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Call for Performances: Subotica International Children’s Theater Festival

⏰ Deadline: 15 March 2020 🌍 Subotica, SRB 🗓 20 – 26 Septemebr 2020 Open Call for International Productions for…
ASSITEJ Serbia

ASSITEJ Serbia Press release

The reaction regarding the results of the Call for Applications for Funding and Co-financing of Projects in the Field of Theatrical Creativity…
ASSITEJ Serbia

ASSITEJ Serbia welcomes a new generation of theatre makers

Throughout the year, ASSITEJ Serbia dealt with young artists and theater makers in the framework of various projects and activities….
ASSITEJ Serbia

Theater festivals for the end of the year

There is much to see, experience and hear over the last weeks in theatre for children and young people in…
ASSITEJ Serbia

An overview of the Belgrade International Theatre Festival 2015

“At the end of the road –a road sign” by Diana Kržani? Tepavac Every autumn, the artists, theatre makers and various…

Call for Performances: Subotica International Children’s Theater Festival

26 December 2019 13 h 29 min

By: Kaatje De Geest

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⏰ Deadline: 15 March 2020 🌍 Subotica, SRB 🗓 20 – 26 Septemebr 2020 Open Call for International Productions for... Read more →

⏰ Deadline: 15 March 2020
🌍 Subotica, SRB
🗓 20 – 26 Septemebr 2020

Open Call for International Productions for the 27^th Subotica International Children’s Theater Festival

Open Call for International Productions for participation in the competition programme of the 27th International Children’s Theatre Festival edition to be held 20 – 26 September 2020 at Subotica, Serbia.

All types of theatre for children are represented at the festival, with selection priority being given to puppet theatre expression.

They invite all interested to apply for participation!!!

If you have any further inquiries, please contact Festival Head Office by e-mail: lutfestsubotica@gmail.com

How to apply

Read the full call and find the application form on website:

Application form

Categories: ASSITEJ Serbia

Tags: ASSITEJ Serbia, Call for Performances, call for productions, festival, open call
ASSITEJ Serbia Press release

8 June 2016 19 h 49 min

By: Louis Valente

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The reaction regarding the results  of the Call for Applications for Funding and Co-financing of Projects in the Field of Theatrical Creativity... Read more →

The reaction regarding the results  of the Call for Applications for Funding and Co-financing of Projects in the Field of Theatrical Creativity and Interpretation for 2016 of the Ministry of Culture and Information of Republic of Serbia

Decisions of the Commission appointed by the Ministry of Culture on the allocation of funds for financing and co-financing of projects in the fields of contemporary art for the 2016 published in May of this year, sparked strong reactions among the actors of the art scene in Serbia. ASSITEJ Serbia published its statement among the first ones in the series of reactions of various associations and organizations that express a strong protest against further collapse of the cultural scene in Serbia, which is already too shaky.

We believe that the distribution of a large amount of funding and support to a few projects only, selected by the Commission, predicts a uniformed, monotonous, limp and non inventive scene. We wonder who and why strives to crumbles the diversity of the art scene without the presence of a range of various projects, without innovative and vibrant theatre that inspires, without the live theatre that responds to the time in which we live and offers new perspectives on the challenges that our society, particuraly children and juvenility is facing today.

Statement

Although we are aware that such public statements in our environment are almost always left without adequate (and often any) reaction of those to whom they are addressed, we believe that we are obliged to make a statement about the published results of the Competition for Funding and Co-financing of Projects in the Field of Theatrical Creation and interpretation by the Ministry of Culture and Information issued in 2016. We hope to, at least, leave a written trace of protest of a large number of artists against the direction in which Serbian culture is moving today. Against of the absence of any cultural policy. Against the ignorance of the basic preconditions necessary for the endurance of our profession.

We do not intend to question the quality of the projects that received funding, however we have to notice that Commission’s decision left an unacceptably large number of organizations and artists without the right to work. A culture that does not hear many different voices, does not see different poetics, one that is closed to young artists, such culture without diversity is per se contradictory.

However, in this statement we will reconsider the criteria by which the Commission is supposed to be guided in making decisions and selecting the projects which will be financed/co-financed.

