Magazine 2024 CU-II

Overview of the work
2020–2024
The lives
of the others
European Theatres for Young Audience
in a Union of Diversity

ConnectUp
The lives of the Others
European Theatres
Advisory Board Meeting
for Young Audience
in a Union of Diversity
ConnectUp is a successful larger scale cooperation project
supported by the European Commission under their
European Culture Funding Stream Creative Europe.
It consists of 14 partners from 10 countries – among them
a university, theatres and festivals.
ConnectUp sets in place an international cultural initiative
for the target group 12+ in order to counteract the process
of increasing social and cultural division across Europe.
To achieve the aim of cultural inclusion it is essential to
provide opportunities for young people to actively engage
with different nationalities, cultures and social groups and
to remain open to other people and life experiences.
The partners, all working in the field of Theatre for Young
Audiences, combined their different skills in a European
“union of diversity” and planned a major investment in
Audience Development.
Following Nelson Mandela’s quote
“No one is born hating another person because of
the color of his skin or his background or his religion …”
the theatres and festivals aim to reach the cross section
of society at least within their auditoriums by bringing
together existing middle-class audiences with audiences
from the margin of the society.
Under professional guidance young people of all social
classes, cultural backgrounds and abilities share experiences
in theatre processes under the theme “The Lives of the
Others”. Making professionalization a keyword, ConnectUp
offered a certified Dual Education “Theatre Mediation”
in two runs and mediators accompany all processes with
participation projects.
That guarantees that the institutions will turn into
welcoming places for young people of all social and
cultural backgrounds.
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3

Table
ofContent
Have our ambitious plans
actually been realised?
by Dirk Neldner
Artistic Director of ConnectUp
3 ConnectUp – Short Info
4 Table of Content
5 ConnectUp – Overview by Dirk Neldner
7 Theatre Mediation Programme (TMP)
by Gunnar Horn
8 TMP 1 – Youth Encounter 2023 Tomorrowland
in Palmela (PT)
12 TMP – The second run
15 TMP 2 – Inaugural Meeting in Vancouver (CA)
17 TMP 2 – Inaugural Meeting in Derby (UK)
19 TMP 2 – Youth Encounter 2024 Chasing the Wind in Forlì (IT)
22 ConnectUp – Legacy and Handbook
23 ConnectUp activities
24 Segnali Festival Milano (IT)
26 INAF Kristiansand (NO)
28 PULS Festival Vienna (AT)
30 Advisory Board Meeting Radebeul (DE)
31 ConnectUp partners and productions
32 Universitetet i Agder (NO)
33 ASSITEJ Norway (NO)
34 Dschungel Wien (AT
38 Teatro O Bando (PT)
42 Divadlo Alfa – Skupova Festival (CZ)
46 Białostocki Teatr Lalek (PL)
50 Derby Theatre (UK)
53 Kazališna družina PINKLEC (HR)
56 Landesbühnen Sachsen (DE)
59 Ich bin O.K. (AT)
62 Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana (SI)
66 Elsinor Centro Di Produzione Teatrale (IT)
70 FITEI (PT)
74 Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru (UK)
75 ConnectAPP
76 ConnectUp Future / Legacy
78 Management – Imprint
79 Picture Index
The last two years of the five-year cooperation should
reflect the full diversity of our endeavours. In 2023 and
2024, the ConnectUp theatres will present their theatre
productions at 8 international festivals, primarily to
the target audience of young people – but also to a
critical professional audience. In this way, ConnectUp
aims to prove that, as a Union of Diversity, it is making a
significant contribution to the inclusion of young people
who find themselves on the margins of our respective
societies.
The first festival cycle in 2023 is behind us. Almost 25
ConnectUp-performances took place in Milan, Derby,
Kristiansand and Vienna, a good reason to pause for a
moment and check whether our ambitious plans have
actually been realised?
One reliable indicator is the audience, whose composition
we want to expand with ConnectUp. Each theatre selected
a new target group that had previously found it difficult to
find their way into the auditorium in order to introduce them
to theatre in a long-term and targeted manner. From this
group, the theatres selected a young person to accompany
them to the festivals. And for each of the four showcases,
we also invited young people from our partners‘ communities,
the so-called “Young Ambassadors”. After their respective
trips to the festivals, they were interviewed anonymously.
Over 80% of them rated the theatre performances they saw
in the highest category as “very good”.
One of the young people stated,
Tabula Rasa
“Theatre was new to me until recently. But it‘s exciting
to experience how I feel the stories on stage.
It has so much to do with me and my life.”
The extent to which we have implemented our plans can
also be seen in the content of the theatre productions.
For Tabula Rasa, Landesbühnen Sachsen collaborated
with the Viennese company “Ich bin O.K.”. A dance theatre
production about the different living conditions of people,
their different financial starting points. A mixed ensemble
of dancers with and without down syndrom made diversity
visible on stage.
Another quote from a young person:
“I discovered that I didn‘t even think about whether
the dancer had down syndrom or not.”
80 Partners – Websites
As many as 85% of the young people were “overwhelmed”
by the festival atmosphere they were able to experience
over an average of 3–4 days.
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Theatre Mediation
Programme (TMP)
Aftershow
Discussion
Festival
Segnali,
Milano (IT),
2023
The collaboration between Teatro O Bando (Portugal) and
Dschungel Wien (Austria) explored, based on workshop
results with young people, which Taboos young people are
aware of and to what extent they feel restricted by them.
In its co-production Pleasant Land with the Italian Teatro
Elsinor, Derby Theatre explored the realities of young
people‘s lives and told different stories about identity,
belonging and becoming an adult. The play is based on
research with young people from the city.
In their work Footsteps in the Mud with the Croatian theatre
K.D. Pinklec, director Sarah Brigham from Derby Theatre
researched how Sinti and Roma live in Cakoveč and the
discrimination they face.
Symulator, a joint production by the Polish Bialostock
Teatr Lalek (BTL) and the Czech Divadlo Alfa, explores
different family constellations and their influence on child
rearing. They thus open up a view of the basic starting
conditions for young people.
This selection of ConnectUp productions shows the artistic
courage of the theatres to open up to new themes and new
target groups. They have thus often facilitated first-time
access to culture for young people who were previously
not among their usual visitors.
We can be curious about the results ConnectUp will present
at the four festivals in 2024 (Bialystok, Pilsen, Ljubljana, and
Porto). These are collaborations with theatres that are
outside the network, some even outside of Europe. Thus,
each ConnectUp theatre has gained a new theatre, sharing
the fundamental idea of the project to open up to new,
marginalized audience groups. The ConnectUp motto of a
“Union of Diversity” is thus transferred to nine new partners.
All of the new partners also participate in the second round
of the Theatre Mediation Programme (TMP). There, they
will learn methods and working approaches in order to
consolidate the initial impulse to open up the theatre to
new audience groups.
by Gunnar Horn
Head of the Theatre Mediation Programme
The Theatre Mediation Programme (TMP) is the core part
of ConnectUp, as it, by developing theory and practice
about TYA, helps to bring new knowledge to both teachers
and artists interested in the lives of young and often
marginalised people. The TMP provides a platform for
people working with cultural expression, both for and
with young people.
The TMP has an important role in carrying out the
main ideas of ConnectUp:
It is Theatre Mediation (also known as theatre education, theatre
pedagogy and engagement work), which can effectively
connect the three involved parties (artists – teachers – and
young people) and unite them as equal partners in the
theatrical process. It has a special role when it comes to
addressing new, hard-to-reach audiences and bringing them
together with already existing ones.
ConnectUp Vision Statement
TMP consists of these four different parts:
\ A kick-off workshop week
\ A series of e-learning modules
\ Co-creation projects
\ A masterclass at a festival
Participants in the TMP include a variety of teachers and
theatre workers from participating institutions and collaborating
schools. They have common confidence in meeting
young people with diverse backgrounds in the programme.
Before starting, we held personal Zoom meetings with each
participant to learn about their background and levels of
competence. The great variety in the competence levels
provided a challenge, but it also enriched the programme
as we adjusted along with the proceeding of the TMP.
The first run of TMP
The pandemic turned the plans we had upside down and
made us start working online, with the e-line modules.
We structured it into 6 modules, each consisting of one important
part of the whole programme. In the first module,
we aimed to establish a common language in the group
by presenting and discussing different perspectives on art
and theatre work. The second module covered the specific
needs of our target groups. In the module about pre- and
post-performance activities, we wanted to highlight the
totality in which performance exists. The next module
talked about drama and theatre education in schools.
Another module was about participatory theatre with
young people and the module about community-based
theatre addressed how to build relationships with whole
communities.
In a short window of less contagion, before another lockdown,
we managed to hold our first workshop week in
Porto (PT) during the FITEI festival. Later, the participants
could meet in Forlí (IT) at festival Segnali for masterclasses
towards the end of the first run of the TMP.
comments after the masterclasses in Forlí:
“Exhausting week, but very, very cool. Learned much,
tried many methods, talked to my co-production partners,
and had a good time”
Norberto O. Portales
(Company PETA,
Philippines) leading
a workshop at
Festival Segnali
(Milano, IT, 2022)
Young
Ambassadors
at Festival
Segnali,
Milano (IT),
2023
“Being able to interact face-to-face was of great value”
For a large number of participants of TMP1, there was a
chance to bring groups of students to the youth encounter
in Palmela (PT).
Workshop by Ich bin O.K. at Festival Segnali, Milano (IT), 2022
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TMP 1 – Youth Encounter
2023 Tomorrowland
in Palmela (PT)
June 3–11, 2023
A unique theatrical moment with young Europeans and
their vision of the future
From June 3rd to 11th, 2023, Teatro O Bando opened
their splendid locations, both for 70 young people from
9 European countries to inhabit the valley and make this
place a space for research and artistic reflection on the
expectations and aspirations of the “world of tomorrow”.
The young people were chosen from school classes or
theatre clubs connected to the partner theatres and guided
by their teachers or theatre pedagogues.
I really like it here!
This has brought us together from all over Europe!
Boy, 15, Poland
We asked together: How can the world of tomorrow become
a better place? What mechanisms are needed to achieve
change? How can societies be changed so that the future
continues (or becomes) worth living?
As preparation for the gathering, the youth groups had
reflected on what the future could, and perhaps ideally
should, bring. This material formed a starting point for the
collective creation process.
