NEWS  
 
Call for papers - Maribor conference
In Memoriam Paulo Eduardo Carvalho
Code of practice
Publication from the New Critics Seminar in Cordoba, Argentina
Registration Form for the 25th Congress in Armenia [Word.doc] [ PDF ]
2010 Thalia Prize is awarded to Richard Schechner
Critical Stages - new IATC web journal
21 for 21
Symposium in Pilzen, Czech Republic
Award for John Elsom
Papers of the Novi Sad Symposium
Info on the Amsterdam Symposium
Proceedings of the 24th IATC congress
New Critics Seminar - Amsterdam
Tribute to Harold Pinter
New Critics Seminar - Poland - March/April 2009
New Critics Seminar - Romania - March 2009
Symposium in Amsterdam, June 2009 - Call for papers
Invalid e-mail addresses
President of IATC Yun-Cheol Kim, has received the Medal for Culture of Republic of Korea
Symposium in Novi Sad, Serbia, May 2009 - Call for papers
The presentations of the Symposium in Grahamstown, South Africa
New Critics Seminar - September 2008
Journals exchange - The Korean Theatre Journal. 2008 Spring. No. 48.
24th Congress, Sofia - Showcase of Bulgarian theatre - Photos
24th Congress, Sofia - Photos
24th Congress, Sofia - Papers
XII Europe Theatre Prize and X Europe Prize New Theatrical Realities
Invalid e-mail addresses
Istanbul Festival
Prize for Michael Billington
Ibsen in Hong Kong
Interview with Sarrazac
International Schaxpir Festival
NEWS - ARCHIVE
 
 
Symposiums
  Call for papers - Maribor conference
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Tuesday,
13 July 2010
 

Dear Colleagues, you are kindly invited to contribute your paper to the international conference entitled Intercriticism
Organized by the Maribor Theatre Festival and Association of Theatre Critics and Researchers of Slovenia (Društvo gledaliških kritikov in teatrologov Slovenije, the National Section of AICT/IATC).
The conference will take place in Maribor, Slovenia, October 20 – 24, 2010, in Anton Trstenjak Hall, Slomškov trg 15. It will include six formal sessions on 21 and 22 October. Each speaker will have twenty minutes to present his/her contribution.


 
Documents
  Call for papers
 
 
 
In Memoriam
  Paulo Eduardo Carvalho
To the Top
 
 
     
Friday,
28 May 2010
 
It is with an immense sorrow that we have to announce the tragic death of our colleague and member of the executive committee of IATC representing Portugal, Paulo Eduardo Carvalho.
Dr Carvalho was also director of the seminars for new critics of IATC. Pleased read the obituary below, and pass the word to all who may have known him. On behalf of the IATC, we express our deepest condolences to his family, to his numerous friends and to his colleagues.


Paulo Eduardo Carvalho
(7th July 1964 – 20th May 2010)

Born in Oporto on 7th July 1964, Paulo Eduardo Carvalho graduated from the Faculty of Letters, University of Oporto, in 1984, with a degree in Modern Languages and Literature (Portuguese and English Studies); taking the Translation Course in Modern Languages and Literature at the same university, in 1990. He then went on to complete a Master’s degree in English Studies at the Faculty of Letters, University of Lisbon, in 1993, with A História no Território da Imaginação: A Irlanda de Brian Friel e Field Day [History in the Territory of the Imagination: The Ireland of Brian Friel and Field Day]. 2007 saw Paulo receive his PhD in English Studies from the Faculty of Letters, University of Oporto, for Identidades Reescritas: Figurações da Irlanda no Teatro Português [Rewritten Identities: Representations of Ireland in Portuguese Theatre]. This study, remarkable for its documental, theoretical and critical consistency, was subsequently published by Edições Afrontamento in 2009.
In addition to taking intensive courses abroad (most frequently in England, Ireland and Italy), Paulo was an outstanding presence in a host of international events organised by the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC-AICT), the English Society for the Study of English (ESSE) and the International Federation for Theatre Research (FIRT-IFTR). He also presented papers at Trinity College (1999), the Dublin Theatre Festival (2003), a number of IATC-AICT congresses, and at various European universities to which he was invited.
He was responsible for cultural activities in various major institutions in Oporto, such as Teatro Nacional São João and Rivoli Teatro Municipal; in addition to collaborating with the Serralves Foundation, ESMAE (the School of Music and Performing Arts) and the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation, among others.
A keynote speaker at numerous conferences and colloquiums (in Portugal and abroad), Paulo always brought tremendous energy and enthusiasm to debates on the theatre, literature, cinema, music and the fine arts, working with various institutions in the organisation of colloquiums, publications, courses and exhibitions, among countless other activities.
He was a tireless member of the Institute for Comparative Literature Margarida Losa at the University of Oporto; the Centre for Theatre Studies at the University of Lisbon and the Department of English and American Studies at the University of Oporto; making a vital contribution to colloquiums, seminars, conferences, exhibitions and various publications.
He joined the Board of the Portuguese Association of Theatre Critics in 2004, representing it on the IATC-AICT Executive Committee, and was currently the International Association’s Director of Seminars for New Critics.
In 2004, Paulo co-founded the magazine Sinais de Cena (produced by the Portuguese Association of Theatre Critics together with the University of Lisbon Centre for Theatre Studies), immediately joining the Editorial Board and regularly contributing articles, reviews and translations. He was also part of the team involved in producing the Cadernos de Literatura Comparada at the Institute for Comparative Literature Margarida Losa at the University of Oporto.
In the theatre, he was a founder member of the Oporto company, Assédio, did dramaturgical work with various directors and translated over forty plays by such diverse authors as Brian Friel, Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Martin Crimp, Martin McDonagh, Marina Carr, Athol Fugard, Caryl Churchill, Wallace Shawn, Frank McGuinness and Thomas Kilroy, among others.
A man of vast learning, blessed with boundless energy and a rare artistic sensibility, Paulo Eduardo Carvalho was a major figure in both Portuguese theatre and Portuguese theatre studies. He established a remarkable level of academic rigor in dealing with the theatre, which was reflected by what he wrote in the field of the essay and critical analysis, clearly shown in his book on the Portuguese director, Ricardo Pais, Ricardo Pais: Actos e Variedades [Ricardo Pais: Acts and Variety] (Oporto: Campo das Letras, 2006).
He lived generously and lovingly, always available to anyone needing his advice and priceless help.
Paulo left us on 20th May. During a warm afternoon, he was tragically taken by the sea; and all who knew him are left with a huge, immeasurable sense of loss.

 
 
Awards
  2010 Thalia Prize
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Friday,
29 January 2010
  2010 Thalia Prize is awarded to Richard Schechner


Richard Schechner (photo: Sophie Proust)

The International Association of Theatre Critics’ Thalia Prize to American Critic-Scholar Richard Schechner

The International Association of Theatre Critics – an association of theatre critics, theatre journalists and theatre scholars in over 50 countries – is pleased to announce that the winner of its highest honour, the Thalia Award, will be American critic-scholar Richard Schechner for 2010.

“The Thalia is awarded by IATC every two years,” said IATC President Kim Yun-Cheol of Korea, “to a scholar, theatre critic or theatre practitioner whose writings have significantly influenced critical thinking about the art of theatre.  Previous winners have included Eric Bentley (US, 2006) and Jean-Pierre Sarrazac (France, 2008). We are delighted to add such an eminent man of theatre as Prof. Schechner to the list of Thalia laureates.”

The prize includes a specially designed theatrical memento contributed by the Romanian national IATC centre and the Craiova “William Shakespeare” Foundation, and full expenses to attend the award ceremonies which in 2010 will be in Yerevan, Armenia June 16 to 20. Previous awards have been presented at IATC Congresses in Seoul, Korea and Sofia, Bulgaria.

President Kim pointed out that Schechner, based at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, has been the editor of one of the world's leading theatre journals, TDR (The Drama Review) for some 30 years. He first edited TDR from 1962 to 1969 and then returned to it again in 1986, still editing the quarterly journal today.

“During that time, he has turned it from a rather specialised academic journal into the world's leading journal on the avant-garde and later helped it to evolve into the premiere journal of Performance Studies, a field he virtually invented. TDR promoted very early on the work of most of the major avant-garde artists of the late 20th century from Brook and Grotowski, to Barba, Boal and Suzuki. Through its work in Performance Studies, the journal has significantly changed the way theatre is seen world-wide. As well, Prof. Schechner has been a tireless theorist of theatre in Asia and Africa. Indeed, an Asian version of TDR is now coming out in Shanghai.

He is also the author of a variety of books which have significantly affected perceptions of theatre on the stage, and the theatrical in our lives,” said Kim.

