Report
Creative Forum for Independent Theatre Groups
(Europe- Mediterranean)
6th Edition
1-10 February 2009
Missed
This report cannot be completed without mentioning our feelings of frustration and
bitterness that resulted from missing the expected annual participation of the Palestinians
artists who could not enter Egypt due to the political and security circumstances at the time
of the Forum. Despite all our attempts to ensure their entrance, political reality was simply
above us. We document our protest in this report. Despite the great attendance of Forum
guests, the Palestinian artists’ place has been empty, keeping us waiting for their arrival.
We, therefore, will channel our efforts towards ensuring having them with us in the next
edition of The Creative Forum 2010.
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
www.iact-eg.org
The Creative Forum 2009
In its last 6th edition, the Creative Forum aimed at creating a space for life, whether
artistically or humanely and contemporary artistic expression on stage through a mechanism that
allows the contemplation of the artistic product and its dramatic audio, visual and expressive
mediums, a process capable of transcending the barriers of language and culture and interacting
with the Other. Thus, the Forum endeavoured to expand its circle of interests, admitting the power
of the artistic product to influence Man’s emotions and empower the mind’s critical thinking,
hence, changing real life. This could be seen in the integration of the various axis of the Forum:
training and education, dialogue programme, theatre performances, and the translation and
publishing programme. The Forum, therefore, reflects the magnitude of dialogue as a means to
exchange experiences and believe in the importance of the diversity of cultures and our ability for
co-existence. Undoubtedly, the combination of the various elements of the Creative Forum proves
in itself the importance of joining them to build a creative, cognitive model capable of influencing
different theatre groups in addition to touching the lives of people outside the artistic circles.
The Axis of the Creative Forum
1. Theatre Performances Program:
• (20) Theatre performances including (3) for children.
2.Training and Educational Programs:
• International Classroom for theatre students: (7) workshops for (14) students;
• Training for Theatre Actors: (5) training workshops for (24) actors;
• Training and Forming School Theatre Activators: (5) training workshops for (13)
school theatre trainers and activators.
• Training for Theatre Technicians: (3) workshops for (14) technicians;
• A Children’s Workshop of Street Dancing.
3. Publication Program:
• Translation and Publication of (6) theatre texts from six different countries,
(Malta, Belgium, Egypt, France, Germany and Sweden). The playwrights were invited to
the signature ceremony.
4. Dialogue Program:
• Two-day round table discussions in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
• One-day round-table discussion in the Swedish Institute.
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
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Participating Countries:
Nearly (240) guests coming from European and Mediterranean countries participated in
Forum 2009; they participated as artists through the performances, trainers, trainees, members
in institutions working in the field of theatre, international festival organisers, producers,
critics, directors, or writers (most of whom work in the field of theatre). Below is a list of the
participating countries:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cheque Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France,
Germany, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Netherlands, Palestine, Poland,
Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria
The Creative Forum 2009
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
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Theatre Performances Program:
The number of theatre groups, which have applied to participate in the Creative Forum in
the period between May till October 2009, reached approximately (80) between plays, drama
performances, dance or installation. The Jury committee chose (20) performances including a
musical and (3) children’s performances. Due to the apology of (2) groups—from Serbia/Bulgaria
and Germany/Switzerland; a total of (18) performances were presented. The success of the 6th
edition is partially due to the positively rising artistic reputation of the Forum.
