Friends of ASSITEJ is an opportunity for members (individuals, companies, national centres, networks etc.) and supporters to contribute to building the next generation of Theatre for Young Audiences practitioners, by contributing on a once-off or annual basis to the ASSITEJ Next Generation Programme. This programme allows an emerging artist to access an international exchange and development activity such as participation in a festival, seminar, forum, workshop or other project in another country. Support offered by the Friends will contribute towards travel costs for participants.
ASSITEJ has pledged 2000 USD (4 x 500 USD) partial sponsorships to be used for supporting this programme in 2013-2014, and any additional funds raised through Friends of ASSITEJ will be used to increase the number of partial sponsorships available to those who apply.
In the future, the EC will determine the level of sponsorship that can be applied to this programme from their budget, but Friends of ASSITEJ will supplement this budget to ensure that more emerging artists have access to international exchange and professional development.
Levels of Friends of ASSITEJ
There are currently three levels of giving in Friends of ASSITEJ: Bronze, Silver and Gold. We propose including a Platinum level of giving, and rebranding what these levels imply.
Bronze level:100 USD; Partial placement
Silver level: 250 USD; Half placement
Gold level: 500 USD; Full placement
Platinum level: 500 USD over three years or 1500 USD; 3 placements
Acknowledgement of Friends of ASSITEJ
All Friends of ASSITEJ will be publicly acknowledged and thanked as part of the Awards Ceremony at the World Congress, where they will be announced and will receive their specially designed pin and a certificate of appreciation, signed by Next Generation participants and the President of ASSITEJ, if they are in attendance.
At each International Meeting, there will be an opportunity after the first meeting of the Next Generation placement programme, for Friends of ASSITEJ to meet with the new Next Generation participants, and with others who have been on individual placements over the course of the year. This will give Next Generation participants an opportunity to meet those who have been interested in sponsoring the programme, to meet others who have benefitted from individual placements, and for networking and supportive relationships to be created, should these be desirable for either the Friends of ASSITEJ or the Next Generation participants.
All Gold and Platinum Friends of ASSITEJ will be recognised as a sponsor of the Next Generation Programme as a listing on the website (ongoing) and in the annual magazine, if they so choose.
Should persons giving at the Bronze or Silver level, choose to do so over several years, once they reach the Gold level of giving, their status will be upgraded to Gold, and they will then be acknowledged in the ongoing list of sponsors on the website, and in the annual magazine for that year.
Friends of ASSITEJ may remain anonymous should they so desire, and are under no obligation to attend the above-mentioned events.
Friends of ASSITEJ will also be sent reports by the Next Generation on the success of the projects or experiences they have enjoyed during the period of giving.
Hosts of Individual Placements for Next Generation will also be obliged to acknowledge the Friends of ASSITEJ in some way – through the media, or through a public event during their activity.
Legacy of Friends of ASSITEJ
We are deeply grateful for the generous support of these Friends of ASSITEJ.
GOLD (life – 500 USD)
SILVER (for 3 years – 250 USD)
Sameer Khoury, Israel
BRONZE (1 year – 100 USD)
Peter Westphal, Denmark
Warsaw, October 3-14, 2015
During the Festival several dozen events will take place:
- shows presented by Polish and foreign theatres,
- presentations of performances by children and young people,
- happenings,
- artistic installations,
- workshops and creative games,
- meetings with the theatre people,
- inclusive artistic activities.
All the events, prepared with the participation of educators and creators are aimed at children and young people, while the subjects dealt with in the performances are carefully chosen in regard to the age of the spectators.
The KORCZAK Festival presents different theatrical genres, forms and techniques and introduces valuable new issues and trends in the contemporary theatre for children and young people. It builds up a space in which young spectators, in participation with their grown-up guides acquire knowledge about the art of theatre, develop the need of engaging in cultural events, and make an attempt to act creatively.
On its agenda, the Festival has theatrical events for very young children, toddlers and even babies, and their parents. And also for all those people who are interested in this latest tendency, rapidly gaining serious attention.
As regards foreign theatres which have been invited to the Festival there is no language barrier! The shows are selected in such a way, and their presentation and translation arranged so that language is not an obstacle.
The Polish Centre of ASSITEJ, the organizer of the Festival, is inviting you all to the Powszechny Theatre – the base of important Festival events.
Warsaw, October 3-14, 2015
During the Festival several dozen events will take place:
- shows presented by Polish and foreign theatres,
- presentations of performances by children and young people,
- happenings,
- artistic installations,
- workshops and creative games,
- meetings with the theatre people,
- inclusive artistic activities.
All the events, prepared with the participation of educators and creators are aimed at children and young people, while the subjects dealt with in the performances are carefully chosen in regard to the age of the spectators.
The KORCZAK Festival presents different theatrical genres, forms and techniques and introduces valuable new issues and trends in the contemporary theatre for children and young people. It builds up a space in which young spectators, in participation with their grown-up guides acquire knowledge about the art of theatre, develop the need of engaging in cultural events, and make an attempt to act creatively.
On its agenda, the Festival has theatrical events for very young children, toddlers and even babies, and their parents. And also for all those people who are interested in this latest tendency, rapidly gaining serious attention.
As regards foreign theatres which have been invited to the Festival there is no language barrier! The shows are selected in such a way, and their presentation and translation arranged so that language is not an obstacle.
The Polish Centre of ASSITEJ, the organizer of the Festival, is inviting you all to the Powszechny Theatre – the base of important Festival events.
Warsaw, October 3-14, 2015
During the Festival several dozen events will take place:
- shows presented by Polish and foreign theatres,
- presentations of performances by children and young people,
- happenings,
- artistic installations,
- workshops and creative games,
- meetings with the theatre people,
- inclusive artistic activities.
All the events, prepared with the participation of educators and creators are aimed at children and young people, while the subjects dealt with in the performances are carefully chosen in regard to the age of the spectators.
The KORCZAK Festival presents different theatrical genres, forms and techniques and introduces valuable new issues and trends in the contemporary theatre for children and young people. It builds up a space in which young spectators, in participation with their grown-up guides acquire knowledge about the art of theatre, develop the need of engaging in cultural events, and make an attempt to act creatively.
On its agenda, the Festival has theatrical events for very young children, toddlers and even babies, and their parents. And also for all those people who are interested in this latest tendency, rapidly gaining serious attention.
As regards foreign theatres which have been invited to the Festival there is no language barrier! The shows are selected in such a way, and their presentation and translation arranged so that language is not an obstacle.
The Polish Centre of ASSITEJ, the organizer of the Festival, is inviting you all to the Powszechny Theatre – the base of important Festival events.
Warsaw, October 3-14, 2015
During the Festival several dozen events will take place:
- shows presented by Polish and foreign theatres,
- presentations of performances by children and young people,
- happenings,
- artistic installations,
- workshops and creative games,
- meetings with the theatre people,
- inclusive artistic activities.
All the events, prepared with the participation of educators and creators are aimed at children and young people, while the subjects dealt with in the performances are carefully chosen in regard to the age of the spectators.
The KORCZAK Festival presents different theatrical genres, forms and techniques and introduces valuable new issues and trends in the contemporary theatre for children and young people. It builds up a space in which young spectators, in participation with their grown-up guides acquire knowledge about the art of theatre, develop the need of engaging in cultural events, and make an attempt to act creatively.
On its agenda, the Festival has theatrical events for very young children, toddlers and even babies, and their parents. And also for all those people who are interested in this latest tendency, rapidly gaining serious attention.
As regards foreign theatres which have been invited to the Festival there is no language barrier! The shows are selected in such a way, and their presentation and translation arranged so that language is not an obstacle.
The Polish Centre of ASSITEJ, the organizer of the Festival, is inviting you all to the Powszechny Theatre – the base of important Festival events.
Too Perfect To Be True!
Someone asked me to state three things I “learnt” from the program. I did answer but found my own answer rubbish!
When I thought about it I realized it wasn’t a “learning” experience but a life experience. First thing I’d say is that everyone should travel alone to another country at least once in their lives. The place I was in didn’t make a difference to me, the people did. Positivity all around, not an overdose – just perfect. And here I did not face hierarchy problems. I now have a Nigerian mother!