Among Schechner’s major books are Public Domain (1968), Environmental Theatre (1973), The End of Humanism (1981), Between Theatre and Anthropology (1985),  By Means of Performance: Intercultural Studies (1990), The Future of Ritual (1993), and Performance Theory (2003). His books have been translated into Spanish, Chinese, Parsi, Italian, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Hungarian and Serbo-Croat.

“One other aspect of his lifelong work as a scholar-critic-editor has been his constant willingness to test his theories as a working director, “ said Kim. “He has done this on stages in New York through his Performance Group (which produced such landmark shows as Dionysus in '69), through the Wooster Group, through the East Coast Artists company which he ran from 1992 to 2009 and in the many individual productions he has staged in China, India, South Africa, Poland and Taipei among other countries. He is truly an international figure and a most worthy winner of this award. We are delighted that he has chosen to accept the Thalia Award for 2010.”

For additional information contact
  KIM Yun-Cheol, IATC President --  yunckim911 @ yahoo.com
or
   Michel Vaïs, IATC Secretary-General – vais @ ca.inter.net
 
 
Journals
  Critical Stages
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Friday,
6 November 2009
  Theatre critics launch a web journal

Critical Stages is a new web journal founded by the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC). The biannual journal, at www.criticalstages.org, is published in English and French. Critical Stages contains not only theatre criticism, but also interviews and other articles about the theatre as seen from the critic’s point of view. The inaugural issue takes a closer look at, for example, Jerzy Grotowski, Eugène Ionesco and the first winner of IATC’s Thalia Prize, Eric Bentley - and also reviews Lars Norén’s newly-published diary, as well as important productions from countries around the world.
Contributors represent nations from all continents. In the current issue, these include: Canada, Cuba, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The editor-in-chief is Maria Helena Serôdio of Portugal.
IATC, established in 1956, operates through its national sections in some 50 countries.



Publisher
Yun-Cheol Kim President, International Association of Theatre Critics
Editor-in-Chief
Maria Helena Serodio Academic and critic, Portugal
Co-Editors
Lissa Tyler Renaud, English language Theatre director and scholar, U.S.
Michel Vaïs, French language Critic, Quebec, Canada
Editors
Randy Gener Critic, U.S.
Hervé Guay Academic and critic, Quebec, Canada
Temple Hauptfleisch Critic, South Africa
Yun-Cheol Kim Academic and critic, Korea
Matti Linnavuori Critic, Finland
Tomasz Milkowski Critic, Poland
Manabu Noda Academic and critic, Japan
Rodolfo Obregón Critic, Mexico
Ludmila Patlanjoglu Academic and critic, Romania
Patrice Pavis Theoretician, France
Maria Shevtsova Academic, U.K.
Don Rubin Academic and critic, Canada
Halima Tahan Critic, Argentina
 
 
Varia
  21 for 21
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Monday,
5 October 2009
  Our colleague Mark Brown, member of the Excom, will take part in the event "21 for 21" (the international celebrations of the 21st anniversary of Howard Barker's theatre company The Wrestling School) on October 21st. He will be assistant director on the performed reading of (Uncle) Vanya in Glasgow at the conservatoire, the RSAMD, and also be on the post-show panel at the Royal Shakespeare Company's performed reading of the Castle in Newcaste-upon-Tyne. The address of the web site is www.21421.co.uk.
 
 
Symposiums
  Symposium in Pilzen, Czech Republic
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Thursday,
2 July 2009
  Symposium in Pilzen, Czech Republic – 9-13 September, 2009
Organized by The Czech Section of IATC and the Divadlo Festival in Pilzen


20 YEARS LATER or: METAMORPHOSIS OF THEATRE AND ITS REFLECTION SINCE 1989

In celebration of the forthcoming anniversary of the rise of the Iron Curtain, this symposium is an invitation to make an overview of the theatre’s progress during the time that has since passed.
The face of the world has been dramatically changing ever since, and so have its stages – on either side of the former “curtain”. Or have they? What have been the most conspicuous gains and losses?
Is there still a distinct Eastern/Central European theatre style and, if so, what is it and why? Has it influenced Western stages? Or has the process been only one-way: i.e. West – East and only on a management and structural level at that? How has the nature of the theatre-audience relationship changed in Eastern Europe? Have there been special developments in that respect in the rest of the world?
What about the plight of the written drama in Eastern/Central Europe – has there been a give-and-take on a par with the West? Or are the bulk of Eastern/Central European playwrights still behind a curtain, and if so, why?
Has there been any substantial change in our reflection on theatre? Has education in theatre criticism – a unique trademark of the region’s theatre landscape – turned out to be a mission impossible or, on the contrary, is it about to become a possible export?
Some of today’s most interesting theatre directors now live in, or come from, Eastern/Central Europe – no wonder the European Theatre Prize for New Theatre Realities so frequently finds it way to such an address. Is that because of the new realities of life there or is it a result of particular innate theatre genes and traditions?
Looking back in dismay that already 20 years have passed, let’s try to describe the lineaments of our new theatre face and examine the present theatre map of Eastern/Central Europe and the world. The Pilzen Theatre Festival ‘Divadlo’ and the IATC extend their invitation.
 
 
Awards
  Award for John Elsom
To the Top
 
 
     
Monday,
18 May 2009
  In December 2008, honorary president of IATC John Elsom was given the "Award of International Outsanding Contribution to the Creative Industries of China" within the 2008 China Creative Industry Annual Awards (the Chinese trade's equivalent to an Oscar). Congratulations!
 
 
Symposiums
  Papers of the Novi Sad Symposium
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Monday,
4 May 2009
 

13th International Symposium of Theatre Critics and Scholars

Topic: International theater festivals and audience development

organized by the Sterijino Pozorje, Novi Sad,

in association with

International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC)
and the European Festival Research Project (EFRP)

in Novi Sad, Serbia, 28th - 31st May 2009
(During Sterijino Pozorje Festival)

Conveyors: Dr Dragan Klaić (Amsterdam), Chair of EFRP,
and Dr Ivan Medenica (Belgrade), IATC Adjunct Secretary General.

Papers of the Symposium participants are now available, in advance, on the website of Sterijino Pozorje (www.pozorje.org.rs)
Please do not hesitate to address your comments and suggestions in regards to the papers to the following e mail: dusana.todorovic@pozorje.org.rs


 
Documents
  Symposium Papers
 
 
  Sterijino Pozorje Festival Program
 
 
 
Symposiums
  Info on the Amsterdam Symposium
To the Top
 
 
     
Friday,
27 March 2009
 

Symposium AICT June 2009

‘Forced to tour / Tour de force?’

June 17–21, 2009
Muziekgebouw aan het IJ, Amsterdam, the Netherlands



 
Documents
  Amsterdam Invitation
 
 
  Amsterdam Registration Form
 
 
  Amsterdam Program
 
 
  Amsterdam Program - Info / Performances
 
 
 
Publications
  Proceedings of the 24th IATC congress
To the Top
 
 
     
Monday,
16 March 2009
 
The proceedings of the 24th IATC congress, held in Sofia, Bulgaria, in April 2008, will be launched in Wroclaw during the Europe Theatre Prize.
 
What makes violence on stage today so sexy? Until quite recently, violence for its own sake was the prerogative of B-feature films and junk mystery novels. What made theatre follow suit? What is the impact of the theatre of violence on the audience? Doesn't it actually make us conformists?

Is there still a place for humanism among all the post-modern ‘isms’, including post-human or meta-human theatre? What is the relationship between violence and the aesthetics of ugliness? How does theatre stand against the right of might (and the ensuing violence) which has become a norm today on the stage of the world? And how can theatre and critics help preserve humanistic values on and off stage? Should they even try?

This book is the first attempt in such a format to answer these hot questions – an overdue endeavour at a time when human life is becoming more and more devalued and human beings more and more disposable. It is based on the 24th World Congress of the International Association of Theatre Critics, which took place in Sofia, Bulgaria, in April 2008, at the generous invitation of the Ministry of Culture of Bulgaria. The event gathered over a hundred critics from all over the globe, as well as many theatre-makers.
 

However, this volume is not a mere collection of ‘conference papers’. Rather than that, it is an invitation to the reader to become witness to a lively discussion on, and at times even a fight over, the destiny of humanism and the role of violence in modern theatre. Opinions ranging from today’s conventional wisdom on the subject matter to the controversial, the deliberately provocative and the politically incorrect are voiced by critics from India to Argentina, South Africa to Finland, USA to Korea, and by world renowned theatre-makers like the Latvian director Alvis Hermanis and the British playwright David Edgar.

In addition, the book offers a section on the Thalia Prize – the IATC award for the brightest minds who, with their written works, have influenced the world’s critical fraternity – with the acceptance speech of its second winner, the French critic, theoretician and playwright Jean-Pierre Sarrazac. As a bonus there is also a provocative postscript – a text delivered to IATC immediately before its Congress by Richard Schechner, the distinguished American director and theatre scholar.