The young people were installed in Setubal, a nearby town
by the sea, and buses brought them every morning to the
premises of Teatro O Bando.
I learned to express myself.
Girl, 16, Germany
The work was organized into 3 sections: Morning, with a
warm up, afternoon, and early evening with food served
on-site. Every day started and ended in the whole group, in
between the work happened in smaller groups, guided by
the different artists and teachers.
TOMORROWLAND became a week of interaction and collective
thinking about the social, environmental and political issues
that young people envision for their future. Throughout
the week we had various theatrical activities and debates,
music workshops, creative writing, movement, set building
and costume design, exploring the various areas involved in
artistic creation to create TOMORROWLAND – a big event,
that happened on Saturday, June 10th.
Graphics from the project
concept by Andrew Siddall
and Cloe Osborne (UK)
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During one week of intense theatre work as well as intense
social activity in the Portuguese countryside, the young
people have grown in knowledge about themselves, about
how to participate in a collective theatrical event, and
about the lives of other young people around Europe.
The thing I will miss the most is losing contact
with all the nice people I have met here.
Boy, 15, Italy
It is all about community, protecting nature.
Boy, 17, UK
The event culminated the intensive week led by the team of
Andrew Siddall and Chloe Osbourne (UK). It was shaped as
a march through the fields of O Bando. The audience in the
role of land buyers, interested in buying the virgin landscape
to build factories met the hostile inhabitants who
wanted to stop the destruction of their territory.
The audience, brought in buses from the village of Palmela
and several people from the partner theatres of ConnectUp,
walked through an interactive Tomorrowland, to navigate
both demanding challenges and responses of solidarity.
I learned to trust my own ideas.
Girl, 16, Croatia
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TMP –
The second run
The programme had these three main parts:
The second run of TMP gathered more than 35 participants
from the partner theatres and their collaborating schools
and also from the co-producing theatres for the production
#4, from outside the ConnectUp-partners. This time it also
included Canadian theatre workers and academic staff from
the university. We offered them a special start-up week in
Vancouver and then invited them to be fully integrated into
the whole programme.
Based on the first round of TMP and the evaluation we
did during and after, and also considering the effect the
pandemic had on the first run, we decided to revise the
study programme to clarify the goals we had set for both
the programme, and the learning outcomes we wanted to
achieve for each participant.
We wanted our participants to
1) have a good understanding of diversity
for audience work in theatre,
2) develop skills in how to engage diverse
target audiences and
3) develop innovative skills to work aesthetically
and content-wise with a young audience of 12+.
Theatre FOR Young Audiences. Establish a common language
about making TYA. Investigate why and how theatre
can make an impact. Work with different target groups and
diverse audiences. “Pre- and post” performance activities.
Connecting performances in schools and communities.
Theatre WITH Young People: Exploring drama and theatre
techniques and approaches to create theatre with young people.
Exploring how professional artists work with young people to
explore education/community themes and ensure less-heard
stories are given a platform. A way of making authentic work.
Theatre BY Young People: How to support young people to
make theatre in response to professional productions. How
to develop a relationship with a whole community. Using
co-creative practices and how these approaches empower
and support young people to find their voice.
The three e-learning modules Theatre FOR, WITH and BY
Young People were organized with three joint online meetings
which included lectures, discussions and group work,
and with self-organized group meetings with defined tasks
connected to the different modules.
Practical work during the programme
The co-creation projects
The learners were encouraged to develop their own projects
with a diverse audience group, related to ConnectUp
production # 4. These projects will be conducted throughout
the whole year of 2024, depending on the development of
the professional theatre projects. The participants will have
an important role in shaping the co-creation with young
people as well as with the theatre production itself.
The main idea is that the theatre mediators are integrated
into all parts of the co-production, which includes research
before the show, pre- and post-activities and the co-creation
with the young audience. These projects will be presented
and developed online in the e-learning program.
Here is an example from a group work within the TMP 2
curriculum about how to create a co-creation project:
To feel like home
Before starting TMP 2 we made some major changes:
\ Focus on three main topics, Theatre FOR, WITH,
and BY young people.
\ Start with a workshop week.
\ Have three main modules, with one joint online
meeting and several group meetings in between
the joint meetings.
\ Give the groups group work tasks so they have the
opportunity to study and discuss at their own pace.
\ Integrate the youth encounter as much as possible
\ Strengthen the connection between the co-creative
work and the rest of the programme.
Each joint online meeting was followed by online group
meetings. Here is an example by one group to find
definitions for theatre FOR, WITH, and BY young people:
Module 1 dealt with different perspectives on art, discussing
themes like the power and the magic of art, art that has inspired,
and art vs culture. The module had the goal of recognizing
different experiences from the group of learners and to establish
a common language about theatre for young audiences.
Module 2 dealt with applied theatre and how to work with
theatre elements in school and other institutions and
groups of society. It helped create an understanding of how
various forms of theatre work with young people and how
they can be carried out in school and theatre clubs.
Module 3 dealt with different ways of working with theatre
projects in communities and how to use applied theatre
for co-creation with various youth groups. Through strong
examples, the participants got an understanding of how
this kind of work can be organized. The smaller groups of
participants shared their group work in Canvas, a learning
management platform, for the e-learning part.
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Masterclasses on a festival
The participants can participate in TMP masterclasses
during one of the festivals included in the ConnectUp
programme. This time the masterclasses will be held in
Pilsen during the Skupova Festival, in June 2024. One workshop
will be led by Hana Volkmerová, Head of the theatre
lecturer department of the Puppet Theatre Ostrava. She will
utilize the theatre‘s puppetry expertise and familiarize the
participants with the possibilities of incorporating puppets
and objects into their work with young people. In another
workshop, Kristian Nørdtvedt Knudsen, Associate Professor
in Theatre at the university of Agder (NO), will introduce to
different evaluation methods.
Participation in the Youth Encounter 2024
The youth encounter in 2024 took place in Forlì (IT) in April.
Several of the participants brought student groups for the
one-week-long co-creative theatre process. The young people,
aged between 13 to 20 were working under the theme
“Wind”. See page 18
Teaching methods in a diverse group
Again, this time, teaching has been organized through
lectures, seminars, and hands-on workshops, and to the
largest degree possible, tailored to the groups´ needs
and their level of professionalism. We have arranged more
possibilities to learn from each other through self-organized
groups, considering the fact that many of the participants
are experienced teachers or theatre workers. A better integration
of the practical and theoretical parts will hopefully
secure a good learning outcome. The start-up workshops,
the Youth Encounter, as well as the planned masterclasses
at the festival in Pilsen are important parts. The feedback
so far has been very good.
I would like to say that three TMP modules opened my eyes
and showed me a wide range of possibilities for me as a
teacher. I am enthusiastic about trying different activities
we did. I know that my theatre is far away from being such
an open theatre, but at least I can try to talk them into some
events that would connect the theatre and people more.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Teacher, Czechia
The three modules have greatly shaped my personal learning
experience. The people we had the chance to listen to and
work with have been extremely inspirational and motivated
me to keep my “readiness to go the extra mile” and to put
more effort into the work I have been doing throughout
the past years on an even more professional level because
the modules have equipped me with more confidence, but
also more ideas and questions that I will keep trying to find
answers to.
Teacher, Austria
Above all, theatre offers the potential to encounter others
and oneself. It‘s not about what the theater has to say to the
young audience. It‘s much more important what the young
audience has to say to the theater.
Artist, Germany
This project has enriched my profession in many ways. Not
only has it broadened my perspective when it comes to
working with young people, but it has also made me even
more aware of the fundamental role that theater can play in
education, change, and the development of society. After this,
I feel confident and encouraged to explore new paths, apply
new tools, and implement new challenges.
Artist, Portugal
It has been very nice to have the time and space to reflect on
how we work with, present to, and mediate for young people.
I feel that the program is a bit packed, leaving us with little
time for sharing and reflecting, but personally, it has inspired
me to do so…I feel that I speak more confidently about
theatre mediation now than before. Theatre mediation was
a bit blurry for me before, it still is a bit, but I feel that I have
a clearer picture now of what it is, can be, and what it is not.
Also, I love what happens when so many people from so many
different cultural backgrounds meet and work together – that
is truly inspiring and chaotic and forces you into redefining
many things!
Artist, Norway
I am glad that I had the opportunity to hear different experiences
and reflections, and I also had the opportunity to gain
insight into the work of many talented young people and
groups. The most important thing I learned is that we must
give young people the opportunity to have their voices heard
because their thoughts and ideas are interesting and worth
discussing.
Teacher, Croatia
TMP 2 – Inaugural Meeting
in Vancouver (CA)
April 11–14, 2023
The second run of the TMP started with two workshop
weeks, one in Vancouver for the Canadian group and one
in Derby (UK) for the European group.
In April 2023, the TMP management team was hosted by
Presentation House Theatre (PHT) in North Vancouver
(CAN). ConnectUp project leader Dirk Neldner, the
head of TMP, Gunnar Horn, and other ConnectUp team
members shared workshops and lectures with the Canadian
artists to start the second run of the TMP. The Canadian
participants came from various theatres for young audiences,
and also from universities. They were actors, administrative
staff members, teachers, and scholars from different parts
of the country.
In Vancouver, the team of ConnectUp shared the aims of the
project and the different modules of the TMP, to create a
common platform for the upcoming e-learning programme
and the co-creation project. All the participants took part in
the workshops, lectures and in practical exercises focused
on Theatre FOR, BY, and WITH young people to get an
understanding of the role of a theatre mediator, to share
historical knowledge and different working strategies.
We also discussed the next steps with the participants,
including the e-learning programme of the TMP as well
as the festivals in 2024 in Europe.
Theatre mediation – an introductory
workshop by Kristian Knudsen
Associate Professor in Theatre at the Department
of Visual and Dramatic Arts, University of Agder, NO)
How to create a common platform for the training programme.
Through different exercises, the participants will explore
the aspects and understandings of the terms theatre and
mediation and thereby create a common ground for the
work that follows in the programme. A brainstorming
session will act as a catalyst for the processes. The workshops
will have a strong focus on artistic and embodied
approaches to the inquiry.
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Intercultural differences –
Workshop by Corinne Eckenstein
(director, choreographer and artistic director
of Dschungel Wien / AT 2019–2023)
Aiming at starting a dialogue, reducing fears and prejudices
and showing ways into having conversation about taboo
topics. Intercultural differences involve both conflicts
and the opportunity to renegotiate identities. Especially
different expectations concerning so-called femininity,
masculinity and non-binary gender identities often pose
a question of recognition of oneself, as well as others.
