The Interactive Arts Laboratory core members are Jovana Karaulic, Pavle Dinulovic, Branko Sujic and Mirko Stojkovic, professors from four different departments of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. Their diverse fields of expertise have contributed to a broad scope of action in the Laboratory, which ranges from virtual reality, through sound installations, to immersive theater.

Common to all their joint projects is the element of interactivity, which is present even in forms that traditionally do not incorporate it, such as television series. Another essential aspect of the majority of the projects is the educational component, which is deeply rooted in the motivation behind the founding of the Laboratory. The idea for establishing it, emerged from a desire to explore and conquer new spaces of artistic expression through innovative experiments in this field that would later serve and be available to all of the students from the University of Arts that want to step into it and further explore this territory.

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Theater festivals, members of the ASSITEJ Serbia besides fulfilling their primary role of gathering the most representative plays for children and youth made by local, regional, and world productions, contain various programs for drama education dedicated to the youngest, youngsters, and professionals. Festivals fill the vacuum in Serbia’s formal education system by giving kids, teenagers, and professionals knowledge and skills in the theater arts.

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http://assitej-international.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Serbia-Bid.pdf

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Dance for young audiences is a constantly changing, vibrating field that offers the possibility of questioning, examining, researching, and problematizing various social issues. Contemporary dance gives us (the artists) the possibility to constantly develop, changing our point of view on issues like accessibility, togetherness, equality, freedom, sharing space and responsibility, inclusion and full participation in our practices.

In a month in which ASSITEJ Serbia honors its birthday (7th of April) and later the International Day of Dance is celebrated (29th of April), it is the right moment to think and write about dance for children and young audiences in Serbia. Although it has existed for decades, dance as an independent field, as an art separated from the theater, present in the performing arts for children and young people is still understood as new, young, developing, attractive, but often too abstract- just like a teenager, misunderstood young rebel, still emerging and unestablished. At least that’s how the performing arts institutions in my environment still understand it. Given that this year at AAG in Novi Sad and Belgrade we are dedicating ourselves to hear the voices of young creators as much as young audiences, here is an opportunity to devote some time to this young art, which is still looking for its place in theater institutions throughout the Balkan region.

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All types of theatre for children are represented at the festival, with selection priority being given to puppet theatre expression. All professional puppet and children’s theatres, as well as all those professional theatres which have performances for children in their repertoire, are invited to send their applications by April 15th 2023 at the latest.

Festival Head Office address: Open University Subotica International Festival of Children’s Theatres Subotica Trg cara Jovana Nenada 15 24000 Subotica Serbia or to: lutfestsubotica@gmail.com

Application Form

More Information

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Ever since its very beginnings over 50 years ago, the journal Scena has been published by the esteemed theatre institution of Sterijino pozorje. The first edition of Yugoslav Theatre Festival of Sterijino pozorje took place in 1956 in Novi Sad. The idea was to have the most significant theatre festival in Yugoslavia organised in the very city from which the first theatre companies started their journeys towards Zagreb and Belgrade. The journal was founded with the objective to continually address current theatre matters from one issue to the next, present new local and global theatrology trends and publish at least one new local play per issue. In the desire to actively contribute to the development of local theatre life, Scena has more than once published thematic issues dedicated to puppet theatre, theatre for children and young people, theatre schools, as well as the phenomenon of child in theatre… In 2014, the editorial staff of the journal reaches the idea that the subjects related to theatre and education need be represented in every single issue, bearing in mind the significance of theatre education of young people.

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OD MALIH NOG(U) / From the First Step is a regional platform dedicated to the development and affirmation of TYA in the Balkan region. It brings together organisations and artists who want to change the situation in the TYA sector with their educational, artistic and theoretical work.

Theatre, Community, Multimedia is the platform’s one-year activity program organised by the organisations and NGOs dedicated to TYA in Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Croatia.

