The International Drama/Theatre and Education Association (IDEA) is organizing the Together We Go On Festival on 28th and 29th August, a 36 hour non-stop theatre experience that will showcase performances, workshops, webinars, art documentaries and other theatre-related works from all over the world.
Theatre artists and educators all over the world are creating work and looking for innovative ways to make performances in the time of the unprecedented crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic. During the 36 hour online Together We Go On Festival, IDEA creates an open and inclusive space where artists and educators will share their work/practices/research with the world. This is a festival without curation, all languages are welcome and because of the non-stop program the festival will also be time-zone friendly. On the 28th and 29th of August the IDEA Together We Go On Festival will be there for the community within and outside IDEA.
We live in challenging times and the best way to deal with that is to share the ways we respond to a crisis as an interconnected, global and participatory theatre society. The Together We Go On Festival is there for us to support each other in the work we are making.
Our goal is to make a festival that doesn’t exclude anyone. IDEA is an organization for everyone that cares about theatre and the people it is created with. That is why we organize this time-zone free and language-inclusive online festival.
The Festival starts Saturday on the 28th August at 09.00 a.m. (UTC) and has a non-stop program until Sunday 29th August at 08.00 p.m. (UTC). The festival will take place on Zoom with the access by the following link, but the whole program will also be live streamed on IDEA’s Facebook page.
Program of the Together We Go On
Online IDEA Festival
August 28th and 29th 2021
AUGUST 28th 2021
The Festival starts 09:00 a.m. Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and has a non-stop program until Sunday August 29th 08.00 p.m. (UTC).
Mentioned times beneath are Central European Time (CET) UTC+1 (in summer UTC+2)
11.00-11.15 hrs Opening by IDEA President Sanja Krsmanović Tasić and Director of Projects and Concepts Tom Willems.
11.15-12.00 hrs Introduction IDEA World Congress Iceland 2022
12.00-12.30 hrs “Why I Make Drawings of Webinars and Events instead of Notes?” – Photoslide of Adriana Nichting’s Drawings (Netherlands)
Adriana Nichting’s drawing of IDEA’s Where Do We Stand? Webinar
12.30-13.00 hrs Music break
13.00-15.00 hrs Germany:
BVTS – Bundesverband Theater in Schulen / National Association for theatre in schools
SIG: Theatre: School Subject for All – Even in a Pandemic
Introduction and presentation of the students’ video “Absolutely“ – Short presentation of the theatre-class – teachers explain their experiences with theatre-lessons in pandemic times – Q&A focus on “drama under Covid restrictions” – Short summary of the IDEA webinar series Theatre as a Regular School Subject – open discussion – questions, requests and proposals for our future IDEA work for theatre as part of formal education.
15.00-16.00 hrs Summary of the webinar Where do we Stand? and Bells for Art Education action – Sanja Krsmanović Tasić
Poster for the Where Do We Stand? Webinar; design: Anastasia Tasić
16.00-18.00 hrs Kenya:
Kenya KUPAA MANENOS Hour by Patrick Ogutu
- Song video Hakuna Matataa
- Lang Katalang Music – Maseno University
- Zilizopendwa ”Pombe”
- Demu wa chafuwa – Multimedia University
- A play ”Nailantei”– Egerton University
- Cultural creative dance – Technical University of Kenya
- Voiceless play – “Busted” – Masinde Muliro University
18.00-19.00 hrs Czech Republic:
Drama Education Department of the Prague Theatre Academy and Story Theatre
The show Unmuted is about what happens when 11 women from Shakespeare get together on Zoom in 2021. It is an original piece which the Drama Education Department devised together (completely online); they address themes that are relevant to the kids – in particular, what if feels like to be muted. It was created with a group of 12 children aged 12-17.
Poster for “Unmuted”; credits: Story theatre Prague
Story Theatre is an English language community children’s theatre group based in Prague. In 2019, they were recognized at the Czech National Children’s Theatre Festival for their original show Journeys which was the Czech Republic’s nomination for the World Festival in Toyama, Japan.
19.00-21.00 hrs Uganda/Germany:
African Theatre Webinar Series
Workshop: Creating New Spaces Together by Merci Mirembe Ntangaare and Marion Kuster
We met, we talked, and started working together; first at IDEA, then at Young IDEA, and now at a new space: the African Theatre Webinar Series, a project of IDEA. Using transcultural and trans difference approaches, our workshop promotes mutual collaborations across practitioners. We resource Friedrich Wolf’s fable and our work.
21.00-21.30 hrs Music break
21.30-23.30 hrs Mexico:
Un grito de libertad (A Shout of Freedom)
Arturo Morell participates at the festival with his documentary Un grito de libertad (A Shout of Freedom) about the power of the culture inside a prison.
And after that, a conversation about this project.
Poster for the documentary “Un grito de libertad”
23.30-00.00 hrs Music break
AUGUST 29th 2021
Mentioned times are Central European Time (CET) UTC+1 (in summer UTC+2)
00.00-02.00 hrs Peru:
Vichama Teatro/ Liliana Galván
Community Theatre:
Presentation of the play Pétalos de arena
Pétalos de arena is a story of a woman María Elena Moyano, Peruvian leader of Villa El Salvador, murdered by the Sendero Luminoso organization in 1992. The story takes place 48 hours after she was killed when she remembers situations in her life and brings to her memory her friend, husband and women with whom she fought and worked. It’s a time in a different space, before you totally go to another life, or dimension. It’s like they’re her last thoughts.