21st April, 2015
It was wonderful to be there. I felt like it was a dream even a day after arriving in Berlin! The first two days I’d been waking up early there and then began the run of sleepless nights.
Before our first meeting five of us – Chocho, Titi, Ehiz, Sandile and I went to the East-Side Gallery. We were then picked up from the hostel to go to Theatre An Der Parkaue. We were given festival folders which had detailed schedules for the International Encounters, Discover Berlin, exhibitions, info sheets, contact details, directions from venue to venue and everything else we would need for the week. After the opening Yevette Hardie addressed us personally and we were told that we have to put up a 15 minute performance/presentation on Sunday “What If I Were the President of ASSITEJ…”! The theatre was decorated with balloons printed with parts of the world and the world map on blocks and a lot of other stuff. The Theatre Cafe is also interestingly decorated with objects hanging from the ceiling that are peculiar to a particular country. We watched the play 2:14 pm and I loved the design and the flow of it.
22nd April, 2015
What a day it was today! I didn’t do anything but traveled across the city. In the morning for the first session Basak and I got left behind when we went to buy water. We managed to reach in time for the first International Artistic Encounter at Umweltforum which was a sort of an introductory session with a key note by Dr. Christoph Lutz-Scheurle on perception of performances. There was an exhibition of the networks of ASSITEJ – Next Generation, International Inclusive Arts Network, Write Local, Play Global and the Small Size desk where I read “Art is not a matter of AGE but of CURIOSITY” and I so agree to it!
On our way from Umweltforum to GRIPS Podwil to watch A Body Image the U-Bahn was full on people attending Augenblick mal! The escalator was crammed with us after we alighted – now that’s a festive feeling – people with festival bags and badges everywhere!! A Body Image was a visual treat but a little too abstract for me to really analyse it. I had never seen anything as bold.
Next adventure was on my way to Restaurant Erdton. I left at 3 pm from GRIPS Podewil and reached the restaurant after an hour and a half! I kept asking for directions and couldn’t even spot where I was even on the map! Finally I managed to reach in time. I went to the venue – Umweltforum in the car with Prof. Hoffman and Prof. Schneider. Prof. Schneider told us that the Renault 16 is French made and 50 years old and so we are chauffeured in those. At the 50 years of ASSITEJ ceremony the other speakers besides Prof. Hoffman and Prof. Schneider were Cyrille Planson – President of ASSITEJ France, Philippe Etienne – Ambassador of France to Germany, Guila Clara Kessous – UNESCO Artist for Peace, France and of course, the lovely Yvette Hardie. This was one inspiring ceremony for me! Also, whoever I met after the ceremony said they loved my speech. Moving and empowering were the most common words they used. Some even said they had tears in their eyes when Prof. Hoffmann gave me her book.
Forgot to mention that after the 50 Years of ASSITEJ Ceremony Asaya Fujita and Kenjiro Otani of ASSITEJ Japan and I rushed to the next venue – Deutche Oper and missed the play. After an hour of traveling we go back! The volunteer who guided us there was surprised to see that none of us were upset about it. Kenjiro joked that if there was a European here he would have definitely been grumpy but we’re happy Asians.
I went to my room early that evening and welcomed everyone else to my room whenever they came back after the play. That was the beginning of a run of late nights for me – Bollywood night in my room where I taught Karina some Bollywood moves.
23rd April, 2015
Our day began with Flight of Fancy or Why Cry, a beautiful movement based piece. Post lunch was International Inclusive Arts Network’s Alice in Flight, again, wonderfully put together with disabled actors. Let’s talk about history they said! Our first formal Next Generation meeting with Paul Herman of and Volker Ludwig. Felt more like a classroom just that I paid more attention here. The next show 95 Pounds of Hope was an everyday scenario at home interestingly put together by three actors switching characters.
24th April, 2015
Just what I was waiting for, group discussions. We were to pick two topics of discussion out of twelve and without thinking much I first went to the group that was to discuss how artists mirror children’s everyday life moderated by Imran Khan. It was interesting to know different approaches to reflecting a child’s behaviour and life on stage. Very few of us spoke and cross questioned one another though I was happy to see some others who joined the group just to listen and know how it works with different people. The second group I joined was moderated by Roberto Frabetti about use of spaces and distance from the audience – both mental and physical. The next formal Next Generation meeting was about TYA in my country. Such an eye opener! I used to complain about performances for children in formal theatre spaces in Mumbai only for two months but there are places where there are performances in formal spaces only TWICE a month! And then preparation for the big day. We got to our statements for “If I were President of ASSITEJ International” to put it together as the manifest for this year’s NG programme.