This book can now be purchased through the STR site in London for £30, all costs included, a good discount from the normal price of 60 euros. It is possible to pay by Paypal. More info on the site: www.str.org.uk
The page: http://www.str.org.uk/shop/zcart/index.php leads to 'shop', where we can choose 'books'.

 
 
Seminars
  New Critics Seminar - Amsterdam
To the Top
 
 
     
Monday,
16 March 2009
  International Training Seminar for New Professional Theatre Critics
Holland Festival, 16-20 June 2009
Amsterdam, Netherlands

The AICT/IATC is organising an International Training Seminar for New Professional Theatre Critics in Amsterdam, Netherlands, hosted by the Holland Festival, and co-organised by the Theatre Institute of the Netherlands (Theater Instituut Nederland)and the Domain for Art Criticism (Domein van de Kunstkritiek). It will take place between 15 and 21 June (days of arrival and departure). The artistic director, Mr Pierre Audi, is happy to invite you to the 62nd edition of an exceptional Festival!

 
Documents
  Announcement & Registration form
 
 
 
Necrology
  Tribute to Harold Pinter
To the Top
 
 
     
Thursday,
1 January 2009
  Death of Harold Pinter
Ian Herbert (Honorary President of IATC)

The theatre world is in mourning for Harold Pinter, one of the greatest playwrights of the twentieth century, who died on December 24 2008 at the age of 78. He received many honours in his lifetime, crowned by the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature. IATC members were among those who elected him to the tenth Europe Theatre Prize, which he collected personally in Turin in 2006. The Europe Prize had in fact been decided several years before the Nobel, but circumstances prevented its presentation until shortly after the Nobel ceremony, which Pinter had been too ill to attend. In Turin, the playwright gave a characteristically spiky interview in which, as well as talking  inspiringly about his work, he took the opportunity to attack his bete noire, the US Government.

Pinter, who was labelled in his early career as an absurdist, claimed later in life that his plays had always had a political content, something which became abundantly clear in more recent short works such as Mountain Language and One for the Road. He was at pains to refute suggestions that the police state which was a regular feature of such plays was a reference to countries other than his own, and in recent years his fears have come to seem more and more prophetic, less and less paranoid.

His first full-length play, The Birthday Party, foreshadowed this preoccupation with unexplained but ever-present menace. At a luncheon some years ago, when the British Critics’ Circle (and IATC Section) presented him with a lifetime achievement award, he confessed that the adverse criticism received by this work not only caused it to be taken off the stage after only a week of performances, but also caused him to think seriously about whether to continue writing plays. It was only the favourable review of one critic, which unfortunately appeared after the play had closed, that persuaded him to carry on his work. Not long afterwards, The Birthday Party was performed on television, with great acclaim, to a mass audience.
 
 
Seminars
  New Critics Seminar - Poland
To the Top
 
 
     
Monday,
29 December 2008
  International Training Seminar for New Professional Theatre Critics
Europe Theatre Prize, 31 March – 6 April 2009
Wrocław, Poland


The AICT/IATC is organising an International Training Seminar for New Professional Theatre Critics in Wrocław, Poland, hosted by the Europe Theatre Prize, and it will take place between 31 March and 6 April (days of arrival and departure). The General Secretary, Mr Alessandro Martinez, is happy to invite you to the 13th edition of the most important European theatre prize!
 
Documents
  Announcement & Registration form
 
 
 
Seminars
  New Critics Seminar - Romania
To the Top
 
 
     
Wednesday,
10 December 2008
  International Training Seminar for New Professional Theatre Critics - Reflex Festival, 24-28 March 2009
Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania

The AICT/IATC is organising an International Training Seminar for New Professional Theatre Critics in Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania, hosted by the bi-annual International Reflex Festival, organised by the TamásiÁron Theatre, and it will take place between 23-29 March (days of arrival and departure), dedicated to the theme European Theatre between East and West. The general director, Mr Laszlo Bocsardi, and the director of communications, Mr Ottó Bodó, are happy to invite you to the first edition of a biennial Festival that coincides with the 60 years of the Tamási Áron Theatre!
 
Documents
  Announcement & Registration form
 
 
 
Symposiums
  Symposium in Amsterdam, June 2009
To the Top
 
 
     
Friday,
14 November 2008
 

Symposium in Amsterdam, June 2009 - Call for papers.
Please go to Archives & Documents, Symposiums.

