AMP: Artists' Meeting Place and Resource Collective

1st World Festival of Youth Theatre (July 2009, Vienna)

Dear friends,

Here is a final opportunity to participate in this fascinating festival:

1st World Festival of Youth-Theatre

17th to 26th July 2009
Vienna / Austria

http://www.wienxtra.at/jugendinfo/engl.asp?er=2

"WienXtra", one of the biggest NGOs for children and youth in Vienna in co-operation with OEBV (Austrian National Centre of AITA/IATA) and AITA/IATA organises the 1st World Festival of Youth-Theatre together with the City of Vienna.

The theme of the Festival will focus on today´s society in which many people, especially ones in positions of responsibility and others, who have an exaggerated sense of their own importance, seem not to recognise the difference between right and wrong any longer. What seems right to one person can be wrong to others.

Because of their position, some people believe they have the right to disregard justice or common law or the rules. Do we have the ability to distinguish between right and wrong? Is there a limit? Does the law set the rules and restrictions or is it our social conscious, our feelings, our tolerance.. Or is it power, violence, ignorance?

Do young people have new creative ideas or thoughts that they can communicate on stage to the audience? Is there anything in the so called "classic stage literature" that still carries today's values? What options do we have today to make visible what is right and what is wrong in order to prepare a platform for discussion?

Youth-Theatre ensembles of different genres or types or styles of performing arts (theatre in combination with dance, character, music.) from all over the world are invited.

The organiser will pay for your accommodation and full board for theatre groups consisting of:

10 young people (aged 16 - 22) plus
1 director plus
1 technician

All travel expenses have to be covered by participating groups. Please understand that any extra costs must be covered by the groups if your group exceed 10+2 participants.

We kindly ask you to send your application form plus photos, video or DVD from your performance and press reports to wienXtra. If you have no actual ones, please send us material from former productions.

Our further idea is to carry out internationally mixed workshops for participating groups and dance ensembles under the same subject: "Right and Wrong". One young volunteer of each ensemble is kindly asked to run a workshop in the mornings during the festival using the group's skills and involving their group dynamics rather than teaching them new methods or techniques. The results of this team process can be presented publicly by the end of the week.

Submission for applications: 31st January 2009

An international selection committee will decide which groups will participate and you will be informed about the results by the end of February/beginning of March 2009.

Josef Hollos
Project Manager
josef.hollos@wienxtra.at

from art4development