, while others have had a looser connection. This may have
“We need to be more rigorous with our own self-evaluation of the work, both as individu-
influenced the degree to which these individuals have become integrated in the project.
als and maybe as a group.”
The Advisory Board has held a constructive and benevolent debate alive. Although they are a
Marcus Romer (Pilot Theatre, GB)
group of self-conscious and professionally confident theatre directors, one must say that they have been determined to solve problems and work together towards achieving a common
Although Platform 11+ created its own website, it appears that the site has worked only to a
goal, authoritatively and confidently led by the project management.
small degree as a channel for information and inspiration, and the thought arises whether
And in the end…
The project has brought theatres in Europe closer together. It has enabled authors, theatre
there could have been a more effective use of information channels. It was certainly an easier challenge to co-produce with another theatre than it was to col-
people and school people to meet and to reflect up their role in
laborate with four different theatres, but the collaboration and the artistic meetings have been
a greater European connection, and through the project, many
highlighted by many as the main outcome of the project. The final production also had more
individuals in theatre have had the opportunity to test their rela-
of a mark of being a workshop, and as such it must be said that the results were varied and
tionship with theatre for 11+.
exciting. These results also led to a significant discussion, which is in and of itself exciting and productive. Important discussions regarding artistic content, form and target groups were held.
Gunnar Horn Professor University of Agder Head of Centre for Teaching and Learning
“We’re Getting Very Near the End” 35
The Privilege of Being an Associated Partner There are approximately 85 agencies for playwrights in German speaking countries and about twelve of them place a great importance on theatre for young people. Why should I, of all these agents, be given the privilege of being requested to be an associated partner? That was one of my first questions to Odette Bereska and Dirk Neldner. – The answer was simple. I speak – more or less – three languages and our agency program is internationally orientated, the rest: personal empathy from both sides. It was therefore easy for me to say YES. Where else, figuratively speaking, is one allowed to sit in the first row and marvel at new projects under the wings of renowned international playwrights? Where else do playwrights have such a significant role as in this project? Self-devised plays – of which there were many – always included at least one playwright, and that is remarkable in these times in which everyone believes that they can write a play, a novel or a film. Along with several theatre directors whom I already knew, two of the Platform 11+ playwrights have been in our catalogue for a long time: Marcus Romer from England has been with us since 1998 and Bouke Oldenhof, from Holland, has been with us since 2001. Above: 1st production of Liv Heløe’s ‘Before the Bell’ in Dortmund (DE)
Playwrights new to our program, thanks to the Platform11+, are currently Liv Heløe from Norway, Richard Hurford from England, Giuditta Mingucci from Italy and István Tasnádi from Hungary.
36 The Privilege of Being an Associated Partner
In addition to being a dramatic agent,
3. Due to our submission, the play ‘Cyber Cyrano’ succeeded in being on the short list for the
what more can we do for those involved in
German Youth Theater Prize 2012.
Platform11+ Summing up, it’s all just a question of having more or less pro1. One can use one’s contacts and recom-
ductive interactions! I am truly grateful that I am allowed to sit
mend one or the other suitable production to
in the first row and that I can thus discover new playwrights and
international festival organizers. An example
meet wonderful people.
of how I succeeded in doing this, was with the Hungarian UA-Production of ‘Cyber Cyrano’ which was invited to a festival,(Schöne
Brigitte Korn-Wimmer
Aussicht), in Stuttgart from 21st – 23rd June
Theaterstückverlag München
2012. I also tried to recommend other coproductions, but unfortunately my attempts were futile.
Theaterstückverlag, Brigitte Korn-Wimmer & Franz Wimmer (GbR) was founded in 1993 – so 2013 is the 20th anniversary to be celebrated.
2. Now and then, I write for journals, and
Together with an employee, Brigitte Korn-Wimmer is the agency. Franz Wimmer, the husband, is a dor-
have written two articles for XYZ: 03/2010:
mant partner. His profession is architecture and photography. In 1987 Brigitte Korn-Wimmer finished her
In front of the School Gate. – Platform11+,
studies of Dramatics, German and Italian Philology at the University of Munich with a Master of Arts. Then
Artistic Discoveries in European Schoolyards
she worked as a dramaturg at the SchauBurg in Munich and ensuing for a festival in Chieri nearby Torino.
and 02/2012: Wild-east democracy and Wild-west methods in Hungary. – The Hungarian the-
Before working as an editor-agent she gave birth to two children (1991 and 1994) and started translating
atricals János Novák and György Vidovszky, in discussion with Brigitte Korn-Wimmer.
plays from Italian to German language. Theaterstückverlag is geared toward an international programme with plays for adults as well as for young audiences.
Above: Cyber Cyrano (Kolibri Theatre, HU) at festival ‘Schöne Aussicht’ Stuttgart (DE) June 2012
The Privilege of Being an Associated Partner 37
First school trip for a week in 3rd. degree. I was about 8 years old. My mother nearly had a nervous breakdown, because it was my first week away from home and there would be no family member around to take care
38 Schoolyard Memories
of my long hair – it was quite long, and my mother’s main preoccupation for a period of her life – she’d always be worried that my hair may look scruffy and of course she was the queen of hair design. I was scruffy all
over this week but a boy from another school, whose school was at the same place had been observing me and drew me a picture in which he was killing a dragon. His name was Robert and he was tough enough to approach my teachers to give me his message. They were so amused about this ‘brave’ act that they put me in the dish washing group with him. I was shocked, not just because I was fancying a tall and skinny boy with jug ears in my class – I despised cruel boys killing animals and was shocked by the teacher who behaved like a procuress. Getting to really know someone who is interested in me was just too much for me. I was not ready for this at all and didn’t want to meet him. I refused to join the dish washing group and everybody was disappointed ‘cause I destroyed their voyeuristic initiative, arguing that I can’t refuse a cleaning task. My schoolmates tried to convince me – after they were convinced
by the teachers (what teachers, hey!?) – to at least have a look at him to see if I might like his appearance. So they were all gathering around the window to see if he’d walk along to push me towards the window and scream “Now he’s here. Look at him! Look at him! Talk to him!” I was very embarrassed about all the attention and also the whole situation which put so much pressure on me. I couldn’t recognize the gesture of actually getting a really charming present. I even refused to take the drawing with me. I was scared that my parents would be angry about what happened on a supervised school trip where they think their child is safe. I never got to see what the boy looked like. Ivana Sajevic´ Director Germany
When I was 10 years old, a little bit older than the picture shows, in the last grade of primary school, my class used to be the wildest one. One hot summer day we all wanted to go home and go to the lake to swim instead of sitting in school. So we thought about how we could end the following lesson early – learning how to knit, which I didn’t like at all. In the minutes before the lesson started the tallest of the boys climbed up a table and turned the hands of the classroom-clock 15 minutes forward. We all did the same with our watches and decided to make so much noise 15 minutes before the lesson should end in real time, that we’d convince our knitting-teacher that
she’d overheard the school bell ringing. Said and done: we made so much noise that she nearly believed us, but then she grabbed an arm… And now I don’t remember the end - if she grabbed the arm of a classmate of mine whose watch was showing the wrong time as well, so we could go home, or if she grabbed the arm of the class-winner who refused to take part in our joke… But whichever end it was, the nicest moment came about 3 years later when we talked to younger pupils who were quite reverent asking us if we’ve had been the amazing class which put the big clock in the main school hall forward – which hangs in 3m height – so the whole school had two lessons off. So at least the time made us heroes of the primary school. Johanna Malchow Project Assistant Germany
This picture was taken when I was 14. Its not in a schoolyard but at the end of a so called „defence education camp“. My entire school had to take part in this military training. The girls were allowed to stay in town, but the boys went to the camp for two weeks. We received a lot of political input, but also passed several survival camps including
how to camouflage and how to use a Kalashnikov. It was 1989, almost at the end of the cold war. Much later living in a new political system I better understood and somehow felt misused. Yes, it was an adventure for us, but we have been children with weapons in their hands having been trained to kill. Since then I‘ve never touched a rifle again. But war still seems to be an easy option in solving problems. And youth easily can be manipulated. My work in P11 hopefully encouraged young people to create a mind of their own, to find own standpoints and to accept other people and ways of living. Sven Laude Project Coordinator Germany
Schoolyard Memories 39
4th Annual Encounter Pilsen / Czech Republic, June 2012
The 4th Annual Encounter of PLATFORM 11+ was characterized by the final production,
read in ‘More new plays from Europe for young people aged 11-15’, provided by PLATFORM
FACE ME Time of Transition.
11+ (more information www.platform11plus.eu).
In their meetings over the last 1½ years, the artistic directors of the partner theatres had already discussed how the result of the 3rd phase of working-together could be
After intense debates, the theatre directors agreed that each theatre would delegate two artists
presented. After the good experiences with the co-productions, it quickly became evident
to the final production. Once again, the efforts of all partners were apparent, each having an
that, for the last phase, the creative strengths of all partners should be combined in a
equal say in the project.
collective production. Under the title, ‘FACE ME Time of Transition’, conflicts of adolescents were to be explored by a Whereas the theatre directors were still deciding how to work together, the authors, who
collective of European artists, with participatory contributions from young people, and then be
had been involved in the project from the very beginning, had already begun writing. They
presented on ‘stage’. This time, the ‘stage’ should also be a school, as it was for the 1st Annual
wanted to make use of the personal stories and experiences they had gathered through their
Meeting in 2009. There, PLATFORM 11+ organized the event ‘Schoolyard Crossing’, which was
direct contact with young people. This material was to be a source of inspiration for the final
held in a schoolyard in Budapest, with theatre artists from 11 European countries.
production. On the theme of ‘Goodbye and Farewell’, they attempted to expose the difficult,
The final production was also planned as a site-specific production in a school. It was
family-detachment-process of the target group on stage. Although it was clear that only a
enhanced by the active contribution of school students, thus emphasizing the significance
small amount of the existing material could be presented on stage, 23 texts emerged. They
of the equal standing of the teams of theatre professionals and school students and thereby
document decisive moments in the young peoples’ journeys from childhood to adulthood,
capturing the concept and spirit of PLATFORM 11+.
through formal and textually varied scenes, short plays and plot descriptions. All texts can be
40 4th Annual Encounter – Pilsen / Czech Republic, June 2012
Various artists (directors, visual artists, actors, puppeteers, musicians, dancers) came together in the 24-person ensemble. Many of these people had already participated in other PLATFORM 11+ activities. They had already experienced trans-national meetings in co-productions or in previous Annual Encounters, and were now curious about working for a longer, panEuropean process. 5 out of the 6 participatory final production directors had already worked in the context of PLATFORM 11+. They worked together in pairs with artists from 4 countries, on the preparation of the production. The authors’ texts were available to the directors as inspirational material. The directors were supported by 3 visual artists, who were responsible for the scenery and costumes for this production. The visual artists had gained valuable experience during the Plein-Air project in Portugal in 2010. Now they were glad to have the renewed opportunity to work in the frame of the project. The production preparation of the three director-pairs was a complicated process for all. To have an equal say with a co-director whom one hardly knows, speaking in a – predominantly – foreign language, was an immense challenge. Along with reaching an agreement on textual and aesthetic questions, a decision about rehearsal and working methods had to be made with regards to both the integration of young people and the set and costumes. The contribution of the artists, whose outlooks extremely differ, made the planning of a cross-over production an obvious choice. Marta Abreu (PT), Patrick Borck (DE), Martina Hartmanová (CZ), Ratih Windrati (NO) at rehearsals for the final production of PLATFORM 11+, FACE ME, in Bykow (CZ)
4th Annual Encounter – Pilsen / Czech Republic, June 2012 41
chers who had accompanied the ALFA theatre during the previous phases of the project, showed itself to be a creative, enormously reliable and exceedingly helpful partner. The final PLATFORM 11+ production ‘FACE ME Time of Transition’ was performed on 18th June, 2012, during the 4th Annual Encounter in Pilsen. It was embedded in the ALFA Theatre’s international festival, SKUPOVA. Alongside the more than 100 artists from the 11 countries participating in P11+, the production’s audience was made up of festival visitors and young people from the city. After the 3rd team-performance, the 3 individual parts of the performance went on tour in the cities of the partners. The performances took place everywhere in schools – as it had already for the premiere in Pilsen. Thanks to the multilingualism, the representational quality The group of 6 directors was complemented by the Czech, Petr Vodicˇka. Through close work
and the intensity of the performance’s scenes, the comprehension was never a problem, and
with school students from the Františka Krˇižíka Grammar School, he developed theatrical
all guest performances were successful. They contributed a lot to a stronger contact between
frameworks, which artistically united 3 parts of the production for the premiere and the two
the schools and the theatres.
succeeding performances in Pilsen.
Meanwhile, many new projects, independent from PLATFORM 11+, are being collectively planned. To consider students as creative partners, and not as mere audience members, was
The castle in Bykow close to Pilsen was chosen as the rehearsal space. It was an idyllically
one of the focal points of PLATFORM 11+. Even before the end of the project, a clear statement
located place, providing both living and working space. The artists rehearsed for 3 weeks, in
can be made: Over the course of the past years, partnerships of this kind, supported by the
3 groups, supported by the employees of ALFA Theatre. The creative concentration, which was
project’s activities, have developed in all of the cities.
made possible by this wonderful place, had a great impact on the success of the production. O.B. The final rehearsal phase took place in the Františka Krˇižíka Grammar School, Pilsen, which was also the location of the premiere. The school, along with its students and qualified tea
Left: Group rehearsals for the final production FACE ME in Pilsen (CZ) Opposite: Team of the final production with participants from 12 European countries
42 4th Annual Encounter – Pilsen / Czech Republic, June 2012
4th Annual Encounter – Pilsen / Czech Republic, June 2012 43
44
Final Production of PLATFORM 11+
FACE ME Time of Transition Reflexions of the directors and designers
Ivana Sajevic (Director, Germany)
did rhythm together, singing, physical activity, reading teen-poems and about special topics, working with puppets and masks, experimenting with the level of how to use every language
Bykov – half a year ago. I remember the forest. I remember
we have in the group. In the end, every element was a part of our contribution and everyone
the meat – now I am 95% vegetarian. The other 5% is when
followed Joseph’s beautiful instrumentation. He was convinced that hand- and body -made
I’m visiting my father’s kitchen. Body-meat was our topic any-
music is better for the body-project than electronic music- and he convinced me. I am thankful
way, so I remember us doing scenery with performer’s meat.
for that open-minded atmosphere as well for that special day we had with kids of the school
I remember spooky moments around the barn. I remember I
and Johanna to make this beautiful video for the end. And I loved working in nature being able
went there with no expectations but a lot of excitement and
to focus on just this short term project under really special conditions. The surroundings were
the confidence that the frame of the project, with all the people
beautiful, relaxing and inspiring as well. I’d even say – ideal conditions for me to work in that
from different countries a special energy will arise – and so it did. I remember my impression
sense: nature, people from different parts of the world, not really knowing each other before,
that the group was getting along together quite well and so on the first day we quickly jumped
finding their own way of communicating and transporting messages. What is good about re-
into the physical rehearsals. They were very disciplined and I appreciated the input that the
hearsing in English – although none of us were native-speakers, one focused on the important
actors/dancers/puppeteers put into the improvisations. I had lots of fun, seeing them run and
simple things. There is no possibility to become flowery in explanations.
roll for the Parcours, outside, in the barn, in the school. I appreciated them going along with my anarchic approach to that event for the school. They put their bodies in these flesh coloured
These special conditions I was dreaming about before and now take this with me some-
tight costumes and went with me through puberty again, refusing to grow up. One of the per-
how. As Dirk Neldner said in the last speech in Pilsen – a European theatre Ensemble. I
formers enjoyed this second skin-hugging costume so much, that he would always wear them,
guess that’s a nice thing to work on now. Expanding outside of the frontiers of a nation’s
even walking around the garden proudly in the breaks. They just took up every offer, so that we
territorial borders and also the inside theatre fences.
Opposite: Rehearsal with masks
FACE ME Time of Transition 45
46 FACE ME Time of Transition
Miguel Moreira (Director, Portugal)
Do not look for astonishment For a month I thought about what was more important than walking. The process was a pathway. A way to understand who I am and a way to meet people who I did not know until then. We just created a sketch of a piece about people who know each other in the unknown. They could not find the surprise. The piece is people searching for amazement.
Opposite: FACE ME Time of Transition performance with Patrick Borck (DE) and Ratih Windrati (NO) in Palmela (PT) Right: Before the performance in Portugal: Ratih Windrati (NO), Marta Abreu (PT)
FACE ME Time of Transition ďťż 47
48 FACE ME Time of Transition
Tom Bellerby (Director, Great Britain)
Day 2
Throughout the process for Face Me I blogged regularly
Eva, Peter, Ed, Ilaria and I spent two hours playing games…
about my experience. Here are some excerpts that I think capture the journey we took to make Face Me. You can find
I think the morning really reinforced the importance of games in a rehearsal process for me.
all my Face Me blogs at tombellerby.posterous.com.
The connections that are formed by playing such simple exercises are quite staggering and we all commented at the end of the session that although we share different mother tongues we definitely started the creation of a shared language around theatre and performance that was as much physical than spoken.