The fear of being bullied pushes many young people into
stereotypical behavior.
Empowering young people (communities) to tell
their own stories – Workshop by Richard Hurford
(Theatre, outdoor arts, radio, digital & transmedia
performance – playwright from Wales, UK).
Practical examples to enable young people to tell their
stories and create their own performance formats.
The workshop will give inspiration to teach young people
to create original dramatic works using their own life
experiences, empowering individuals to think creatively
and use theatre for their own artistic expression.
Co-Creation: how do we evaluate it? –
Workshop by Ava Hunt
(Theatre-maker in TYA and applied theatre with nearly
40 years of experience from Derby, UK)
Practical introduction exploring how to evaluate co-creation.
A fun interactive workshop that explores a number of
simple and engaging processes to evaluate the impact of
our co-creative practice and educational objectives.
The workshop also takes into account additional benefits or
unexpected outcomes of working collaboratively that can
contribute to participant’s well-being.
Introduction in Theatre for Young Audience and
applied theatre/theatre mediation in Europe –
Lecture by Odette Bereska
(Director, dramaturge and literary adviser of EU-funded
Theatre Projects as ConnectUp from Berlin, DE)
To gain an overview of the development of TYP in Europe
and today‘s trends. TYA in Europe is developed in different
ways. In the former Eastern bloc, under the influence of the
Soviet Union, large professional theaters for young audiences
were founded after World War II. In the West, it was only
the dawn of 1968 that made professional TYA permanently
possible. Structural and artistic differences still exist today.
They are also reflected in the development of theatre pedagogy
(applied theatre). A brief historical outline ending in
the present tense with practical exercises.
Reflection and feedback sessions
Together we evaluated the workshops and the participants
contributed and shared their own experiences. After a performance
visit, we worked out criteria on how to prepare a
young audience for the theatre visit and how to follow it up
together.
The four days were filled with practical work as well as
theoretical discussions. Canadian theatre workers had had
very little contact with each other before, so this was also a
great opportunity to meet fellow theatre workers from their
field in their own country.
… I want to tell you how incredibly meaningful my time was
with you in Vancouver and to also tell you of the application
of the Theatre Mediation strategies here at our Theatre …
Theatre Director, Vancouver
… The application of the work you introduced me to has
made huge differences to my approach here! We now have
10 Adult Day programs that we engage with regularly, and we
continue to develop new work and possibilities with them …
Theatre director, Toronto
TMP 2 – Inaugural Meeting
in Derby (UK)
June 3–7, 2023
The first meeting of the European cohort of the TMP 2 took
place in June 2023 during the festival “Departure Lounge”,
with 40 people altogether, 40 % teachers and 60 % artists.
The various workshops, given by several specialists, both
from the UK and from abroad had themes like:
The Role of the Theatre Mediator
The purpose of the workshop was to broaden the understanding
of the role of the theatre mediator. What kinds of
social and artistic practices can be created in the crossover
between theatre, mediation, and different target groups?
The workshop had a strong focus on creative and embodied
approaches to the inquiry and through different exercises
and discussions, the participants explored aspects and
potential paradoxes of working as a theatre mediator.
Practicing Collaboration was to get an insight into how
to work with and together with young people. How to
encourage young people to find and use their voices,
politically and creatively? And how does that work when
the voices in the room are different from each other?
What is your role as an artist/facilitator in a process of
co-creation with young people? And how can you create
a safe environment yet allow them to take risks?
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Theatre with Young People to dive into the art of making
theatre projects with young people on stage.
Theatre for the Blind is an example of how to consider
the special needs of targeted audiences.
They were all led by professionals who taught different
approaches on working with theatre such as communication,
creativity and collaboration, a good mixture of
lectures, conversations and practical work. Also, the
participants had the chance to meet and make relations
that were crucial for their upcoming work.
We surveyed to find out about the reception of the
workshops: Overall, the workshop week in Derby
(workshops, reflections, meetings, performances, social
gatherings) was rated 8 (out of 10) by all participants).
What did you take away from
the workshop days?
\ Connections
\ New ideas
\ Great co-creation ideas
\ Thoughts on future collaboration
\ The knowledge that what we do has an impact
TMP 2 – Youth Encounter
2024 Chasing the Wind
in Forlì (IT)
April 15–21, 2024
The International Youth Encounter 2024 with the topic
Chasing the wind – stormy future or tailwind for change?
brought together 49 young people from 11 different
companies from all over the world. They came from Australia,
Austria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany,
Italy, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom and the USA. They
worked together on a performance in Forlí (Italy), hosted by
Elsinor Centro di Producione Teatrale and Instiuto Ruffilli
school in the beautiful Sala Santa Caterina. The process
was directed by Fraser Corfield, artistic director and leader
of Australian Theatre for Young Audiences (ATYP) joined
by Danielle O‘Keefe, composer and musician, founder and
CEO of “The House that Dan Builds” (The House). The group
leaders who accompany the young people all take part in
ConnectUp’s “Theatre Mediation Programme”. Together
with the two Australian artists, they lead the workshops
over six full working days to create a performance in the
schoolyard that included writing, theatre, movement,
music and singing.
The goals for the week-long encounter were
1. To stage a presentation for 250 teens in the school.
2. To establish meaningful connections between the
participants to unite different ages, backgrounds and
cultures so that everyone would feel seen and heard.
3. To use a creative process that helps to discover new
possibilities within oneself and the group.
Before arriving in Italy, the young participants were asked
to contribute with a monologue or series of photographs,
dance, poems, songs, or another artistic form of their
choice, all starting with: “The wind is blowing, so it is time
to …” Here are two of the contributions to our common
digital platform “Padlet”:
WIND
The wind is blowing it’s time to breathe
To breathe in the fresh air and to feel fully free
Forgot all the things that have killed your mind
Touch, hear, smell, taste, and see the sign that nature is alive
Feel the breeze on your skin dry and cold
Raise your arms to the sky
I‘ve been told that‘s how you fly
WIND
The wind blows, the negative things, memories and
feelings and more should disappear. We are still young
and can still discover and experience so many wonderful
moments, even if we sometimes have no motivation, the
wind gives us a boost to experience new, great moments.
The wind can also experience something new, but we
must never lose this wind because it gives us strength and
motivation for the rest of our lives. Every day when we get
up we experience something new or learn something new,
and the wind can do that too.
This work, before arriving in Forlí, helped the young people
to focus on all kinds of changes, emotional, political or
social in a young person’s life. And as the rehearsals and
presentation took place in a school, there were many
opportunities to show, discuss and to give form to some
of the many changes in young people‘s lives.
The different stages of building the performance were
defined as follows: World before change – Beginning change –
Denial – Confusion – Fear – Chaos – Acceptance/ Hope.
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Each day had a similar schedule, with a morning and an
afternoon session. The sessions were split into two or three
rehearsals – all together or in smaller groups working on
different elements of the show. Three different basic groups
were formed: one for writing, one for music and one for
dance. The professional artists led different sessions –
either individually or in pairs. Throughout the production
period the young people experienced successes and
failures, but all in a friendly and creative environment.
A monologue from the play:
Daughter telling the school counselor about
her family issues:
I’m in a really desperate situation, and I don’t really know
what to do. I have to take care of my disabled brother
during the night because my parents are working. My grades
keep getting worse because I don’t have enough time
to sleep or study. I am distracted in class, and I cannot
really concentrate because I am constantly scared that
something could happen to my brother. Also, our financial
problems are getting worse because of the medication for
my brother. Is there something the school could do to help
me? This isn’t fair, right?
The final song.
From gentle breezes
Storms and winds
Changing whispers
Winds turn
You and I
Will Fly
Through the sky with the wind together
Hurricanes
And wind blows
All is old
But somehow new.
Up above
Now I can see
The change that come
Was meant to be
The overall experience was highly appreciated by the
young participants: 96% awarded 5 or 6 out of 6 points, and
76% felt that they had grown personally during the youth
exchange. It was described as: The best 9 days of my life,
Amazing project, really fun, A wonderful experience that I will
never forget.
If people have a chance, I will recommend them to go for it,
it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It is so rare you meet
groups collected from so many different places and listen to
their stories about all the special things from their countries.
Girl/18, Australia
What I remember best is the first moment we met and started
to connect. Making friends all around the world and having
fun is the best.
Boy/15, Austria
The spirit is so good. I learned new ways of acting.
Boy/15, UK
The participating TMP-teachers and artists called it:
An insightful and inspiring experience to connect with other
like-minded creatives and learn more about how we can
inspire young people.
Some of their quotes:
Every time it was a journey to yourself, in which you learned
a lot about your creativity, ability to work in a team,
and sense of responsibility.
During our online learning, we discovered a lot of new
approaches and useful ideas for our everyday practice.
Teachers learned how to use theatre in school. Artists learned
what creative ways they like and which they don’t like. All of
us expected to learn new activities that would help us to work
better and to try practically all the things we learned online.
However, we realised that each director is different and has
different ideas, approaches, and attitudes to working
with young people. We realised that even teamwork and
cooperation can be understood in different ways. Wouldn´t
it have been more effective if all the hard and soft skills of
facilitators had been used?
For the students: It’s one life experience to work with children
from 10 countries, be creative together, and learn from each
other. Such an experience will probably never happen again.
The children appreciate this opportunity and are aware of the
uniqueness of this project. They found friendships that can
last forever and thinking about leaving them in 2 days makes
them sad. They care for each other and respect each other.
There is solidarity between the groups and no disrespect
or rivalry.
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ConnectUp –
Legacy and Handbook
Meetings
Festivals
Workshops
Masterclasses
Seminars
Handbook of Theatre Mediation –
Audience Development in TYA
After having TMP run twice, it has proven its central place in
ConnectUp. Both TMP#1 and #2 have provided a very good
basis for evaluation and for the establishment of a more
sustainable training arena for aspiring Theatre Mediators,
as well as for an increased focus on strengthening relationships
between different audiences and producing theatres.
In autumn 2024, at the end of ConnectUp, a “Handbook of
Theatre Mediation- Audience Development in TYA” will be
published. It will summarise the results, experiences and
evaluations of the two TMP runs. It will contain a mixture
of articles on various topics and more practical help and
suggestions suitable for theatre/drama students as well as
experienced teachers and theatre professionals.
