Kolektiv Nesladim

27th April 6 p.m.

ONLINE ZOOM

1/ Listening to stories: Strategies for gathering material for documentary theatre projects.

Different social groups and their stories require that creators have a specific capacity for listening and close observation. Which processes should we develop in order to uncover marginalised issues, of which we are often unaware, because they are not immediately obvious. We are interested in the methods and tools we can use in our theatrical work to ensure the sensitivity and openness needed during interviews. We want to share the experience of collecting stories.

Are there any general rules that are applicable to theatre projects working with documentary material? What mistakes are difficult to avoid and what, on the other hand, can inspire us?

GUESTS

David Košťák

David Košťák is internal dramaturg of the independent theater Letí and the Švandovo Divadlo in Prague, he is also a member of the Nesladim Collective. In addition to practical dramaturgy, he is also involved in authorial creation

Spielraum Kollektiv

Spielraum Kollektiv is a theater group founded by Linda Straub and Mathias Straub. 

They specialize in documentary theater, ecological-themed theater for adults, and music material-based theater for children.

Viki Brown

Viki Brown is an independent British artist based in Bristol. She is the founder and artistic director of the theatrical charity group Many Minds, which organizes workshops to support social skills and creativity.

James Leadbitter

James Leadbitter is a British performer and activist, whose works are often radical and operate in many different contexts. James draws on his own experience of mental health issues and works with groups including young people, healthcare professionals, and vulnerable adults, to challenge the way mental health is understood.

THE RECORDING OF THE DISCUSSION CAN BE FOUND HERE: https://fb.watch/kS1oK2l3NB/

15th June 6 p.m.

ONLINE ZOOM

2/ Working with the audience in documentary theatre projects

Theatrical trends, not only in the field of documentary theatre, are currently increasingly focused on the role of the audience member. In this debate, we will be interested in the issue of promoting theatre that deals with mental illness and communicating these themes to the public. Together, we want to look for ways to involve the audience and to open burning ethical questions with them as sensitively as possible. We will try to discover practical means to avoid adopting an educational approach, while remaining aware of potential risks. We are interested in strategies used to mitigate the psychological impact on viewers who themselves may suffer from a mental disorder.

We kindly ask all interested parties to fill out this simple form.

Afterwards, a link to the ZOOM platform will be sent to your email address.

REGISTRATION: HERE

GUESTS

Sonia Gómez

Sonia Gómez is a dancer, performer, and choreographer who has studied Contemporary Dance and Choreography in both the "Institut del Teatre" in Barcelona and P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels. Her work, which spans over a decade starting in 2004, revolves around themes of identity construction and the exposure of social deceits through art, as well as the deceits of art through the body and performance. She has performed in a variety of countries, including Spain, UK, Italy, Germany, France, Estonia, Portugal, USA, Brazil, Mexico, Holland, China, Czech Republic, Canada, Colombia, and Chile. Sonia Gómez has received numerous accolades for her work.

Wojtek Ziemilski 

Wojtek Ziemilski is a theatre director and visual artist. Ziemilski extends the idea of documentary performance. His work is often an inquiry into spectatorship and the possibility for action. By using tools such as devising, real-time composition, but also references from the world of visual arts and various media, he builds universes that combine aesthetic experience with intellectual inquiry. His performances have been shown in over 20 countries, at events such as the Ruhrtriennale, the Prague Quadriennial, the Divine Comedy Festival, and won awards such as the Main Prize of the Zürcher Theater Spektakel or the Main Prize of the Fast Forward Festival in Dresden.

Beatriz Liebe

Beatriz Liebe is an executive producer of L´altre festival in Barcelona, international performing arts and mental health event. She is person who has been involved in various projects that explore the boundaries of performing arts and expression. She has contributed to the development of several projects, including the Altre Festival Internacional d'Arts Escèniques i Salut Mental and the Festival Dramatúrgia sobre la Crisi PIIGS. She is also involved in the interdisciplinary project Teatronika, which aims to bridge the gap between robotics and all audiences. Together with researcher Martí Sànchez Fibla, she helps create various initiatives, including the Theatrical Scripts for Robots Contest, which resulted in the publication of a book containing 10 winning scripts and articles by Miquel Barceló and Stefan Kaegi (Rimini Protokoll).

Magda Jiřička Stojowska

Magda Jiřička Stojowska is a theater director and dramaturge, co-founder of KC Nesedím, sousedím in Břevnov, where she contributes to the creation of concepts and organization. She established the theater group "Nepořádné dítě" (Messy Child) and prepared several original productions with them. She has been leading the Břevnovský Express journalism circle since its inception. In the Czech Republic, she has created productions for Meetfactory (KaDeWe), Archa Theater (Boys and Girls; 4th World), Studio hrdinů (Ferrante Club with Iga Gańczarczyk), and the association Živé město (Faster, Higher, Stronger; Everything I Tried to Forget; What Goes In Must Come Out - together with Wariot Ideal and Zorka Velková). She has also created original productions for KC Nesedím, sousedím (Another Universe; Ghost Hunters).

You can find the recording of the discussion here

14th September 6 p.m.

3/ Ethics and mental hygiene in the creation of documentary theatre

ONLINE ZOOM

This debate focuses on exploring the fine line between the mental involvement of creators and the healthy distance that has to be maintained when working with sensitive topics. We are interested in the specific experiences creators face during this type of work and their insight into possible rules for ethical communication with interviewees. We would like to provide mutual feedback on how to help in destigmatising important topics without harming ourselves.

GUESTS

Eugenia S. Kim

Eugenia S. Kim is a Korean-American transdisciplinary practice-based researcher who uses movement and multimedia technology to create narratives. She received her PhD in Creative Media from the City University of Hong Kong in 2020 where she proposed the use of dance and somatic movement practices, motion capture and VR for creating illness narratives about bipolar disorder. Her current practice and research focus on chronic pain, lived experiences, AI, and the metaverse. She has been based in Hong Kong since 2015.

MgA. Vendula Ježková, Ph.D.

The community theater platform Just Monkeys is led by Vendula, where they create intergenerational performances such as social theater, therapeutic theater, and participatory theater. Vendula is engaged in teaching acting propaedeutics, "creative play" at the Psychosomatic Clinic of Prague 6, and collaborates on educational projects within the institutions of NPI ČR, MMR, and Pii. In 2016, she defended her dissertation titled "Acting as Creation: A Study on Constitutive Elements of Creative Activity" at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts (JAMU) in Brno.

Kristýna Ilek

Kristýna Ilek is an emerging dramaturg and researcher working internationally across Europe. She studied in Scotland, France, and the Netherlands. She graduated with an MA in Dramaturgy at the University of Amsterdam. As an independent dramaturg, she worked on multidisciplinary projects focusing on community work and social justice. She is one of the founding members of Dare to Care Art Collective, which advocates for mental health care for artists through exhibitions, art projects and networking. Kristýna is currently based in Belfast where she conducts PhD research about mental health care in performing arts from the perspective of dramaturgy. Her goal is to improve and normalise mental health care across the creative sector and to create guidelines for healthy creative practices.

David Košťák

David Košťák is internal dramaturg of the independent theater Letí and the Švandovo Divadlo in Prague, he is also a member of the Nesladim Collective. In addition to practical dramaturgy, he is also involved in authorial creation

You can find the recording of the discussion  here