With the support of EEA Grants, InSite Drama has just launched its newest project titled “Theatre in Education know-how exchange of artists and professors involving six Hungarian theatres, a Norwegian university and a Norwegian theatre“. As the first step of the project, a delegation of 18 Hungarian actors and educational theatre professionals will travel to Bergen between 2nd-9th October.
According to a recent national level study conducted by InSite Drama, Theatre in Education (TIE) flourishes in Hungary as never before: today, almost all theatres have such programmes (Adam Cziboy – Adam Bethlenfalvy: Handbook of Educational Theatre Programmes, Budapest, L’Harmattan, 2013). Theatre in Education programmes are such complex arts pedagogical repertoire productions in which the creators of the programme initiate interactions with the participants, inviting them to jointly think about the questions offered by the theatrical parts. This might happen in the form of discussions, but the participants frequently get the possibility to take on roles, or become the writers and directors of the story.
We invited a colorful selection of theatres to our know-how exchange: besides a few theatres that freshly introduced Theatre in Education in their repertoire, we also welcome a company with two and a half decades of experience. Our associate partners are the Budapest Puppet Theatre, the Csokonai National Theatre from Debrecen, the Hevesi Sándor Theatre from Zalaegerszeg, the Örkény Theatre and RoundTable Theatre in Education Company, the first ever Theatre in Education company of Hungary. InSite Drama has been developing TiE programmes with all of these theatres jointly. Our Norwegian partner is the Bergen University College, an internationally highly acknowledged institution in the field; our Norwegian associate partner is Bergen’s puppet theatre, the Hordaland Teater. Our partnership is based on ten years of cooperation.
In the first semester of the theatrical year 2016/17 (October 2016), a Hungarian delegation with 18 participants will travel to Bergen. The delegation will deliver 4 Theatre in Education programmes in English, as part of a mini festival organised in Bergen for Norwegian students and professionals (Csokonai National Theatre: Verona 1301, Hevesi Sándor Theatre: Peter, RoundTable Theatre in Education Company – InSite Drama: Embrace of the Giant, InSite Drama: Benched). Bergen University College frequently organises paid study trips for their students to Hungary, because they find the Theatre in Education scene of Hungary one of the finests in Europe – so the exchange serves clear and obvious needs on both sides. Following the mini festival, members of the Hungarian delegation will attend courses and workshops organised by the Bergen University College, while a few of them will deliver a masterclass for Norwegian students and artists. This exchange will be mutually beneficial for both parties and will significantly influence the existing practices.
Based on the inspiration of the exchange, six new Theatre in Education programmes will be developed during the project in Hungary (one in Csokonai National Theatre, one in Hevesi Sándor Theatre, three in the Budapest Puppet Theatre, one own production of InSite Drama). Parallel with this, two new Theatre in Education programmes will be developed in Norway. The programmes created in the project will be part of the repertoire of the associate theatres for years. Based on the personal contacts made in Bergen, the network of the Norwegian and Hungarian artists and professionals will support each other during the creative process.
In the second semester of the year (March 2017), seven professors along with other professionals from Bergen will come to Hungary. They will visit all associate theatres and they will watch the newly created Theatre in Education Programmes. Besides, they will deliver seven workshops in Budapest, which will be open to anyone interested. As part of this workshop series, they will demonstrate the two newly developed TiE programmes. This second exchange will help both parties to refine and finalise the newly created eight Theatre in Education programmes (six Hungarian, two Norwegian).
All activities of the exchanges and the creative processes will be recorded by professional documentary teams in both countries. The videos created will be useful for educational, research and archiving purposes.
For further details contact Adam Cziboly.