Youth Encounter 2023 ”Chasing the Wind“
Audiowalk in Derby (UK), July 2023
Activities
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Aftershow-talk “Cross the line”
Segnali festival
in Milano (IT)
May 2023
2023, May 2-5, the ConnectUp partners met again at Segnali
Festival in Milano. This year, Segnali functioned as a project
showcase; two ConnectUp productions were presented as
part of the extensive festival program:
Symulator 12+
The Polish-Czech (Alfa Theatre, BTL) co-production “The
Simulator. Snowbal” is based on interviews with students
(14+) in Czech City of Pilsen and a town of Plasy. The students
talked about what they experience, when they feel
betrayed, what they perceive as wrong, what hurts them
and what they perceive as obstacles in communicating
with adults. The creative team also talked to teachers,
school psychologists and parents. And finally, together with
the Polish actors, they revived their own memories and
experience and looked for ways to understand young people
– both Polish and Czech. Adolescence as a challenging
process on an international level.
Artistic Team
of “Symulator”
Cross the line 12 +
By Elsinor Centro di Produzione Teatrale / Derby Theatre
in collaboration with Teatro Comunale di Casalmaggiore
e Teatro delle Briciole Solares Fondazione delle Arti
Cross the Line is a research, training and theatrical creation
project dedicated to young audiences.
Cross the Line is a shared creative process.
It is a project of theatre and architecture.
Line. Boundary. Boundary. Conflict.
There is always a line beside us.
To cross the line is to choose.
The performances were followed by a conversation with
the artists in which they reported on the work process and
answered questions from their European colleagues.
The ConnectUp guests also had the opportunity to see
several Italian performances and get an impression of the
professional level of the Theatre for Young Audience.
In addition to the artistic directors and artists of the
productions, the theatres‘ marketing managers also met
in Milan for a workshop.
Philip Brunnader, press spokesman and head of the
communication department at the Landestheater Linz (AT)
since 201, led the workshop on the topic:
Social Media Campaigns in Theatre for Young Audience
– an effective way to promote theatre for young audiences.
Theatre companies can use social media platforms like
Instagram, X and Facebook to share information about
upcoming shows, post behind-the-scenes content and
engage with their audience. Targeted advertising or
working with influencers can also help reach a wider
audience and increase ticket sales.
In addition to the AB meeting, the artistic directors took
part in the exciting debate on the topic:
The importance of theatre reviews in TYA
What are the different roles of professional theatre critics in
TYA in Europe? Who writes about new theatre productions
at TYA in Europe? Do some countries have their own media
for theatre criticism at the TYA? Or professional critics who
specialise in the TYA?
Based on the experiences within the ConnectUp theatre
network, an overview was given of how reporting on TYA
differs in the various countries.
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INAF
Kristiansand (NO)
In September 2023 the festival arena for ConnectUp was
The International Norwegian ASSITEJ Festival (INAF) in
Kristiansand, Norway, hosted by ASSITEJ Norway.
What Matters Most
The topic of this edition was „What Matters Most“, and
through both an artistic as well as professional program
ASSITEJ Norway‘s festival served as a great reminder of the
importance of personal encounters, and the festivals’ role
as a bridge between artists in the international performing
arts community. During five fantastic days INAF became a
center for creativity and cultural exchange, a networking
hub, and a source of inspiration. Here, performing artists
from different backgrounds came together, and through
masterclasses, artist meetings, and professional discussions,
we were all inspired, challenged, and uplifted.
The theme of the festival was especially relevant to the
core of the ConnectUp project, what is important to people
where they are right now. All the performances presented
gave an interpretation of this, which was all very relevant
to us regardless of being part of ConnectUp or not.
Tabula Rasa and Tabu, two of the four ConnectUp-produced
performances, were programmed during the festival. The
Norwegian teenagers and international delegates at INAF
were impressed, inspired and amazed by these two
innovative and engaging performances.
Tabula Rasa
The ConnectUp-guests had the opportunity to see four
more shows at the festival. With Tyngde, a co-production
of the University of Agder, the partners were also able to
watch a show from the leading organization in ConnectUp
at the fringe part of the festival. Of particular interest was
Production The Tower of Babel, which is also a result of an
EU- funded theatre project and included artists from four
different countries.
As with previous ConnectUp festivals, young ambassadors
also travelled to Kristiansand. As representatives of the
four co-producing theatres, they accompanied the festival
and informed the ConnectUp partners about their
impressions with posts on social media.
In addition to the artistic program the ConnectUp delegates
also participated in talks on international collaborations.
Masterclass in Directing
with Vibeke Flesland Havre
At INAF in Norway ConnectUp gave a Masterclass in
Directing with the highly acclaimed Norwegian director
Vibeke Flesland Havre. Participants who are professional
performing artists, directors, playwrights, and actors from
the ConnectUp partners, and other countries, enjoyed
three days of learning more about methods of working with
non-professional performers and techniques for creating
theater from lived experiences.
Havre is the founder and artistic director of Bergen Citizen
Stage since its inception in 2014. Over the course of three
days, she gave a powerful insight to exercises and techniques
that participants can incorporate into their future
work with non-professional performers and real-life stories.
Discussions on the ethical precautions to consider in such
work and sharing of the challenges participants have
encountered in our work with citizen‘s theatre, were also
important topics in this workshop.
The workshop had a strong focus on how to involve
non-professionals in professional performances while
maintaining artistic quality. The workshop also gave a
perspective how citizen theatre can contribute to the
development of performing arts itself, and how it can be
particularly useful in attracting new audiences. In this work
with non-professionals the focus is always on speaking
without fear and listening without judgment. These
principles are fundamental to an active democracy and
the foundation of all creative endeavors.
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Aftershow talk “Pleasant Land”
PULS festival
Vienna (AT)
October 10–14, 2023
At the first edition of the PULS Festival in October 2023,
international artists came to Vienna with their theatre
productions for teenagers and young adults. They presented
piece developments that showed how young people in
Europe think about self-expression, shame, the search
for identity and the question of future coexistence.
The ConnectUp partner Dschungel Wien organised it
as a ConnectUp showcase. Artists from the partner
organisations came to see (co-)productions, which have
been developed during the project and to discuss the working
processes. The guests had the opportunity to see three
co-productions #3: “Pleasant Land” by Derby Theatre (UK)
and Teatro Elsinor (IT), “Shame on you” by Ljubljana Puppet
Theatre (SI) and Alfa Theatre (CZ) and “Tabula Rasa” by
Landesbühnen Sachsen (DE) and Ich bin O.K. (AU).
ConnectUp Young Ambassadors
In addition, “Kingx and Qweens” by Unusual Being Dance
Company and Revolution East Africa and “Ancestors Gift” by
Contemporary Dance Company Atash, two productions (#4)
that were created at Dschungel Wien with partners outside
of the network, were also shown.
Actors from the ConnectUp companies also had the
opportunity to take part in two workshops.
SPEAKING TUBES, MEGAPHONES,
FLÜSTERTÜTEN
A performance workshop by Sylvi Kretzschmar
What do we fight for and what do we fail at? What keeps us
from giving up? What is the hope machine that drives us?
The workshop is dedicated to the megaphone as an object
and material of resistance. The megaphone stands for
protests, political conflict and activism in the urban space.
But it also stands for warning, instruction and command.
What performative, sculptural and musical possibilities
does it hold? How can we use megaphones as musical
instruments, rhythm machines and mobile samplers?
Can they become extensions of the body and starting
points for choreographies? Do megaphones have a power
of their own that sets us in motion and brings us into
dialogue with each other?
TURN THE PAGE
AND START DANCING
by “Ich bin O.K.” team, dance assists and dancers of
the so-called intensive-class of the “Ich bin O.K.” studio.
The workshop was an example of inclusive team teaching.
It encouraged the participants to become more open to
diverse and interdisciplinary projects.
(read more on page 61)
“Shame on You”
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Maria Stuart by Friedrich Schiller
Advisory Board Meeting
Radebeul (DE)
2024, March 1–3
The theatre was to host the first big meeting of the Theatre
Mediation Programme and an AB meeting right at the start
of the project. It was planned that the TMP participants of
the first run would spend a week at the theatre. This would
have given them the opportunity to get to know the extensive
theatre educational programme and also see performances
in various genres. Unfortunately, Corona prevented this
meeting; all encounters had to be limited to zoom.
But now there finally was a smaller meeting at the LBS,
where the AB members met for an update and were able
to get to know the large German regional theatre with its
impressive workshops, the sustainable theatre educational
program from KOST and the work of the JUST (Young
Studio). With the performance Maria Stuart by Friedrich
Schiller, the guests had the chance to see a very well-known
German play staged by LBS artistic director Manuel
Schöbel. The popular play with its highly political
references to the present gave rise to numerous
discussions.
Partners and
Productions
Workshop Visit
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Gunnar Horn in Vancouver
Universitetet i Agder
ASSITEJ Norway (NO)
Kristiansand | Norway
ConnectUp – education in the crossover between
performing arts, youth, and theater institutions
ConnectUp is a large collaborative project under the EU‘s
Creative Europe cultural fund and the University of Agder,
Faculty of Arts has been the leading organization in the
project under the slogan “The Lives of Others”. A central
part of the project has been to bridge the gap between
theater institutions, theater festivals, and a group in society
who rarely go to the theater. The employees and students
at the University of Agder have contributed to this bridgebuilding
work in several ways during the project‘s five-year
period. For example, through participation in Artist Talks
and carrying out workshops around different topics. We
have also been an important part of the development ofand
carrying out of the online course Theatre Mediation
Programme. The course provides participants with the
competence to bridge the gap between theater institutions
and a specific target-group, and during the project period
participants from all over Europe have explored how
to implement different drama and theater strategies to
working with both young people and other target groups.
It isn’t necessarily straight forward to embrace the bodily
and physical aspects of doing drama and theatre via an
online course, thus an important aspect of carrying out the
Theatre Mediation Programme, has been to develop new and
innovative ways of teaching about theatre for, with and by
young people.
ConnectUp has also been a platform where both bachelor‘s
and master‘s students could get involved in many different
ways, such as festival staff, participants in courses with
leading professionals concerning direction and devising
strategies, participation in European theater festivals or
through the Theater Mediation Program (TMP).
For the University of Agder, ConnectUp has been an
opportunity to explore the intersection of educational
development, theater for young people, and artistic practices.
