Since its establishing in 1974, the Mostar Youth Theatre has dedicated its work to systematic and continuous education of children and young people trough creative process with underlying motif: Drama education is a right that belongs to everyone, it is not a privilege of talented few. When the war has ended in B&H we have decided to stay in our country, work together and communicate with other people from our country, but with the world as well. We have offered them a bridge building, the most beautiful bridges that human mind can imagine, we have offered them truth, although sometimes it was painful. It is a lasting process. Our bridges live now all-round B&H, in a way of new life, handshake, as a hug, better thoughts or forgiveness. Our bridges are lasting, because the only material they are built of is love and builders free will.
From such work and experience, the Center for Drama Education of Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded in 1997. In year 2000 the Network of Independent Theatres was in the process of growing, while in 2001 it is officially established. Now, it is a strong network of organizations, groups and individuals. The network covers the area of the whole area of B&H, its activities are present an all parts of the country. The connections with the individuals and groups from neighboring countries are getting better. After the war stopped, it was necessary to adjust all activities the new situation and new needs. In such an atmosphere, in the summer of 1996, we have decided to revive our International Festival of Authorial Projects.
The International Festival of Authorial Projects has developed from a retrospective of Mostar Youth Theatre performances that was held in October 1975. It was an audacious attempt to capture the attention of society by a group of theatre dreamers. It attracted like-minded people from many different parts of our country as it was then. They joined this idea and the Festival grew, in its profile, its power and its following. For many years it was the meeting place of all that is best in theatre. There were no awards, because the focus of attention was on the creative process and the theatre workshops. In 1990 the Festival's present day face began to take shape.
But then just when everything seemed to be set fair, war came. 1992 brought everything with itself. Four long years of silence. And then, a new beginning in August 1996. The Festival was re-inaugurated for the 17th time. The first time that the "Mravac" awards were given – each one equal, each one for an authentic authorial moment, idea, approach, solution, or maybe only a vibration, in any element of the art of theatre.
From 1997 till today the Festival came back into its own. It became a creative assembly of young theatre artists from all over the world. It is important to emphasise that what united all the participants were their ideas and not their status. The participants of the Festival can be from national theatres, but also alternative groups; from professional companies, but also puppet theatres; from amateur associations but also individuals – anyone who can offer some new theatrical achievement, provocation, idea...
Since its beginning, the main characteristic of the Festival was not the competition, it was the educational programs and numerous workshops which were presented at the Festival. Post-war period, and the needs which arose from this period, had not been only artistic. It gave us the impetus to open the space to the creative work and cooperation for young people from whole BiH, as well as from the region. Such an attitude has proved as correct. Number of theatre performances has been reducing, and number of workshops has been increasing. Naturally, we have come to an idea to gather all the workshops into the separate activity, and this activity to be held independently from the rest of the Festival. That is how the ALTERNATIVE ACADEMY was born.
ALTERNATIVE ACADEMY consists of theatre workshops, most of them lasting a week. The number of participants in the each workshops is aprox. 18, all of them young artists. They will work in Mostar from 18th to 31st of August 2006.
All workshops will have a public presentation as an end of the work. This public presentation is in equal position with the performances at the festival, which is taking place simultaneously with the ALTERNATIVE ACADEMY, competing for one of the prizes.
The workshop facilitators are well-known and recognized names in the world of theatre, in their area of expertise. They will provide the participants with quality program. Planed workshops for 22nd ALTERNATIVE ACADEMY are:
1. The Body: A Tangent Point for the Soul, the Will and Power of an Actor’s Presence (Tadeshi Suzuki Methods)
Workshop Leader: Marcos Martinez, USA
2. Action Theatre (Commedia dell' Arte)
Workshop leader: Marco Luly, Italy
3. Pentjak-Silat
Workshop leader: Charles Renoult, The Netherlands
4. Characters Body Expresion
Workshop leader: Ferid Karajica, Serbia and Montenegro
5. Body and Voice
Workshop leader: Zygmunt Molik, Poland
6. Chorus – Mario Gonzalles' Method
Workshop leader: Željko Vukmirica, Croatia
7. Butoh Dance
Workshop leader: Katsura Kan, Japan
8. Mime, a physical Approuch Towards Acting
Workshop leader: Wilfred van de Peppel, The Netherland
9. Basic of Acting – the Plot
Workshop leader: Boro Stjepanović, Serbia and Montenegro
10. New Drama - New Acting?
Workshop leader: Miloš Lazin, France
11. Meierhold’s Biomechanics
Workshop leader: Alexei Levinsky, Russia
This is not a final list. We are still in planing the workshops in Theatre lighting, Theatre Menagment, Falling and Flying…
Post je objavljen 09.02.2006. u 14:32 sati.