Inspiring a Generation - Call Out: 28 January
Inspiring a Generation - Call Out
ASSITEJ South Africa and Theatre Arts Admin Collective are proud to announce the return of:
“INSPIRING A GENERATION”
To view and complete the online application form, click here. (link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey= dFBZRzdEQjhVWFVWUlFEN0dGaXJ0VWc6MQ#gid=0)
The aim of the programme is to inspire theatre practitioners to make high quality children’s theatre in South Africa. This will build a new generation of theatre makers working in the area of theatre for children and young people, and through their work build a generation of children and young people who love and are inspired by theatre performance.
The 2010/2011 Inspiring a Generation programme was very successful and managed to enrich the skills and abilities of 6 very talented young theatre makers.
Some highlights were:
o Omphile Molusi and Vice Monareng attended the New Visions New Voices programme at the Kennedy Centre, resulting in the creation of a new work, The Promised Land of Balalatladi.
o Vincent Meyburgh attended the ASSITEJ Performing Arts Festival and World Congress in Copenhagen/Malmoe, where he was able to see a range of inspiring work and meet artists from all over the world.
o Cathy Dodders received input, which was of great value to her Masters programme in making theatre for young audiences.
o Thami Mbongo and Omphile Molusi attended the Pittsburgh International Children’s Theatre Festival where Omphile was inspired to start his own festival in his home town, Itsoseng.
o The Adaptations workshop with Janice Honeyman provided insights to all participants in adapting stories and novels for the stage.
This year we will be accepting 4 emerging writers/theatre makers into the programme. Each should ideally come from a separate theatre company, which has an interest in making theatre for children and young people.
The first part of the 2012 Inspiring a Generation programme will run for 6 months, culminating in a forum presentation of the new works at the National Arts Festival in June. One of the most exciting aspects of the programme is the Inspiring to Play section, which will be a South African / Swedish exchange workshop project which will take place in March and May. This project includes a fully subsidised trip to Sweden.
Please see the dates below during which each participant must be available for Inspiring to Play. Also see the Project Overview below.
“Inspiring a Generation” Programme Activities
The programme aims to inspire theatre makers by engaging them in the following activities:
1. Inspiring to Play, a Swedish / South African collaboration, taking place in South Africa (27th March – 3rd April) and Sweden (21st – 27thMay), focusing on writing new productions for young audiences.
Please note that TOTAL availability for these dates is essential.
2. Exposure to world-class children’s theatre through attending an international children’s festival. The participants will attend the Bibu.se festival in Sweden.
3. Participating in the ASSITEJ SA Family Season in Cape Town (March 2012) as an observer and/or workshop leader.
4. Participating in ASSITEJ programmes at the National Arts Festival (Grahamstown, July 2012), for example, The Remix Laboratory and presenting on the project in a forum.
5. Engaging in conversation with international makers of theatre for children through a variety of different forums and workshops through the course of the year.
6. Meeting once every 2 weeks to engage, debate and reflect on ideas, experiences and issues that emerge from these activities, as well as having additional intensive periods of work (participating in workshops or forums).
7. Meeting outside of these times to engage in a number of short collaborative tasks with each other that result in small theatrical experiences for children/youth.
8. Creating a short performance for children/youth with members of their company or with a group of theatre makers other than the programme participants by the end of the year.
9. Interacting with the Next Generation network within ASSITEJ.
Programme Cost (for first 6 months)
The first part of the programme costs R2 500, which can be paid in instalments over six months. A deposit of R500 must be paid in order to qualify for the programme.
(Assistance with applications for bursaries in deserving cases will be given.)
Criteria
- Participants must be based in Cape Town, South Africa.
- Participants will be trained theatre-makers, with experience of collaborative work, and at least 2 years of professional experience;
- Ideally, they are members of companies, or community/youth groups, but individuals will also be considered;
- Have an interest in making work for children/youth;
- Have an interest in working in a cross-disciplinary mode;
- Have two contactable references, reflecting on artistic merit, commitment and work ethic.
Inspiring to Play - Scriptwriting Project Overview:
Theme: Poverty
First part – research
- Theatre makers research among and with children in schools to find out children´s thoughts and attitudes concerning poverty.
Second part – sorting out
- Theatre makers share their experiences and observations, streamline these thoughts and establish an idea for writing a play.
First workshop in Cape Town, South Africa (27th March – 3rd April)
Third part – writing
- Theatre makers write a play based on the work developed thus far.
Fourth part – refining the play
- Theatre makers present their play to the other participants and continue the writing of the play.
Second workshop in Lund, Sweden. Presentation of work as part of the program of the Bibu-festival (21st – 27th May).
Presentation of work as part of the National Arts Festival (28 June – 8 July).
Contact
To apply for the programme, click here. NB: Please remember to send two reference letters to Pieter Bosch Botha on email: inspiring@assitej.org.za or Fax: 086 834 4841.
Deadline for applications: 28th of January 2012.
Applicants will be informed by the 30th of January.
The programme will commence on the 1st of February.