[feature_headline type=”center” level=”h6″ looks_like=”h5″ icon=”adjust”]Advisory Board Meeting | Molde and Ålesund (NO) 2015, April 10 – 13[/feature_headline]
The Advisory Board Meeting took place in Molde and Ålesund at the beginning of April 2015. The heads of the 11 theatres met to exchange their initial concepts for the national productions. We also prepared and discussed all the conditions and requirements for the Annual Encounter and the Creative Forum in Palmela, Portugal, this summer.
Participants: Marit Wergeland-Yats (University in Agder/NO), Mandy Smith, Marcus Romer (Pilot Theatre, York/UK), Deb Mullins (Emergency Exit Art, London/UK), Tiina Rebane (VAT Theatre, Tallinn/EE), Waltraud Parisot (Theater Junge Generation Dresden/GER) Janek Lesak (South Bohemian Theatre, Budweis/ CZ), Gyuri Vidovszky (Kolibri Theatre, Budapest/HU), Thomas Bjørnager, Marianne Myrbostad, Knut Høgset, Halvard Fiksdal (Vårt Teater, Molde/NO), Raul Atalaia (Teatro O Bando, Palmela/PT), Emilie Robert (Theatre Massalia, Marseille/FR), Odette Bereska, Sven Laude, Sophia Neubert (Management Team)
[image type=”rounded” float=”none” src=”http://platformshift.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Unknown-11.jpeg” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]
1. Welcome from the host Thomas Bjørnager (Artistic Director, Vårt Teater, Molde/NO): Thomas spoke about wanting to show the two facilities of the theatre and how they are connected: Barneteatret Vårt in Ålesund (theatre for a young audience) and Teatret Vårt in Molde. He also wanted the partners to experience how it is to be a touring company in Norway.
- Introduction of the Advisory Board Meeting programme and unknown participants
2. Yearbook: Requested materials:
- Description of the National Play/Concept including workshops (engagement) max 3500 characters incl spaces + 4 Photos (2 horizontal + 2 vertical format)
- Presentation of theatre / university + information about reference production (including the team/ cast) 4 pages for each partner.
- Each of the texts max 1700 characters incl spaces (3500 max all together) + 1 Photo of the Theatre (can be the same as for the website, but also different) + 2 horizontal + 2 vertical Photos for reference prod.
- “My digital addiction” – short texts about passions, difficulties, obsessions, favourite devices etc. and we want to add the link to the favourite website etc.
[image type=”rounded” float=”none” src=”http://platformshift.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Unknown-12.jpeg” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover”]
3. National Production: Report by Partners
Concepts will be presented at Annual Encounter and in yearbook.
- Pilot Theatre, York/UK: Me, my selfie and I
About identity and the liminal space: The space between the real time in life and the online life.
A girl alone in a room: She, herself is connected to the world, to the space through cameras, reacting on messages.
Play is presented on a real stage. Possibility to interact online. Telling a story of a girl via live stream. Tech. equipment: Cameras used for a live stream instant into to web. Using: Periscope, YouNow – one actress
Artists involved: Ben Pugh (digital producer) - Kolibri Theatre, Budapest/HU:
Competition of playwrights to get themes: Deadline May 1st: social media as topic- 3 different themes developed: TeenSafe: parents can follow their children. It ́s about the parent – child relationship in the digital age. A dialogue between them. Facebook bullying: Two students: the one, who is bullying and the one, who is bullied, meet in real life. Student and psychologist: The parents think their child is addicted – a dialogue.
- How can people find each other and present themselves in the Internet in comprehension to real live and its possibilities?
It ́s not clear which technique to use. Digital and social media are in a textual way the topic. Students are involved in the project, will write the script
Artists involved: Katalyn Győri (playwright / teacher) István Tasnádi (playwright),
Vicsek Viktor (video artist)
- Theater Junge Generation Dresden/GER:
How do young people communicate? A rework of communication, translate the modern language into a theatre language – confront the two ways of communication. What is behind, what do they mean with the short communication codes – translate it into a new language.