Day 1
Day 3
Although today was day one of the rehearsal process I have been in the rather unusual position of having more than half our team missing. Never the less Ed (UK – Actor / musician), Ilaria
Lotte (co-director), Ilaria (designer) and I had a big catch up over several cups of coffee and
(Italy – Designer), Chiara (Italy – Production Assistant) and I decided to make the most of the
tea. We realised we are probably in a better place than we thought but not as good a place as
time we have together and visited the workshops and puppet store of the Alfa Theatre so we
we could be – I think this is probably perfectly normal. It was a great couple of hours, filled with
could get an idea of what is possible for us from a design point of view in the next three weeks.
creative and inspiring chats and lots of picture postcards for inspiration. We decided that we can afford to spend the rest of this week playing and improvising, making as much material
Ed (who is a puppeteer) was in his complete element when we entered the Aladdin’s cave that
as possible and getting a hold of the characters allowing us to start to structure the piece next
was the Alfa Puppet store, I admit I wasn’t constantly looking but I don’t think I saw his smile
week. We also agreed Ilaria’s first task – to make a tree that can grow out of a suitcase and
disappear the whole time we were there. I can’t blame him, the craftsmanship and attention
be as tall as possible!
to detail that goes into the creation of the puppets was quite amazing. Opposite: FACE ME Time of Transition with Lies van de Wiel (NL), Giuditta Mingucci (IT), Edvard Wren (GB), Eva Docolomanská (SK)
FACE ME Time of Transition 49
Day 4
Day 6
The undoubted highlight of today was viewing the results of the tasks we had asked the group
The problem:
to prepare before their arrival in Pilsen. We had asked each actor to prepare a piece entitled ‘A suitcase of my life’. We had hoped to use the results of these exercises as a basis for much
We had done so much improvisation we didn’t know where to start / We probably hadn’t made
of our devising work and luckily we were not disappointed with the creativity, storytelling and
enough things concrete in these improvisations / We had created an atmosphere where the
variety that was on display. We had shadow puppetry, clowning, physical theatre, audience
actors were used to doing anything that felt right – and now we where telling them what was
interaction and spoken word all on show and the amount of inspiration Lotte and I got for
right / language is more of a problem than any of us admit / a process with two directors has
subject matter was very exciting. I think today for the first time I really started to get a strong
ups and downs / different training and theatrical cultures / we have five main characters and
sense of the show we want to make – always a huge relief in any devising process.
need to explore all their stories in 1 hour / I’m not a writer
Day 5
Then I stopped writing blogs. I think this was for a number of reasons; mainly we just got very busy! But my memories from the rest of the process are ones that I treasure. They involve hard
Ilaria and Chiara returned from there trip to Prague at about 11’oclock with over twenty old
work but the satisfaction of knowing we were getting somewhere. Then of course the memo-
suitcases. This was a huge relief as previous missions to get hold of suitcases had proved
ries of the shows first performances and getting reactions from our audiences both in Pilsen
surprisingly unsuccessful and we were starting to think we might have to change our entire
and on tour. I did write one final blog after the tour left York and it ended like this…
concept. I therefore went to bed a very happy director. Goodbye Face Me it’s been hardwork / emotional at times / a learning process / a We have spent almost all today playing with suitcases. I have about 50 photos and about ten
chance to make some great friends / a chance to really grow as an artist / a chance to
pages of notes. This means we had a good day.
share how things are done where we’re from and how they’re done where they’re from / a load of fun!
50 FACE ME Time of Transition
FACE ME performance in Groningen (NL), group photo
FACE ME Time of Transition 51
Lotte Lohrengel (Director, The Netherlands)
would you pack into a suitcase if that was all you could use to define your identity? We would like to ask you to perform this in a style of theater you would normally work with, for instance if
Running Or Standing Still
you are normally a physical theatre performer please perform in this style. We started our rehearsal sessions with the performance from the actors this was immediately
One week before we were supposed to leave for Pilzen the
a great inspiration for all of us. Ed’s story about a traveller with no home in search for treasures
board of culture in Holland gave their verdict. After the awful
and real love, Eva’s story about pain in life and the power struggle between man and woman,
news that our company The Citadel was not going to survive
Peter’s tragic clownish story about ‘noting’, Giuditta about love for stories and books, in search
the big cut back on arts, all the ideas that I’d created with Tom
for real live and Lies who gave all the other actors an important role in her performance to
and the great expectations we had, were totally put in the back-
help telling her history.
ground. To be honest for Lies van de Wiel (actress) and myself it was difficult to leave Gronin-
I remember Illaria’s (designer) beautiful drawings from the actors transforming into charac-
gen. Confusion, anger, insecurity and realizing that being so far away we couldn’t fight against
ters. At the same time we used the rehearsals to work on improvisations inspired by the text
or change this awful decision and the political games. But than we decided the best thing we
from the writers and on group material for basic images of the no man’s land.
can do is doing our job: Making Theatre for a young audience. So off we go! Like girls on their
We were aware of the fact that working with two directors is difficult and that we were working
first holiday alone, we enjoyed the travel, our hotel in the hills, the nature and the good wine
with four actors, different theatre styles and languages. And the differences where there! But
with tears and a laugh. This combination of emotions never left and I will remember profes-
that became the basic for our concept. Let’s face each other!
sionally and personally the final production with opposing emotions. But that’s in the end
For me as a director I want to create the breath in the process and by using all the ideas the
maybe the best way to make theatre…? It was quite an experience; creative, intimate, with a
danger was to get lost and get far away from your own source. It was great to have Lies around
lot of content, emotions, nice people, good talks, and happy drinks. But sometimes it also felt
with whom I could share thoughts our own language. In the evening Tom and I talked with
like a school trip where you are waiting for your mother to pick you up.
each other and later in my bed I start writing in Dutch to find my way back in a new search for
Tom (co-director) and I created a concept inspired by the writers from platform 11+ about the
the next rehearsal. Through this way of working, both Tom and I got closer and gave each other
five characters with suitcases and their stories. We wanted to leave a lot of open spaces to fill
criticism and questions about ideas we had. The actors became a strong group during the
in together with the actors and designer. At the beginning we gave the actors a task inspired
rehearsals and I loved their input and trust. At the same time as we were searching, running,
by our concept: Please bring, without censoring yourself, a presentation of what you (or a
falling, standing still and get up again in the rehearsal space Ilaria made a beautiful strong
character you create) would pack in a suitcase of your life. What objects, memories and stories
design and costumes.
52 FACE ME Time of Transition
Actually we had a normal process but compressed into a short time… and off course we had
making theatre for a young audience about life. To look further than your own horizon
a big dip and doubts in the middle of the process. We created a lot of material and in this
and boundaries should be one of the most important ways to share a story. In the end
chaos you must have trust and patience in search for the real story or dramaturgy of the play.
face me brought breathing space and a new horizon for the future…
I was very happy with Odette as dramaturge to give us trust and criticism. Next to all the great ideas she gave, the best she said:‘Tom, Lotte where is your humour? I see it all the time but not in the performance.’ Step by step we were finding our way in the chaos of characters, stories, movement and music… During those weeks Ilaria and Chiara where searching in Prague for great costumes and suitcases, Peter had a big problem with his knee,Tom’s grandmother died, the culture situation in Groningen was not getting better and the food at Bikov was getting a little bit boring. So we went to stay in Pilzen City and rehearsed in the school to put it all together. Exiting, exhausting…. Nice to have all the platform groups together, to see and discuss each other’s work, make the opening with Peter and to welcome the audience. On tour it was a great experience to meet all the different types of youngsters from the four countries. The performance and the discussions afterwards worked very well. It is associative, opens new thoughts, creates questions and they recognized emotions and ‘adult’ stories witch they could connect to their own lives. I realised that the various type of actors and their languages also makes the quality and depth of the play. In Italy the audience understand Giuditta well and only see and feel Lies and the others. So every performance had another dimension. And in the end only telling a real story about life can create a face me moment for us as creators and the audience. This whole creative journey and tour makes me believe in the power to connect European theatre makers with each other and their audience. Despite so many differences we were able to inspire, question and criticise each other with the same important goal:
FACE ME Time of Transition 53
Ilaria Ariemme (Set & Costume Designer, Italy) In Pilsen, I was the youngest of all the set designers, but when I compared the styles, the reference images, the materials and the tastes of the three Final Production’s plays, my ‘Face me’ play was surely the most old fashioned. It was not a real problem because I believe in our ‘Face me’. The whole group (me included) was really proud about this work that was born out of that incredibly creative team, made up of two very good directors and five amazing actors. The work made a very big impression on me, it is something I will never forget. I came to the conclusion that my working method, also in different situations, is always the same, and it has precise characteristics which reflect who I am, where I come from and from where I get my inspiration. I am a young Italian woman, I grew up in a country of hat manufacturing culture, full of Wonders, where one could meet Beauty on every corner. I grow up as a human being and an artist breathing this tradition, always mirroring myself into the Beauty and the charm of the past.
Left: Giuditta Mingucci (IT)
54 FACE ME Time of Transition
At this point the thought born in Pilsen took on another facet, thinking about two very similar
life. These images are strong enough to flatten the way we see to an almost bi-dimensional
words: ‘old’ or ‘out-dated’? Does my style of working express this ‘old’? Or would the word
level, not able to go into the depth of things anymore. I discovered myself wondering about
‘out-dated’ be more fitting?
the necessity of ‘subtraction’ in the artistic work, like a necessary act of waiver of superfluous, of tinsels. I felt a need to work on the research of the signs that helped and assisted me in all
I think that this whole Beauty, this whole History, this whole ‘Old’ full of memories is an ex-
the following plays I have worked on.
tremely rich source of experience. It’s a privilege for an artist to be able to work with such history. But at the same time I see the risk of remaining stuck in this Beauty, limiting one’s self
From the first Annual Encounter in Budapest I was surprised from the fact that Theatre for
in a balanced aesthetic.
children in Europe has such a great value and diversity. This fact made me understand the pedagogical importance of this theatre, especially if appraised and used for what it is.
In fact, looking at the plays of the two other groups, I was surprised to see how free they were from merely aesthetic concerns. The Theatre is a place where things can become different
Furthermore, the use of alternative spaces (the schoolyard in Budapest, the Portuguese hill
from what they are in reality: a strip of salt becomes fresh snow, a blue light becomes the sea
and the fields around it, the public areas in Dresden and the whole school in Pilsen) confirmed
and an old sheet becomes a king’s mantle. In the work of the other groups, there was a total
the idea about a theatre for everybody, that everybody needs and is free to enjoy. A suggestion
lack of fear about mess and visual impurity, they went straight to the bone of the dramaturgi-
able to destroy the bourgeois idea of a theatre ‘closed into the theatre’.
cal meaning. These four years have given me the chance to strengthen the base of my work as set I wanted to exchange ideas and compare myself with them in order to improve myself, not to
and costume-designer, extending my professional boundaries, and getting to know dif-
substitute or upset what I am and what I do. It was a need dictated by an urgency of evolving,
ferent ways of creating Theatre. Many bridges have been built for me, interior ones for
growing up and seeing my professional luggage developing and growing richer. Platform 11+
personal growth and external ones made up by a network of International relationships
plus always gave me the chance to broaden my horizons, to confirm some ideas related to the
that I would like to nurture: we must not let these bridges disappear, we must continue
theatre and to confront new ones.
walking on them!
In Palmela, during the hard and so beautiful work on the theatre O’Bando’s hill (Plein Air), I
Summing up, I would like to sincerely thank those who created Platform 11+. I am so grateful
felt the big problem of superabundance of images in which we are immersed in every day
that I was fortunate enough to have participated in this amazing project.
FACE ME Time of Transition 55
56 FACE ME Time of Transition
Gyuri Vidovszky (Director, Hungary)
First steps
Some practical questions to worry about
After we had reduced the number of possible scripts we wanted to work on from 7 to 3, we were getting closer to finding a line in the show or to at least finding links between the stories. We read the scripts together, we spent hours analysing them, but we all had the strong feeling
How to create a production with 8 people who you don’t know
that we should not start to work on them immediately.
very well, have barely met or talked to before, based on scenes written by different people in different styles? How can two direc-
We wanted to get to know each other: two Finnish actors (Annina and Mikko), an Estonian
tors possibly create a production together, especially if they were
actor (Ago), two designers (Inga from Estonia, Patrick from England = ‘Patringa’) and two
brought together by a ccident? How is it possible to create a production in the space of three
directors who had never worked together. We started to play, make exercises to explore each
weeks, in stables, which are surrounded by an amazing holiday resort and lovely happy people?
other’s skills, attitudes, and to find common experiences. All of us were part of this journey including the directors, designers and Johanna, our tour manager. After some days of liberat-
More practical questions…
ing and uplifting get-together, we learned a lot about each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Luckily we all became excited about the same kind of ways of working, without making difficult
How is it possible to create a production in which we plan to have at least 10 young Czech
compromises. We started to do exercises, improvisations around the topic.
fellow actors? (followed by Hungarian, English, Estonian, Finnish and Danish ‘understudies’ later…?) How is it possible to create a show in which we barely use speech in order to avoid
After a week, it looked like we hadn’t done anything compared with other groups, whose mem-
language-problems, but which is still neither a pantomime nor a dance show?
bers were already rehearsing and wandering around the yard in costumes. But still we had a lot up our sleeves: techniques and ideas. We did not rush to complete anything: we wanted
Alex Evans – co-director from UK – and myself were avoiding facing these questions properly
to get inspired by each other and let the production find its own way to be born. We went to
before we started the actual work in Plzen. We discussed lots of things beforehand, it looked
the school to meet the young people too. We decided which parts of the school we want to
like we had a strong concept, but – now looking back on the completed production – we were
use. Patringa had started to make beautiful costumes out of black and white rubbish bags.
very naive and brave. Opposite: FACE ME Time of Transition: performance in Budapest
FACE ME Time of Transition 57
ries became a big birthday-party for which János Novák (leader of Kolibri Theatre, Budapest) composed and played the music. The concept became that the audience should arrive from three different places with three different points of view. The pre-scenes were created through improvisations. A cleaning-lady meets the first group. To avoid any sadness by unfair differences between people, she teaches our guest how to be ‘equals’. The second group meets Holly who is locked by Jack in a cupboard on the corridor. After she is set free by the audience members, she talks about Jack’s childish behaviour and about her love for Daniel. They arrive at the party with joy and happiness. The third group meets Jack who – according to his impossible behaviour – changes the gender of the audience members for the party. When the three groups meet in the main venue, they spontaneously create a real party feeling. And the show hasn’t really started yet...
Finding the answers
After all…
What should the production be about? We were feeling that the work we had done, the scripts, and somehow the spirit of our journey, were all leading us more clearly towards topics like
most of our questions were answered. The production became a show of good compromises
‘identity’,‘age’,‘transition’. The scene written by István Tasnádi, Prank, is set at a birthday-party,
from all of us. Everybody has his/her ownership over it. The result is definitely reflecting back
where the young person celebrating is kidnapped by his friends. The childish surprise turns
common and individual ideas of all members of the team. Without the young people’s – our
into a nightmare. Richard Hurford’s ‘Jack & Daniel’s Spectacular Comedy Guide to Girls’ is
fellow-actors – participation, it is impossible to imagine the show any more. Being on tour
about a boy who can’t deal with his own growing up, and still treats girls like stupid creatures. A
with the production, we can say that the reception is the same, our intentions come through
bitterly funny play about this ‘politicly incorrect’ behaviour and transition. Black Stone, our title
no matter whether it is in London or Budapest. Black Stone became (or turned out to be)
play (written by Péter Horváth) is set in a summer camp and is about a boy, who is regarded
a special result of a special working process, which gives back all our fears and joy,
as being gay because of his strong friendship with another boy. The link between the sto-
hesitation and stupidity, pride and infinity of our childhood without cultural borders.
58 FACE ME Time of Transition
Alex Evans (Director, Great Britain) Driving through the darkness of the Czech countryside I didn’t know what lay ahead. It was night and was black. I was nervous and excited. I had the strange feeling that I was travelling to the centre of something‌ Something unknown. I came to make theatre. I had my questions prepared. I came to collaborate. On my arrival any fears I had were erased when the Finns handed me a bottle of Vodka and we sang together. Over the coming days in the Wilderness, the idyllic Utopia of Bykov was established. Mikko Korsulainen in FACE ME Time of Transition in Budapest United by Theatre, convinced of the power of our artform we faced the younger generation. We faced our collaborators with honesty and curiosity. Together we created something, something
We adapted texts and discussed, experimented, rewrote, devised, cut and tried again. There
we lived with everyday, in every moment.
was no room for reflection. Everything was at the front of the experience. We were continuously
We sweated or froze in the rehearsal rooms, dashed round the buildings, sung to each other,
pushing the boundaries of our collective creativities, imaginations and fantasies about how
confessed and shared. We giggled and shared cultural curiousities, we experienced the tense
theatre should be. How our audience should feel.
conversations, our ideas getting stuck and teased. We Skyped our loved ones back home. I sat and worried about ticks. I chatted to the smokers. The show grew around me and with Together we loosened of the threads of a thought, together pulling ideas. Sharing our thoughts,
every new collaboration, a new way of seeing emerged.
our food, our sauna and cigarettes. We sung songs on the coach from a long day away or
Our work with young people explored the themes, created the depth over a course of work-
the last light of day for a stroll in the woods. Together we sat and watch the swallows glide, or
shops in the school with different members of the team. They gradually became the first youth
tortured Karaoke or held surprise parties.
cast of performers and shared with us the highs and lows of the process.