It has been an opportunity to explore the significance of
art, specifically theater, in society and created sustainable
collaborations with theater associations across Europe.
Anne Mette Liene at FITEI (PT)
ASSITEJ Norway is part of ASSITEJ International – the
world’s largest network for performing arts (TYA ) with
75 member countries. ASSITEJ is dedicated to the artistic,
cultural, and educational rights of children and young
people across the globe and advocates on behalf of all
children regardless of nationality, cultural identity,
ethnicity, or religion.
ASSITEJ Norway believe that TYA is key to ensure fundamental
democratic rights and abilities among young people.
By exposing young people to art, we believe that we contribute
to develop autonomous individuals who can form
their own independent opinions. But most importantly we
believe that TYA is important for children as children when
they are children. ASSITEJ Norway works to strengthen
professional TYA – all over the world. We focus on creating
opportunities and sustainable working conditions for artists.
Our aim is that children can form their own hopes and
dreams through exposure to relevant and innovative. This
is why we are advocating the importance of performing art
that challenge the global mass culture industries.
ASSITEJ Norway is also part of the regional network Nordic
Baltic ASSITEJ Network (NBAN), and we organise events,
exchange programs for artists, Nordic-Baltic House at
ASSITEJ Artistic Gatherings with presentations of artists
from our region and best practices on TYA.
The International Norwegian ASSITEJ Festival (INAF) is
our international festival of TYA presenting cutting edge
performances from Norway and our global ASSITEJ
network. Our next festival will be in Oslo in May 2025.
We also organise Teaterlørdag Ung – a seasonal TYA
program of high quality to low prices, making TYA accessible
to everyone. In this program we give performing artists
the opportunity to present new performances to a family
audience, and for programmers and other potential
collaborators, both nationally and internationally.
Every other year we are the hosts of an international
residency – TYAOslo – which aims to bring people together
across borders through cultural exchange. The next TYA-
Oslo is open to European performing artists and will take
place in Oslo in October 2024. TYAOslo 2024 will a weeklong
residency exploring humanitarian work for artists.
For our members we ensure visibility and are enabling
their international ambitions by promoting their work
and creating collaborations across borders. This work is important
to us as we believe in cultural exchange and sharing
of best practices on innovative and brave themes, artistic
expressions, and inclusion methods for young and diverse
audiences.
As ambassadors of Norwegian TYA we hope to inspire and
influence people and processes that will ensure the core of
our work – the Article 31 of the United Nations’ Convention
of the Rights of the Child that affirms the right of children
to leisure time and the enjoyment of arts and cultural
activities and the right to freedom of expression.
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Dschungel Wien
Vienna | Austria
DSCHUNGEL VIENNA:
SHAPING THE FUTURE TOGETHER
DSCHUNGEL WIEN, founded in 2004, is an international
co-production theatre for the performing arts for young
audiences. The program includes dance, drama, performance,
puppet and music theatre as well as events for exchange
and discourse. Each season the theatre presents 60
productions for children, teenagers and young adults
on three stages. The diverse program attracts around
45,000 visitors every year.
Anna Horn took over as artistic director in the season of
2023/24. The team set out on a search with artists, experts
and, above all, the younger generation: What stories and
artistic forms interest young people in theatre? Together,
DSCHUNGEL is researching performing arts for a young,
diverse and multilingual audience. This makes the theatre
even more of a place where these voices, which represent
the diversity and internationality of the city‘s population
and bring new aesthetics, narratives and bodies to the
stage, can help shape the future.
WHO OWNS THE STAGE?
“You know, sometimes it feels like the adult world is a
theatre or club that young people can‘t get into.”
(Participant WHO OWNS THE STAGE)
The team kicked off the new 23/24 season with the VOTING
PARTY – WHO OWNS THE STAGE, curated by the digital
theatre team G!LITCH4, Myassa Kraitt, Emily Chychy Joost
and Mercy Mercedes, who work with young artists who have
experienced discrimination at the intersection of art and
activism, among other things. A live poll showed that many
of the 150 visitors had barely visited the theatre before or
for the first time and stated that they felt unrepresented or
not really included in many of the programs on offer. This
was followed by a collaboration with the participants in
which the theatre is seen as a learning space for the team
and the participants.
MAKE ROOM IN THE THEATRES!
Young people don‘t go to the theatre if they know that
this place doesn‘t include them. Only through different
perspectives of people in the institution, in the artistic
teams and on stage can we tell stories for the city‘s children
and families, teenagers and young adults. It is important
that young people experience and celebrate the diversity
of age, background and body on stage. In collaboration
with ConnectUp, the PULS FESTIVAL 2023, brought artists
and young people from seven countries to the DSCHUNGEL
WIEN in October. Five co-productions were presented, each
created in collaboration with two theatres from different
countries. International and local theatre makers and young
people came together at artist talks, workshops and parties.
The exchange between theatre directors and artists, social
interaction between young people in Europe and the further
development of theatre forms for the younger generation
were strengthened.
The developed plays presented current positions in theatre
for teenagers and young adults and showed how young
people in Europe think about origin, identity, body images
and the question of future coexistence. DSCHUNGEL
WIEN developed the co-productions ANCESTORS‘ GIFT
and KINGX & QWEENS with the support of ConnectUp.
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Aftershow Talk
“Ancestors Gift”
ANCESTORS‘ GIFT
ATASH شطع contemporary dance company
+ DSCHUNGEL WIEN
We all carry the experiences of our ancestors within us.
These can be beautiful experiences and talents as well as
traumas or fears. ANCESTORSʼ GIFT examines what our
relatives have passed on to us. In ANCESTORS‘ GIFT, the
artistic team explored their own origins, identity and roots.
Born in Tehran, Iran, choreographer Ulduz Ahmadzadeh
began dancing in a country where it is still forbidden. Despite
state censorship, she performed regularly from 1999 to
2004 and was imprisoned. After her release, she founded
her own dance company, which was extremely critical of
the political system. Together with dancers Naline Ferraz
from Brazil, Desi Bonato from Italy and Xianghui Zeng from
China, she brings questions of origin full of poetry, electronic
sounds and deep seriousness to the stage for teenagers and
young adults.
Artistic Co-Direction + Concept + Choreography:
Ulduz Ahmadzadeh / Artistic Co-Direction + Concept
+ Scenography: Till Krappmann / Composition + Live
Electronics: Adrián Artacho / Choreographic Assistant
Anneli Andre / Professional Consulting: Claudia Wielander
Production: Mascha Mölkner, Julia Haas / Performance
+ Co-Creation: Desi Bonato, Naline Ferraz, Flóra Virág,
Xianghui Zeng
For everyone aged 14 and over
Themes: Refugee experience, empowerment, peace,
non-violence
KINGX & QWEENS
UNUSUAL BEINGS DANCE COMPANY + DANCE REVOLUTION
EAST AFRICA + DSCHUNGEL VIENNA
What is a perfect life, a perfect body, a perfect origin? What
is important in life? For KINGX & QWEENS, the team explored
their African, Indonesian, Iraqi and European origins and
the colonial history associated with them. The aim was to
present different perspectives on the body than the images
of perfect bodies in social media. Fears and prejudices
were to be broken down and other images of and attitudes
towards people with a wide range of disabilities, bodies and
origins were to be made possible. Together with the choreographer
and dancer Joseph Tebandeke, an artist from
Uganda who dances on crutches, and the non-disabled
dancers Maartje Pasman and Futurelove Sibanda, Corinne
Eckenstein developed a powerful dance piece that explores
boundaries and represents a journey into other dimensions
of physicality and movement on stage.
Concept + Choreography: Corinne Eckenstein,
Joseph Tebandeke / Music: Karrar Alsaedi / Stage:
Hannes Röbisch, Corinne Eckenstein / Stage Assistant:
Luka Bosse / Costume: Kareem Aladhami / Videoanimation:
Luciana Bencivenga / Outside Eye: Livia Patrizi
Assistant: Sophie Freimüller / Dancers: Inside: Maartje
Pasman, Futurelove Sibanda
12–20 years
Themes: Self-determination, acrobatics, diversity, growing
beyond boundaries, self-confidence
DRAMATURGY + CITY
The Dramaturgy + City department combines ideas and
themes from young people in the city with artistic work at
the DSCHUNGEL WIEN. An important part of the work was
the EU project ConnectUp. Elif Bilici, Head of Dramaturgy
+ City, went through the Theatre Mediation Program (TMP)
together with Christina Schaunig, teacher of the DSCHUNGEL
WIEN‘s partner class. As part of the program, teachers and
artists met online and in person at various locations of the
participating partners. The topic of “Theatre for/ with/ by
a young audience” was discussed theoretically and practically
from different perspectives. This work focussed on the
following points: youth empowerment, exchange between
artists and teachers and different approaches from
different countries.
As a TMP, Elif Bilici accompanied the school group for over
a year in order to establish a dialogue between the school
and the theatre. It was particularly important for her that
the young people have a say and were able to participate
in the theatre processes. The students opened the 23/24
season with the DSCHUNGEL WIEN team in September and
accompanied the PULS Festival in October, welcoming and
interviewing international guests, theatre directors, artists
and young people. They also focussed on the themes and
artists of ANCESTORS‘ GIFT and KINGX & QWEENS in the
run-up to the festival. As these productions premiered at
the beginning of the season, the team continued to research
artistic forms for a young, diverse and multilingual
audience with the students. In the months that followed,
they attended rehearsals and selected events at DSCHUNGEL
WIEN and used their experiences to develop their own event
at the end of the season.
FORWARD-LOOKING, THEATRICAL ENCOUNTERS
Encouraging young people to develop new perspectives
and the desire to help shape and change is vital for the
survival of our society. Participation empowers children
and young people to develop their own strategies for the
future and encourages them to experiment, gain knowledge,
develop democratic awareness and social interaction.
ConnectUp created pioneering theatrical encounters and
bridges for young people, artists and theatre directors.
Due to the different orientations and working methods
of the theatres and festivals in the various countries, all
participants benefited from the artistic and organisational
experience and expertise of the partners. Proven methods
could be experienced and discussed on site. Best practice
examples were exchanged. This exchange made it possible
to adopt new perspectives, review one‘s own work and
adopt new ideas. Local knowledge is utilised and expanded
through international experience and knowledge transfer.