 
 
Ads
  Invalid e-mail addresses
To the Top
 
 
     
Friday,
14 November 2008
  melund@worldonline.dk | aictjapan@cow.livedoor.com
president@firt-iftr.org | mirka.potuckova@divadlo.cz
aict@divadlo.cz | ITIUkraine@ukr.net
itiukraine@ukr.net | madis@perioodika.ee
 
 
Awards
  President of IATC Yun-Cheol Kim, has received the Medal for Culture
of Republic of Korea
To the Top
 
 
     
Tuesday,
28 October 2008
 
  President of IATC Yun-Cheol Kim,
has received the Medal for Culture of Republic of Korea.
This significant recognition was presented to him
by Minister for Culture on behalf of Korean President,
Mr. Lee Myung Bak, on October 18th, 2008,
for his contribution to the development of Korean theatre arts and criticism.
 
 
Symposiums
  Symposium in Novi Sad, Serbia, May 2009
To the Top
 
 
     
Friday,
05 October 2008
 

Symposium in Novi Sad, Serbia, May 2009 - Call for papers.
Please go to Archives & Documents, Symposiums.

 
 
Symposiums
  The presentations of the Symposium in Grahamstown, South Africa
To the Top
 
 
     
Monday,
28 July 2008
 

The presentations of the Symposium in Grahamstown, South Africa, are now available on this web site.
Please go to Archives & Documents.

 
 
Awards
  XII Europe Theatre Prize and
X Europe Prize New Theatrical Realities
To the Top
 
 
 
Monday,
09 June 2008
 
 >  >  >   The international Jury, which gathered in Thessaloniki on 30th April 2007 at the Vassiliko Theatre has unanimously awarded the XII Europe Theatre Prize to Patrice Chéreau

The X Europe Prize New Theatrical Realities to
Rimini Protokoll,
Sasha Waltz and
Krzysztof Warlikowski.

A special mention has been awarded, proposed by Vaclav Havel, Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard, to Belarus Free Theatre for their opposition against the oppression of Belarusian  Government.
     
 
Documents
  PRESS RELEASE
 
 
 
Ads
  Invalid e-mail addresses
To the Top
 
 
     
Tuesday,
20 May 2008
  The following addresses are invalid. Please advise these persons about the last IATC e-mails if you know another way of joining them:

melund@worldonline.dk, critic@compuserve.com, aict@divadlo.cz,
aictjapan@cow.livedoor.com, mirka.potuckova@divadlo.cz,
jp.han@free.fr, gertydambury@free.fr, madis@perioodika.ee

Dr Michel VAIS, Secretary General vais@ca.inter.net
 
 
Congresses
  24th Congress in Sofia - Papers
To the Top
 
 
     
Monday,
19 May 2008
 

The papers of the 24th Sofia Congress 2008, are now on this web site. Please go to Archives & Documents, Congresses.

 
 
Festivals
  Istanbul Festival
To the Top
 
 
 
   
Monday,
07 April 2008

16th INTERNATIONAL ISTANBUL THEATRE FESTIVAL
15 MAY – 4 JUNE 2008


Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts the 16th International Istanbul Theatre Festival will take place May 15th to June 4th, 2008.

Featuring 8 theatre and dance companies from abroad and 25 brand new productions from Turkey, the 16th International Istanbul Theatre Festival will present over 70 performances. The programme of the 16th International Istanbul Theatre Festival was announced at a press meeting on, Tuesday, April 1st at DOT Theatre.

The opening of the 16th International Istanbul Theatre Festival will take place Thursday, May 15th at the Hagia Eirene Museum.

The International İstanbul Theatre Festival will host 8 world renowned theatre companies from Germany, Denmark, France, Croatia, Italy and Lithuania. World famous choreographer William Forshyte and the Forshyte Company will make a guest appearance at the Istanbul Theatre Festival with “HumanWrites.” The Festival will host renowned French actress Fanny Ardant with and adaptation of Marguerite Duras’s short story “La Maladie de la Mort”. Hotel Pro Forma will present their musical work “Operation: Orfeo” directed by Kirsten Delholm, a pioneering director acclaimed for every new production and Arca Azzurra Theatre (Florance) will present the third part of Murathan Mungan’s “The Mesapotamian Trilogy”; “Deers Curse /La Maledizione del Cervo.” Another guest performance of the Festival is BADco, Zagreb. “Deleted Messages” is the title of their interactive work. Hebbel am Ufer Berlin will be presenting X-Apartments (X-Wohnungen), a project turning private houses and public spaces into play sites.

Twenty five Turkish Theatre Companies and Dance Groups are participating in the Theatre Festival. Tiyatro Oyunevi will present George Büchner’s “Leonce and Lena” directed by Mahir Günşiray. Adapted and directed by Bengi Heval Öz, Tiyatro Z will present “Phioctetes – A Civilization Trick!,” Theatre Dot will join the Festival with “The Storyteller”. Kocaeli Municipal Theatre will perform “Irk Bitig” directed by Emre Koyuncuoğlu, Franz Kafka’s novel “The Trial” is adopted and directed by Kerem Kurdoğlu and Diyarbakır State Theatre will take part at the festival with Molière’s “The Imaginary Invalid”.

One of the missions as well as the visions of the Theatre Festival is to arrange workshops and meetings to create an opportunity for the young Turkish artists and drama/dance students with the masters. In this sense; William Forshyte, Muriel Mayette from Comédie Française, BADco and many other guests as well as Turkish artists will meet and talk to the audiences.

For more information on the 16th International İstanbul Theatre Festival please visit: www.iksv.org/tiyatro/english

For visuals please visit : www.iksvpress.com/tiyatro08

 
 
 
Publications
  Prize for Michael Billington
To the Top
 
 
 
   
Thursday,
03 April 2008

Michael Billington wins STR Theatre Book Prize
with The State of the Nation


A large crowd in the Grand Saloon at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane heard theatre veteran Sir Donald Sinden declare the winner of the Theatre Book Prize (for books published in 2007) to be The Guardian’s theatre critic Michael Billington for his book (published by Faber) which surveys the relationship between theatre and society over the last 60 years. It seemed a very popular winner with those present and has, of course, already been greeted enthusiastically by both critics and readers.
This year the judges were actress Siân Phillips, Claire Allfree, both theatre and book reviewer for Metro, and Professor Jeffery Richards, short-listed for this prize a couple of years ago for his fine book on Henry Irving.
A mixture of writers, publishers, theatre people and academics heard the judges speak about their short-list choices and some other titles they that they particularly liked. Miss Phillips appeared on video, for she is just about to open on Broadway in a revival of Les Liasons dangereuses.
This year there was a particularly large entry from publishers. The judges received more than eighty titles for their consideration but, as Howard Loxton, chair of the judging panel declared, such independent people soon recognized which titles they would give most attention, though sometimes having to take another look at titles another judge recommended. Though it might seem a very demanding task it is amazing how each year the judges declare how much they have enjoyed it. Just as well or he might find it difficult to replace them every year.
The reception at Drury Lane was supported by Really Useful Group Theatres and the producers of The Lord of the Rings, which is currently playing at the theatre, and by Dewynters.

More details, including the full short list and text of the judges’ speeches on www.str.org.uk and follow news and book prize links.

Press contact: theatrebookprize@btinternet.com
020 7267 4513

 
 
 
Symposiums
  Ibsen in Hong Kong
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Wednesday,
02 April 2008

Call for Paper (March 2008)

Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)

Ibsen and the Modern Self - A Multidisciplinary Conference

November 19-23, 2008, Hong Kong

Sponsored by: Center for Ibsen Studies, University of Oslo Organized by: The Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

Theme of the Conference
Henrik Ibsen, the father of modern drama, is visionary in his projection of a new self that marks the beginning of modernist culture. Almost all of his plays are concerned with the (de/)construction of characters against fixed parameters of self-definition. This new self is reflective and critical, as opposed to the dutiful and obligatory; it is framed beyond the confines of traditional institutions. Owing largely to the social impact of Ibsen’s drama, this aspect of the self is often interpreted as ramifications of the individual’s struggle against social institutions. As a result of emphasis on ideological and political aspects of his plays, Ibsen criticism over the past century has been focused mainly on the “social plays.” Recent studies in gender, identity and psychoanalysis, however, have led to a new interest in Ibsen’s experimentations with issues of the modern self that is always in the making and subject to change.

As a dramatist, Ibsen has to present his characters in dramatic settings and by means of dialogue. Hence, an important theme lies in how the Ibsenian self is created through dramatic devices and form. In his early and middle plays, there is an attempt to represent the character as a contestation between the self and the external framework of reference, which may be the state, government, church, or the family. However, in his later plays there is an effort to go inward to examine the self as an entity with complex inner workings. These efforts in re-charting the character as trajectories of the inner self have brought about new explorations of modern identity, such as gender identity, self consciousness, feminist awakening, sociopolitical orientations, religious definitions, spatial dimensions, and moral issues. Ibsenian forms of drama are thus developed based on modern conceptions of the self.