FACE ME Time of Transition 59
We had an awesome party. DEPARTURE Ripped from my team I wallowed in their absence. Nothing felt the same anymore. I awaited for the tour to start over the Olympic summer in London. Still thinking about what had just happened to me. It was almost like a dream, a surreal event in my life, so detached from all other things I knew. I felt changed but I didn’t know how. We have since reunited and toured. We’ve become re-acquainted this time on different terms. We’ve seen how quickly things change to those you love. We’ve been to two countries at the time I write, with 3 more to go. In every place a new cast of young people have been absorbed into the magic, joining our FACE ME Time of Transition performance in Pilsen
community: A new young community across Europe, each touched by the art we made for them and they made for themselves. Each developing the message of the story with every
We moved to the City of Pilsen, no longer in the wilderness. Sirens of the city were suddenly
cultural resonance.
the alarm rather than cows grazing the grass outside my window.
We’ve seen some lovely parts of each lovely city
The schedule was punishing. The deadline approaching. Late nights of hard work. The beer
Together sitting in each other’s homes
was cheap and the company exquisite. This is where it all goes a bit blurry.
Letting helium balloons fly as we depart.
My internal critic was in overdrive. I cried a couple of times. I had no idea… I had too many
We still sing the songs we learnt on the coach
ideas… I got my hand held and my tears dried. It rained so heavily one day we all took our
We share the memories that we made together in Pilsen: The good and bad, we have been
clothes off and danced in the hailstones. It all started to make sense. Gradually. We rehearsed.
able to process our collective experience together and been lucky enough to create more
A visual language grew inside the spaces of the school, and the young people owned it as we
memories in the places we go.
did. We created a new community in a way; One cast, many generations.
We know it will end. It will change and shift over time. The show is a moment that we have all
Together we shared the fruits of our labour.
lived. As collaborators we made theatre, as people we made a family.
There was applause.
60 FACE ME Time of Transition
Patrick Bullock (Set & Costume Designer, Great Britain)
best results it is advisable to conduct other projects simultaneously possibly using suitcases or baby-masks, although not directly incorporated in the BLACK STONE this will temper the whole
How to bake a good BLACK STONE
process and the flavours will contrast well in the final banquet.
Ingredients: from four countries select 2 fresh designers, 4 fully
It was a great privilege to be part of the ‘Baking’ of Black Stone and I am very proud of
ripe actors, 2 hot directors, some handpicked texts, a selection
the end result. It involved the blood sweat and tears of a great number of people. From
of rehearsal spaces, venues, local youth talent and a very gen-
a personal perspective the process invoked in me a full spectrum of emotions laughter,
erous helping of hospitality.
anger, bewilderment, frustration, joy and much more and I was seen at both my worst and best.The experience of working with and alongside artists and theatre professionals
Method – first take the designers and directors and mix thoroughly in Milan creating a light
and being a part of a true European Ensemble was amazing.
frothy dough. Marinade in local culture and wine. Separate into four equal parts and allow to prove in native environments. Regularly knockback and season with previously selected texts,
The most magical moment for me was two days before the premier becoming aware that what
budget constraints, logistics, PR demands and materials lists. Remember to sweeten with mas-
had just been a random collection of disparate fragmentary scenes suddenly before my eyes
sive amounts of encouragement.
gel together into a beautiful coherent whole and the actors breathe life into the objects I had helped create for it… utterly breath-taking.
After two weeks, transport everything previously prepared, along with any unused ingredients, to the Czech Republic. Mix everything together along with the fresh whole ripe actors (for best
As a piece of work relevant to the target group 11–16 I think Black Stone does the job it was
results do not use dried or frozen and certainly not chopped or desiccated) Bring to a rolling
created for with knobs on. I have now seen it performed with and to the youth from three
boil in open air castle near Pilzen then allow to simmer for a further week till reduced back
countries to a great response. It skilfully contrasts humour with the gauche embarrassments
down to a malleable dough. Find a suitably local school and gather a selection of fine young
of puberty using language and physical theatre. Tackles relevant themes: peer pressure; the
talent and fold into the mixture. Now bake but continue to baste with large amounts of hospi-
generation gap; gender; self-worth and the cruelties of growing up head on. Its conclusion I
tality. Keep a vigilant eye out for signs of cracking, friction, and fatigue as you turn up the heat
feel is both poignant and strangely reassuring. When you feel that your life is so terrible you
and increase pressure over the next week and a half. Decant into the local school and display
wish for an ending it reminds you that the universe continues to spin onwards in its beautiful
to best advantage and serve in several sittings to a young but discerning audience. To obtain
cycles unaffected, untouched and totally unaware.
FACE ME Time of Transition 61
62 FACE ME Time of Transition
Petr Vodicka (Director, Czech Republic) I have two kinds of experiences from the rehearsals at Bykov and the presentation of Face Me at Gymnasium of Frantisek Krizik (GFK). There are the experiences of what I did and the experiences of what I had the opportunity to see.
What I did When I was thinking before the beginning of the rehearsals, after the meeting in Bratislava, how to approach the challenge of creating a special compilation of three separate performances for the event in Pilsen, there were two basic possibilities. The first one counted with new performance, sewed from parts of the three others through some uniting idea. But such a thing is really complicated and I had doubts, that something like that would be possible considering the fact, that there were just three weeks for rehearsing at Bykov. I had also doubts, that I will be allowed to interfere in bigger scale. Thus I created my plan B, which basically didn’t count with much working with actors. Opposite: Ago Soots and Alex Evans in the performance FACE ME Time of Transition in Budapest Right: Rehearsals for ‘The Swarm’, the opening of the production in the schoolyard at Gymnasium Frantisek Krizik
FACE ME Time of Transition 63
64 FACE ME Time of Transition
Plan B was based in focusing on work with students. It seemed logical and after some time I
The GFK, also relatively newly formed music group led by the English teacher and lover of rock
was thinking about it as my main plan. Nonetheless, the students were the hosts of our inter-
music. I immediately took advantage of it and at some rehearsals, together with the band, we
national group and the possibility to takĂŠ part in creating an event which will be presented as
devised several musical themes, which we later worked with. It was surprising how profession-
part of famous Pilsen festival, could be the right motivation for them.
ally this band could work.
My idea of the event was that the three performances will be presented separately and stu-
With arranging rehearsals it was not so great. It turned out that I will not be able to work with
dents will create a sort of framework in which they will take place. I have some experience
students who participated in one of the performances, so that left only about fifteen students
of making site-specific projects with elements of circus and the school building was an ideal
in younger grades. It was difficult to arrange meetings, the voluntary nature of the whole thing
space for such a thing. I came up with the idea to create something like a large masks, so
showed itself during the important weekend rehearsals, when the weather got very sunny and
to speak, that dominate the school. I thought the students should also be involved since the
the school got very empty. It also influenced the outcome. The phase of sharing and inventing
beginning of the process, so that they would participate in creation of masks and musical
and discussions was drastically reduced compared with the phase of rehearsing of the final
components.
shape. This has usually the result, that the students didn’t take the matter entirely as their own. If I should talk about the experience I have got from this work, then this is one of the
During the first week of rehearsals in Bykov I presented this idea to the art education teacher
most important. To give each phase of work its time. It is important to listen and deal
and she agreed (lucky me) and changed the classes so that the students could paint faces
with all ideas, even the ones, which will not be used, because that is opening minds
on large paper. These were then fixed to wooden skeletons and created big masks similar
to creative state, that will remain as natural part of life, and also to the art of dialogue
to ritual masks which where the face covers the whole body of the animator. The result was
about it.
very diverse and the set that originated was in itself a wonderful testimony to the diversity of individuals. Suddenly it was not just other students hardly distinguishable, as it often seems to
What I saw
outsiders, but one of the original side by side. I saw in the field office. I saw employees of Alfa Theater, who worked for Platform with great professionalism. One of them even fell into verbal fight with the janitor, who was a excellent examOpposite: Rehearsals for the opening in the schoolyard at Gymnasium Frantisek Krisik
FACE ME Time of Transition 65
ple of all rude janitors all over the world. I experienced the meaty diet at Bykov and the food in the school kitchen with taste of memories. And I saw four very different approaches to theater
Tourdates FACE ME – Time of Transition
and ways of working and a lot of people who have had the opportunity to show their skills. 2012 I heard that theater workshops in the UK are quite frequent and are a natural part of learning.
May/June
Rehearsals, Bykow / Czech Republic
Alex is an expert in that area and I watched the ice between him and the students melting
June 18 (opening) / 19
Pilsen / Czech Republic
almost immediately and playfulness becoming the natural state.
June 22
Dresden / Germany
September 20
Drammen / Norway
I saw Lotte and Tom’s group, who created a mysterious atmosphere, a kind of timelessness,
September 24
Palmela / Portugal
with a great musical talent to help, Ed. I like working with the time flow in theater and this was
September 28 – October 10
Banská Bystrica / Slovakia (XVIII. International Festival of Contemporary
another experience of that kind.
Puppet Theatre For Children And Adults Double Impulse)
The third group rehearsed two separate performances presented in succession. It was actually natural when one had the opportunity to observe Ivana’s connection of concept and
October 4 / 5
Milan / Italy
improvisations and Miguel’s free imagery based on the present moment and a very personal
October 9 / 10
Budapest / Hungary
approach from actors. Even this division was very informative for me.
October 11 / 12
York / United Kingdom
October 15 / 16
Groningen / The Netherlands
November 12 / 13
London / United Kingdom
I do not want, of course, to list everything I gained from this collaboration, I casually mentioned only the strongest, but there is a large amount of very indescribable feelings for me generated by friction of different theatrical approaches and ways of working, that either challenge or
2013
confirm my own. And the time at Bykov was a great source of it.
February 13 / 14
Tallinn / Estonia
February 18 / 19
Oulu / Finland
March 10
Drammen / Norway (at the 5th Annual Encounter of Platform 11+)
66 FACE ME Time of Transition
CAST
Final Production
FACE ME Time of Transition The production is inspired by the texts...
ALFA Theatre
Liv Heløe (NO) IN THE WINDOW, Nora Mansmann (DE) SELMA, Giuditta Mingucci (IT) BEFORE THE JOURNEY, Bouke Oldenhof (NL) THANK YOU,
Managing Director: Tomáš Froyda
István Tasnádi (HU) PRANK, Péter Horváth (HU) BLACK STONE, Richard Hurford (UK) JACK & DANIEL’S SPECTACULAR COMEDY GUIDE TO GIRLS,
Production Mangager: Marcela Mašínová
Petr Vodicˇka (CZ) THE BOOK OF PUBERTOSIS
Technical Director: Mateˇj Siegl Workshop Director: Jan Rauner
Direction: Petr Vodicˇ ka (CZ), Lotte Lohrengel (NL), Ivana Sajevic (DE), Tom Bellerby (UK),
Puppets: Katerˇina Stejskalová
Alex Evans (UK), Miguel Moreira (PT), György Vidovszky (HU) Gymnázium Františka Krˇižíka Set / Costume Design: Ilaria Ariemme (IT), Inga Vares (EE), Patrick Bullock (UK)
Headmaster: Šárka Chvalová Project Management: Tereza Dubnicˇková
Performing: Marta Abreu (PT), Rita Alexics (HU), Eva Docolomanská (SK), Martina Hartmannová (CZ), Giuditta Mingucci (IT), Annina Rokka (FI), Lies van de Wiel (NL), Ratih Windrati (NO), Joseph Angyal (NO), Patrick Borck (DE), Peter Butkowsky (SK), Bohuslav Holý (CZ), Mikko Korsulainen
PLATFORM 11+
(FI), Ago Soots (EE), Edward Wren (UK)
Artistic Director: Dirk Neldner (DE)
and Students from Gymnázium Františka Krˇižíka (at the 3 performances in Pilsen)
Project Coordinator: Sven Laude (DE) Literary Manager: Odette Bereska (DE)
Production: Elisa Braun (DE), Johanna Malchow (DE), Chiara Rocchetti (IT)
FACE ME Time of Transition 67
It was in the seventh or eighth class of basic school (I was 12 or 13 I think). I was at a summer camp organized by the school ‘communist youth’ (s. c. Pioneer) organization. This time we had foreigners in the camp. There was an exchange programm between east block countries and we shared the camp with Polish and East German pupils and students. They all were a little bit older than us, around 14 or 15. I remember that we made a group with three or four of East German girls and had a lot of fun. Of course it was forbidden. We also met during the night. It was sometimes really confusing for me, because the girls were laughing and I didn’t know why. Not a bit. But we had fun and everything was ok. But when the girls were leaving, one of them was crying, saying that she loves me. She gave a nice plastic earring. It was touching, but not exactly for me. I was just standing there trying to understand, where it came from. Petr Vodicˇka Director Czech Republic
68 Schoolyard Memories
The apple It happened in school. Just before the bell rang… Zoltan sat next to me and held his lunch in a transparent bag under his desk so no one could see what he was holding… But I saw it. I managed to see through the transparent bag. It was a huge beautiful red apple. Oh… How I wish that my mom had time to make a lunchpack for me, just as nice as his, with an equally large and red apple inside… I was hungry… I looked at Zoltan’s face and saw that he was looking forward to recess. The bell rang. We jumped up and ran out of the classroom, through the corridors out to the playground, to our favourite place under a large old willow. – Look here, Zoltan, – I said. – Look what I have – and I showed him a medal, a gold medal. The medal, which my father won at the Hungarian junior championship in boxing in 1949. My father was a champion… a gold medalist.
And I had his medal. I took it with me to school. – If you want, we can change this with your apple – I said. He looked at me with his big eyes and smiled. Very quickly he reached out his hand and took the medal… It disappeared into his pocket. – Here you go – he smiled and gave me the apple. – Thank you – I said. At that moment there was nothing I wanted more in this world. Only the apple. And I got it. I was happy. A week after Dad came to me and asked for his medal which was not in the closet. An hour later we stood at Zoltan’s door and my father rang the doorbell… It went well… Joseph Angyal, Musician, Norway
Of course I remember my first love, my class teacher. I liked school at first, I was even angry that I had to have school holidays. After school I played football professionally. In junior school I started failing in Math and other subjects, because girls and their beauty entered my life. And football started to be a burden. Later I learned to play drums by myself. In high school I played in two bands, I got back to football, but not to Math. That was the time when I hurt my knee during a football match. The same thing happened again during Face Me rehearsals. I wasn’t a bad student. I didn’t skip school, my classmates would ask me for advice or just a chat. At this point I thought about becoming a psychologist. But even as an actor one must know, how to deal with body and spirit.
always in a class or a group that was divided, or some major school things were changing, like graduation exams, when it was my turn. So I learned to stay aside, to keep a distance from people who could not change my life for the better. I became a silent, side-line observer and maybe that’s why I am an actor now and not a politician. Peter Butkovský Actor, Slovakia
I have nice school memories. But, no matter if in primary, junior or high school, I was
Schoolyard Memories 69
70
Virtual Meets Reality PLATFORM 11+ – 3rd Youth Encounter in Dresden (DE)
The artistic and performative results of the multilateral workshops were presented on Friday, February 1st by 6 pm with a spectacular performance at the branch office of the high school Buergerwiese. Interested public was welcome to attend. Admission was free. The workshop itself was part of ‘Platform 11 +’, which of course not only combines theater people, writers and visual artists, but also educators, teachers and of course the children and young people themselves, the school is a partner of tjg in this project.
Making contact - between virtual and real worlds Snapshot 1 In a total of two weeks the tjg. theater junge generation has led students of the Dresden
It’s a blustery morning in Dresden, the schoolyard is empty, the teaching is going on. Only
School Buergerwiese together with peers from Finland, England and Italy on ‘Social net-
a group of young people moving in slow motion towards each other, away from each other,
works - virtual meets reality’, an artistic performance work. Beside other things, it was
again and again, there are brief moments in the normal pace until all decelerates abruptly.
for the young people to find out about transmitting the principles of the virtual world to
They have chairs, jackets and water bottles in their hands, they communicate with their bodies,
the analogue life on a trial basis.
alert and cautious.
Virtual Meets Reality – PLATFORM 11+ – 3rd Youth Encounter in Dresden (DE) 71
72 Virtual Meets Reality – PLATFORM 11+ – 3rd Youth Encounter in Dresden (DE)
Snapshot 2 Two teenagers sit behind a glass door, faces without facial expressions. On the glass door they have glued a frame, their audience is on the other side of the glass. Piece by piece they glue the photo frame with post-it notes, with various Smileys on it. Their real faces disappear and are replaced by many signs. Communication is always an issue in multilateral youth exchanges – such as: who can communicate well in English and in particular? In Dresden, the apparent second subject is placed in the centre of the artistic workshops and enhanced by the level of communications. Social networks – real and virtual – are the starting point for the artistic exploration of young people from Finland, Italy, England and Germany. After a brainstorming session on ‘Social Networks – virtual meets reality’ it is clear that the development of relations in the real world is perceived as the ‘more real’, the ‘honest’ and the more ‘authentic’. Virtual social networks are quickly connected to the terms ‘Privacy Policy’ and ‘risk’ in the first moment. Thus, the workshop also focuses – guided by the questions of young people on the first real human contact, how can communication be made through body language without pantomime scene to play? Research undertaken as the body in different reference systems – public space, chemical cabinet, school halls – reacting to one another. Choreographic be found snapshots, communication – whether virtual or real – translate and implement concrete classrooms. Through projections on bodies fake identities are created and multiple identity cluster are developed.