The guidelines include the following:

1) recognition of projects at the national level

2) their importance for the promotion of Serbian culture abroad.

With  regard to the published results, we have a strong suspicion that the Commission was not guided by these criteria, and therefore, doubt of their professional work.

When it comes to the promotion of Serbian culture outside its borders, an informed Commission must have known that the ASSITEJ Serbia is one of the few organizations which, by virtue of being part of a large international network, as well as due to the personal involvement of its members who are a part of the network’s international board, is continuously working on increasing the recognition of local Serbian artists outside the borders, and that a significant number of artists and projects gained a great recognition around the world, in large part due to the virtue of the activities and efforts of the Serbian national section of the association. In particular, these results make it impossible for Serbia to take an active role in gathering regional representatives of ASSITEJ network and opportunity to host the theater for children and young people practitioners from the region. With the decision of the Commission, the overall engagement of Assitej Serbia in strengthening the regional community and the visibility of its potential in this field is diminished. Like many times before, good ideas that emerged in our environment will not be developed due to the decision-makers’ lack of sensibility, openness and recognition of their importance for the wider society.

Regarding the importance of the scheme on the national level, in a cultural environment that has in several decades produced only three or four major playwrights for children and young audiences, we consider the existence of a large number of programs that contribute to the development of dramatic writing necessary. Drama heritage is something that remains behind us, and with this kind of (non-existing) cultural policy, we fear that we well leave very little to the upcoming generations. Therefore, the most ambitious project for which we applied was precisely biennial competition for a contemporary piece for theater for children and young people. The previous two competitions, and our overall work on the promotion of dramatic art, recognized as an example of good practice in the international community, are already showing significant results. Some of these texts that were publicaly presented for the first time through the work of ASSITEJ, are now being performed on the local and regional scenes, and some were even presented to the international community through the European publications of dramatic art for children and young people. In addition, we believe that drama literature that should one day remain as our heritage is being created exactly through such programmes and activities. With the results of this Competition this has also been seriously undermined.

These and many other results and achievements of ASSITEJ Serbia are publically available, and they verify our work themselves. However, we hope that this time, the Ministry of Culture and Information will not ignore this and other calls to reconsider the professional work of its Commission, and that these statements of our organisations and individuals from the cultural spheres will be the beginning of a dialogue that will contribute to creating a better climate for culture. The identity of our country has been created by politicians far too long, now is the time for culture to (re)gain this role that belongs to it.

In Belgrade,

May 17^th , 2016.

For ASSITEJ Serbia

Diana Kržani? Tepavac, president of ASSITEJ Serbia , member of the Executive Committee of ASSITEJ International

Milena Depolo, member of the Executive Committee of ASSITEJ Serbia

Minja Bogavac, member of the Executive Committee of ASSITEJ Serbia

Slavica Vu?eti?, member of the Executive Committee of ASSITEJ Serbia

Damjan Kecojevi?,member of the Executive Committee of ASSITEJ Serbia

Categories: ASSITEJ Serbia

Tags: ASSITEJ Serbia
ASSITEJ Serbia welcomes a new generation of theatre makers

11 April 2016 18 h 53 min

By: Louis Valente

No responses

Throughout the year, ASSITEJ Serbia dealt with young artists and theater makers in the framework of various projects and activities.... Read more →

Throughout the year, ASSITEJ Serbia dealt with young artists and theater makers in the framework of various projects and activities. Therefore, it was only natural to keep the focus of its campaign Take a child to the theater today, launched within this year’s celebration of the World Day of Theatre for Children and Youth, precisely on the young generations: young writers, actors, theater directors, filmmakers and cultural managers.

In the framework of the program For emerging artists and all those still growing (https://www.facebook.com/events/570504779781875/), held on March 15^th, many young and talented theatre makers had the opportunity to present themselves to a diverse audience, including both their young and very experienced colleagues, theater creators, directors of major festivals and theaters.

Six young writers, who were participating in the project “Stories from the lunch break“, were presented through their short texts created in the framework of this project. Excerpts of their dramas were presented through a public reading performed by drama students from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, thus enabling the young authors to hear their lines performed live for the first time.