Before the next performance we had about 3 hours to go around the city so Nina, another NG participant but our “guide” for that afternoon took us around from the Alexanderplatz to the Brandenburg Tor. The live electric guitar in Raw from Belgium brought out a “raw” atmosphere even though it held me on and off throughout the performance. The ASSITEJ Gala was a good bonding time for everyone present at the Festival Café at Theatre An Der Parkaue. All members of ASSITEJ and us, new members of the family, all danced together to some groovy live music. Now that’s what I call generations in dialogue!
25th April, 2015
There was another round of group discussions waiting for us. Here were twelve new statements to discuss which got me in a fix till the last minute about where to go. Finally I first went to the group moderated by Francis Fugel discussing whether we “teach” our audience or whether we should if we don’t. This was quite a neutral discussion because some
of us were against “teaching” or “advising” through theatre and some of us were doing theatre for educating the audience. The second group was a small group of five and so got really intense. For once I got nervous for I didn’t have an answer to a question the moderator Henning Fangauf asked me. But that moment just made me introspect more. The play Swift! From France was a visual delight! I personally don’t like the use of too much technology on stage but this was an exception. After that a few of us headed to the GRIPS Theatre to rest for a while, yes rest, something we did for the first time after we arrived in Berlin. We also had another Ng meeting about dramaturgy which got cancelled so that we could get some more time to mingle informally. I cannot describe the feeling I had when I went into the GRIPS green room before Bonustrack. I think Carolina (Brazil), Mthokozisi (South Africa), Kedar (Nepal), Jean Jacques (Cameroon), Sandile (Swaziland), Minoovash (Iran), Diana (Colombia/Switzerland), Ehizua (Nigeria), Ernest (Rwanda), Jeremiah (Nigeria), Karina (Mexico), Bruce (Zimbabwe) Ishu and I (India) really brought out a lot of diversity on stage from our countries! I cannot tell who my favourite was that evening. Karina, Martina and I also learnt some Turkish dance steps from Basak that night. And also got a little drenched in the Berlin rain.}
26th April, 2015
D-day! The presentation of our manifest, “If I were the President of ASSITEJ….” at the fourth International Artistic Encounter and just before our entry I was teaching Basak some Garba moves! That little presentation felt like a storm with our voices filling up the room, first the entire manifest in English read by Joanna (South Africa), and then one line after the other in our own languages , again a lot of diversity – Spanish, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Pidgin English, Turkish, Korean, Nepali. Tea time or Kaffeeklatsch was when I spoke to Meike and Kristen for the first time. Better late than never! It was a little unfair that the German participants weren’t staying at the hostel with the other international participants. They missed the after parties and late night street loitering! Anyway, at Tea Time we shared our comments about each section of the program. The last play we saw was Child|Soldier. Intense, though I couldn’t connect to it much and felt that there was too much happening.
The venues spread across the city gave a festive feel not just in one part of the city but in the whole city. We all agree that we had less time to mingle. But nonetheless we’re in touch and many more opportunities to come to interact personally and not just virtually.
A big thank you to Joanna Migut for replying to our emails instantly and being our mother and to Anne Herwanger for introducing us to her.
http://spreewild.de/blog/2015/04/29/bretter-die-die-welt-bedeuten-2/
http://kjtz.co/2015/05/05/minoovash-rahimian-looks-back-to-the-assitej-artistic-gathering-in-berlin/
http://kjtz.co/2015/04/23/minoovash-rahimian-the-next-generation-group-bei-augenblick-mal-2015-1/
http://kjtz.co/2015/04/24/minoovash-rahimian-the-next-generation-group-bei-augenblick-mal-2015-2/
http://kjtz.co/2015/05/07/manifest-der-next-generation-beim-assitej-artistic-gathering-2015/
http://kjtz.co/2015/05/06/next-generation-painting-a-better-picture/