74 Virtual Meets Reality – PLATFORM 11+ – 3rd Youth Encounter in Dresden (DE)
In this way the performative tour in the school becomes a reflection of today’s communication worlds of young Europeans. The evening In any case it is more cosy in virtual worlds than it on this January evening in front of the formerly abandoned school outpost of the school, where people meet in the murky, wet and pervasive evening chill and wait for the beginning of the performance, where the students from four countries times have worked inside in the warm classroom or sometimes even outside in the rain. Across language barriers and borders.The new real and virtual links are still visible: Colourful threads are seemingly random crisscrossed in the entrances of the school building, which is not really visible made visible. Already at this point by using playful means that the boundaries between the virtual world and real life are blurred. Smiling is allowed. And then the students start with everyday movements and postures in slow motion, out of the house. With spherical soundscape. You might think that you stand in the middle of a school playground-daydream. Then you follow the instructions of appropriate silent performers inward, where they dance in the hall, are sleepwalking in the chemical cabinet or arguing in another room. A balancing act not only between virtual and real world, but also between life and imagination. The audience will change the floors, but always at eye level with the students that represent their ideas, fears and expectations in no doubt complex and rousing group performances.
76 Virtual Meets Reality – PLATFORM 11+ – 3rd Youth Encounter in Dresden (DE)
Most impressive is a long, wide corridor full of picture frames that are occupied by the students in a storm and filled in various ways. And of course, the school is their dance area from which the audience is led out again at the end, impressed by the energy and the images of the performance that has nothing to do with artificially created emotion. Warm applause in the cold rain. And students who at this moment do not care, that they do not wear jackets. Tabea Hörnlein, Artistic Director, Theatre Academy tjg Norbert Seidel, Public Relations tjg
3rd PLATFoRM 11+ Youth encounter with young people from Dresden (DE), oulu (Fi), Milano (iT) and London (GB)
Workshop leaders:
Natasha Cossey (GB)
Anke Engler (DE)
Ella Sofia Pentitilä (FI)
Cloe Osborne (GB)
Madleine Kludje (GB)
Heta Haanperä (FI)
Benedetta Parenti (IT)
Special thanks to Gymnasium Bürgerwiese Jens Reichel Silke Petermann Anje Biener
Primary school; first day. Classes are quite interesting: new booklets, colourful books, magnetic pencil cases, rulers, markers, pencils, and erasers that smell like chewing gum. Everything is new; everything is information… Of course, I already know a few of the letters displayed on the classroom wall – but perhaps there will be even more to learn. Time flies quickly, and our arms are already numb from putting our hand up. During the break, the corridors are as noisy as can be. The teacher shepherds us, new ones, out into the court yard to get some fresh air. It is autumn, no need for a hat or jacket yet. Hesitantly, I go outside; the ground is covered with chestnuts. Everyone else is playing; children are gathering around a ball, the hopscotch, or the jungle gym – I am the only one who spends the break alone, kicking about small pebbles. I do not know anybody. Then, my eyes fall upon a girl, standing next to the jungle gym: she does not play; she is sad. She is at least one head taller than I am. I ask her if she is okay. She says she is in love, and points to a boy standing at the fence, head bent down. He is sad, too. I run over to him, and ask why he is so upset. He says he is in love, and points to the 4th-grader girl I just talked to. I spend the whole break running back and forth between them. I began to know them: Tomi and Ági from class 4B. It seems they are going to make it! The bell rings, the girl thanks me for the help, and runs to get back to the class room on time. The boy is smiling; then he sets off to his next class as well. From that day on, I just cannot wait to be a fourth-grader, too. Rita Alexis Actress, Hungary
78 Schoolyard Memories
Sex Education in West-Germany in the seventies was short, sterile and above all: a turn-off. To be on the safe side, Sex Education was part of the religion class. Our teacher, who was well over sixty, talked a lot about the birds and the bees, miracles and unmistakable hints of the nature … He cautioned us firmly about the negative side effects of masturbation. Especially boys would jeopardise their health: back pain, rough hands etc. So, I took the chance to express my doubts and said, that my father had told me, that masturbation is like the training of a football player before the next match. And I added by myself, that those, who claim that masturbation is wrong, are those who can’t get it up anymore. I have dim memories of asking my teacher: “Is it like that with you?” My mates all laughed, but our teacher was not so pleased. He interrupted the class and escorted me to the headmaster. Both expected an excuse from me, which they didn’t get. This day at school
ended for me when my father picked me up at the headmaster’s office. Even he, as the “founder of the quote,” had no word of excuse for the teacher – and a half year later I changed schools. This time it was a more open-minded school. Dirk Neldner Artistic Director, Berlin
You can’t forget your first day at secondary school. You leave home with the strange feeling that this day will give you something new. You are impatient, excited, and even a little scared. You arrive at school ready for everything, more or less. You walk through the entrance, get in the big gym, that’s full of other kids like you – you know some of them, they live in your same neighborhood. Then someone leads you to your new classroom… there it is: it’s huge, much bigger than the one you had at the primary school. You have the impression that everything is too big for you. The blackboard that occupies the whole wall, the teacher’s desk, the window, also the shelf with those heavy dictionaries… they give you out a desk, and someone is sitting beside you. His name is Giuseppe, and you will study with him also for your high school leaving examination, and will share your first trip to Spain, as soon as you get your driving license. Everything begins. “Good morning, I’m your teacher…”. The first day at the secondary school is the first day of a great adventure. You are scared, everything is too big, but in your eyes there’s the anxious emotion of novelty. Ready, steady, go! Umberto Biscaglia Producer, Italy
Schoolyard Memories 79
80
Brageteatret Drammen, Norway
Brageteatret is a professional theatre, run by Buskerud County and Drammen City,
to more productions, for an even bigger audience. It is now official that Brageteatret will get its
founded in 2000 by the owners and the Norwegian State.
own theatre space, we look forward to strengthening our identity as we will stand out more in our own town Drammen. But another huge 12 year chapter of Brageteatret comes to an end,
The theatre is located at Union Scene, with two stages, Brage- and Idunnsalen. All our productions are produced and staged here.
as our Artistic Director Terje Hartviksen will be leaving at the end of 2012. Brageteatret will now be run by a woman for the next 5 years. Ms Elsa Aanensen will be our new Artistic Director as from January 1st 2013, and we are all excited about Brageteatret’s new future.
Union Scene is an old renovated paper-mill in Drammen. Being an international centre for arts and culture, it also houses the children’s school of arts and culture, Buskerud Artist´Centre.
The Cultural Rucksack
Union Scene is a vibrant centre for the local and regional culture. In 2001 Norway established a new concept with the intention of giving all pupils between 6 Brageteatret is the only professional theatre in Buskerud. Our main purpose is to produce and
and 16 years quality meetings with art – named ‘The Cultural Rucksack’.
play theatre for children and young people, as well as keeping a multicultural perspective. Brageteatret plays approximately 350 performances each year for more then 40 000 people.
In our region there are 146 schools, with a total of 32,000 pupils. Through this programme, they are guaranteed 5 cultural encounters with art: Theatre/dance performances, concerts,
Brageteatret is facing an exciting and challenging future, as we are granted the status as the
exhibitions, literature and cultural heritage. This means a total of 150,000 ‘Cultural Rucksack-
official regional theatre of Buskerud county. This implies a new target-group for us, as it re-
Experiences’! Brageteatret is responsible for offering a variety of theatre/dance performances.
quires that we have to play for adults, a new audience for Brageteatret! We are looking forward
This includes plays we have produced ourselves, and/or productions we have bought.
Opposite: Ratih Windrati, Ida-Marie Bakkerud (in 4383)
Brageteatret – Drammen, Norway 81
Reference Production
4383 In this play we look at how it is to be 11–12 years old. It is about the secrets and the dreams, being scared and vulnerable. About the good memories, the first kiss and the worst enemy – how to find our way into the adult world and who we really are. And everything else. The cast travels in time, reenact their 12th birthday and meet today’s young adults. They have important memories and strong feelings. Is this theatre or is it reality?!
Director: Terje Hartviksen Choreography: Hege Haagenrud Music: Joseph Angyal Cast: Ingrid Vollan, Ida Marie Bakkerud, Anitra Therese Eriksen, Ratih Windrati, Duc Mai-The This play is a time travel dramatized by the cast and Espen Aukan. It takes place in classrooms in all the schools in Buskerud.
Left: Duc Mai-The (in 4383) Opposite: Performance of FACE ME at Galterud School in Drammen (September 2012)
82 Brageteatret – Drammen, Norway
Educational work Brageteatret has an extraordinary ongoing collaboration with the school Galterud in Dram-
The result was an inspiring performance that the audience enjoyed. All of the Norwegian
men. Both students and teachers affect our organization in many ways. They give us their hon-
pupils hope and wish to participate in similar projects in the future.
est opinion about our repertoire and specific plays. They also contribute new ideas for future
In the springtime, Galterud dedicated a week for all the pupils to explore different types of
productions. Through the Platform 11+ project Brageteatret has gained a valuable partner.
artistic expressions. They engaged in making performance art, music, visual art and more. The creativity was blooming and they all had the opportunity to develop and explore expres-
This spring a group of pupils and teachers went the Youth Encounter in York to participate in
sions of their own choice. It is clear that this initiative inspired the pupils to find new ways of
Platform 11+ together with other youths from several European countries. All the participants
dealing with life’s challenges.
collaborated to create a play that was performed in St. Olavs Church. The play and workshops
The project ‘Face Me’ led to another nice collaboration between Galterud and Brageteatret.
taught the pupils to go beyond their own boundaries and gave them a new perspective and
Some of the pupils read and discussed the text ‘In the Window’ by Liv Heløe script written
memories to take with them. They got to know new people with different cultural backgrounds
for ‘Face Me’ They brought their thoughts and feedback to Brageteatret who used this as an
and a different mindset. The project taught them to put aside their own limitations and to find
inspiration when creating a play from the text.
new opportunities when different people from different backgrounds meet.
A large group of pupils also starred in the film that is showed in the ‘Face Me’ production. We had a great day at the school when recording the film. Numerous ideas were tested and filmed, and we had a lot of fun. A group of selected pupils later contributed in a work shop with professional leaders from Agder University and Brageteatret. Different themes from ‘Face Me’ were tested in different drama exercises. The highlight was of course the viewing of ‘Face Me’ at Galterud school. We got great feed back from the pupils, and they got to experience a play in a way that they had not seen before. It was also very exciting for the pupils to see the film, in which they starred, included in the performance. After the performance the pupils and actors shared their thoughts about the play. It was a successful project which we hope we can repeat.
Brageteatret – Drammen, Norway 83
84 Divadlo Alfa – Plzeň, Czech Republic
Divadlo Alfa Plzen ˇ, Czech Republic
The professional theatre for young audiences in Pilsen began in 1966 as The Alfa chil-
The highlights of the last decade from 2006–2012 were the productions of ‘The Three Mus-
dren’s theatre. The theatre is sponsored by the City of Pilsen. The managing director has
keteers’ (2006). The latter won over twenty awards in the Czech Republic and abroad.
been Tomáš Froyda since 2006. The current creative team (artistic head and director
During the last years Alfa has cooperated with some of the most prestigious directors of
Tomáš Dvorˇák, dramaturgy Pavel Vašícˇek, and set designer Ivan Nesveda), together
drama from the whole republic. Between 1970 and 2012 the theatre company visited lots of
with non-resident artists and the twelve-member company of actors, favors a comedic
countries in Europe and also overseas.
concept of theatre, seeing the puppet as a dominant and unusually attractive stage
‘Pirat07&QueenOfLove’ was created as part of the Platform 11+ project. It was a co-produc-
phenomenon.
tion between Alfa Theatre and Theatro O Bando (Portugal) and has been performed in Portugal, Germany, Hungary and Norway so far. Alfa Theater takes care of the sustainability of this
The theatre performs to a broad range of audiences, including nursery-school children, young
project. Alfa Theatre also made a Czech version of this project and this has been performed in
people and adults. For all of them, it provides an alternative to the dominant media culture
Alfa Theatre in Pilsen as a part of annual program.
– an alternative featuring literary and artistic quality, original staging methods (all kinds of
The Theatre has been the joint organizer of Skupa’s Pilsen since 1967: the Festival of puppet
puppet techniques combined with live actors) and a composite stage form, with original
shows, a biennial competition of professional Czech puppet theatre and alternative theatres
composed music (often live) playing an important role. Above all, there is the irreplaceable
which also presents prestigeous international shows. The 29th Skupa’s Pilsen festival was
contact, through emotion and laughter, with live art – and, moreover, in a truly cultural envi-
held in Pilsen from 17th until 21th June 2012. Part of the program was the co-production
ronment. The repertoire is broad in theme and genre, from classical and modern fairy tales
project ‘Face Me’ which had it’s opening night on the 18th June. The next festival will place
to world drama.
in June 2014.
Divadlo Alfa – Plzeň, Czech Republic 85
From 1970 to 2012 the theatre has visited Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Fin-
on his finger still can not to heal. Will he eventually, at the end, become ridiculed by Elfrida,
land, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania,
his Margarita?
Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine and the US (many of these countries several times).
The performance, which is staged as a ‘theater within the theater’, was inspired by a list of the seven deadly sins (Greed, Sloth, Gluttony, Lust, Envy, Wrath, Pride) Faustian legend and Fellini’s film ‘Road’. It’s an assembly of seven humorous, entertaining moralities, processed
Reference Production
either dramatically or in the form of song. At the same time this performance is a showcase for
Damn You!
create not only figures of Principal and his companions, but (with the help of various kinds of
two of the outstanding actors of the ALFA Theatre – Milena Jelínková and Peter Borovský, who puppets) more than a double-digit number of the characters in the individual stories!
Seven weaknesses, seven sins, seven agreements signed in blood – seven stories as a lesson or for a laugh!
Director: Tomáš Dvorˇák Set and costumes: Dana Raunerová (guest)
BUM, BUM, BUM, dear audience! Principal Kumpano, with his renowned touring theater, comes
Dramaturgy: P. Vašícˇek
to your town to present, for your local, honored audience, this glorious spectacle of seven
Music: Michal Vaniš (guest)
contracts signed by the devil himself! Seven weaknesses, seven sins, seven agreements,
Cast: M.Jelínková and P.Borovský
signed in blood! How many souls will walk away with the devil? For whom will he come next?
Premiere: 10th December 2012
Who will end up in Hell – the place designed for those who give in too easily and quickly to their desires? Kumpano travels from town to town with his successful performance of seven sinners who have sold their souls to the devil. But who knows how he came to his glory… a bloody wound
86 Divadlo Alfa – Plzeň, Czech Republic
The production is aimed at children aged 11 and over and adults
Educational Work Acting workshops for adolescents
Face Me co-production experiences
Pilsen’s Alfa Theatre has been holding acting workshops for young people on a regular
Co-operation with different actors, directors, stage designers, authors from different theatres
basis since January 2010.
around Europe has been really beneficial for the following acting, creative and educational
Eleven adolescents, one workshop leader, two different approaches/directions.
work. The creative production team learnt a great deal about how the different theatres, from different countries and cultural environments, prepare and go about their work
Over the past three years we have conducted a variety of successful workshops based on im-
We learnt a lot by getting to know students in different school environment and in different
provisation. This year we have decided to focus on acting work. The goal is to learn something
countries. We realized that Europe belongs together. Even though Europe is multicultural, the
new, to learn how to work with the text and how to use improvisation skills as well. This year
results were very similar everywhere. Working in different countries is not really different.
work is divided into two projects:
This cooperation should result in creative impulse for further work. Some of the techniques
1) procession of classic dialogs on the stage (most of the texts from author: Carlo Goldoni)
used by the international directors are now used in educational workshops.
2) open form with space for improvisation (processing crime puzzle with an open end for the audience)
Bohuslav Holý, actor and Martina Hartmannová, actress + workshop leader
Blanka Josephová – Luňáková, workshop leader
Divadlo Alfa – Plzeň, Czech Republic 87
88
Kolibri Theatre Budapest, Hungary
Kolibri theatre started as an alternative puppet theatre in 1992 with the separation of State Puppet Theatre. Today, Kolibri operates with a permanent company, in which the puppetry and prose sections have become equally important. This is the first children’s theatre in Budapest in which each age-group can find the performance suitable to their interest and development. Three venues await the audience, each with a particular profile and independent artistic program, thus complementing each other. The rich and manifold repertory ranges from adaptations of classical, Hungarian and world literature, through contemporary plays, to puppet shows, fairy tale plays, operas, dance and physical theatre, theatre for babies, as well as class room theatre, and youth plays.
Opposite and right: Mario and the Magician
Kolibri Theatre – Budapest, Hungary 89
Reference Production
Mario and the Magician (14+)
Performers: Cipolla Péter Scherer Mario Gergo˝ Bárdi Citizens od Torre di Venere Zoltán Bodnár, Éva Farkas, Juli Erdei, László Gazdag, Gyula Kormos, Gábor Krausz, Melinda Megyes, Ildikó Meixler, Tamás Mészáros, István
Most of us remember Thomas Mann’s Mario and the Magician as a story centred around the
Mult, Tibor Németh, Kármen Rácz, Kriszta Rácz, Virág Sallai, Dávid Szanitter, Károly
demonic character of Cipolla, the magician.