The text modules will be found in social medias or in a dialogue with young people. There will be a method developed how to translate the modules of the modern language into a theatre language.
Artist involved: Susanne Zaun - Emergency Exit Art, London/UK:
15 young people (15-21 years) meet once a week.
They work on their relationship with digital technologies – they disclose a lot – themes like sex and pornography are discussed. Touches themes like the security of children. They worry about their privacy.
How to physicalize the Internet? What does digital tools and technologies embody? Emoticons: secret language. What does the future of the Internet look like? Improvisation / film about the future.
Working together with the digital faculty of the university Greenwich: Video Mapping, Interacting with an image.
Application will be used: Vine
Artist involved: Alex Evans, Lisa Hayes - University in Agder/NO:
Working within the curriculum with students 1st grate, group performance using Facebook to document the group process (4 Students and 2 technology students, 17 years old): What does happen if you take away the technical tools from people?
30 min show already opened April 2015 (as 1st part of National Prod.) – will be performed in Palmela – Projections are used.
More master students will be involved in the next step. - Theatre Massalia, Marseille/FR:
8 young people, 15 + meet once a month: real time board. They share, what they like: Playlists, movies, music, books, and paintings. Did a writing exercise with pictures, short text about being a super hero with a special power.
Idea for the National Production: A group of young people meet, talk about a girl of the platform, not sure, if she is invented or real. She has a profile on the Internet. They show their memories with the girls, like Selfies.
Artists involved: Karin Serres, Philippe Domengie
1 -2 professional actors and some young people. - Vårt Teater, Molde/NO:
Connecting Marketing and audience development with digital technologies to structure a performance.
The play is an interactive process of creating a character: The theatre house has a ghost, which has a secret story. A girl, who died in Ålesund during the fire, 110 years ago. Leaves massages with codes for the Internet (e.g. in a book). Codes lead to websites with information: e.g. about the family of the girl. The secret slowly encloses across different levels: Can you feel me? Can you hear me? Can you see me? Can you meet me? The last step would take place in the theatre.
How to use digital technologies as inspirations?
Use of Geocaching: It connects physical activities in reality and virtual activities.
In Palmela they are looking for more characters for the play.
- South Bohemian Theatre, Budweis/ CZ:
Working with 6 students, 17-19 years old: Problem: How to ask questions to the young people, they are afraid to get personal.There will be a “humans of Sokolsky” created, after the model “humans of New york”:Humans of New YorkSokolsky, little island in Budweis, is a meeting point for young people. Short profiles/ stories of the young people, meeting there, will be brought to stage. But nobody knows, if it is their story. Maybe it will be performed on the island.
Working with professional actors and actresses. 2 students to Palmela - VAT Theatre, Tallinn/EE:
Want to map the situation in Estonia. What is going on there?
Creative writing and Forum theatre workshops with 160 students.
Collecting ideas of young peoples. Competition of ideas among young people; all forms are accepted: poems, pictures, and essays. Facebook group is set up, exercises and situations are given into the group. These topics are intensely discussed. They feel more anonymous on Facebook. Concept will be written together with young people. Themes like: How can Internet make me rich? Encounter with a Web Demon – being captured in the Internet.
The topic of the story will be: Computers don’t kill people – a mixture of Angry Birds, film noir, Lion King and classical children’s fables.
Artists involved: Mihkel Seeder (dramaturge), Margo Teder (director) - Elsinor Theatre, Milano, Forli, Florence/ IT:
Performances will be half video and half performed by actors and young people. Shooting videos for the performances while traveling with groups.
Working with groups of young people. The groups developed different topics:- – Re-writing Romeo and Juliette. In this version Juliette is suddenly able to choose.She has to make a choice, but what should she choose?
- – A WhatsApp version of Illiad by Homer.
Application to be developed that is an instant translation of theatre and gives information.
(National Prod to be produced in 2016!)