The following list shows the theatre performances which were presented during the Creative Forum:
Date
Performance
Troupe/Group
Country
Sponsors
1/2/2009
From Door to Window
Arts SchoolSinging Classroom
Egypt
––
Une odeur de brise-Shemm en
nassim (A Contemporary
Expression of Egyptian Dance)
Compagnie Al Fajr
France/ Egypt
––
Dance Diary
Salome Schneebeli
Switzerland
The Biscuit
(Children’s Performance)
Split City
Puppet Theatre
Croatia
Richard III: A Day at the
Tower
1 2 3 Schtunk
Sweden
Varco
Frida Vannini and
Carmelo Scarcella
Italy
Much to Lose
La Coja Dansa
Spain
Duiveldans III- Divertissement
for A Certain Space
Hillary Blake
Firestone/ Rienier
van Houdt
Netherlands
2/2/2009
3/2/2009
4/2/2009
5/2/2009
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
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Split City
Date
Performance
Troupe/Group
Country
The Penguin
(Children’s Performance)
Angereds Theatre/
Studio Oscuro
Sweden
Sponsors
6/2/2009
Staniewski Centre
for Theatre
Practices
“Gardzienice”
(A Guest
Performance from
the 14th Damascus
Festival)
Iphigenia at Aulis
Maria’s Voice
7/2/2009
Poland
Syria
Egyptian Music from the
Heritage
(Celebrating El-Tanbura’s
20th Anniversary)
El-Tanbura
Egypt
Hourglass
Teatr A PART
Poland
Sarachi
(By Ota Shoga)
Theatre Tanto
Austria
An Untold Story
(Children’s Performance)
Meky Theatre
Group
Egypt
The Zoo:
A Story of Metamorphosis
Mohamed Fawzy/
Studio Mansour 95
Egypt
Shadows Dancing on My
Shoulder
Mudra Theatre
Serbia
Babylon Troupe
Artists from
Europe and the
MediterraneanInternational
Classroom 2007)
8/2/2009
9/2/2009
10/2/2009
Walls
Children’s performances were presented to children from 9 to 12 years old and nearly (500)
children attended them. They came through the various non-governmental organizations that work
in slum areas and the areas deprived of cultural services in Cairo, Alexandria and Al-Menya.
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
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The Biscuit- Croatia
An Untold Story- Egypt
Hourglass- Poland
From Door to Window- Egypt
Iphigenia at Aulis- Poland
The Zoo- Egypt
Al-Tanbura- Egypt
Much to Lose- Spain
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
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Varco- Italy
Duiveldans III- Netherlands
Shadows Dancing on My Shoulders- Serbia
Dance Diary- Switzerland
Shemm en nassim- France/ Egypt
Richard III- Sweden
The Penguin- Sweden
Sarachi- Austria
Maria’s Voice- Syria
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
www.iact-eg.org
Walls Project:
The project of Walls is one of the outcomes of the development of the idea of
partnerships blended with the energies of youth, who came from various countries to attend the
Creative Forum through the “International Classroom for Theatre Students”, 2007. The
concepts behind Walls are: Man’s struggles with daily obstacles, his/her feelings swaying
between hope and frustration, and his/her ongoing attempts to break the walls and cross over
instead of taking shelter behind walls or under siege.
This project was supported by the National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) which provided
many of its young experienced members with all their renewed, humane energies. Thus, this
project has become a snow ball, the more it rolls, the bigger it gets and the more meaningful it
becomes. The major influence this performance had on the youths involved was reviving their
hope and their ability to work together, and empowering their competence to build an artistic
and humane model capable of transcending individual differences and unifying humane
emotions.
International Classroom for Theatre Students 2007
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
www.iact-eg.org
Walls
Artists from Europe and the MediterraneanInternational Classroom 2007
A joint Project between (I- act) and
(The National Theatre of Scotland)
Scotland, Jordan, Germany, France,
Slovakia and Egypt
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
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Theatre and Audience:
There is no doubt that the audience
turnout makes one of the most important
elements of Forum 2009. The average
number of audience per performance
was (194).
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
www.iact-eg.org
Training and Educational Programs:
(1) International Classroom for Theatre Students:
In cooperation with the Swedish Institute, Alexandria.