Szívós, Bea Tisza, Ági Török, and the students of Kolibri Studio
However, the story is also, and more importantly, about the careful depiction of the social and
Music: Bornai Szilveszter
emotional dynamics of a town, Torre di Venere, in the 1920s, in the context of a slowly but
Director: Bagossy László
steadily escalating economic and social crisis. Prior to Cipolla’s appearance on the scene, the
Set and costume: Kata Mata and Mónika Béres
reader gets a glimpse into the everyday life of increasingly fascist Italy from the point of view of a cultivated, civilized European gentle man. The play as performed by the actors of Kolibri Theatre places special emphasis on accentu-
experience the intense, aggressive, frustrated (and perhaps not altogether unfamiliar) atmos-
ating how the patriotic citizens of Torre di Venere become obedient puppets to a skilful hypno-
phere characteristic of periods of (inter)national crisis.
tist. In Mario and the Magician Kolibri’s whole company is performing. Mingling with the audience, they invite the audience to experience the tragic historic background to Cipolla’s infernal
Mann’s story evokes such a period by drawing on metaphors of war, leadership, and the blind
show as depicted in the condensed introductory scenes of the original short story. Issues
desire to shed blood. Kolibri’s adaptation of Mario and the Magician uses these metaphors to
such as xenophobia, unemployment, racism, authoritarianism, superstition, or provincialism
elaborate on the issue of free will as opposed to total submission to control while portraying
are rendered in a manner suitable for and easily interpretable to teenagers, who are invited to
these difficult times through the social dynamics of a small Italian town.
Opposite: Actors and students in the performance FACE ME Time of Transition in Budapest 90 Kolibri Theatre – Budapest, Hungary
Educational Work Students acting together with professional actors in FACE ME Time of Transition Black Stone There are very few criteria in the selection of the students. Anybody in the school who is ready to participate in the sections we offer, and has a basic knowledge of English can come. We have been trying to avoid to ‘work’ and ‘rehearse’ with the young people; rather we would have liked to ‘play’ with them. The preparation in Budapest lasted three weeks, with one meeting each week. Using drama methods, we started with concentration and trust games in order to create a small working team of the 10 students. As a motivation ‘bomb’, we decided to record video messages with the students of the previous country (i.e., Pilsen students for Budapest students, Budapest students for London students etc.), wishing good luck to their ‘successors’. At the second meeting we played games which helped them get closer to the scenes in which they would participate later. We wanted them to discover the logic and the style of the scenes
In the last section (the day before the show), they have met the rest of the international team,
without rehearsal.
and we rehearsed together for a couple of hours. Because the students are in smaller groups
At the third session, the students learned more about the details of the show and about their
the actors. After the final rehearsal they got the full picture of the show which helped them to
possible tasks in it. Preparing for the show, we divided them into smaller groups according
realize their ownership of it.
in the first half of the show, each of them had the chance to build a personal relationship with
to their skills and interests, and slowly, we started to practice with them the concrete scenes, describing the circumstances.
Gyuri Vidovszky (Director FACE ME)
Kolibri Theatre – Budapest, Hungary 91
92
Elsinor Teatro Stabile d’Innovazione Milan Florence Forlì, Italy
Elsinor Teatro Stabile d’Innovazione is the first interregional centre of theatrical produc-
By diverse forms of collaboration between artists, local governmental institutions, universities
tion and performances in Italy. Elsinor presents plays and children’s theatre, as well as
and schools, in response to the increasing demand for access to theatre as a didactic tool,
organizing theatrical seasons and training laboratories, carried out in three regions
Elsinor offers theatrical training, workshops and special events to schools all over the national
which are all considered highly influential for Italian theatre: Lombardy, Tuscany, and
territory. An important example of this are the two youth theatre festivals:‘Il Fiorentino’, hosted
Emilia Romagna.
in Teatro Cantiere Florida in Florence since 2007, and ‘Platform Milano’, created and hosted in Teatro Sala Fontana since 2011.
Elsinor is represented by ‘Teatro Sala Fontana’ in Milan, ‘Teatro Cantiere Florida’ in Florence, and ‘Teatro Giovanni Testori’ in Forli. It also manages the theatrical seasons of Teatro Cristal in
In collaboration with Teatro del Buratto, Elsinor organizes ‘Segnali’, one of the most important
Salò and Teatro Comunale in Galeata.
children’s theatre festival in Italy.
Elsinor’s driven commitment is focused on the exploration of contemporary theatrical prose, and the exchange and synergies inspired by traditional and new approaches to theatrical classics.
Opposite: Stefano Braschi, Andea Soffiantini
Elsinor Teatro Stabile d’Innovazione – Milan Florence Forlì, Italy 93
Reference Production
Here Come the European Boat People ‘Schoolyard Stories – Concorso Platform 11+’ contest winning text Here come the European Boat People imagines that a series of elements, among which climate changes, and the discovery of new raw materials, leads to a collapse of Europe and of the whole Western civilization. They are replaced by African countries as economic forces and rulers. For this reason, all kinds of dinghies and crafts travel in the opposite direction as they do today; and Italians and Europeans are poor and desperate people looking for any kind of job (dirty, dangerous, humiliating) in the countries that lead the world at present. So the world is upside down, compared to what we’re used to see, and that stimulates one to think about what unites human beings and what separates them. The author leads the audience into a surreal Christmas Eve, full of memories, nostalgia and surprises
By Marco Renzi With Stefano Braschi e Andrea Soffiantini Set and costumes by Ilaria Ariemme Directed by Giuditta Mingucci
94 Elsinor Teatro Stabile d’Innovazione – Milan Florence Forlì, Italy
Educational Work Elsinor’s work in secondary schools in Milan started, for the 2012/2013 season, with the presentation of the final production ‘Face Me’ in the gym of the Istituto Frassati in Seveso. That occasion was an important step for the new collaboration with the Liceo, the institute, which applied for the Youth Encounter in Dresden. The Scuola Media will start a new workshop, based on the Iliad, that will lead to a site-specific performance in the beautiful schoolyard of the institute. Other workshops will lead to the following performances: ‘The Blue Cross’, from Gilbert Chesterton, with the kids of Collegio della Guastalla in Monza; ‘Magellano’s travels’, with the kids of the Scuola Secondaria di Primo Grado Andrea Mandelli, in Milan; ‘Decamerone’, from Boccaccio, with the Fondazione Sacro Cuore, in Milan; ‘Vassilissa’ and ‘Prince Ivan’ with 2 class groups of Istituto Candia in Seregno; ‘Mockingbird’, with the kids of Scuola Media Sant’Agostino in Salsomaggiore Terme. All the performances will be presented, together with other youth productions from schools of Milan and Lombardy, in the ‘Festival Platform 11+ Milano’, that will take place in Milan in may 2013; as it grows bigger every year, on its third edition the Festival will be hosted in two different venues: Teatro Sala Fontana and Teatro Rosetum. Other workshops with high schools are going on in Como and in Rimini.
Opposite: Stefano Braschi, Andea Soffiantini Right: Workshop at Collegio della Guastalla in Monza
Elsinor Teatro Stabile d’Innovazione – Milan Florence Forlì, Italy 95
Theater de Citadel Groningen, The Netherlands
For the last twenty years we were able to do our theatre work, in the north part of the Netherlands, for children and young people. We did it with lots of joy and pride. Unfortunately, in 2012, the Culture Council of the Netherlands decided to stop subsidizing Theater de Citadel, so we had to close our theatre at the end of December 2012. Theater de Citadel is a theatre company for children and teenagers in the Netherlands. ÂFurthermore it is the only Dutch theatre company that specifically aims at primary and secondary education. The company works with professional actors and produces about 3 new plays each year. These productions are suitable for people aged 4 and upwards. One of these 3 productions is specially aimed at the 11 to 18 year old age group. On average, the company performs 130 shows a year, mainly in the North of the Netherlands. Most performances are done at schools, in gyms or in the classrooms, and there is a strong relationship with the teachers Above: Outside Theater de Citadel
at the schools. Each production is accompanied by educational materials, specially made
Opposite: Zernike College Haren (The Netherlands) –
for the particular production and its audience. Theater De Citadel also presents plays in their
Students & Environment melting together
own theatre.
96 Theater de Citadel – Groningen, The Netherlands
It was a political choice to work in this way.Through our work, children from all layers of society got in touch with theatre. The choice to bring theatre to the schools is not a random choice. School is first and foremost a place to learn subjects such as mathematics and writing, but it’s also a place for social skills and creative activities. On top of that, it’s the place where one meets one’s first enemies and friends, or where one has one’s first kiss. The main goal from Theater de Citadel is to expose children and youth to beauty. Especially at this age. Especially in this world! Theater de Citadel wants to teach children and teenagers to ‘read’ the theatre, to love the theatre, to give them insight into the world of the theatre, so they can learn to distinguish between styles and genres.
Theater de Citadel – Groningen, The Netherlands 97
Performance FACE ME Time of Transition in Groningen, October 2012
98 Theater de Citadel – Groningen, The Netherlands
Reference Production
Face Me at the Zernike College in Groningen
Text: Thank You Bouke Oldenhof (NL)
The PLATFORM 11+ Final Production Face Me with it’s co-production of the companies from
In the Window Liv Heloe (NO)
York (UK), Milan (IT), Banska Bystrica (SK) and Theater de Citadel (NL) came to play at the
Selma Nora Mansmann (DE)
Zernike College in Groningen in October 2012. The show was very well received by the
Prima del Viaggio Giuditta Mingucci (IT)
students. Director: Lotte Lohrengel (NL) and Tom Bellerby (UK) Face Me is a play about five people of different ages and cultures who are traveling through
Costume designer: Illaria Ariemme (IT)
time. Each one is afraid to stand still on the journey between the person they have been and the person they will become. Tides rise and fall. Trapped in a no man’s land in a search to
Cast:
find who they are, they meet each other, armed only with their suitcases. Are these suitcases
Eva Docolomanská (SK)
and the stories they contain the key to unraveling the problem? Stories of fears and hopes,
Giuditta Mingucci (IT)
dreams and memories, ideals and pain and of secrets never shared. But in this chaotic clash
Lies van de Wiel (NL)
of luggage and identity, whose stories are whose? And the end of this confrontation, can they
Edward Wren (UK)
discover who they are and how they fit into the world around them?
Peter Butkowsky (SK)
A play about five people, five suitcases and the pop up worlds they contain.
Production: Chiara Rocchetti (IT)
Theater de Citadel – Groningen, The Netherlands 99
100
Teatro O Bando Palmela, Portugal
Founded in 1974, Teatro O Bando is one of the oldest cultural cooperatives in Portugal.
1987, will never have forgotten the actors running in the darkness of the forest. Also unforget-
Teatro O Bando is a group that chooses the aesthetical transfiguration as its mode of
table was the steam train entering the station in GENTE SINGULAR in 1993, the performance in
civic and community involvement. Street theatre and activities for children in schools
the walls of the buildings in 1990, BICHOS, the damp fog over the spectators in ENSAIO SOBRE
and cultural associations, integrated in decentralized projects, are the basis of the com-
A CEGUEIRA in 2004 and the seagulls flying over the Jerónimos Monastery in SAGA in 2008.
pany’s work. The company continues to search for originality in their creations, aiming to create art works O Bando creations are defined by their plasticity and staging dimension, characterized mainly
which surprise and have a cutting edge. These art works are the result of a collective meth-
by the Scene Machines. The dramaturgical work is also very important, providing the explicit
odology in which a shared artistic direction accommodates the differences and conflicting
pasting of literary materials and the inclusion of colloquial expressions. The texts used are
points of view, until the conflicts reveal their potential. The resulting work of art is often way
mainly derived from Portuguese authors, rather than standard dramatic texts.
beyond what the collective first envisaged and quite unpredictable.
Over the years the company has created more than 100 different shows. The company’s
Teatro O Bando aims to transgress a wide range of borders, rural or urban, adult or child,
4,500 performances have been seen by approximately 1.3 million spectators, not counting
learned or popular, national, or universal, dramatic, narrative or poetic. Throughout their jour-
the PEREGRINAÇÃO, which in EXPO’98 reached an audience of 3 million. Although the larger
ney, the group was linked to multiple national and international projects. The group continues
shows are not always the easiest ones to remember, the people who saw MONTEDEMO in
its touring activities, presenting several shows throughout the country.
Opposite: It’s Not Yet the End or the Beginning of the World (group photo)
Teatro O Bando – Palmela, Portugal 101
Ten years ago, after several moves, O Bando finally settled on a farm in Vale dos Barris, Palmela, where unexpected, potential stages made of stars, of trees and cliffs can be found. O Bando is waiting to welcome any one who visits: there’ll be soup, bread and cheese, Muscatel and a cosy chat next to the fireplace. Teatro o Bando faces drastic budget cuts (50%) in the subsidies it receives from official institutions. The economic crisis in Portugal is leading to a daily decline in ticket sales and hence
Reference Production
It’s Not Yet the End or the Beginning of the World Easy It’s Just A Little Bit Too Late
the number of performances . We resist these cuts by joining even closer together with our partners and the municipality in our productions. We also resist these measures by forging even stronger bonds with our European partners.
A PERFORMANCE OF THEATER that is a RESISTANCE MOVEMENT which is a STAGED CONCERT which is a FOLK FESTIVAL that is a SPRING ANNOUNCED
Mothers and sons occupy the streets of a city. Seek the roots of the story and the stories of the revolution. Seek to know this Spring that escaped them, this Spring pure and idyllic which still dreams, this Spring human and shattered that they envision. Bring anecdotes, screams and rumours. Bring bridle on teeth, yokes on their backs, buckets and dreams, promises to unknown destinations.They resist celebrating and celebrate resisting.They know the burden of sacrifice and like all of us they are excited and free they give up their imprisonment. Oscillating between the roar and the whisper, between the party and the tiredness, between the hope and defeat, between the collective celebration and individual sorrow.
Left: It’s Not Yet the End or the Beginning of the World (group photo)
102 Teatro O Bando – Palmela, Portugal
Text: From chronicles and poems by Manuel Antonio Pina Dramaturgy: João Brites and Miguel Jesus Direction: João Brites Musical Composition: Jorge Salgueiro Scenic Design: Rui Francisco Orality: Teresa Lima Corporality: Vânia Rovisco Costume Design: Clara Bento Props: Isabel Curto Light design: João Cachulo Cast: Ana Lucia Palminha, Bruno Huca, Clara Bento,
Discussion in the school of Poceirão after the performance of FACE ME
Guilherme Noronha, Paula Só, Raúl Atalaia, Sara De Castro Musicians: Abilio Coelho, André Banha, André Cabica,
Educational Work
Filipe Cordeiro, João Reisinho, Jose Canha, Luis Santos, Marisa Borralho, Miguel Tapadas , Paulo Fragoso,
FACE ME in Teatro O Bando
Rodrigo Bispo
Pass by our headquarters here in Vale dos Barris, before invading the classrooms in the school of Poceirão.
Creation: Teatro O Bando
Outcome of the meeting of a very heterogeneous group of breeders interested in asking questions and questioning
Partnership: Big Band Loureiros
society together with younger viewers, this creation wanted to delete the borders that separate the space of artistic territory everyday. When the classroom became a stage when we invaded schools, we had the possibility to discover the world in a fresh way. In the bunch, this theatrical moment was preceded by a conversation that contextualizes and was presented outdoors.
Teatro O Bando – Palmela, Portugal 103
104
Pilot Theatre York, Great Britain
Pilot Theatre delivers critically acclaimed work regionally, nationally and internationally.
arts. The broadcast was available to watch via www.thespace.org – and allowed the audi-
We hope to inspire creativity and new ways of thinking and are strategic leaders in the
ence member to choose their own edit of the 6 camera feeds of the performance, including
field of digital networks and innovators in the delivery and distribution of work. Pilot
exclusive backstage access.
have a specific remit of delivering work for, by and with Young People with extensive experience in delivering award-winning work alongside integrated learning projects.
