🌍 Belgrade, SRB
🗓 9 – 11 May 2019

On May 9th, ASSITEJ Serbia is starting the story!

-We’re starting a story of ASSITEJ Serbia Festival. Of a festival that will showcase the best productions for children and young people – for all ages, in all forms of performance art, for all members of ASSITEJ Serbia who are willing to take part.

-We’re starting a story of communality. This festival is not mine, not yours, not theirs. It is ours. It is the festival of all ASSITEJ members. We all work on it, take part in it, we’re all selectors and we’re all the jury. How? Every year, the festival will have a different Host – an institution or an organisation that is a member of ASSITEJ and that will take upon itself the responsible role of the Host who will provide the venue, technical means and everything required for hosting the participating shows. The institution of a Selector does not exist; instead, ASSITEJ recommends each production to take part in the Festival. The jury of professionals is constituted of a representative of each organisation whose production is taking part in the Festival. The number of members of professional jury equals the number of productions. As well as the number of poetics, the number of opinions and stances on performance art for children and young people.

-We’re starting a story of exchanging “stories”, a story of dialogue. We want to initiate a dialogue between members, to get to know each other better, as well as the modes in which we address the young audiences. We want to talk openly. We want to spot advantages and problems, flaws and virtues, hits and misses –our own and those of others – and to talk about them. To each other. Because we speak the same language, because we understand each other best. We also wish to start a dialogue with those with whom we share the “target audience” – with school pedagogues, because they, as we do, address children and young people in their work. For this reason, the Festival will have the Pedagogues’ Jury, along with the Jury of Professionals. By talking to each other, we will help each other do our work as best we can. And our talks will, ultimately, impact children and young people.

-We’re starting a story of our audience. Will we manage to keep them? Do we address them in the right way? Do they experience us as educators, friends, authority figures or entertainers? Do children and young people like theatre?

-We’re starting the story of ourselves. Let’s look at ourselves in the mirror.

-We’re starting the story of the future.