International networking and partnership-based cooperation
is a haven for creative new ideas. With strong partners,
strategies for forward-looking artistic work by and for
young people and European networks were developed.
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ConnectUp Inaugural Meeting Vienna 1/2020
37

Teatro
O Bando
Palmela | Portugal
Teatro O Bando is a Portuguese professional travelling
theatre company that began its activities in 1974. O Bando
is a collective committed to aesthetic transfiguration. They
aim for this aesthetic transformation by involving citizens
and community. O Bando is a Portuguese national entity of
public utility and a certified institution for the training of
actors.
Teatro O Bando, one of the oldest cultural co-operatives
in the country, sees itself as a group which elects transfiguration
as the aesthetic mode of civic participation and
community involvement. Street theatre and activities for
children in schools and cultural associations, integrated
into decentralised projects, are at the origin of the group.
O Bando‘s creations are characterised by their sculptural
and staged dimension, which is primarily characterised by
the “Scene Machines”, polysemic objects that carry an idea
of action within themselves. O Bando‘s scripts are mainly
based on non-dramatic works by Portuguese authors, for
whom the theatre form, with its many languages, enables
a different form of communication. With more than 100
shows, O Bando has given around 4500 performances for
over 1.5 million spectators. The company continues to
search for the uniqueness of its creations, always striving
for new and unexpected works of art. This is only possible
due to a collective methodology in which an expanded
artistic direction demands the difference, interference,
collapse and collision of points of view.
Workshop with young people for the production Benfazeja
Rural or urban, adult or childlike, niche or popular, regional
or universal, dramatic, narrative or poetic – these are the
boundaries that Teatro O Bando is used to cross. Over the
years, the group has participated in numerous national and
international projects and continues to tour throughout the
country.
For many years, O Bando has been permanently based on
a farm in Vale dos Barris, Palmela, Portugal. From here we
devise and deliver an artistic programme of shows, workshops
and other events, all based on the acting methods
developed in the so-called “actor‘s consciousness on stage”
and presented in this manifesto. Around our wood-fired
oven or in the shade of our fig tree, O Bando awaits you and
anyone else in search of life‘s elusive moments of happiness.
BEFORE THE SEA / ANTES DO MAR
We don‘t want your city. We want the ___.
We want to reach the sea.
Imagine a group of people walking. In the distance. They
have gone before us. Do these feet never tire? Imagine that
these people, these figures, are getting closer. That we hear
the word Europe. That they look us in the eye. Do these feet
take another step, do they get inside us?
It‘s a show built on the text “Um Bailarino na Batalha” by
Hélia Correia, directed by Miguel Jesus and starring Bibi
Gomes, Dora Sales, João Neca, Laurinda Chiungue, Maria
do Ó, Nicolas Brites, Nylon Princeso, Raul Atalaia and Rita.
Premiered June 25th, 2020, at Teatro O Bando
DOOR / PORTA
I can‘t touch what‘s missing, I can touch what‘s around
what‘s missing.
For example, I can‘t touch my two children.
I can touch the empty space where my children should be.
We believe that theatre is a bridge between people. This
DOOR is part of that bridge, because it allows us to stand on
both sides. It is at this point of convergence and divergence
that impatience can be born. So, what is a DOOR? Should
we walk through it together?
The show is based on the unpublished text by Gonçalo
M. Tavares, directed by João Brites and starring Juliana
Pinho.
Premiered April 19th, 2021, at Teatro O Bando / 30th
and 31st of October at O Meu Primeiro FITEI Festival
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39

TABOO / TABU
BENFAZEJA
I am a particle of the universe. I am verse, I am reverse.
I am pleasure, I am also pain.
I am cause, I am effect.
I‘m crooked, I‘m straight.
In short, I am what I am.
Weder gut, noch schlecht, weder heiß noch kalt,
weder Schatten noch Licht.
Nem bom nem mau, nem quente nem frio,
nem sombra nem luz.
TABOO is a journey that reminds us that we must dream to
survive, but that we also survive because we are together.
It was a journey full of waves, encounters and missed
meetings, of words spoken and hidden, whispered and
shouted. We sailed in a sea of memories, our own and those
of others, and in this show we found a common place where
we can risk being who we are.
It‘s a co-production between Teatro O Bando and Dschungel
Wien (Vienna, Austria), based on the original text by
Amarílis Anchieta and Susana Mateus, directed and
staged by Juliana Pinho, co-directed and choreographed
by Corinne Eckenstein and starring Elif Bilici, Maria
Taborda, Nérika Amaral and Rafael Barreto.
Premiered in Vienna on September 22nd, 2022, and played
in Palmela from October 27th to November 20th, 2022
The creation BENFAZEJA is the production #4 of
ConnectUp. It will be a of co-creation between
Teatro O Bando and Lume Teatro, from Campinas, Brazil.
The creation of this play responds to a desire to jointly
celebrate the 50th anniversary of Teatro O Bando and the
40th anniversary of Lume Teatro. Founded in 1985, LUME
Teatro has become a world reference in the research of
the art of the actor. The Brazilian company is a funded
research centre within the University of Campinas, Brazil
and maintains a strong teaching tradition sharing its
extensive research into actor training.
In this co-production, the target group we are working with
is a theatre group called Teatro Forte da Belavista, which
was brought to life by Setúbal City Council in the Belavista
neighbourhood, a social housing project on the outskirts
of the city. The group is run by Armanda Gonçalves and was
set up to stimulate the artistic imagination of these young
people and provide theatre training for the students.
Whilst building this show we have been working with this
group of students aged 4 to 12 and will continue to do so.
So far we have had three sessions together, where we have
developed some theatre games and tried to bring some
consciousness to the creative work that we want to build
together. They also spent a day at Teatro O Bando‘s farm,
where we did theatrical activities and played with the stage
machines scattered around the mountain to develop an
awareness among them of the work involved in creating a
theatre piece. We want to try to get in touch with their fears
and desires and understand the language they can use to
express their feelings.
The show is based on the universe of Guimarães Rosa, a
Brazilian novelist, short story writer, poet and diplomat,
more specifically on the story A Benfazeja from the writer‘s
book Primeiras Estórias (1962). It tells the story of Mula-
Marmela, who actually has no name and is considered the
despised one. Reflecting the contradictions and mood of
her community, we see the tragic story of this woman who
sacrifices herself in the name of all, but is condemned to
live in isolation.
In this story, we are led by astonishment and surprise to
reflect on the limits of sacrifice and guilt, both individually
and collectively. By dismantling the founding stories of a
community, that we must face ourselves. In rediscovering
the traces of what is human in its essence, behind mass
humanity, in this anxious search for the humanity, the story
develops the idea that those who are not ready to see,
do not see. In this case, an entire city is described by the
narrator, who addresses the inhabitants (or the audience)
directly, annoyed by their blindness. In all its descriptions,
the narrator encourages us to think about what lies behind
the appearances. He refers to the main character Mula-
Marmela as Benfazeja – the one who does good – but he
always makes us wonder. It is as if we are in a courtroom
where the narrator, in the role of the defence lawyer, tries
to make us think about Mula-Marmela‘s actions and their
legitimacy and the judgmental and uncomprehending
eyes of the population, which marginalises her from the
beginning by constantly asking questions to the community.
With this piece, we are trying to cross the threads that connect
Portugal with Brazil, O Bando with Lume. It is a thread that
we are unravelling in search of new provocations. At the
moment, the research is visual, plastic, sonic, rhythmic and
sensory. The figures that are evoked are those that “go far
and passionately into the distance”. We experimented with
ideas of transformation and metamorphosis, choosing the
example of butterflies as a leitmotif and recurring symbol.
We have explored the possibility of being camouflaged and
invisible amidst these patterns, which can trick us into
seeing something that may not be real. In an attempt to
bring in some Brazilian elements, we also explored the
tradition of woodcut from this region of Brazil, a very old
and popular way of conveying knowledge and stories.
Created by Teatro O Bando and Lume Teatro
Direction and Dramaturgy: Suzana Branco
Corporeality: Vânia Rovisco
Set Design: Rui Francisco
Props and Costumes: Maria Taborda
Music: Ana Raquel Martins
Visual Art: Maria Taborda
Production: Inês Gregório and Pedro Freitas
Performers: Jesser de Souza and Suzana Branco
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41

Divadlo Alfa –
Skupova Festival
Pilsen | Czech Republic
Skupa´s Pilsen connects Czech
and international puppetry
The International Festival of Puppet and Alternative
Theatre Skupova Plzeň is the oldest festival of professional
theatre in the Czech Republic. Its first edition took place
in 1967 as a gathering of Czech puppeteers in memory of
Josef Skupa, the founder of Czech professional puppetry.
The name of the author of the most famous puppets of
Czech modern theatre – Spejbl and Hurvínek – is still used
by the festival today. It is organised by Divadlo Alfa, one of
the best Czech puppet theatres, partner of ConnectUp.
Stuffed Puppet Theatre UBU
However, its appearance has completely changed. From
a local gathering of Czech puppeteers, it has grown into a
modern international festival that has a firm position in the
world puppetry scene and is the largest festival in the Czech
Republic that presents puppet theatre with overlaps to the
alternative theatre scene.
Like any proper festival, Skupova Plzeň is above all a place
for encounters and networking. That is why the Skupova
Plzeň programme is made up of several dramaturgical
series that intertwine and inspire each other.
The most important part of the festival is the competition
programme with new productions by Czech and Slovak
professional puppet theatres. Every two years, all the major
Czech puppet theatres and a smaller number of theatres
from neighbouring Slovakia come to Pilsen to present the
best of the past two years. It is not just a “competition”.
After a long time, the artists have the opportunity to meet
each other, see how their colleagues‘ work has developed
and, of course, exchange news from their personal and
professional lives. The festival is therefore not only filled
with beautiful productions, but also with many wonderful
encounters that the artists will remember for many years to
come.
Flying Group Theatre TAIPEI SUITCASE
The domestic programme includes an inspiring programme
of unique productions from abroad. The puppetry community
is broad and spreads all over the world. And it‘s great that a
festival in a small Central European country attracts artists
from all over the world, from the Far East and Africa, to the
United States, Canada and South America.
Artists, festival organisers, museum staff, art school
students, school children and their parents, teachers and
educators and many people from other professions who
are in some way attracted to puppet theatre come to the
festival. Some from Pilsen, others from Germany, Poland,
Korea and Japan.