- Teatro O Bando, Palmela/PT:
Working with 11 people from youth theatre. Using different digital networks/Facebook groups: What is written in them? They will divide five groups of content and create a succession of pictures and incidents, kind of a story.
Discussing what young people see in it and what they feel.
Involved artists: Miguel Jesus as playwright - Comments /Discussion: We are not a national, but a European / International project! How can we influence the cultural shifting that is happening in a political way in the different countries? Not only being culturally, but also politically!
Reacting on political issues. The political / economic circumstances are very different in the participating countries.How social tools, networks influence politics, Creative Forum! Related to Youth Encounter: What is the political interest of young people?
4. Annual Encounter Lisbon, Palmela June 7 – 12, 2015 Presentation of draft schedule (see also attachment):
- Creative Forum: June 8 in Lisbon
- Presentation Concepts for National productions: June 9th
- June 10 half day off – Doodle survey for program will be send
- AB meeting June 10, 4 pm
- Actors Workshop by Joao Brites, Artistic Director of Teatro O Bando on June 11: request to the participating actors: We ask that each actor can bring one character. A character from a play that the actor played or is currently playing and that the actor has a good control over. It should be a speaking character, with some memorized text, and that can be subjected to some exploration. – If participants didn’t work with characters and text, it would be useful to bring some memorized sentences to work with (not much text is needed) – A presentation will take place in Palmela in the evening.
- For the other participants: Audience development workshop – divided in subtopics like digital tools or a focus on young people (engagement)
5. Details about Presentation of Concepts for National productions at 1st AE: The concepts shouldn’t be unchangeable fixed plans or plays.
- 2 hours of preparing and setting up the presentations in the morning and 2 hours after lunch
- 2 theatres sharing one room/stage all stages (5) are in the same building.
- Rooms are connected through a kind of “catwalk”
- Technicians and helping hands for support
6. Creative Forum
- 1st Creative Forum: 8th of June in the school of theatre and cinema (ESTC) in Lisbon
- Teatro O Bando is collaborating with the theatre school. João Brites was working there as a professor.
- The Creative Forum is a public event. Apart from the Platform Shift+ partners the event is announced to students of the school and to other theatre specialists. Life Streaming to the partner theatres could take place
- In the morning 4 -5 speakers will give short speeches about 30 min. According to current plans the speakers will be: Sarah Ellis, Kristin Alford, Stefan Jürgens and Hannes Grassegger.
- In the afternoon there will be two blocks of workshops given by: Phillipp Domengie, Martin Zepter and Friedrich Kirschner. It is possible to participate on two workshops.
- The 2nd Creative Forum “No Boundaries”, planed for Manchester, is cancelled.àThe subject of the Creative Forum got changed by the art council and is now focused on British cultural policy. It is discussed to shift it to the 2nd AE in Budapest in June 2016. (Has to be discussed with Kolibri Theatre)
7. Youth Encounter
Milano: 5 – 13 March 2015
(South Bohemian Theatre/Kolibri/VAT/Pilot) York: 22 – 30 October 2016 (Elsinor/Massalia/UIA)
Tallinn: 1- 9 April 2017
(O Bando/EEA/ Vårt /TJG)
Marseille: 29 September – 6 October 2018 (All 11 partners)
Each theatre can bring a group of 8 young people + 1 educator /teacher (2 only, if mixed groups have to be accompanied per law by 2 adults)
8. Public relations meeting
We want to stimulate an exchange between the public relation departments. There will be a regular Skype meeting with groups of 6-7 people and a meeting later on.
The date proposals for the 1st meeting are: 27.4.15 (6pm) and 30.4.15 (11am)
Useful Links
- Macbeth – This is one of the projects that Sarah Ellis, a speaker of the creative forum produced:
https://vimeo.com/123121148
- Example of how Andreas Paleologos, who will probably give a workshop in Portugal works:
- The Knife That Killed Me movie, directed by Marcus Romer that we will see in Palmela
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZCpj0cZfK0