In 2023, the activities will be based on several contemporary cultural and artistic directions. These activities intend to gather some important issues in the contemporary TYA needs – artistic, multimedia values of the contemporary performing arts, and the matter of community empowerment of TYA, including audience development and capacity building mission. Through year-round activities, the platform members will dedicate their work to the following:

• Emphasising the immanent multimedia nature of performing arts through workshops that analyse theatre in correlation with other arts (visual arts and film);
• Highlighting the innovation of contemporary theatre for children and youth through distribution of pieces that question the boundaries of performing arts;

• Inclusion and education of young artists in the residential, educational program;
• Encouraging the development of the author’s expression through different open calls and by organising co-productions with various theatres in the region;
• Research on community needs and dialogue with various theatre academies in the region.

With such comprehensive year-round activities, we want to encourage changes in the TYA sector, especially at the level of aesthetics and the social position of artists, with the long-term goal of affirming regional theatre for children and young people.

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As a theater director and CEO of The Festival of Ecological Theatre for Children and Youth (FEP), a manifestation with a long tradition held every August in Bačka Palanka (Serbia), I always posed a question: What does ecological theater mean, and what can it become? What it means to be sustainable, and how can art become more sustainable?

In my ecological mission, I face different challenges and risks. We can say that Serbia has no systemic solutions or proposals for cultural institutions and organizations to be more sustainable. At the same time, we can say that we already have older but progressive ideas and forms. Back in the 90s, these ideas highlighted the meaning and perspective of ecology and sustainability and supported new and brave attempts of young artists to think in the way of ecology.

Today these people are advocates for changing the artistic landscape in a sustainable manner. Even though we do not have programs or enough understanding and support from the government regarding this topic, we have individuals who are making sustainable art in Serbia very visible and important.

In this article, I will present The Festival of Ecological Theatre for Children and Youth and a few positive examples of nature and theater coexistence in Serbia.

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24th – 27th August 2023

“On the cliff”

“The Festival of Ecological Theatre for Children and Youth” is open for applications for performances that will be part of our 29th Festival, which will take place from 24th to 27th August 2023 in Bačka Palanka under the slogan “On the cliff”.

We invite all professional theatres for children and youth to send their applications and participate in the 29^th Festival.

Why ON THE CLIFF? 

In the last year of its third decade, and with its position and experience, the Festival of Ecological Theatre for Children and Youth is exploring how the city, country, region and the world treat theatre for children and youth. All this with the aim to turn our attention to the lack of stand, strategy and care about programs for children and youth in our country. However, by gathering significant artists it also turns our attention to the courage of authors who create on the cliff of that margin. Although this area has been marginalized with the smallest financial outlays, lack of clear definition of theatre for children and youth in strategies and laws, centralization of even those smallest financial outlays and care, as well as the lack of specialized education in the area of performing arts for children and youth, the artists have been creating progressive, new, contemporary and brave theatre for children and youth. In spite of the general marginalization, the theatre for children and youth can be proud of the modern approaches it explores, both in form and content, and by including colleagues from other and closely related areas into their work and therefore making the process and product interdisciplinary and intersectoral. Following the children and youth and their needs, being in touch with the times they are growing up in and challenges they are facing, these artists do not underestimate their audience. Nevertheless, they still do not get enough media visibility, prestige, financial benefit and satisfaction they deserve. They are still being neglected, less significant or unnoticeable, which implies that children are not important enough for us to direct time, space and finances towards their spiritual and mental development, in spite of the narrative claiming the opposite. The artists working in the performing arts for children and youth, especially those creating outside the main centres of power, create in invisible spaces curtailed by limits, prohibitions, restrictions, refusals. They feel as though they have been pushed to the maximum, standing on a cliff symbolically representing their success and ambitions but also inability of taking the next step. Let’s talk about that, let’s give space to those who have it the least, yet deserve it the most. FEP is dedicating its 29^th edition to exploring forms, brave topics and brave people because, after 28 years of fighting for its existence, the Festival of Ecological Theatre for Children and Youth understands the best what it means to create on the margins. See you on the cliff – what lies beyond is either a vast expanse or nothing at all.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Plays are intended for children and youth;
• Plays are performed by professionals; 
• Every type of theatrical performance is eligible (puppet show, acting show, choreodramas, shadow theatre, object theatre, (non)verbal performances, musicals…)

Following will have priority:

• Performances on the topics of ecology, mental health of children and youth, rights of children and youth, treatment of others and different ones;
• Performances exploring forms such as interactive theatre, participative, hybrid, immersive, ambient, digital, etc.;
• Performances using modern technologies, object theatre, sustainable materials or performed outdoors; 
• Performances exploring the field of ecology of process and working towards green transformation in the theatre;
• Chamber performances and performances of smaller scales.

FINANCIAL TERMS OF HOSTING: 

Independent productions – the Festival pays them a fee for performing a play and provides them with hotel accommodation (full board) during the Festival and local transport. Travel expenses are provided by the producer (association, troupe, informal group, etc.). The Festival is open to suggestions and initiatives about jointly raising additional means for travel expenses.

Institutions – the Festival provides them with hotel accommodation (full board) during the Festival. If the Institutions from Serbia do not have funds intended for travelling to festivals withing the country, FEP is prepared to provide for the travel expenses/transport to Bačka Palanka and back. Daily wages and fees for performing plays are provided by the producer/institutions.

Since the institutions have the option to include participation in festivals into their annual budgets, we believe this to be one of the positive models how institutions can strengthen and support the independent and decentralised scene for children, as well as towns without theatres, such as Bačka Palanka.

Please make sure you specify all your expenses in the application form, according to the type of production of your play.

HOW TO APPLY: 

Complete the form

LINK

All entries must be submitted no later than 5^th February 2023!

Applications submitted after the stated deadline, as well as incomplete applications, will be considered invalid. You will be notified about the preliminary results of the selection via e-mail by 28^th February, while the Google forms will automatically inform you that your application has been submitted. All of the attached materials remain in the Festival’s archives, and are used exclusively for the selection and promotion of the Festival’s program (program book, posters, website, social networks, promo video). Should you have any trouble with the online application form or any additional questions, feel free to contact us:

office@fep.org.rs

SELECTION PROCESS: 

The selection process begins with an analysis of the received online applications. A selection of applications is forwarded to the Artistic Committee of the Festival for review, after what a list of performances participating in the competing program of the 29th Festival of Ecological Theatre for Children and Youth will be published.

The main criteria for the selection of performances are the artistic quality, corresponding to this-year’s selection priorities, as well as financial and technical possibilities of the Festival. Link to the technical specifications of stages in Bačka Palanka.

Applicants who pass the selection will be electronically informed about the preliminary results by 28^th February, while the final results will be announced on the Festival’s website (www.fep.org.rs) no later than 1st July 2023.

“THE GOOD TREE” AWARD

• Award for the best play in its entirety by decision of the professional jury
• Award for the play closest to children by decision of the children’s jury 
• Award for the best play according to the audience’s votes 
• Individual awards by decision of the professional jury (special award, acting awards, visual identity award, etc.)
• Award given by the Festival’s Council and Artistic Committee for exceptional contribution to artistry for children and youth 

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Held this year in live format, FEP offered great joy to artists, performers, workshop leaders and in audience of all ages, children, babies and youngsters mixed with adults.

The members of the Jury had the pleasure of seeing 6 very good artistic pieces in the competition program of the festival. They stated as extremely important the fact that the entire festival is designed to consistently, dedicatedly and harmoniously implement its mission and its ecological approach in all program units. All this together creates a unique and authentic entity that strongly articulates the basic mission of the festival, which is based on a combination of art and ecology.

During the festival there were 9 theatre performances, as well as 11 ecological workshops held. Festival welcomed performances from Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro and Russia.

4 days of the festival in little place Bačka Palanka left the impression of an environment which unites the collective spirit of creators, organizers, participants, volunteers as well as audience, pedagogues, children and parents in the service of art and a joint mission of raising environmental awareness.

The “Dobro drvo” award for the best performance of the festival was awarded to the performance “Forest songs” by Kuskus Institute from Ljubljana (Slovenia).

Entrance to all festival programs was payed in recyclable materials – from plastic bottles and caps to glass and cans. The money earned from recycling was given to charity afterwards.

www.fep.org.rs

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