The second part of the program was devoted to the presentation of the new number of ALMANAC booklet. With this booklet, ASSITEJ Serbia strives to give an insight into current developments from the field of drama literature in Serbia. This edition contains a selection of excerpts from 10 dramas translated into English, which are mainly written by 10 young drama writers whose work has not yet been published.

In the week before March 20^th, a workshop entitled “Speak up your project” (https://www.facebook.com/events/1582365388720612/) was held, in the framework of a series of workshops for young artists jointly organized by ASSITEJ Serbia and Theatre Zvezdarište festival. These workshops are aiming to provide the young artists and theatre makers with specific and practical knowledge. In this particular workshop, the participants had the opportunity to learn what is pitching and to practice how to present their projects in the most successful way.

Let us add that the event was well covered by two influential media in the cultural sphere, which contributed to a successful presentation of a new generation of young artists and theatre makers, as well as in rising their interest in future projects and cooperation with ASSITEJ community in Serbia and in the world.

In addition, ASSITEJ Serbia members were also very engaged and active in the month of March, with five new theatre premiers and two programmes dedicated to the celebration of World Day of Theatre for Children and Youth.

Categories: ASSITEJ Serbia

Tags: Serbia
Theater festivals for the end of the year

30 November 2015 21 h 36 min

By: Louis Valente

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There is much to see, experience and hear over the last weeks in theatre for children and young people in... Read more →

There is much to see, experience and hear over the last weeks in theatre for children and young people in Serbia. With the end of the year coming closer, it almost seems the theatre makers in Serbia are racing with time, hurrying to achieve everything that they have planned and not yet managed to fulfill for 2015. The small amount of funds, which our state allocates for culture, delays in its fundraising system and its practice to subsidize only one-year programs make any long-term planning of programs and festival impossible. The lack of finances, which is becoming more and more serious with the emerging global problems that we are facing, represents one of the main threats to TYA in Serbia. These factors have already led to two important theatre festivals for children and young in Serbia being put on hold: International Theatre Belgrade Adventure TIBA and the national festival FESTI?. Lets hope that this is only a temporary situation. On the other hand, this situation that we find ourselves in has already influenced significant shifts in the calendar of festival events. It so happened that instead of having festivals proportionately distributed throughout the year, those festivals that were able to gain the finances and survive are now squeezed together in only a couple of weeks.

And so, on the same day in Belgrade, a regional festival of professional theatre for children De?ji pozorišni festival Pozorište Zvezdarište closed with the awards ceremony, and only one hour later a regional festival of socially engaged theater OFF Frame festival opened. The OFF Frame festival lasted until November 30, and only a day later, on December 1^st the 46^th Festival of Serbian Professional Puppet Theatres began. This festival is held in a different city every year, and this year it will be hosted by the Puppet Theatre Niš. Although it is first and foremost a national festival gathering the members of UNIMA Serbia, it is also a valuable opportunity to host the puppeteers from around the region.

If we add to our list of festivals the Mater Terra festival of school theater, held as one of Pozorište Zvezdraište’s side programs, all those who are not familiar with the Serbian theater reality will get the impression that circumstances for practice and development of TYA in Serbia are more than good. However, it is quite the opposite. In reality, thanks to the incredible energy and enthusiasm of persistent and diligent individuals, TYA in Serbia is able to offer small-in-quantity but rich-in-content productions to its audiences. Judging by what we saw on the recent theatre festival Pozorište Zvezdarište, the professionals are addressing the young audience with revitalized sensibility and diverse, genre, aesthetic and theatrical languages which convey messages of lasting values such as humanity, love, compassion, friendship, honesty, support. Despite the threat of alienation in our daily life, and the seeming lack of interest of young audiences to anything except for amusement provided by new technologies, a great curiosity for stories and fairy-tale motifs from the past is noticeable among the children and young audiences. This further highlights the urgent need for finding more serious, long-term solutions to overcome the hard feelings such as anxiety, fear, uncertainty and loneliness, existing among youngsters. If one can judge by the reactions of the festival audience, the children in Serbia love and rejoice in theater, and both Croatian and Serbian theater makers and artists selected for this festival obviously found a good approach to their audience.