This conference also seeks to explore different representations and manifestations of the modern self in Ibsen’s plays, as well as how Ibsen’s conceptions of the new self have led to revolutions and transformations in modernist culture within and beyond the European context. It is worth mentioning that this emergence of the new individualist self has produced great social effects in non-European cultures, particularly in the transformation from collective to individualist identity.

Topics to be Addressed at the Conference
- Psychoanalytic interpretations of Ibsen’s plays and characters
- Ibsen’s strategies in linguistic constructions of the self
- Changing concepts of the self in Ibsen’s plays
- Dialogism in Ibsen’s plays and characterization
- Ideological issues and the subject in Ibsen
- Ibsen and the individual as a modern subject
- The Ibsenian self in dramatic structure and moral space
- Stage devices and gender relations in Ibsen
- The Ibsenian self in power relations
- Artistic depictions of the Self in Ibsen
- Modernism and the self in Ibsen
- Medical issues in the Ibsenian self
- Spatializations of the self
- Ibsen and the autobiographical subject
- Deception and the Ibsenian self
- Guilt/shame and the self in Ibsen
- Ibsen and Theatre of the Self
- Ibsen and World Literature of the Self
- Cross-cultural staging of the Ibsenian self
- Self and Asianization of Ibsen
- Filmic/artistic representations of the Ibsenian self
- Other related topics

Programme - The main part of the conference will be conducted in Hong Kong on November 19-21, with the possibility of an extension/excursion to Guangzhou, China, on November 22-23.
Language of the Conference - The conference will be conducted in English
Participants - Scholars, critics, actors, stage directors, artists, filmmakers
Registration Fees - US$120 (or HK$950)

Application/Selection Procedure
- Before 1 July 2008 - Submit bio-data with a paper abstract of 200 words in English (Papers that address theoretical issues with the critical analysis of texts are especially welcome)
- Before 1 August 2008 - Selected paper presenters will receive an invitation from the conference organizer
- Before 1 September 2008 - Submit full text of paper (5,000-8,000 words) to the conference organizer

Correspondence
Kwok-kan Tam
School of Arts & Social Sciences
The Open University of Hong Kong
Homantin, KowlooHong Kong SAR
China
Email: <kktam@ouhk.edu.hk>
Phone: (852)2768-5700 Fax: (852)2391-3184

Organizing Committee
Kwok-kan Tam (The Open University of Hong Kong)
Terry Siu Han Yip (Hong Kong Baptist University)
Liu Yan (Guangdong University of Foreign Studies)
Frode Helland (Center for Ibsen Studies, University of Oslo)
Knut Brynhildsvoll (Consultant)

Publication - Papers selected from the conference will be reviewed for Publication in the book Ibsen and the Modern Self

 
 
 
Varia
  Interview with Sarrazac
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Sunday,
09 March 2008

Jean-Pierre Sarrazac

Irene Sadowska-Guillon interviewed Jean-Pierre Sarrazac for the April 2008 issue of the Spanish magazine ADEteatro. Sarrazac will receive the 2nd Thalia Award from the IATC at its 24th Congress in Sofia, Bulgaria. This interview is in French. Please click on "Francais" at the top right corner of this page.



ADE Teatro - www.adeteatro.com

 
 
 
Festivals
  International Schaxpir Festival
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Saturday,
08 March 2008

After its big success in 2002, 2004 and 2006 SCHÄXPIR continues!

40 to 50 international productions from the fields of drama, narrative theatre, motion theatre, dance and dance theatre, object and puppet theatre, music theatre and performance will be presented in Linz (Austria) from 19th to 27th June 2008.

With a range reaching from first performances of Austrian theatre groups to premières, premières in German of famous international theatre groups, and a large educational and outreach programme, Linz is once again the centre of international theatre for a young audience in 2008, 2009 and 2011.
More than 150 performances in 9 days on about a dozen different stages turn SCHÄXPIR into one of the largest theatre festivals for young people internationally.

SCHÄXPIR offers unforgettable adventures with a very special programme, taking place especially at weekends. From fantastic fairy-tales for the youngest to music and dance theatre for kids up to 12 and funky performances for teenagers from 14, 15 years upward – SCHÄXPIR covers the whole wide range of young theatre with many international productions.

For the first time SCHÄXPIR offers Festival Delegate Packages including, amongst others, free shows and events, meals at the festival meeting point and accommodation.

For further information and registration see: http://schaexpir.at or contact tauber@schaexpir.at (Julia M. Tauber).

 
 
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