Looking for one Position for the
Research Atelier at Festival Theaterformen
Performing Arts in Processes of Transformation in East Asia
— send asap a short abstract / proposal to: imanuel.schipper@gmail.com —-
For several decades now, the mega-cities of East Asia have experienced change and development at a tearing pace, and the performing arts are right in the middle of it. In many cases, theatre artists turn out to be seismographs for social and political shifts, something close to „watch dogs“ and „change agents“. Artistic interventions take a stance with regards to globalisation and urban development, they test the limits of imaginary and actual spaces. Not even their relationship with the audience remains unchanged. What is the impact of the metropolis on artistic work, and vice-versa? How do local and national cultural policies, how does civic empowerment facilitate particular forms of theatre?
These questions are to be discussed with the artists present at the festival in order to explore possible positions of theatre and artists and their role as social agents today.
The Program of the Research Atelier consists of six curated Panels and Talks and the visit of seven shows in the festival program. The current call is looking for three presentations for the last panel on June 11. The panel will focus on the question of how the performing arts could work as change agents. The question of what the performing art could do for the society appears all over. The broad field range from the relations towards the social effects of arts, like Shannon Jackson discusses it in her book Social Works: Performing Art, Supporting Publics (Jackson, 2011) until engaged arts as described in Truth is concrete – A Handbook for Artistic Strategies in Real Politics (Malzacher, 2014) or artistic activism like in global activism – Art and Conflict in the 21st Century (Weibel, 2014). In many cases of social „trouble spots“ the administration is looking for help by artists to change that situation. Are the performing arts predestinated for that role? And if yes – why?
Performance Studies international (PSi) and the Festival invites three young scholars of the field of performance, theatre or cultural studies to present their research on a one hour panel. The Participants will get free accomodation, return of travel expenses and free entrance to all shows. An active participation on the Research Atelier is required.
Other Panelists
Max-Philipp Aschenbrenner, Jochen Becker, Kyungsung Lee, Toco Nikaido, Andreas Regelsberger, Nicola Scherer, Mark Teh, Tadashi Uchino, Thanapol Virulhakul a.o.
Dates
June 10 & 11: Research atelier from 10 am – 4 pm.
June 12: Festival breakfast at 12 am
Each day is completed with a performance programme by artists from East Asia.
Venue
Louis Spohr Saal . Großes Haus . Staatstheater Braunschweig
Further Information and Registration
ourcommonfutures@theaterformen.de
A joint research atelier by Festival Theaterformen and the Institute for Cultural Policy at the University of Hildesheim, UNESCO Chair “Cultural Policy for the Arts in Development“ in collaboration with the International Research Center “Interweaving Performance Cultures“ at FU Berlin and “Performance Studies international“.
Over half the plays in our theatre programme have travelled to Braunschweig from the mega-cities of East and South-East Asia: from Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo. This is such a vast area, with such a wealth of cultures and such varied social and political conditions, that we can hardly claim to map a clearly defined region: after all, Tokyo and Singapore are 5,000 km away from each other.
Our aim is rather to give you a more diversified view of a cultural space and its multifaceted theatre scene, which we mostly know only through individual, isolated highlights. The interdisciplinary spectacles, immersive performances, documentary theatre productions and installations that we have invited deal with issues of tradition and modernity, myths and postcolonial stories, pop culture and media frenzy.
Nor are the European and South American productions you can see at the festival lacking in relevance to our world today. Lola Arias has directed a play about the war for the Islas Malvinas or Falkland Islands, which brings to the stage both Argentinian and British veterans. Vlad Troitskyi’s Dakh Theatre offers audiences a vivid experience of the inner state of Ukraine following the Maidan uprisings. Finnish artist Juha Valkeapää devotes a performance both serious and light-hearted to the cultural history of execution, and six vodka-soaked researchers lose their composure at the South Pole in a comedy with music by Samuel Achache.
FESTIVAL THEATERFORMEN
Since 1990 Festival Theaterformen has been presenting a variety of contemporary theatre productions in Braunschweig and Hanover: everything from huge spectacles to intimate chamber plays, classical dramas, documentary theatre, monodramas and multimedia installations – even forms and formats which don’t have names yet. Over the years the festival has continually reinvented, reoriented and repositioned itself. The programmes have highlighted productions from all continents, as well as innovative theatre makers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. More than half of the 260 productions presented at the festival – up until and including 2014 – have been premieres: world premieres, German-language debuts, German premieres or European premieres. Many projects have been commissioned specially for Theaterformen, or been made possible through co-productions. Since August 2014, Martine Dennewald is Artistic Director of Festival Theaterformen.
Submitted by: Imanuel Schipper