In a small space, a special puppet theatre habitat will be
spread out for several days, connecting, introducing,
presenting and perceiving all those who come to Pilsen
for the festival.
Long & Short
Company
A SHOW
WITH STRINGS
Singe
Diesel
KAZU
Culture Art Bakery FF Wang_HONG DONGJI AND THE MONSTER
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Lucie Bartůšková and Lenka Müllerová about
their participation in TMP
And the programme of the unique European project
ConnectUp – Life of the others fits perfectly into this
environment this year. The Skupova Plzeň Festival will welcome
three co-productions created during the project: GPS
from BTL (co-production with Ukraine), Wildfire by Pinklec
from Croatia (co-production with Israel) and Amazonke by
LGL from Slovenia (co-production with Serbia). In addition,
Alfa Theatre will present a documentary film showing the
co-production with the disabled actors from Neratov.
The result of the co-production between actors from the
Alfa Theatre and mentally handicapped actors from the
Other Stage Association was a new performance of the
„Old Neratov Legends“ project. The entire creation and
rehearsal process were recorded by a film team, who then
put together a one-hour film documentary. The film
captures the process of devising, rehearsing and creating
up to the premiere.
The festival will also include an extensive TMP programme,
which will be carried out as part of the ConnectUp project.
However, the meeting will once again be a defining moment.
Artists, teachers, lecturers and managers who have been
working together for 4 years will once again experience
remarkable moments of mutual inspiration. And that is
the most important thing about our project.
all photos from “Old Neratov Legend”
We were very happy that Alfa Theatre allowed us to be part
of this great project that connects theatres, young people
and communities around the world. As teachers, we meet
young people every day. They are our students, our friends,
our collaborators.
During our first encounter with the TMP, we were a little
intimidated. Two teachers lost among artists and other
teachers who already knew each other. But it only took a
few hours for us to become collaborators and co-creators of
something fantastic – the Youth Encounter Tomorrowland.
We took part in a workshop that was carried by the energy
of 70 students, their teachers and artists from various European
theatres. For ten days, we worked together to develop
the show Tomorrowland. We were part of the team that developed
the texts and the script. The whole development,
including the performance itself, was very moving, but also
full of energy. Young people from all over Europe agreed on
how they imagine their future and their future lives. After
ten days, they went home as best friends.
After the experience of this project, we can say that theatre
really opens the way for young people – to understand
other people and themselves. It was amazing to see how
our students created with great passion. Taking part in the
project also helped us a lot as teachers. We found the courage
to try new ways of teaching and communicating with
our students. It was not only an eye-opener for us – it had
the same effect on the students and artists we worked with.
We were delighted to be selected for the second run of the
TMP. What a great experience! And it‘s not over yet! Over
the course of the three online modules, we met new and
established co-creators and attended courses and lectures
that deepened our desire to create and understand theatre
projects. In groups, we created utopian projects, such as
the night-time guided tours of the monastery in Plasy,
which Lucie will realise and work on with her students
from the high school in Plasy. We learnt more about how to
involve students in the preparation of a theatre project or
performance, how to motivate them and how to use their
ideas and reflections.
Our main ideas:
Theatre for/with/from young people is a way to help them
express their dreams, wishes and fears. For us adults,
theatre helps us to understand them and find common
ground with them.
Theatre is a bridge, a link, a way into the hearts of our
students.
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45

Białostocki Teatr Lalek
Białystok | Poland
The Bialystok Puppet Theatre (BTL) is one of the leading
puppet theatres in Poland. It has been active since 1953 – as
a professional theatre– when a group of puppeteers received
a state subsidy. Since then, the theatre has been in continuous
operation and produces several new performances
every theatre season, using various puppet techniques,
different forms of visual, object, mask and drama theatre.
Today‘s BTL specialises in:
\ shows for children – stage adaptations of
well-known fables and popular children‘s literature;
\ shows for adults – continuous activity in the field
is an absolutely unique phenomenon;
\ experimental and mental games – projects carried out
on the studio stage in cooperation with the youngest
generation of puppeteers from The Aleksander
Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Arts in
Warsaw – branch campus in Białystok.
Many of productions are created in cooperation
with international artists.
BTL is the organiser of the International Festival of Puppet
Theatres for Adults PUPPETS‘ METAMORPHOSES and coorganiser
of the International Festival of Puppetry Schools
in Białystok PUPPETNOPUPPET.
BTL is open to international cooperation, theatre traineeships
for young artists, studio projects and workshop
meetings. Every year, BTL takes part in around a dozen
festivals in Poland and abroad.
In addition, BTL is involved in a wide range of educational
activities, including workshops for children, theatre classes
for primary school pupils, readings of puppet theatre
plays for children, as well as publications and exhibitions
(exhibitions of visual artists connected with theatre
activities in the “BTL Gallery”).
The International Festival
of Puppetry Schools PUPPETNOPUPPET
The 11th edition of the International Festival of Puppetry
Schools PUPPETNOPUPPET will take place in Białystok
from 18 to 22 June 2024.
The International Festival of Puppetry Schools PUPPET-
NOPUPPET is one of the most durable academic and cultural
traditions in Poland: it has been held in Bialystok every two
years since 2002. The festival is organised in the only Polish
city affiliated with the Association des Villes Amies de la
Marionnette (the so-called Association of Puppet Cities)
and is one of the two Polish cities – besides Wrocław – where
professional puppeteers are trained. It is organised by The
Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art
in Warsaw – branch campus in Białystok – together with the
Białystok Puppet Theatre and the Białystok Puppeteers‘
Association.
The festival is an international showcase where the most
valuable performances of puppetry schools from all over
the world are presented. It is a place for demonstrations of
students‘ work, scientific seminars, meetings with artists,
workshops and methodical meetings. It is also a place of
“master performances”, where young students have the
opportunity to meet, observe and discuss with the masters
of puppetry art.
The 11th edition of the festival is a celebration of the art
of puppetry and theatre of the animated form, guided by
the idea of teamwork and collective action. With the term
COMMUNITY, we want to express the festival’s constant
endeavour to unite, to coexist and to act artistically beyond
all divisions and differences. In puppet theatre, the theatre
of the animated visual form, teamwork and collective
action are an overriding value that we want to emphasise
and protect.
Pictures: Parade during PUPPETNOPUPPET Festival 2022.
Photo Tomasz Pienicki, The Aleksander Zelwerowicz
National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw – branch
campus in Białystok
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“GPS”
Premiere: May 19, 2024
Creators
Text: Ulija Bilińska, Maria Żynel
Direction and set design: Maria Żynel
Music: Michał Siwak
Multimedia: Katarzyna Zabłocka
Stage movement: Anna Sawicka-Hodun
Cast
Magdalena Ołdziejewska
Wiesław Czołpiński
Mateusz Smaczny
Błażej Piotrowski
Three young people meet by chance. They also meet an
older man who has just arrived in town. He draws them into
a competition: which is more accurate – GPS on the phone
or an old paper map? Who is faster – an older man or three
young people? Who are they and where are they from? What
are they looking for? What will they find? What relationships
will develop between them? And above all – who is this old
man and why did he accost the young ones?
The play is inspired by history, fragments of documents,
diaries and souvenirs from the Białystok Ghetto.
“In Białystok, there is a large gap in the memory of the city’s
former Jewish community, which formed an important part
of the city and completely disappeared after World War II.
There are only a few traces of them left in the city today.
Today, the topic of the ghetto has a broader social context,
which is unfortunately becoming more and more up to date.
The ghetto does not necessarily have to be a physical barrier
as it once was. Ghettos are with us, even if we can not
see them. They are also in us. The current wars in Ukraine
and Israel prove how few conclusions humanity has drawn
from the experiences of the 20th century and how we forget
that someone’s life may depend on us, our attitude and that
appeals to “remember” alone are not enough. We can not
give up on them.
The ghetto is still here, we live in it, with it. It was present
in previous generations. It is also somewhere in us, even if
we do not know it. School ghetto, Jewish ghetto, Ukrainian
ghetto, refugee ghetto. Getto pod stopami [Ghetto under
our Feet] is still here, even if we covered it with asphalt a
long time ago.”
Maria Żynel
Director
On a performance titled “GPS” – searching, co-operation
with young people and setting directions of activity
The work on the “GPS” project took place in several stages.
The first was to learn about the history of the city of
Białystok and its tragic part in connection with the Jews of
Białystok. We began our research by familiarising ourselves
with the map of the city from before World War II. This city
no longer exists today, as it has completely lost its former
character due to the war and post-war reconstruction. The
next step was to collect literature on the pre-war history of
the city. A meeting with historian Andrzej Lechowski, who
specialises in researching the history of Białystok, turned
out to be extremely valuable. After collecting literature,
examining archival records, film and audio recordings,
we developed a survey.
The purpose of the survey was to examine the level of
knowledge of young people about the history of Jews in
our city. We addressed the survey to students of several
secondary schools with which Białystok Puppet Theatre
(BTL) cooperates on an ongoing basis. The surveys turned
out to be a success and we received results that gave us a
lot to think about. We then organised a discussion panel in
one of the schools, where we discussed the survey results
with the young people and discussed ideas we had collected
so far regarding the script of the “GPS” performance. We
also heard many interesting stories that the young
people had heard in their family homes – from their grandparents.
We also invited our young partners to visit BTL.
It gave them the opportunity to get to know a theatre “from
the inside”. They were given an insight into the process of
designing and producing scenographic elements.
They also visited the recording studio to listen to the
soundtracks created for the performance. They also got to
know the theatre’s stages and studios to better imagine the
production process of a theatre performance. Thanks to
these activities, we were able to collect material to be used
for further work on the script of the performance. Based
on the surveys and our historiographical research, we have
developed a series of the most important places in our city,
which will be reflected in the performance and which we
will also use in the educational activities in preparation
for the performance. We plan to develop an outdoor game
that will be a kind of an educational walk. In this way, the
audience would have the opportunity to expand their
knowledge about the history of the city and the characters
appearing in the performance and actually be at the places
where the “GPS” performance takes place. We will also
develop materials in the form of electronic files containing
information about the history of the city and its Jewish
community, about life at the crossroads of many cultures
and about the current state of research on the extermination
of Jews in Białystok.