In the Creative Forum of 2009, there were (14) students from European and Mediterranean countries
who were between 19 and 23 years old and who, in their countries, are studying in specialized faculties
and academies, studying acting, directing, dancing, theatre writing, criticism and scenography. This
programme aimed at exposing the participating students to different theatre experiences in the fields of
improvisation, vocal skills, writing for the stage, acting, make-up, masks, movement analysis and
others. The programme, moreover, aimed at creating a live, direct dialogue between those students
through experience change and socio-cultural interactions that resulted from daily living together.
The participating students in the International Classroom program:
Country
Educational Institution
Females
Males
Total
Students
Austria
University of Vienna- Institute for Theatre Sciences
1
––
1
Bulgaria
National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA)
––
1
1
Cheque Republic
Academy of Performing Arts- Prague
1
––
1
Denmark
School of Stage Arts
1
––
1
Netherlands
Germany
Artez Academy for Theatre- Holland
1
––
1
University of Arts- Bern- Switzerland
1
––
1
Greece
University of Patras- Theatre Section
1
––
1
Lebanon
Paris Institut de Recherché en Etudes Théâtrale
1
––
1
Palestine
Al-Harrah Theater
1
––
1
Poland
Anton Bruckner Privat Universität- Linz
––
1
1
Romania
The Spiru Haret University Bucharest
––
1
1
Slovakia
The Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Bratislava
1
––
1
Switzerland
Hochschule der Künste Bern
––
1
1
Syria
Lebanese American University
1
––
1
10
4
14
TOTAL
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
www.iact-eg.org
Syllabus of the International Classroom for Theatre Students:
Date
Workshop
Trainer
Country
2 February 2009
Movement for the Stage
Michael Norlind
Sweden
3 February 2009
Storytelling
Hassan Al-Geretly
Egypt
4 February 2009
Clown and commedia de’ll Arte
Lasse Beischer &Henri Kokko
Sweden
6 February 2009
Dramaturgy
Lena Fridell
Sweden
7-8 February 2009
Voice and Masks
Paula Brandt, Mihra Lindblom
&
Janina Rolfart
Sweden
9 February 2009
Body Inner Music
Wlodzimierz Staniewski
Poland
Movement for the Stage
Clown and commedia de’ll Arte
Voice and Masks
Body Inner Music
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
www.iact-eg.org
(2) Training for Theatre Actors:
The training programme for actors was changed in 2009: separate training workshops
were replaced with a comprehensive training programme. Thus, 18 to 20 year-old actors of
intermediate level were targeted. (24) actors were chosen, (13) males and (11) females, out of
(128) applicants to participate in this 10-day programme.
The 5-hour workshops in this training programme were:
Date
Workshop
Trainer
Country
1-2 February 2009
Clown and commedia de’ll Arte
Lasse Beischer &Henri Kokko
Sweden
5-6 February 2009
Voice and Masks
Paula Brandt, Mihra Lindblom
&
Janina Rolfart
Sweden
7-8 February 2009
Dramaturgy
Lena Fridell
Sweden
9-10 February 2009
Movement for the Stage
Michael Norlind
Sweden
Voice and Masks
Clown and commedia de’ll Arte
Dramaturgy
Movement for the Stage
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
www.iact-eg.org
(3) Training and Forming School Theatre Activators:
This regional training programme aims at the resurrection of the school theatre as an
educational project, thus, looking at theatre activities inside the school as cognitive knowledge
and not as absolute art. This project, therefore, aims at forming school theatre activators in the
Arab region (Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria) where political, social and
educational realities are alike. Moreover, and through one of its axis, this forming project aims
at building the audience from school students, encouraging them to watch the theatre. This
would ultimately enhance the theatre movement with a new audience that want to see their
daily problems discussed on stage and to open to the Other’s culture. On this training
programme, (13) school theatre trainers and activators, (7) females and (6) males, participated.
List of Workshops and Conductors:
Date
Workshop
1-2 February 2009
Visual Imagination in Theatre Performances
Trainer
Rabab
Hakem
(The Relation Between the Image and the Text)
3-4 February 2009
5-6 February 2009
7-8 February 2009
9-10 February 2009
Country/ Logo
Egypt
Lena Fridell
&
Brita Papini
Sweden
Quality in Theatre for Children:
Andrea
Germany
Definitions and Accomplishments
Gronemeyer
Liberating Children’s Imagination
Amal Omar
Egypt
Theatre for Young People:
Lena Fridell
&
Brita Papini
Sweden
Theatre for Young People:
Dramaturgy and Audience Building
Dramaturgy and Audience Building
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
www.iact-eg.org
The institutions that participated in the Training and Forming School Theatre Activators
programme were:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
School Theatre Advisors Department, Ministry of Education (Egypt)
Town House Gallery (Egypt)
Jesuit and Ferreres Association (Egypt)
Egypt Language School (Egypt)
Al-Harrah Theater (Palestine)
Comprehensive School (Palestine)
Bourj International College (Lebanon)
Modern Schools (Jordan/Syria)
Al-Wardeya Sisters School (Jordan)
Quality in Theatre for Children
Dramaturgy and Audience Building
Liberating Children’s Imagination
Visual Imagination in Theatre Performances
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
www.iact-eg.org
(4) Training for Theatre Technicians (ABC Workshop Programme):
This programme is an addition to the training and educational programme of the
Creative Forum, which has been run for the last 6 years. It aims at preparing and forming
young theatre technicians of intermediate level: (14) technicians—(13) males and (1) female.
The programme is divided into theoretical and practical studies. Trainees (from Egypt, Jordan,
Syria, Lebanon and Tunisia) were given access to simple equipment found in most theatres and
not complex equipments only available in high tech spaces. The programme also aimed at
training the technicians on manual work and international conditions of safety and security.
List of Workshops and Conductors:
Date
Workshop
Trainer
Country
2-4 February 2009
Theories and Methods
Of
Theatre Lighting
Charlie Åström
Sweden
5-7 February 2009
Practical Scenography
Råger Johansson
Sweden
8-10 February 2009
Sound and Video Technique
Erik Jeppson
Sweden
The institutions that participated in this programme were:
1. Al-Nahda Association for Science and Culture (Egypt)
2. Rawabet Space for Performing Arts (Egypt)
3. Jesuit and Ferreres Association (Egypt)
4. Jesuit Cultural Centre (Egypt)
5. Arts Theatre House (Egypt)
6. King Hussein Institution (Jordan)
7. Al-Balad Theater (Jordan)
8. Tanweer International/ Space Audio Production (Syria)
9. Lebanese American University, LAU (Lebanon)
10. Notre Dame University (Lebanon)
11. The Higher Institute for Theatre Arts (Tunisia)
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
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Some of the trainees participating in this
programme worked as assistants to the
technicians of the BA Technical Unit during
the performances participating in the Creative
Forum under the supervision of their trainers.
Practical Scenography
Theories and Methods of Theatre Lighting
Sound and Video Technique
(5) Children Training Programme:
“Get Moving/ Street Dance”:
Trainer: Phax Ahmada
(Sweden)
In the context of “Liberating
Children’s Imagination” programme
which is an integral part of the
Creative
Forum,
a
children’s
workshop was presented trained by
the
Afro-Swedish
Phax
Ahmada.
Nearly (30) children coming from
various schools, ages 9-12, attended
the workshop.