Poster for the show “Pétalos de arena”
02.00-02.30 hrs Music break
02.30-04.30 hrs Oceania: to be announced
04.30-05.00 hrs Music break
05.00-06.00 hrs Lithuania:
Ricardas Jeglinskas
Community Theatre: The Principle of Reverse Perception
Ricardas would like to suggest you a method, which would create a new internal space in the theatre. The name of this method: the principle of reverse perception in the theatre art. By creating this method, the artist can show the inner world, the actuality of his/her memories, the subconscious of the dream world and inner dramatic situation.
06.00-07.30 hrs China:
Miao Drama Education Institute
Presentation: Drama in Education in Primary Schools in China
What is the state of drama in education in Chinese primary schools? What are the advantages and the obstacles? How can we connect different cultures through drama in education? As the first drama teacher in the primary schools in Chengdu, Miao Bin will share his experiences and ideas.
Poster for the presentation Drama in Education in Primary Schools in China
07.30-08.00 hrs Music break
08.00-09.00 hrs Turkey:
Zeki Ozen, IDEA Director of Research – program to be announced
09.00-09.30 hrs Music break
09.30-10.30 hrs Lithuania:
Performer Ernesta Žemaitytė
Physical Theatre: The Myth of Birth
The story of the birth of a disabled girl. Her twin sister was born healthy and she had to face many obstacles to get on her feet.
Poster for the performance “The Myth of Birth”
10.30-11.00 hrs Music break
11.00-12.00 hrs Portugal:
Alexandra Espiridião – to be announced
12.00-13.30 hrs Malaysia:
KL Shakespeare Players/Soon Heng Lim
Workshop: Physically Isolated, Virtually Together: Hybrid King Lear
KLSP shares how it created a live, Zoom, interactive, online King Lear with actors (and audience) interacting as if on the same stage. Yet all are sheltering in place. Experience the steps, technologies used from rehearsals to performances, which are not exactly stage nor film. But nonetheless, quite satisfying.
Logo of KL Shakespeare Players
13.30-14.00 hrs Germany:
Julia von Sulecki
Julia von Sulecki’s drama group just finished their project film about women and the 5 senses. The film lasts 12 minutes and they’re really proud of it! 5 groups worked on stories about bodyshaming, anorexia and women in the pandemic.
14.00-15.00 hrs Romania:
National University of Theatre and Film I.L. Caragiale
Rominia Boldasu/Adreea Jicman
The presentation focuses on sharing some of the projects done by the Theatre Pedagogy MA students during lockdown. The aim was to find a method to explore the body’s expression to continue their training, as well as finding ways to cope with physical distancing, stress and high anxiety emerged during the lockdown period.
Logo of the National University of Theatre and Film “I.L. Caragiale”
15.00-16.00 hrs Young IDEA
Presentation of projects
16.00-17.00 hrs Serbia:
Cure For Culture (Kulturociklin)/Sandra Maksimović
Workshop/presentation: Cure for Culture 2m
The project Cure For Culture 2m was created in 2020 out of the need for a creative dialogue on extraordinary pandemic circumstances and a critical review of the problems the project dealt with – the topic of mental and emotional health of children during the pandemic. The workshop is a journey from distance and isolation emphasizing the importance of care, responsibility, ethical and environmental awareness and dignity.
17.00-18.00 hrs Beth Murray, IDEA director of Publications
Kick off of the Question Quest Campaign
This program seeks to create a democratic space for targeted community-generated common questions to be taken up by practitioners, researchers, organizations and artists in their work, with responses/answers/new questions shared on a platform designed to honor a wide array of “answer stories” on a web-based platform with all regions represented in their own voices and styles.
18.00-20.00 hrs Ireland:
Association for Drama in Education Ireland
Workshop: ‘Thriving Thursday’ Drama for Wellbeing
This workshop explores the use of drama for wellbeing in the primary setting and beyond. The multiple facilitators will explore wellbeing using a range of drama strategies and activities. It is hoped participants will gain new ideas, and insights on how to use drama for wellbeing. This promises to be an exciting workshop full of practical ideas which can be implemented in a variety of educational settings.
20.00-20.30 hrs Introduction IDEA World Congress Iceland 2022
Logo of IDEA World Congress 2022; credits: IDEA
20.30-21.30 hrs Netherlands:
When We Breathe
Registration of the graduation performance directed by Toni Blackwell, alumnus of Theatre in Education, Amsterdam.
21.30-21.45 hrs Aftertalk with Toni Blackwell – moderator Tomas Leijen
21.45-22.00 hrs Closing Online Festival by Tom Willems and Tomas Leijen
Tom Willems and Tomas Leijen are Directors of Projects and Concepts at IDEA.
This post was written by the author in their personal capacity.The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of The Theatre Times, their staff or collaborators.
This post was written by Tom Willems and Tomas Leijen.
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.