In 2013 Pilot are producing and touring 2 new plays for young people: Running on the Cracks
Pilot’s digital strategy finds and explores new ways of utilizing platforms and of engag-
by Julia Donaldson, adapted for the stage by Andy Arnold and Ghost Town by Jessica Fisher.
ing with audiences including Pilot Live and Pilot Extra, an extended online resource for
Later in the year we are collaborating with Slung Low and YTR to produce a new outdoor, in the
students and teachers: www.pilot-extra.com. We will be running our 5th Shift Happens
streets of York, production with a mixed professional/non professional (community) cast and
conference on July 8th 2013 with a focus on the Arts/Education/Heritage & Museum
team. The inspiration for the play, entitled Blood and Chocolate and written by Mike Kenny, is
sectors www.shift-happens.co.uk #shifthappens
taken from the tradition of the chocolate and confectionary industry within York, harnessing
Pilot recently broadcast the York Mystery Plays 2012, produced by York Cultural Company,
War but played out in the streets of contemporary York telling the story of the city’s social and
as part of The Space – a BBC and Arts Council England initiative increasing access to the
political change over the last 100 years. #yorkchoc
local and multi generational knowledge. The production will be set during the First World
Opposite: The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner: (l to r) Jack McMullen (Jase), Alix Ross (Sandra), Savannah Gordon-Liburd (Kenisha), Elliot Barnes-Worrell (Colin)
Pilot Theatre – York, Great Britain 105
Reference Production
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner By Alan Sillitoe. Adapted for the stage by Roy Williams. “Flawlessly directed by Marcus Romer and stylishly designed by Lydia Denno, the discussions this show will provoke will run and run.” The Observer Set in Britain’s Olympic Year, 2012, Colin Smith is defiant. Whilst held in a Young Offenders Institution for petty theft he is chosen as the Governor’s star runner in a long distance race against the local private school. As he runs we discover what his life was like before and what he hopes it might yet be. Why, for whom and for what is he running? “The original short story and subsequent movie are about class and the criminal justice system and they still stand today as extraordinarily vital pieces of work. We wanted to retell this, for a new audience and in a way that captures the Britain of now. We decided to make this in 2012 – not just because it was Olympic year – but also we had seen, since 2010 the growing disparity between rich and poor and to what extent young people were being pushed into the edge with rising youth unemployment and potentially diminishing educational opportunities.” Marcus Romer - Directors notes Left: Elliot Barnes-Worell in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
106 Pilot Theatre – York, Great Britain
“Playwright Roy Williams sticks faithfully to the outline of the original story but brings it brilliantly
In the school summer holidays, Kyle Walker
bang up to date. .. Elliot Barnes-Worrell’s extraordinary performance as banged-up Colin Smith
(Tongue Tied Theatre) and Kate Plumb
is a glorious tour de force of pent up rage.” The Independent ****
(Youth Theatre Director YTR) ran a project with a group of 11–15 year olds. This result-
“It’s a great theatrical coup…” The Guardian ****
ed in performances of Neil Duffield’s Small Fry at York Theatre Royal and The Galtres Arts Festival.
Directed by Marcus Romer, Set/Costume/AV by Lydia Denno, Lighting Design/AV by Mark Beasley, Soundscape by Sandy Nuttgens, Staff Director Tom Bellerby
After the success of Face Me’s visit to York,
Cast Elliot Barnes-Worrel, Doreene Blackstock, Curtis Cole, Dominic Gately, Savannah
Pilot have been invited to run several fol-
Gordon-Liburd, Jack McMullen, Richard Pepple, Alix Ross, Sean Sagar, Luke James
low-up workshops with the two schools that hosted the production. These have explored the image-based style of the performance
Education Work
and looked at the process that Tom Bel-
Education work from the last year has included Pilot’s hosting of the Platform 11+ Youth
the actors to devise the final piece. Both
lerby and Lotte Lohrengel went through with Exchange, Through Our Eyes in April 2012, involving young people from Estonia, Hungary,
schools are planning to use Face Me as a reference production for drama and performance
Norway, The Netherlands, Portugal and the UK coming together to share ideas about what it
examinations this summer.
means to be a young person in Europe today. Pilot are currently continuing to explore the ways that advancement in digital technologies The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner has been accompanied on tour with an extensive
can help to support our education work and increase the access that our audiences have to
education programme including online resources and a series of bespoke workshops focus-
our rehearsals and shows. The artistic team regularly blog about their artistic process and
ing on both theatrical techniques and the social and political issues raised in the show.
Pilot Live (Pilot’s live streaming channel) is used to and allow viewers from across the world a chance to explore our work and interact in live discussions with members of the Pilot team.
Right: PLATFORM 11+ Youth Encounter, York – April 2012
Pilot Theatre – York, Great Britain 107
5boys.sk Production
108 ďťż
The Theatre institute / Studio 12 Bratislava, Slovakia
Puppet Theatre at the Crossroads, in Banská Bystrica, is focused on young children, children from primary schools and parents, and adolescents and adults. It is the first professional theatre in Slovakia which brings up gender topics, forms gender views on
Reference Production
Milk Teeth
life and presents images of women and girls in the society. The theatre is involved in many activities for adolescents, like regular classes in creative writing and a theatre club, staged readings of the new plays by young participants, seminars dedicated to the
Theatre Institute organizes a laboratory of contemporary drama for
work for children and youth sometimes on taboo topics.
young people called MILK TEETH. Its goal is to provide professional production services and dramaturgical support for creative young
The Theatre Institute (1961) is a modern European institution under the Ministry of Culture
people, who are unable to work in the professional theatre envi-
of the Slovak Republic and its mission is to provide Slovak and international audiences with
ronment: financial support, PR service, organization of the premiere
complete information services about theatre. The main activities are research, documentation
and the following performances. All the performances take place in
of theatre, conferences and symposia, workshops, exhibition, book publishing. Studio 12 was
Studio 12. This season we had three new performances: Monkey
founded in December 2001. It was an initiative of the Theatre Institute in Bratislava aimed
State (directed by Matej Moško), Mr.Iones&Co. (directed by Martina
establishing a theatrical space for the presentation of new Slovak and world drama and con-
Mašlárová) and Samson (directed by Veronika Pavelková). This year
temporary art. At present it’s a space for educational activities, marginalized theatre groups
Studio 12 prepared a special festival for all the existing Milk Teeth
and a laboratory in which students can create in the professional theatre conditions.
productions from present and previous years called Milk Cut.
www.theatre.sk, www.studio12.sk, www.bdnr.sk
The Theatre Institute / Studio 12 – Bratislava, Slovakia 109
A special production dedicated to the young people was a play by Simona Semenic. The Slovak director, Adriana Totiková, prepared the performance. 5boys.sk is about 5 friends who meet each other outdoors to play games. Their games show how the children imitate the world around them and take on the behaviour of their parents, but it also shows how they do not understand their actions and the consequences.
Left: Milk Teeth poster Below: 5boys.sk Opposite: Young writer in front of his audience
110 The Theatre Institute / Studio 12 – Bratislava, Slovakia
of the work from all the classes and staged readings of the works presented by the young playwrights themselves together with professional actors. This year we were able to sit and perform on the stage of the historical theatre building of Slovak Chamber Theatre in Martin. It was a valuable experience for all the children, to be on stage, to see the backstage area and to be able to communicate with the light and sound technicians in one of the oldest theatres in Slovakia. During the festival Bábkarská Bystrica 2012 in the Puppet Theatre at the Crossroads, the members of the Creative Writing club in the theatre could see the performance Face Me. In the discussion following the performance they appreciated the idea of the production, especially the fact that they could relate to the two Slovak actors, whom they knew from the Puppet Theatre at the Crossroads.
Our regular competition Dramatically Young is becoming
Educational Work
more and more successful each year. This year we received 27 plays from 31 young authors aged from 9 to 18 years old.
Creative writing is a special project for children up to 18 years old. The main goal is educa-
The jury of the competition was created from specialists in
tional work in the field of script writing. The project provides the participants with an environ-
the work for children. The popular and well known children’s
ment conducive to writing, a place to develop their communication skills and self expression.
writer, Daniel Hevier, is a permanent member of the jury, so he
It involves a series of regular workshops during the school year, in various theatres in Slovakia,
can follow the growth of the young authors. He stated this year,
led by playwrights, drama advisors or directors. All the classes meet in June on ‘Junior Day’
that we have some great new playwriting talents in the making
during the national theatre showcase ‘Touches & Connections.’ There is a public presentation
thanks to the competition.
The Theatre Institute / Studio 12 – Bratislava, Slovakia 111
112
Emergency Exit Arts London, Great Britain
Emergency Exit Arts (EEA) create Spectacular and Celebratory visual and performing arts in public spaces. We deliver accessible, multi-cultural performance events which engage communities and stimulate cultural development. From our base in south east
Reference Production
Signs of Change
London we draw on a wide range of creative specialists in outdoor performance, street music and dance, pyrotechnic theatre, youth engagement and large-scale mechanical animations. With over 30 years experience we take a key strategic role in developing
As a key part of our youth engagement work, Creative Activism is focussed on empowering
UK outdoor arts, particularly supporting emerging and disabled artists, and creating
student voice, raising social awareness and inspiring the confidence to make real changes.
opportunities for youth involvement.
We work in collaboration with school staff to ensure each project delivers the best possible
2012 has truly been an unforgettable year! We began in deep snow with a giant Golden
and learning staff from different schools to work with specialist Creative Practitioners to create
Coach celebrating Greenwich becoming a Royal Borough. We made Sparks Fly, Diamond
high impact projects.
learning experience for children and young people. Creative Activism enables pupils, teaching
Jubilee Parades, Olympic Carnivals, Paralympic Flame Festivals, Fire Jaguars, Solar Summer Schools, Halloween Horrors and Edinburgh Light Nights – with clients as diverse as the Royal
Signs of Change was a hugely successful secondary schools project in 2011 involving over
Opera House, the Olympic Organising Committee, London Boroughs and cities across the UK.
600 students. As a direct result of that we extended and adapted it for 2012 and brought to-
We finished the year in creative planning sessions for our new 2013 touring show ‘Spin Cycle!’
gether 8 primary schools with 1 secondary to offer opportunities for them to make real chang-
and celebrated producing over 100 separate events for audiences of over 1 million!
es in their living and learning spaces and engage with peer to peer learning and mentoring.
Opposite: Sparks Fly Garuda Bird at Streatham Festival
Emergency Exit Arts – London, Great Britain 113
Each school sent ‘champions’ to a secret location where they met ‘scientists’ who would help them improve recycling, sustainability, energy efficiency and resources in their schools. Commissioned by an astro-scientist on the space station, each team had to research, design and deliver a practical project in their school, and launch it with a creative event big enough to be seen from space. Facilitators worked with children, teachers and student mentors to create an extraordinary collection of events involving giant art-works, drama and dance – and then brought them all together in a mass celebration of nearly 500 students, managed by 13 year olds! http://planningsignsofchange.tumblr.com/ http://youtu.be/_qKErBwPRY8
Educational Work PENt Up & Face Me: hugely influenced by our writing work with Platform 11+ we raised funds from the prestigious Clore Duffield Foundation to deliver a literacy project for teenagers in east London – using poetry and prose to encourage them to voice their personal concerns about
signed up to be involved and the school worked hard to host our demanding version which
community, relationships and politics in a public setting. We brought together professional
took over the theatre, studio, café and corridors – and played to public and student audiences
playwrights, emerging authors, teachers and students to provide peer-to-peer mentoring. The
both in and out of school hours. The excitement, engagement and interaction between the
resulting songs, poems and prose were performed at an ‘indoor/outdoor’ cabaret night and in
international cast and the students was most evident in the detailed post-show discussion
a library where we launched the book of their work.
– and the relationship continues all the way through to Dresden and on to Drammen. In addi-
Many of the students came from one local school – George Green’s on the Isle of Dogs – and
tion to sending representatives to both cities we will also be running a parallel project in the
this school was chosen to host Face Me as it came to London on tour. Over 30 students
school called Pop Up People.
114 Emergency Exit Arts – London, Great Britain
The Street Arts Academy An Unstoppable Pulse…: In 2012 EEA supported 40 14-18 year olds to create their own outdoor performance ensemble. They branded themselves Unstoppable Pulse and learnt how to market themselves, design costumes and devise new work that would resonate with the local community. Their work was commissioned as part of Greenwich’s Cultural Olympiad and was performed on Olympic Festival sites in front of thousands of people. The Secret Society of Oly*#ic Signs! performances played with their audience, inviting them to reinterpret a major cultural event in their own terms. http://greenwichgames.tumbr.com http://vimeo.com/49598964
#BirdBrain We also continued our bespoke Street Arts Academy programme across London, working with young carer support groups and young people at risk of exclusion to build confidence, develop inter- personal and communication skills. Alongside EEA practitioners these young people went through a journey of skills development to devise an interactive performance around one of EEA’s large puppets. They were then programmed into Arts Festivals around the City. Above: Greenwich Games Space – London 2012 http://vimeo.com/49598965
Opposite: Signs of Change Student Mentors
Emergency Exit Arts – London, Great Britain 115
116
Oulu City Theatre Oulu, Finland
Oulu City Theatre is located in the city centre of Oulu, where the professional theatre was first established in 1931. As the largest and most prominent theatre in northern Finland it presents annually 8 –10 premieres including classical drama and musicals, but also innovative cross art form theatre. 1.1.2012 the theatre transformed into an independent business entity within the Oulu City Council and is now run by new leadership; CEO Arto Valkama and Artistic Director Mikko Kouki. Autumn 2012 included new stage adaptations from two recent, award-winning Finnish novels, Kätilö by Katja Kettu and Raja by Riikka Pulkkinen. Both were loved by audiences and critics alike. The spring 2013 took a different course by presenting premieres of such classics as Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and one of the best farces ever written, Noises Off by Michael Frayn. One of the theatre’s annual productions, Oulu Children’s Theatre Festival, was awarded the Theatre Deed for Children and Young people of the Year Award at the industry’s Thalia Gala in Helsinki 11.3.2012. The 32nd edition of the Festival takes place from the 20.-25.5.2013 and celebrates a range of street arts by diving innovatively into an urban physical and mental
Above: Oiva Nuojua, Elina Korhonen, Pentti Korhonen
space, using methods of theatre, music, narrative and movement.
Opposite: Oiva Nuojua, Annina Rokka, Pentti Korhonen
Oulu City Theatre – Oulu, Finland 117
118 Oulu City Theatre – Oulu, Finland
Reference Production
Educational Work
The winner of a National Playwriters’ Contest organised by Platform11+ and Oulu City Theatre
Youth involvement has been an essential part of Face Me, the project’s final production, as
Too Old and Too Young
city and its youth have brought something special into the performance. In Oulu the youth
young people of each country have been able to become a part of the show. Each theatre, participants of Face Me began their preparations for the show in December 2012. A class of 16-year-olds, headed by teacher Riitta-Mari Punkki-Heikkinen, was chosen from the local sixth
A PLATFORM11+ and Oulu City Theatre co-production. The play presents a recognizable dia-
form school OSYK which specializes in drama and the expressive arts, and the participation
logue between parents and their 14-year-old son in an ordinary situation in many homes to-
became an integral part of a course unit. One of the original Face Me crew, Actress Annina
day. The young man is about to set off for an evening at his friend’s house to play videogames
Rokka, led youth workshops in physical expression and performance practices throughout
with his mates, but he gets stopped by his parents at the door. The outcome is a humorous
January, which led to the final rehearsals in the beginning of February. Also Scenographer
thought-provoking clash of generations in our modern culture. The play uses the methods of
Maija Tuorila and Prop maker Sirpa Törmä worked with a class of 14-year-olds from Myllytulli
forum theatre: the ideas, emotions and reactions of the audience will create many new solu-
School, headed by Irene Härkönen, to prepare the props for the show.
tions, plot twists and final outcomes for the story. The show will tour the local upper schools during spring 2013.
Director Heta Haanperä incorporated 80 upper school students from Myllytulli School in a joint script-writing process in her preparation to write a collateral script for the Platform 11+ and Oulu City Theatre co-production Liian vanha ja liian nuori. The youth involvement helped
Written by Heikki Itänen
to guarantee the authenticity of language and credibility of the dialogue, while encouraging
Directed by Heta Haanperä
the youth in creative activities such as text analysis, script-writing and familiarization with plot
Set Design by Jussi Hukkanen
structure and theatre conventions. The classes also took part as test audiences during the
Cast: Oiva Nuojua, Elina Korhonen, Pentti Korhonen and Annina Rokka
rehearsals of the show.
World premiere 14.3.2013 Age recommendation: 11–15 years-olds Duration approx.: 75 min.
Opposite: Workshop in preparation of the PLATFORMM 11+ Final production FACE ME Time of Transition
Oulu City Theatre – Oulu, Finland 119
120
VAT Teater Tallinn, Estonia
VAT Väga Ainulaadne Teater Väärtustab Ausat Tööd Valib Autoreid Täpselt Vihkab Asjatundmatuid Tegijaid Võidab Auhindu Teatrifestivalidel Vaatleb Ausaid Tundeid Viibib Alati Tänapäevas Valdused Asuvad Tallinnas VAT Võimas Aare Toikka Väike Agar Tiina Võluvad Armsad Tüdrukud Viimasel Aastakümnel Tööl Vabariigi Andekamad Tippnäitlejad VAT Väike Aga Tubli Võimalus Alati Tellida Valmis Aastapäeva Tähistama Author: Margo Teder
VAT A very unique theatre Values honest work Selects the authors carefully Despises incompetent theatre makers Wins awards in theatre festivals Observes honest emotions Is always placed in the ‘now’ Is situated in Tallinn VAT Mighty Aare Toikka Little lively Tiina Charming cute girls At work over the past decades The nation’s most talented actors VAT Small but sturdy Always possible to book Ready to celebrate an anniversary
Reference Production
Faust Expressionist journey based on Murnau, Goethe and Marlow Faust is a restless scholar who is desperately looking for the essence of the universe, but is frustrated by the limitations of the human mind. He has studied many sciences but he realises that he still knows nothing which could show mankind a way towards a better existence. In heaven, God and the Devil make a bet on Faust’s soul. Mefistofeles offers Faust a drink – the elixir of youth, and persuades Faust to seduce and betray the innocent Margaret. Will Margaret perish, can Faust save her? Or… VAT Theatre’s ‘Faust’ is searching for the truth of art in the aesthetic of silent films. Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau is one of the great makers of German film art and an important figure in the Expressionist movement. One of his most well-known films is ‘Faust’. Johann Wolfgang Goethe wrote the first version of the verse tragedy ‘Faust’ in 1773 –1775. ‘Faust. Fragment’ was published in 1790. ‘Faust I’ was published in 1808 and ‘Faust II’ in 1833. Christopher Marlowe wrote the play ‘The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Opposite: Faust
VAT Teater – Tallinn, Estonia 121
Faustus’ presumably 1588 –1589. Marlowe was an English Renaissance writer, Shakespeare’s contemporary, and one of the greatest playwrights of his time who left the world seven tragic plays.
