Continental Drift: Connecting Asia-Europe Dramaturgies

What are the consonances between dramaturgical thinking and doing in Europe and Asia? How might these produce collaborations that span the social, political, environmental and cultural urgencies of two dramatically differing continents and contexts? What might a resulting community of practice look like?

“Continental Drift: connecting Asia-Europe dramaturgies” invites practitioners from both regions to embark on a collaborative journey together, culminating in a week-long gathering in the cities of Prague and Olomouc in the Czech Republic in December 2024. Participants will collectively reflect on personal praxes, share and exchange knowledge, and build a community of practice through a series of online and in-person encounters.

This programme is jointly organized and presented by the Czech Association of Independent Theatres (Asociace nezávislých divadel ČR; AND ČR) and the Asian Dramaturgs’ Network (ADN), with funding support from the Czech Ministry of Culture, the National Recovery Plan and the European Union.

PROGRAMME PARTICIPANTS

Ten participants have been invited through an Open Call held from 15 Mar - 15 Apr 2024. Five participants from SEA countries/region and five from Czechia/bordering countries will be embarking on a programme via a series of online seminars and an eventual in-person visit to the Czech Republic in December 2024. 

The ten participants and their respective statement of intent or proposal about international collaboration and collaborative projects are:

• Arsita Iswardhani (Indonesia) - Arsita is interested in meeting artists and resources who share their passion for a listening-first methodology. They believe that every story, no matter how small or seemingly ordinary, is part of a larger network of people's ideas and activities and contribute to the narratives that make up our history and the broader social choreography. These stories, collected through the possibility of collaboration will become a part of one big network of stories that influence/shape each other.

• Barbara Gregorová (Czechia) - Barbara hopes to share about her festival's dramaturgical vision with other dramaturgs, especially in the contexts of the current sociopolitical situation and so-called polycrisis in the European area. Barbara is interested in the role of the dramaturg within the institution - a profession that builds permanent dialogue not only in the creation of productions, but also with audiences.

• En-Ping, Yu (Prague/Taiwan)

• Eva Lietavová (Czechia)

• Ian Rafael Ramirez (Philippines) - Ian is interested in engaging in international collaboration to develop their project and reflect on their praxis alongside other practitioners, who will bring their unique methodologies of performance-making. They are keen to engage with other queer practitioners who challenge normative modes of dramaturgy and performance-making. They wish to better understand their perspectives on queer praxis, and how it can break down oppressive systems within the arts and cultural sector and foster more inclusive performance-making methodologies.

• Linh Valerie Pham (Vietnam) - Valerie is interested in exploring possibilities to further develop their project through collaborations with a local dramaturg and local performer/city-dweller, and a more thorough examination of questions about belonging to the city and the city belonging to its inhabitants, which will create an anthropological tapestry of urban lives.

• Marc Nair (Singapore) - Marc intends to create new collaborative storytelling work that brings together personal and observed experiences centred around specific themes, including identity and autoethnography. Keeping in mind political elements of migration, income inequality and agency, Marc is interested in integrating a European worldview towards collaborative storytelling. They are interested in how audience interactions impacts the way a narrative is shaped and how collaborative storytelling can embody the performative.

• Matyáš Dlab (Czechia) 

• Oksana Maslova (Ukraine/Austria) - Oksana explores how people cope with challenging life situations and seek personal solutions to overcome or adapt to them. They are interested in investigating how people adapt their thought processes to the idea and reality of war, and how they find ways within themselves and others to live despite war. They are interested in the perspective of Asian culture on these issues, and the ways different traditions and cultures influence different perceptions, perspectives, and solutions.

• Riyadhus Shalihin (Indonesia) - Riyadhus is interested in the ideas of continental drift and continental law, and their relation to legality, ethics, tradition, resistance, and indigenity. They want to explore the body's resistance to dramaturgical practice in Europe, especially economic injustice/inequality between Eastern versus Western Europe, evictions and gentrification in densely populated areas. Riyadhus hopes to foster collaboration that allows for artistic and research-based intercrossing.

The participants will begin the programme on 15 June 2024. Find out more about their ideas, interactions and follow the programme activities here.

APPLICATION 

Application Period: 15 March – 15 April 2024
Selection will be confirmed by 1 May 2024

To apply: 

• Complete the online form 

  • You will need to upload a bio/CV that clearly demonstrates/highlights that fulfill the below criteria.

  • You will need to upload a proposal or statement of intent (500–1000 words) that should articulate an existing or new production for which you are hoping to embark on an international collaboration to develop or stage the work. Describe the kinds of practitioners and resources you hope to be connected with through this programme and the thematic and aesthetic concerns your work hopes to address.

CRITERIA

• A strong desire to create new performance work through international collaborations. Rather than touring or adapting existing work, the applicant should have a vested interest in working with counterparts across countries and regions.

• Have experience with at least one international collaboration, inclusive of developmental processes or participation in regional or international platforms such as the ADAM Artist Lab (Taiwan), BIPAM (Thailand), Bavarian Czech Platform for Independent Performing Arts (Czechia, Bavaria), or participation in international projects supported by various funds including Visegrad Funds, Creative Europe, Czech German Future Fund, and Perform Europe, or through their work in such organizations.

• At least five years of professional working experience in performing arts contexts, including experience working with or as a dramaturg and/or curator, programmer, producer.

• Applicants should be from Czechia and its border countries or Southeast Asian country or region. Both organizations will pay particular attention to applicants who are from or working in sociopolitically marginal or challenging geographic contexts.

• Strong proficiency in English, which will be the language of communication during the online seminars and one-week exchange programme in the Czech Republic.

PROGRAMME SCHEDULE

Selected Participants (five from SEA country/region and five from Czechia/bordering countries) have to commit to the following online and in-person gatherings: