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We are all equal, we are all similar
Youth exchange with
representatives of Bulgaria, Croatia and Kosovo Aided by the Centre of Open Education - Sofia, Youth Center -Haskovo and Small Youth Theatre Behind the Market were included in the project of the Council of Europe on the Programme “Education for a Democratic Citizenship – twin towns”. Our partners were “Mate Blazhine” Secondary School of Labin, Croatia and the Educational Centre Kosovo in Prishtina. In December 2001, the studio set off on a trip to Labin and held the poetical recital “Intimate lyrics” and the play “Teenager Stories” – a relation of the problems of young people – smoking, drugs, lonely children, child abuse, prostitution. The trip included an excursion to the city of Rabatz at the Adriatic Sea. New friendships, that exist even today, were established. In April 2002, the visit was returned to Haskovo. We held a mutual concert, went sightseeing together and made lots of new friendships. On the final conference in Budapest in January 2003, the project as evaluated as very good. ----------------------- Heim, Heimat, HeimatlosYouth exchange with representatives of Austrai, Bulgaria, Spain and SlovakiaSt. Anton, Austria 09 – 19.07.2004 The project “Home, Homeland, Homeless” brought together young people from Austria, Bulgaria, Spain and Slovak Republic for ten days in the town of St. Anton, Austria. The goal of the project was to provide space for the expression of the creative thinking and the execution of the ideas of the young people from different countries while working in an international team. They were allowed to use the means of expression of the different arts, as the accent was on theatre. Artists and photographers worked with them, thus helping and encouraging them in their creative attempts. A few workshops, in which the participants worked diligently, were formed. The people from the theatre workshop were divided into groups of three and four. Under the guidance of the director Christian Zuki, the actors prepared a few etudes in which their own mother tongues were incorporated. The professional experience in working with youths, the creative criticism and the incredible sense of humour of the director added to the wonderful creative atmosphere that provoked many ideas. The multi-language nature of the etudes proved that language was not the sole means of communication and that people could understand each other even if they don’t speak the same language. The program was full of many cultural and sports events. The participants of the project could recreate from their work in the gym and the swimming pool of the town and get a notion of the unique beauty of the Alps by taking walks on the tourist routes, treks to the peaks and by a visit to Innsbruck. The local traditions and customs were presented to the participants at the concert of the Arlberg’s Dance Ensemble and the local groups, playing traditional folk music. The local people got a glimpse of the cultures of their new friends at the specially prepared for the purpose presentations, dance, musical and theatre performances and traditional food. The end of the project was the presentation of the ten-day work of the participants before guests and residents of the village. In course of two evenings at the local museum, each group, occupied a little space where it presented the etude it had prepared. Thus the guests had the opportunity to see everything that was created by the young people in the course of the project. The works of the young artists and photographers filled the rest of the museum. The morning after the final party, the friends said goodbye in hope of future meetings. ----------------------- Feel Abroad Like At Home
Youth exchange with
representatives of Bulgaria, Spain, Slovakia and The
Czech Republic ----------------------- Harmony though theatre
Youth exchange with
representatives of Bulgaria, Holland, Latvia and
Scotland Being quite experienced in participation in international festivals and youth exchanges, it was high time the company packed up its suitcases for a longer distance trip. The opportunity for this was not tardy as in January we were invited to take part in the project “Harmony Through Theatre” in Scotland. Our arrival in Balmaha, which is a small town on the bank of Loch Lomond Lake, was restlessly expected by the guests from Latvia and Netherlands and the hosts from Scotland. Short demonstrative workshops were held next morning so that each one of the participants could decide what to do the following week. So we could choose between theatre, dance, slapstick and rhythmic. The groups laboured day and night to achieve perfection on their performances. And if it is a sin to go in Rome and fail to see the Pope, it is a sin to go to Scotland and fail to visit Glasgow. We had a whole day at our disposal to go sightseeing in Glasgow, by taking a ride on a typical for Great Britain double-decker. In the meantime each one of the groups kept its performance in big secret from the other groups and thus the participants saw the fruit of their friends’ work at the final presentation. Fortunately, no one had sat about doing nothing during the past week and the presentation turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. Unnoticeably as always, the time has come to go home. If you’re interested in any further detail of the project, contact us and ask after a copy of Small Youth Theatre Behind the Market filming from Scotland. Click here to watch the short movie of our stay! ----------------------- Tell me with your eyesArticle in progress! ----------------------- Zeus + Europe
Youth exchange with
representatives of Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Romania,
Slovenia and Spain “One of the best exchanges we have ever participated into” was the pronouncement for the project of the Greek youth organization “Radio AUT”, given by the members of the studio. The exchange took place at the Aegean coast. Mythology, legends, and contemporary myths – the youths would stick at nothing, prompted by their hunger to learn more about the culture of their new European friends. In its 30-minutes presentation each of the countries showed specific motifs of its mythology. There was no confinement to the means of expressing but quite naturally the participants were theatre oriented. The short performance of our group incited a genuine furore among the other groups who were enthralled by the way the young actors breathed life into common everyday-life objects. I suppose that the better acquainted with the studio repertoire have already guessed that the presentation included specially selected moments from the performance “The fairy tale is alive” – the circle of life, the sun and its bride, the nymphs, the young shepherds and the dragon and the damsel. Framing stereotypes, social isolation, discrimination and other current problems of today’s society were also discussed during the two weeks in Katerini. The visits to the “Meteori” Rock Monastery and the “Dios” History Museum along with the trek on the Olympus Mountain added to the entertainment of the participants in the exchange who left the conquest of the highest peak - Mitikakas for their next trip to Greece. The official part of the program included a meeting with the mayor of Katerini and a visit to the informational center of the host organization. The international evening with traditional food and drinks, the contest that was to pronounce a Miss Afrodita and a Mr. Apolon, the everyday warming-up games brought the youths together while the free afternoons on the beach under the bright touch of sun and the nights out confirmed the already established attachments whose depth was revealed by the unaffected tears spilled at the last gathering of the groups for the final evaluation of the project and its realization. Comments and pictures can be found in the forum and gallery accordingly. For any additional information and materials – contact us. Click here to watch the theatrical presentation of Bulgarian mythology! ---------------------- Back to the forest
Youth exchange with
representatives of Bulgaria,
Lithuania, Poland and
Ireland After the long and tiring trip to Lithuania, where we arrived at 10.30 pm we barely had the strength to say “hi” to the other groups and we collapsed into beds. This, however, was quckly rectified on the following day which we spend in sightseeing Vilnius. On the third day of our stay in Lithuania, we set off for the pretty resort town of Druskininkai. We had different stops en route, which again were dedicated to sightseeing. While in the bus, an international language lesson took place. Arriving in Druskininkai, we were divided into four groups of ten people each. The next day we were taught in different theatre techniques and handed a CD with specially selected music on which we were to think up of a short performance. A lot of other different activities besides the group work occupied our time during the whole of the project, so never was there a moment when we stood idle. The last night we were to present the performances with which we had come up before the media and people from the town of the hosts – Alitaus. ----------------------
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