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
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Dialogue Program:
First: The Reality of Training in the Arab World:
Potential and Future Expectations
This programme was in cooperation with the Arab Theatre Training Centre (attc),
Jordan and Lebanon, and the Arab Education Forum, Jordan. Most of the institutions working
in the field of training and the supporting bodies of training in the Arab countries were invited:
1. Al Balad Theatre (Jordan)
2. Al-Warsha (Egypt)
3. Anna Lindh Foundation
4. Arab Resource Centre for Popular Arts, AL-JANA (Lebanon)
5. Arab Theatre Training Center (Jordan)
6. Dramatiska Institutet (Sweden)
7. Dutch Fund (Netherlands)
8. Eltiatro (Tunisia)
9. International Association for Creation and Training, I-act (Egypt)
10. Jesuit Cultural Centres (Egypt)
11. Maqamat Theatre Dance (Lebanon)
12. Rawabet Space for Performing Arts (Egypt)
13. Shams Association (Lebanon)
14. Studio Emad Eddin (Egypt)
15. The Arab Education Forum ( Jordan)
16. Tiatro (Syria)
Round-Ttable Discussions in the BA
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
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This meeting lasted for (2) days, each for (6) hours where a dialogue between the above
mentioned institutions who work in the field of training and informal education in the various
fields of performing arts was carried. The discussions included the following topics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Reviewing the training experiences in the Arab world.
The varying training needs in different theatre fields.
The varying training styles, artistically and technically.
Developing training in the fields of performing arts in general and in theatre in
particular.
5. The problems and hardships training faces.
6. Suggested mechanisms to coordinate between the institutions working in the
field of training.
7. Documentation.
Second: Theatre in Today’s World:
Is it a Life Necessity?
This programme was carried out in cooperation with the Swedish Institute in
Alexandria. The meeting, attended by theatre artists from different European and
Mediterranean countries, aimed at creating a space for learning and experience exchange. The
dialogue lasted for nearly (4) hours and around (20) countries, who were participating in the
Creative Forum, took part in the dialogue. The meeting, moreover, included life testimonies
from many of the attendees who work in theatre especially in the fields of freedom of
expression and the ability of the theatre to implement social changes.
Dialogue Programme in the Swedish Institute
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
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Publication Program:
The publication programme of the Creative Forum aims at translating and publishing theatre
texts; such a bilingual programme aspired to introduce the theatre artists in Egypt and the Arab
countries to modern texts in contrast to works written in earlier eras. At the same time, the
programme maintains the originality of the mother tongue in which the theatre text was
written, for it is a founding element of the theatre experience itself. By distributing the texts
together as one unit, we were trying to express the richness of Man’s life experience, whether
through the writer (the original creator) or the translator (another creator who explains the
audio and visual language incorporated in the text). The Signature ceremony was moderated by
the Egyptian novelist Sahar El-Mougy.
Signature Ceremony
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
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In its 6th Edition, the Forum saw the publication of (6) theatre texts and they were:
Playwright
Country
Text
Translator
Marie Henry
Belgium
Les 24h de Tina Pools à la
recherché de son Bonheur
Dina Kabil
Rasha Abdel Mon’em
Egypt
The Guaranteed Way to Remove
Stains
Hala Kamal
Marion Adele
France
Aladdin el le Chocolat
Menha el Batraoui
Milena Oda
Germany
Mehr als Meer
Wafaa Zowaied
Clare Azzopardi
Malta
L-Interdett taht is-Sodda
Walid Nabhan
Sofia Freden
Sweden
Ensamcyklaren
(en utflykt för en flicka och en cykel)
Rawia Morra
Signature Ceremony
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
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Statistics 2003-2009
Items
1st Edition
2003/ 2004
2ndEdition
2004/ 2005
3rd Edition
2006
4th Edition
2007
5th Edition
2008
6th Edition
2009
Theatre performances
10
12
14
12
15
18
2
9
7
17
17
21
1
2
4
5
5
2
Publication program
----
1
1
2
6
6
Participating countries
Number of trainees in
workshops
Number of participating
artists
10
12
19
23
27
24
30
60
91
114
104
65
80
120
160
145
177
240
Number of trainers
Average of audience
number per performance
2
11
8
20
14
17
60
80
120
194
202
194
Training and Educational
programmes (workshops)
Dialogue program
Posters of the Creative Forum 2003- 2009
International Association for Creation and Training (I-act)
E-mail: info@iact-eg.org
www.iact-eg.org