ASSITEJ Serbia is present and actively engaged in these festivals through the creation and implementation of workshops and round tables, through participation of its senior representatives in the programs and debates, as well as through different kind of support to its members.

Workshop for emerging artists and young professionals in TYA at Pozorište Zvezdarište festival

ASSITEJ Serbia traditionally addresses young and emerging professionals with workshops created within the framework of Pozorište Zvezdarište festival’s side program. A series of workshops aimed at presenting and introducing specific practices in TYA was imitated for the first time 6 years ago. Up to now ASSITEJ Serbia has organized 16 different workshops that have explored various fields in TYA, such as: directing, dance, lightning, site specific, physical theater, role of cultural management in creating programs for young audience, etc. The intention of this year’s 17^th workshop, entitled What young artists can do for themselves, was to raise the interest for ASSITEJ mobility programs, particularly the Next Generation (NG) Placements program, and to bring them closer to our young professionals. Diana Kržani? Tepavac, EC ASSITEJ member in a charge of NG Placements, gave an overview of the work of ASSITEJ and introduced the participants to the Next Generation individual and residency mobility programs. In addition, young Serbian drama writers Iva Brdar, Jelena Paligori? and Bojana Babi? shared their personal experiences from the Next Generation Residency in Berlin, Germany (2015); NG Placements in Starke Stücke Festival in Frankfurt, Germany (2015); Interplay program in Bergenz, Austria (2014); Studio European program at La Chartreuse in Avignon, France (2015); Directors seminar in Manheim, Germany (2015) etc. www.facebook.com/events/1727274947500819/

Round table “Parallels, a review of recent developments in puppetry in the region” at Puppets festival in Niš

Intended as a platform for the exchange of information on the new developments in puppet theatre in the region, this round table will provide an opportunity for festival guests from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Slovenia, to share the news from their countries in the field of puppetry, as well as their strongest impressions and observations from various festivals throughout the region. Furthermore, the need, efficiency and best practice examples of mutual exchange of experience and knowledge will be discussed, as well as the opportunities to establish such programs as the constant practice in the frame of the side program of UNIMA festival. The moderator of the round table is Diana Kržani? Tepavac.

“The circumstances, challenges and importance of working with children and youth in the field of drama art”

MATER TERRA theatre festival for children and youth from the fields of ecology and “ecology of the soul” in cooperation with CEDEUM/Idea and Pozorište Zvezdarište festival hosted a round table that explored the present situation and existing problems in this important area that should be addressed in the future joint work of representatives from the fields of theater, culture and education. The moderator of this round table was Sanja Krsmanovic Tasic director of the Mater terra festival.

The 5^th OFF Frame regional festival of socially engaged theater

Organized by Group “Let’s…” with Boris ?akširan as its artistic director, the OFF Frame festival brings together artists who are, in different ways, dealing with the issue of identity. The festival opened with a theatre performance developed as a product of the work with children from the orphanages. By combining the forms of singing in choirs and rep music, the participants were actively engaged in the process of exploring and conquering the freedom of determining their personal identity/identities. Here is what the festival booklet says about the concept of identity: ”Identity is often promoted as a stable category. Therefore states, their administrations, various industries e.g. entertainment, systems based on maintaining capitalistic order and others, tend to maintain identities artificially, so they could use them for their own interests. Therefore, national identity, among other things, becomes the tool of maintaining “national” interest, maintenance of territorial (as well as financial) dominance. Neoliberal market profits, if any part of society profiles itself as part of a specific identity, and can make products that are, for example, primarily intended for LGBT population. Also, there is constant pressure on one to identify with a certain identity, which is offered in a specific context (for example in terms of gender). Resistance is huge when a person wants to get out of that matrix.”

Categories: ASSITEJ Serbia

Call for Performances: Subotica International Children’s Theater Festival

ASSITEJ Serbia Press release

ASSITEJ Serbia welcomes a new generation of theatre makers

Theater festivals for the end of the year

An overview of the Belgrade International Theatre Festival 2015