Author, director: Aare Toikka Designer, composer: Kaspar Jancis Lighting designer: Sander Põllu Video designer: Peeter Ritso Performers: Katariina Ratasepp, Margo Teder, Ago Soots, Tanel Saar, Meelis Põdersoo and Madis Muul
Educational Work The engaging work with youngsters connected to Platform 11+ has mostly been around three performances – ‘Paperclip Belt’, ‘Salto Mortale’ and ‘Help!’. In the last period from December 2012 to February 2013, there will be a performance ‘Face Me: Black Stone’. In October 2012, there was a reading of the new play, ‘Island of Andromeeda’ and on the same day there was also an open forum theatre performance. Both were held in VAT Theatre. The open forum theatre play was special, as it combined the VAT Theatre professional actors, Left: Faust
122 VAT Teater – Tallinn, Estonia
office workers, forum theatre group members and audience. It was facilitated by VAT Theatre actor Margo Teder. Welch Forum Theatre practicioner Iwan Brioc gave classes on the forum theatre method to everyone working in VAT Theatre before the opening of the play. All of these above mentioned plays involved groups of youngsters either as performers or as audiences. During the last period, since spring 2012, there has been active planning to create an educational workshop linked to the performance and held after the visit to theatre. In order to do this we had teachers creative group meeting in April 2012. Firstly teachers watched the performance and after that took part in dialogue to develop ideas about relevant topics, which the performance had tackled. Also, students of Tallinn Old Town Educational College wrote their suggestions. Both suggestions were combined and used to create additonal info-material for other teachers all over Estonia on the web page of VAT Theatre: targetgroup; topics; suggestions on how to use the material of the performance at school. Based on all previous inspiration and research artist Pille Kose, actors Meelis Põdersoo and Ago Soots and educator Mari-Liis Velberg developed a new educational workshop formula. In November 2012, ‘Salto Mortale’ educational workshop named ‘The Second Chance’ was tested with 7th and 8th grade students from Tallinn Old Town Educational College.
With Tallinn Old Town Educational College will be also active educational creation with the production ‘Face Me: Black Stone’ from December 2012 – February 2013. There will be pre
Workshop combines art methods and playful acting exercises, in order to tackle sensitive
paration workshops for the performance with students held by actor Ago Soots and visual
topics of the performance. Students participated, and after the workshop we had feedback
artist Inga Vares. As a result of the preparatory work there will be performances in Tallinn at
sessions and new ideas arose out of this on how to improve the initial formula.
one school in the beginning of February. The performance will unite youngsters from at least
Right: Workshop ‘The Second Chance’ for Salto Mortale, PLATFORM 11+ co-production,
are invited there as audience members.
two schools. Also a wider circle of youngsters and hopefully also teachers from other schools at Tallinn Old Town Educational College
VAT Teater – Tallinn, Estonia 123
124
tjg. theater junge generation Dresden, Germany
The tjg. theater junge generation operates on three levels, i.e. tjg. acting, tjg. puppet
development of theatre with children and young people, the partnership with the European
theatre, and tjg. theatre academy. It presents over 600 performances every year, making
theatre project ‘Platform 11+’, a cooperation with the Academic Kiselyov Youth Theatre in
it one of the largest children’s and young people’s theatres in Germany. Indeed, since
Saratov, Russia, within the scope of the German Federal Cultural Foundation’s ‘Wanderlust’
its founding in 1949, it’s impossible to imagine life in the city of Dresden without
project represent several current examples of projects that describe the concept of the tjg.
tjg. It is an integral part of the local cultural scene. The tjg. presents performances for
theater junge generation.
children, youth, and families on three different stages: at tjg. meissner landstrasse, at the puppet theatre at the Rundkino cinema, and at the summer stages in Dresden’s zoo
The broad assortment offered by its various branches enables the theatre to integrate current
and the park Grosser Garten. The performances are enjoyed by nearly 86.000 viewers
trends, for example from the fields of dance and performance, into its own productions in a
each season.
contemporary way, and the exchange and cooperation that takes place between different cul-
The city of Dresden’s puppet theatre amalgamated with the tjg. in 1997, and is celebrating
also play an important role.
tural organisations and institutions and artists active outside of children’s and youth theatre its 60th birthday in 2012. The tjg. theatre academy was founded in 2008. It functions as a research laboratory for theatre educators, as an experimental workshop for children and youths
Since 2008, the general and artistic director of the tjg. has been Felicitas Loewe, and since
interested in theatre, and as a further education centre for teachers and kindergarten teachers.
2011, Ania Michaelis has been involved as the artistic director of the tjg. acting and tjg. puppet theatre areas.
The founding of the national festival ‘Theatre from the Beginning’, artistic involvement with the ‘Theatre for the Youngest Audience’, extensive work of the tjg. theatre academy, further
Opposite: The Story of Doktor Faust
tjg. theater junge generation – Dresden, Germany 125
Reference Production
The Story of Doktor Faust Adapted from Christopher Marlowe Dr. Faust has studied a lot and is smarter than the great majority. Still, he is not satisfied, he wants the secrets of the world to unravel, he wants to find answers to the really important questions in life. Isn’t that’s a lot to ask? Not for Doktor Faust! He wants to be rich, powerful and famous. But of course, everything has its price, and the dark forces with which he gets involved, negotiate hard: for 24 years he is able to transform into any shape, to apply magical arts and to make fun of all the authorities. Afterwards his soul will belong to the devil. From now on, Doctor Faust enjoys his life to the fullest and turns the world upside down. Still, doubt gnaws at him: whether or not he has chosen the right side. Finally 24 years are not an eternity. Christopher Marlowe was the first one to turn the German Faust legend into a dramatic text. The story returned to Germany as folk theater and puppetry – to the market places and the stages of the traveling theatres. In this way, the drama became a rough-merry spectacle for a young audience.
Director Moritz Sostmann Stage/Costumes Christian Beck Music Philipp Plessmann Cast Christian Pfütze, Philipp Plessmann (as guest), Uwe Steinbach, Ivana Sajevic Target audience 10 years+
126 tjg. theater junge generation – Dresden, Germany
Educational Work FACE-ing the topics of growing up The puppet actress Ivana Sajevic, who directed the German part of FACE ME on behalf of the tjg. theatre junge generation, combined within her show elements of performance art and elements of puppet theatre. Together with her team of performers Ivana Sajevic created an artistic show-jumping course within a school, which dealt with the topic of growing up and developing different sages of age. FACE ME goes with the subtitle ‘time of transition’ and there is no such time as adolescence in which transition, changes and new expectations dominate and contradict the life of young people. Questions arise: Who am I? Who would I like to be? What does society expect of me and how do I feel according to those expectations? All kind of emotions – positive as well as negative - arise and most teenagers have to deal with contradicting longings and visions. Ivana Sajevic created an artistic cycle FACE-ing on the topic of growing up. Within this educational workshop draft we developed several exercises which werebased on different scenes seen in the show, in order to give a suggestion for a practical debate on the topics and representations of the show. After accompanying the long term process in whole by asking and debating about the questions above all the participating pupils at our partner school for this project and this performance worked through these exercises, right after the show, strongly motivated by it. Right: Performance FACE ME in Gymnasium Bürgerwiese, Dreden (DE), June 2012 Opposite: The Story of Doktor Faust
tjg. theater junge generation – Dresden, Germany 127
128
University of Agder Kristiansand, Norway
This year, the 2nd Year theatre students of the Fine Arts Faculty at the University of Agder
Our work still focuses on theatre for young audiences, contemporary theatre, drama in educa-
presented, with great success, the play ‘Garman’, based on the children’s books about
tion and performance and allows the students to develop a breadth of understanding along-
Garman, written by the Norwegian author Stian Holes. The production which has been
side specialist skills. The wide range of production activity ensures that students are continu-
performed in the national program ‘The Cultural Backpack’ where it has been seen by
ously involved with staff and student-led performances. We are actually preparing a new study
thousands of children, resulted out of devised theatre work.
program in theatre production in collaboration with the Performing Arts Centre ‘Kilden’. There they will be able to work with large professional productions in a hyper modern Performance
‘Theatre Via Alma’ is a project Theatre Group run by two of the professors of the Faculty of Fine
Arts Centre. We also still work closely with the Music and Art and Craft departments.
Arts. It made a production about psychological illness. This production has already toured several congresses and meetings for people involved in psychological healthcare. It will be touring more extensively this autumn and winter.
We have started to work on the upcoming ASSITEJ Festival 2013, which will be a great event this spring. We still operate ITYARN – International Theatre for Young Audiences Research Network – www.ityarn.org, now a member of ASSSITEJ International.
At present we are preparing a storytelling program about the Roma people. Our first group of Master students have finished their first of two years, and they are now preparing their thesis – a practical – theoretical work of art and reflection of an arts production
Opposite: Teater Via Alma ‘Wiew from a lather’
for a young audience.
University of Agder – Kristiansand, Norway 129
ATINA Schoolyard Stories in Iberoamerica
After the end & a new beginning In 2008, Schoolyard Stories in Iberoamerica, organized by ATINA (Argentina) and including the participation of several Latin American countries, was invited to participate in the Platform 11+ project as the Iberoamerican Partner. This cooperation (even when the characteristics of both projects were different in their development) allowed an enriching exchange between Ibero American and European artists and audiences. Schoolyard Stories in Iberoamerica was organized in three main steps: Playwriting Contest (2008–2009); Directors Workshop (2010); Schoolyard Stories Festival (2011). During these four years, the contact with Platform 11+ has been fluid and intense contacts have been made by professionals; plays have been exchanged, performances have been presented. Our goal (promoting exchange between professionals and creating new plays for young people) Buenos Aires, March 2010. Dirk Neldner at the ATINA workshop
130 ATINA – Schoolyard Stories in Iberoamerica
was reached and exceeded in this time and new doors have been opened for the future.
During 2012 the Company ‘La llave’, directed by Miguel López presented ‘¿Qué cosa me perdí?’ based on the plays Marimacho by Rodrigo Ures and Momento Embarazoso by Evelyn Goldfinger in Entre Ríos, Argentina; the Company ‘Vuelve en Julio’ presented ‘Dos puntos paréntesis’ based on the play ‘Patio regresivo’ by Luz Rodríguez Urquiza, in La Plata, Argentina; the Company ‘Grupo de teatro Buenos Aires’, directed by Daniel Fernández and Carlos de Urquiza presented ‘Adolece que no es poco’ which includes ‘Eva, la madre que te matriculó’ by Irma Borges y Oscar Escribano and ‘Amores imposibles’ by Silvia Labrador in Buenos Aires, Argentina; ‘WC School’, based on the plays ‘Nuevas Transacciones Comerciales’, de Carlos de Urquiza, ‘El Che Guevara’ de Gabriel Fernandez Chapo y ‘Quedate Aca’ de Luz Rodriguez Urquiza, co-production between the Universidad Popular de Belgrano (Bueno Aires) and the Pilot Theatre (York, Inglaterra) was presented in Buenos Aires and International Festival in Córdoba, Argentina ; and ‘La Factoría Teatro’ from Chile presented ‘Martín’ based on the play ‘No quiero ser el Che Guevara’ by Gabriel Fernández Chapo, in Santiago, Chile, Curitiba and ATINA workshop
San Pablo (Brasil). All the performances are running on their own and adolescents are having access to a new thea-
One year after our SCHOOLYARD STORIES FESTIVAL, where all the performances were pre-
tre in different Latin American regions. Can we talk about a successful project? Of course we can.
sented, we can proudly announce that the project now continues in different countries and different cities.
At the same time ATINA has two new proposals related to Schoolyard Stories project.
We didn’t have expectations about this continuity. We really did not organize it. It just hap-
First, ATINA is encouraging professionals from the provinces in Argentina to reproduce the
pened. The participant companies were really enthusiastic with the results of its first perfor-
project in their own regions with local companies. The first experience was done in Córdoba,
mances, the audience reaction was so good, the need for plays for adolescents was so wide-
Argentina, during the 6th. Theatre for Children and Young People International Festival. We
spread that most of them went on presenting the performances in different places.
presented the project with two workshops (playwriting and direction), one play (WC School)
ATINA – Schoolyard Stories in Iberoamerica 131
and then we had meetings with the participants in order to help them to organize their own Schoolyard project. Twelve professionals from different Cities in Córdoba attended the encounter. Now they have chosen the plays and are beginning to stage them with their own companies. The next projects will be presented in Tucumán and Santa Fe provinces. In Buenos Aires city there will be a special program in which the plays will be presented for schools during 2013. Perhaps, one of the most important points is that in 2013, ATINA will launch the Second Edition of Schoolyard Stories in Iberoamerica. The future project will have similar characteristics to the first one. The call for plays will be opened for playwrights from any Iberia American Country, but directors and companies will be only from Argentina, which will make the project more flexible. Of course any other country will be able to reproduce the project and have access to the plays. This time we decided to take a special theme for the plays: Identity. Identity has been a special theme in our country relating to the kidnapping of children during the regime of the Military Government (1976–1983). Playwrights, however, will be free to write about all kinds of identities (religious, ethnic, sexual, etc.). An exciting challenge! At the end of this process, I would like to thank Platform 11+ once more. The support, the Dinner at the house of Maria-Ines Falconi and Carlos Uriza with Marcelo Diaz (work-
continuous communication and the exchange in general, have been important and essential
shop leader), Marcus Romer (Director Pilot Theatre, GB) and Dirk Neldner – Buenos
for the development of the project all over Iberoamerica. We’ll be pleased to work together in
Aires March 2010
the future and we are sure that the links we have established will be reinforced. Maria-Ines Falconi
132 ATINA – Schoolyard Stories in Iberoamerica
La Factoria Teatro Santiago de Chile The Voyage of ‘Martín’
Dear Platform 11+ friends,
1. 27th. September to 2nd. October 2012
it was a great pleasure to take part in the Annual Encounter in Dresden with our play
We took part in the 6th International Festival Paideia de Teatro for Children and Young People.
‘Martin’. This was another big step for our ensemble, and it could only be taken thanks
This took place together with the Assiation Cultral de Paidea and the SECS Santo Amaro in Sao
to your help.
Paulo, in Brasil. We performed for 800 people and conducted a two day workshop for young people about our theatre technique. We also had the chance to look at other plays and to take
We were recently invited to a series of events in Sao Paulo and Curitiba in Brazil where
part in workshops lead by groups from Holland, Germany, Turkey and Brazil. This provided a
we performed the play that you had put our trust in. We hope that our success continues
good forum for the exchange ideas of ideas.
and that we will travel to many places with our play. Many thanks once again, and all the best for your future projects.
The theme of the Festival, ‘A Window for Utopia’, dealt with various and differing themes of children and young people. It was a meeting place which enabled various professional youth theatre groups from Sao Paulo to exchange ideas, thoughts and experiences.
2. 4th–9th. October 2012 The theatre groups met to share experiences from their lives and their working methods. These activities were aimed at making strong bonds which would encourage sustainable
La Factoria Teatro Santiago de Chile – The Voyage of ‘Martín’ 133
134 La Factoria Teatro Santiago de Chile – The Voyage of ‘Martín’
co-operation in the future and create an official body whose goal it was to set up collaboration between Chile and Brazil.
3. 9th–15th. October 2012 In Curitiba, we were part of the 4th Theatre Festival for children of all age groups. In the Guaira Theatre, Salvidor Ferrante Auditorium, we had two ways of presenting Latin America. As in Sao Paulo, we had the chance to view the work of other Brazilian ensembles and to make close contacts which would serve us well for future meetings. There were both discussions about the content and style of the plays and also great chances for Producers, Directors, Theatre Educators and parents with children to meet each other-the basic aim of the festival. Marcos Belmar Paulina Flores La Factoría Teatro En Santiago de Chile, 29 October 2012
Opposite: Performance MARTIN in Dresden (DE) at the Platform 11+ festival, June 2011 Right: The team of MARTIN in Sao Paulo (BRA), October 2012
La Factoria Teatro Santiago de Chile – The Voyage of ‘Martín’ 135
Odette Bereska, 2nd from the right
I grew up in East Berlin, East Germany (GDR). For ten years, I was in a school class which was full of kids whose parents had high ranking jobs in the state government. My parents, however, were opponents of the Party, and so at home, watching ‘west television’
136 Schoolyard Memories
was completely normal. The programmes in ‘west television’ were much more interesting than the programmes in ‘east television’, which were full of propaganda. In ‘west television’ there were exciting films and sometimes even American T.V series.
It was quite easy to receive ‘west television’, the television of the ‘class enemy’, in many parts of the GDR, and so a lot of East Germans watched it. This displeased the East German power holders.
My school friend D. didn’t share these contradictions at all but she really wanted to help me in my endeavours. So we made an agreement that every time I had ‘illegally’ watched ‘west television’ at home I would tell her and, as a fine, I would pay 20 pfennigs into a cash box.
Unlike other children, I was never told by my parents to deny in school, in order to stay out of trouble, that I was watching west television. I never really got into big trouble because of it and I felt good and fitted in well in my class.
I found this to be a really helpful arrangement and hoped through this to somehow overcome the ‘destructive influence’ of west television. Much to my distress, at home, no notice was taken of my friendly agreement. Being very honest, I often had to use my meagre pocket money and pay it into the cash box, of which D was the treasurer. But then we would take the money that was collected and go together to the best ice cream parlour in the city and so we both benefited from the fact that my socialist retraining program didn’t really go according to plan.
The older I got the more I felt the discrepancy between what was talked about at school and what was talked about at home. But because I wanted to be an accepted member of my peer group I honestly tried to be a good, state-loyal GDR pupil.
Odette Bereska Literary Adviser, Germany
Working on P 11+ has allowed me the chance to straddle my past, present and future. Throughout the project I’ve recalled many memories of both pleasure and pain. These emotions have not always been so easy to cope with and so I’ve been stuck recently on an idea: When does an adult get the chance to apologise for all the schoolyard mistakes they made in their youth? Never? No.
To Victoria, my apologies that I showed you my penis, I really did think you wanted to see it. If you’re out there Andrew, I want you to know that I’m sorry I teased you for being gay. I was secretly gay myself. Sorry to Rhys that I laughed when you wet yourself, to Sonia that I sniggered when you came on your period, to Sarah that I called you a Gorilla. It’s not funny anymore, It wasn’t funny back then. It was cruel and mean, but young people so often are when they are insecure and learning their way in the world.
Now. So... I’m sorry to Heather that I strangled you with a telephone wire. Eileen, it’s true, you weren’t fat like I said, merely just tall. Sorry to Nicola that I said I saw a ghost - that was a lie to make you scared. To Danny, I apologise that I threatened to drown you in the river, I never expected you to cry. When I poured water from the classroom window onto the year 7 students I laughed, but it was February and that was an awful thing to do.
These lessons I learnt in the schoolyard, these mistakes I made then and can never be undone. I wonder if one day my classmates will read this text and see my shame printed onto the page. Maybe then I will be forgiven and the wrongs I committed will be made right. I hope that will be the case, even if I don’t deserve it. As an adult I now cross the schoolyard daily to work with young people, with these wars
and battles still being fought all around me in the spaces of the school. I wonder sometimes if maybe my own guilt has lead me to a profession in which I now defend the vulnerable, stand up for minorities and introduce young people to collaborative and shared experiences. I’ll never know, but one thing is for sure I’ve learnt my lessons. I’ve repented for these sins and can truly appreciate now how we are all beautiful, we are all important and we are all equal. Alex Evans Director, Great Britain
Schoolyard Memories 137
All of these people built PLATFORM 11+ over the last 4 years… Anna Matúšová Aare Toikka Abigail Darton Agnes Papa Ago Soots Ahti Ahonen Akos Nemeth Alari Unt Alex Evans Amanda Smith Amos Jacob Ana Isabel Monteiro Nogueira Andrea Feifrlíková Andrea Soffiantini Andrew Siddall Andy Jack-Newman Anete Pelmas Anja Scollin Anke Engler Anna Loose Anna Papst Anne Schmidt Anne Syysmaa Anne Türnpu Anne-Kristin Jahn Anne-Liis Poll Anne-Liis Rips Annica Pohl Annina Rokka Antje Biener
Antonín Procházka Antti Kairakari Ariana Dongus Arjunan Manuelpillai Artan Brovina Attila Pomlényi Aukusti Kiuru Ayisha Kuwayih Osuman Barbara Gregorová Bence Szabó Benedetta Parenti Bettina Seiler Binaypartap Singh Cheema Blanka Josephová-Lunˇáková Bohuslav Holy Boris Stokman Bouke Oldenhof Brigitte Korn-Wimmer Britta Schöffel Bryn George Holding Carl-Morten Amundsen Caroline Ringeisen Cathelijne Baron Cathrine Berg-Nielsen Cathryn Mary Williams Chiara Rocchetti Chieregato Andrea Chloe Osborne
138 Friends of Platform 11+
Christiane Kölm Christopher Scott Claire Marie Gordon Connie Tronbjerg Dana Gierke Daniel Cameron Dániel Czippán Daniela Alexandra da Silva Alegria Darlene do Rosário David Müller David Phillipps David Reuter Dávid Szanitter Debbie Mullins Dénes Molnár Diana Spljkerman Dirk Neldner Dominik Kopacˇ ka Dominika Zatkova Doris Vertegaal Dorota Gvozdjáková Edward Wren Elena Kolek-Spaskov Elin Henninen Elina Korhonen Elina Terho Elisa Braun Ella Sofia Penttilä
Ellie Taylor Emil Ekens Emmi Havana Enrica Paoletti Erik Róbert Pogány Erlend Eide Zinde Esteban Alfaro Salas Ester Kordosova Eva Docˇ olomanská Eva Kese Eva Rottmann
Gunnar Horn György Vidovszky
Felicitas Loewe Filip Bosák Filipa Burgo Filipa Ramos Franco Palmieri Frans Horneman Frodo Bosma Tomáš Froyda
Ilaria Ariemme Ina Klose Ina Oettel Ines Prange Inês Sofia Ribeiro Silva Inga Serman Inga Vares Inge Richter Ingeborg Abrahamse Inka Gabrielová Isabel Atalaia István Tasnádi Ivan José Andrade Bica Ivana Sajevic Iveta Škripkova Iveta Sochorová
Gabriel Raúl Fernández Gabriela Darebna Galli Matteo Gertha Teidla Giuditta Mingucci Gordon Allum Greetje ter Harkel Greta Adam
Hannu Heikkinen Heidi Mõttus Heike Zimmermann Helen Mary Neal Henna Korkala Henrietta Tóth Heta Haanperä Hugo Sousa
James Clelland Jan Rauner Jana Balážová Jana Linhartová János Novák Jaroslav Jurecˇka Jéssica Sofia Vincente Ferreira Joao Brites Johanna Malchow José Matías Pozo Baeza Joseph Angyal Judit Bardos Jukka Heinänen Julia Bobenko Julia Raszusova Julian Ollive Juliet Forster Juraj Loj Kadri Luik Kaisu Innanen Kaja Kann Katariina Kabel Katariina Unt ˇ urcˇová Katarína D Kate Plumb Katerˇina Stejskalová Kathleen Brendel Kati Kivitar Katie Ann Sara Posner
Thank you for your contribution! Katja Eicke Kirte Jõesaar Klaudia Vražicˇová Kristel-Liis Feld Kristiina Jalasto Kristina Chlepkova Kristína Kližanová Krisztián Sebestyén Krisztina Helga Csiba Kurt Mersmann Lachlan McCall Lasse Halvorsen Valdal Laura Bagossy Laura Eicke Laura Naumann Laura Zemanová Lecchi Stefano Leoni Guglielmo Lies van de Wiel Liisa Toivonen Liise Köösel Liliana Nogueira Linda Merethe Pettersen Line Heie Hallem Liv Heløe Lois Elizabeth Mackie Lorenz Langenegger Lörinc Boros Lotte Lohrengel L’ubomír Bukový
Lucia Ramljaková Ludwig Bagin Lutz Hofmann Maaike van den Hoek Madeleine Kludje Madleen Maria Kirja Magnus Dahle Larssen Mahdi Goni Maija Tuorila Maja Hriešik Mandy Smith Manuel Krstanovic Marcela Mašínová Marcos Felipe Belmar Roa Marcus Romer Marcus Staiger Margo Teder Margriet de Vries Mari-Liis Mägi Mari-Liis Velberg María Inés Falconi Marian Pecko Mariana Gutjuma Marianna Junes-Tokola Marianne Krogh Marianne Loraas Marianne Vejtisek Marie Cˇerníková Marie Ulbricht Marika Reinmann
Marina Medkova Marion Jõepera Marisa Alexandre Cruz Oliveira Marit Holtet Mark John Beasley Marko Tiusanen Marlje van der Born Marta Abreu Marta Mat’ová Martha Grietje Martina Mercellová Máté Koós Mateˇj Samec Mateˇj Siegl Matti Helske Maude Hélène Vuilleumier Max Dol May Helen Mevik Meelis Põdersoo Melinda Megyes Michaela Zakutanska Michele Rohrbac Michiel Jansen Miguel Jesus Miguel Moreira Mikko Korsulainen Mikko Kouki Milan Hajn
Nastasja Rykaczewski Natalia Cicio Natasha Cossey Neil Sweeney Nienke Marie Treikauskas Noémi Herczog Nóra Sallai Norbert Seidel Nuno Gabriel de Mello Oddrun Valestrand Odette Bereska Olli Paakkolanvaara Patrick Borck Patrick Bullock Paul Birch Paul Terance Birch Paulina del Pilar Flores Flore Pavol Kaniansky Peter Bache Peter Butkovsky Péter Gyaki Péter Horváth Peter Kerlik Péter Kertész Peter Palik Peter Scollin Petr Heijzek Petr Vodicˇka Petra Náhlíková
Petra Tejnorová Philippe Besson Polly Sculpher Raoul Mahjneh Ratih Windrati Raúl Atalaia Rodrigues Raul Õitspuu Rebecca Storey Reriba Omer Ertoshi Reto Stalder Riccardi Sofia Maria Richard Hurford Richárd Lovay Richard Messerschmidt Rita Alexics Rob Bakker Roman Cˇ erník Romana Šimová Roos Glastra Rosanne Bakker Rosmarijn Kok Rui Manuel Francisco Rui Manuel Pina Coelho Ru˚žena Benýrová Saleri Cinzia Salomé de Fátima Raposo Sander Põllu Sara Maria Paola Martignoni Sara Myrberg
Sarah Rorke Sari Tanner Šárka Chvalová Sean Stuart Wildey Sebastián León Rojas Selina Ikoni Sheryl Malcolm Silke Petermann Siret Paju Sjoerd Meijer Sofia Isabel Fernandes Carromeu Sophie Neldner Sophie Schönfeld Soroor Talebpour Stefano Braschi Steffen Georgi Stella von Rohden Stephan Hoffmann Stuart Childs Sulekha Ali Omar Suzana Palencikova Sven Laude Szabolcs Ruszina
Terje Hartviksen Theo Livesey Tiia Jasmiina Käpylä Tiina Rebane Tiiu Talvist Tilda O’Grady Tina Küchenmeister Tom Bellerby Tom Western Torill Risdal Lund Triin Hook Ulrike Lessmann Umberto Biscaglia Václav Mateˇjovský Valentýna Cˇerná Vancˇura Petr Vladislava Fekete Will Standish William Thompson Wyll Zoua Yvonne Nuenlist
Tabea Staiger Tagliabue Giacomo Tamás Mészáros Tanel Saar Tereza Karbanová Tereza Dubnicˇ ková
Zoltán Bartos Zuza Ferenczova Zuzana Hudekova
Friends of Platform 11+ 139
Timeline Platform 11+ 2013
2009
2010
2011
2012
22. – 25. May 2009
24. – 27. Feb 2010
21. – 27. Feb 2011
14. – 22. Apr 2012
26. Jan – 13. Feb
Meeting Advisory Board
Playwrights Meeting &
Meeting Advisory Board &
Youth Encounter: Schoolyard in
Youth Encounter
Drammen | Norway
Play Fair Oulu | Finland
Festival Oulu | Finland
Town 2 York | UK
3. – 6. Jun 2009
16. – 21. Mar 2010
29. Apr – 2. May 2011
18. – 20. May 2012
Playwright Meeting
Directors Workshop
Advanced Training Teacher
Meeting Advisory Board & Play
Schoolyard in Town 3 Dresden | Germany 7. – 10. Mar 2013
Fair Milan | Italy
5th Annual Encounter &
4. – 8. Sep 2009
26. – 29. Mar 2010
15. – 18. May 2011
1.6 - 18. Jun 2012
Education Conference
1st Annual Encounter
Meeting Advisory Board &
Meeting Literary Manager
Rehearsals Final Production
Drammen | Norway
Berlin | Germany
Budapest | Hungary
Buenos Aires | Argentina
Play Fair London | UK
Palmela | Portugal
Bratislava | Slovakia
Pilsen | Czech Rep.
9. – 12. Oct 2009
6. – 28. Jun 2010
14. – 19. Jun 2011
18. – 21. Jun 2012
Advanced Training Teacher
Plein Air Palmela | Portugal
3rd Annual Encounter
4th Annual Encounter
Saló | Italy 18. – 20. Nov 2009 Marketing – Meeting London | UK
23. – 28. Jun 2010 2nd Annual Encounter Palmela | Portugal 23. – 31. Oct 2010 Youth Encounter: Schoolyard in Town 1 Tallinn | Estonia 29. – 31. Oct 2010 Meeting Advisory Board & Play Fair Tallinn | Estonia
140 Timeline Platform 11+
Dresden | Germany
Pilsen | Czech Rep.
9. – 11. Sep 2011
30. Nov – 2. Dec 2012
Meeting Advisory Board, Direc-
Meeting Advisory Board
tors and Visual Artists York | UK 11.-15. Oct 2011 Festival Buenos Aires | Argentina
Berlin | Germany
Addresses Divadlo Alfa Pilzenˇ, Czech Republic General Director: Tomáš Froyda
Kolibri Gyermek – És Ifjúsági Színház Budapest, Hungary
Teatro O Bando Palmela, Portugal
Rokycanská 7, CZ-312 00 Pilsenˇ
Artistic Director: János Novák
Vale dos Barris,
www.divadloalfa.cz
Jókai tér 10, HU-1061 Budapest
PT-2950-055 Palmela
www.kolibriszinhaz.hu
www.obando.pt
VAT Teater Tallinn, Estonia Artistic Director: Aare Toikka
Elsinor Teatro Stabile d’Innovazione
P.O. Box 3342, EE-10505 Tallinn
Milan, Florence, Forlí, Italy
www.vatteater.ee Oulun Kaupungin Teatteri Oulu, Finland Artistic Director: Mikko Kouki
Artistic Director: Stefano Braschi
Associated Partners
Artistic Director: João Brites
Theatre Institute Bratislava, Slovakia
ATINA, Upebe Buenos Aires, Argentina Artistic Director: Maria Inés Falconi www.upebe.com.ar University of Agder Kristiansand, Norway
Artistic Director: Vladislava Fekete
Dean of Faculty of Fine Arts:
Jakubovo nám 12,
Gunnar Horn
Via Boltraffico 21, IT-2059 Milan
SK-81357 Bratislava
P.O. Box 422, NO-4604 Kristiansand
www.elsinor.net
www.theatre.sk
www.uia.no
Emergency Exit Arts London, Great Brtain
Theaterstückverlag
P.O. Box 5, FI-90015 Oulun Kauunki
Theater De Citadel
www.teatteri.ouka.fi
Groningen, The Netherlands
Artistic Director: Deb Mullins
Artistic Director: Rob Bakker
P.O. Box 570, GB-London SE10 0EE
Franz Wimmer
www.eea.org.uk
Mainzer Straße 5,
tjg. Theater Junge Generation Dresden, Germany
Akkerstraat 97 a,
Artistic Director: Felicitas Loewe
NL-9717 KZ Groningen
Meißner Landstrasse 4,
www.citadeltheater.nl
D-01157 Dresden www.tjg-dresden.de
Brageteatret Drammen, Norway
Pilot Theatre Company York, Great Britain Artistic Director: Marcus Romer
Brigitte Korn-Wimmer &
D-80804 München www.theaterstueckverlag.de
c/o York Theatre Royal,
Artistic Director: Terje Hartviksen
St. Leonard’s Place, York Y01 7HD
Grønland 60, NO-3045 D rammen
www.pilot-theatre.com
www.brageteatret.no
Addresses 141
Imprint Yearbook Season 2012/13
Editorial Staff Publisher Dirk Neldner Editor Odette Bereska
© PLATFORM 11+
Layout & Design Andy Newman | www.andi.nu Printed by Druckhaus Köthen (Germany) | www.koethen.de
Platform 11+ – Artistic Discoveries in European Schoolyards is a European Theatre Network
Translations | English Corrections Peter Scollinn
supported by the European C ommission. The views expressed in this publication are only the views of the authors. The Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be
Picture Index
made of the information contained therein.
Elisa Braun, Johanna Malchow (DE), Inga Vares, Siim Vahur, Rait Avestik (VAT, EE),
Contact Dirk Neldner, dirk@platform11plus.eu
Benjamin Krauss (University of Agder, NO), Kjetil Moslåtten (Brageteatret, NO),
Head Organisation Brageteatret, Grønland 60, NO-3045 Drammen.
Judit Szlovák (Kolibri Theatre, HU), Karl Andre Photography (Pilot Theatre, GB),
Office Kalkseestrasse 7 A – D-12587 Berlin
João Tuna (Teatro OBando, PT), Enrique Rovira (EEA; UK), Klaus Gigga (tjg/DE), Boris Stokman (NL) and the archives of the theatres
142 Imprint
www.platform11plus.eu