Today‘s residents of Białystok know little about the city’s
wartime history. This is the result of the deliberate policy of
the communist governments after the end of the war. Only
recently have we had opportunity to freely research the fate
and history of Białystok Jews, reach forgotten cemeteries
and recover lost heritage. The “GPS” performance
is intended to be another stage on the path to restoring
memory of the lost city and another way to build new
bridges in co-operation between young generations of
Białystok residents and Jews.
Tomasz Damulewicz – theatre education specialist
Maciej Zalewski – actor
Participants of the Theatre Mediation Programme
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49

TMP 2 – Inaugural Meeting
Derby Theatre
“Pleasant Land”
Derby | UK
Derby Theatre is a learning theatre.
Bold and brilliant performances. Shows that represent
our community. A platform for ground-breaking artists.
A pathway for learners of all ages. A guaranteed great
night out. We’re a theatre like no other.
We’re known for artistic excellence. We’re committed to
education. And we believe that theatre can change your life.
As Derby Theatre, we work in partnership with the University
of Derby. We produce new plays and projects, collaborate
with artists and local people, and welcome higher
education students and anyone who wants to learn.
We are a charity and a National Portfolio organisation
for Arts Council England, and we’re led by artistic director
and CEO Sarah Brigham.
It’s really important to us that we make everyone feel
welcome. So, we set out to treat everybody with respect
and care. That includes audiences, artists and learners
who are new to theatre or who don’t usually feel like it’s
for them.
Derby Theatre is the UK’s only professional Learning Theatre.
This means that our doors are open for everyone to learn
through and about theatre. The Learning Theatre provides
a unique opportunity for people to learn their craft by
working alongside both academics and theatre professionals
in the heart of a producing theatre. Our work happens in
our building, online and in Derby’s diverse communities.
“Pleasant Land”
Derby Theatre and ConnectUp
Derby Theatre has been involved in the ConnectUp since
2020 and it’s invigorating to reflect on the way we now
make theatre and to observe the long-lasting impact that
the project has made to all of our work, not only that for
young audiences.
At Derby Theatre, co-creation is a golden thread that runs
through everything we do. By co-creation, we mean working
with different communities to understand their stories and
interests and feed this into the making of a show, including
our professional shows. We start with the offer of a creative
metaphor to spark the imagination, then provide the right
environment for those ideas to flourish.
We began ConnectUp with our home performance of Abi,
where the writer went into schools to explore the way the
students felt about their identity as young people growing
up in Derby; their ideas and their language fed into the
script.
Our next production, Home Girl was a production about a
young girl in care, an adaptation of a novel by Alex Wheatle
that was commissioned by care-experienced young people
themselves. The show saw young people taking on every
creative and technical role partnered with professionals.
The audiences for this show were incredibly diverse and
many were first time attenders. They reflected on how
refreshing and contemporary the show felt.
“A fantastic show which made me cry and was really educational
especially about different cultures and
Windrush” AUDIENCE MEMBER
In 2023, we made Pleasant Land this explored identity and
was made through a combination of devising and scripting
in the room. The piece was inspired by a group of Roma
young people whose sessions led to some key ideas, some
music that went into the show and the chance for them to
feed back on the show at rehearsal stage.
In 2023 we also worked with Theatre Company Pinklec on
the production Footsteps in the Mud by Mateja Poseidi
which was developed after the writer met and worked with
the Roma community.
In 2024 we commissioned Firewall by Ryan leader which
we developed in collaboration with young people from
Cathedral School in Derby, De La Salle College of Saint
Benilde and Dulaang Filipino in the Philippines and PETA
(Philippine Educational Theater Association).
Throughout the programme we have helped to develop the
TMP programme. Learning Director Caroline Barth and
Dr. Ava Hunt from the University of Derby have worked with
our ConnectUp colleagues to develop the curriculum and
mentor the group. In 2023 we welcomed the TMP Educators
to Derby for a 4 day festival and curated a programme of
workshops and performances.
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Kazališna družina
PINKLEC
Ena Jagec in “Wildfire”
A Derby Theatre and Philippine Educational Theater
Association (PETA) Production as part of ConnectUp
Firewall
We were 10 when they told us. They said that a long time
ago, people built these computers – big enough that
humans could live inside of them. “And that’s where we
live”, they said. “In the Metaverse”. When humanity holds
a referendum to seal the Firewall – cutting humanity’s ties
with the ‚old world‘ permanently – 17-year-old Ren and
Thea find themselves without
a vote and without a voice in their own futures.
As they venture through a glitched and broken landscape,
Ren and Thea must navigate their personal and political
differences and decide whether to reboot the system or
shut it down for good. Firewall is a new play written in
conversation with Year 9 Derby students and university
students living in the Philippines. Over an action-packed
50 minutes, audiences will explore humanity’s relationship
to technology and its disregard for the voice of its next
generation, all whilst asking what it really means to be
human.
CAST
Karen Barredo & Joel Howard
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer – Ryan Leder
Director – Oliver O’ Shea
Assistant Director – Norbs Portales
Designers – Laura Guthrie and Izzy Hollis
Sound Designer – Amanda Priestley
Movement Director – Ayesha Fazal
Wardrobe Supervisor – Tim Heywood
Firewall is our 4th production with the ConnectUp project
and it started with a partnership between Cathedral School
in Derby, De La Salle College of Saint Benilde and Dulaang
Filipino in the Philippines and PETA (Philippine Educational
Theater Association).
Čakovec | Croatia
Theatre Company Pinklec is a children‘s and youth theatre
that has been based in the Čakovec Cultural Centre since
1987. It became a professional theatre group in 2006 and
has focused on engaged theatre ever since. Its founder and
artistic director from the very beginning is Romano Bogdan.
Many of our theatre plays deal with the current problems
of the world we live in. In our plays, we talk about refugees,
divorce, democracy, the right to choose and death. Some
of these plays are puppetry, some are dramas based on
acting.
Theatre Company Pinklec participates every year in several
festivals in the region and abroad. It is a great success for us
that we have received the most important and significant
awards for our work at most Croatian festivals.
During the year, we present two to three performances,
some of which are our own productions and some of
which are co-productions. Most of them are with Croatian
theatres, but we would also like to point out some foreign
co-productions.
Since the beginning of its professionalisation in 2006, the
company has been a member of the Croatian Assitej and the
Croatian UNIMA (Union Internationale de la Marionnette).
26th Assitej Festival Croatia
Leading Umbrella Association of Theatres for Children
and Young People in Croatia
The festival of professional children‘s and youth theatre HC
Assitej has been held in Čakovec for 23 consecutive years.
In October 2023, we presented 10 performances selected
by dramaturge Jelena Kovačić from 24 applications.
Thousands of children from Međimurje County (schools
and kindergartens) visited us. We have become a highly
respected and renowned festival.
In addition to the festival, there was also an exhibition
of the work of students from the Department of Creative
Technologies. Visitors to the exhibition had the opportunity
to see a wide range of works – different types of puppets,
models of scenography, masks, props, but also something
completely new – the puppet film “Yellow Minute”, which
was produced and realised entirely in our department with
the help of the great animator Božidar Trkulja.
Exhibition setup: Lorna Kalazić Jelić
Ass. Students: Ida Klarić and Laura Reljan
As part of the festival, we also held the 12th International
Meeting “ASSITEJ Croatia World Collaboration”. In
collaboration with the regional network “OD MALIH NOGU”
(From an Early Age), three workshops were held and fivde
issues of “The Bulletin” of the 26th Assitej Festival Croatia
were published. The Bulletin / visual-textual essay of
HC Assitej and Od malih nogu served as a digital festival
diary with audience reflections, excerpts from reviews and
interviews with guests, as well as photos from gatherings at
the Čakovec Youth Centre. “The Bulletin” was prepared by
the coordinators of the Od malih nogu platform and
5 members of the Drama Studio DADA.
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Wildfire is a well-known play in Israel. Why is it important
in today‘s theatre framework?
I think it‘s an important story, because growing up always
comes along with challenges. I can really relate to this story
because I got angry a lot as a teenage boy and felt like no
one would ever understand me. If there is one person who
will see the performance and can relate to it, that would
be enough for me. This play also has so much humour and
action in it. It‘s simply a good story and I‘m very glad that
we told it.
\ Members of Drama studio Dada: Aleksandra Mihoci,
Simon Varošanec, Zara Nedeljko, Franka Bene, Elena
Abramović, Lui Trstenjak took part in the Youth Encounter
2023 TOMORROWLAND in Portugal.
\ Tena Perenc, Dora Zvošec, Nika Bajkovec and Lara Bajić
went to the Youth Encounter 2024 Chasing the wind in
Forli, Italy
Ena Jagec, actor in Theatre Company Pinklec,
about her experience as a participant of TMP 2:
Mor Antar DIVLJA VATRA (WILDFIRE)
For the ConnectUp-production #4, Theatre Company Pinklec
collaborated with the Orna Porat Theatre from Israel.
Wildfire is a touching play about the coming of age of a
young girl in Israel. Caroline will be 12 in a month. She can‘t
look forward to her birthday because her father doesn‘t
understand her, her school friends gossip about her behind
her back, and worst of all, she grew up without her mother,
whom she never met but only saw in photos. She would
surely know how to control the “wildfire” that constantly
burns within her, leading her to violence with her peers,
for which she later has to apologise and visit the school
counsellor‘s office. To prevent her from being expelled
from school due to frequent conflicts, the counsellor Shila
suggests that she joins a new activity – karate.
During her first class, Caroline faces the same situation:
peer ridicule, fights and merciless attacks. But not all
children her age are the same. Danny, a quiet boy, manages
to teach her the rules of karate. One rule stands out – every
time she falls, she must get up and fight again until she
achieves her goal.
With time, Caroline will learn to love her “wildfire” and how
to properly channel it. She will refine her karate skills to
perfection and achieve what no one, not even her father, not
even counsellor Shila, and certainly not herself, expected.
INTERVIEW with the director Shachaf Berger
What, in your opinion, are the similarities between
Israel and Croatia, what connects us and what are the
differences?
I fell in love with Čakovec, and I think there are a lot of
similarities. First of all, the people in both places are very
warm and kind, and there is a feeling that – if needed –
people would always help, even if it is a stranger on the
street. Israel is much busier, more crowded and louder
than Croatia. Here, I think, is a special place for traditions.
There are traditions in Israel too, but it‘s very different
because Israel is a younger country.
You had the opportunity to see some Croatian plays,
including ours. How would you describe theatre for
children and youth and theatre in general in Croatia?
I did see some very good plays, which speak to the children
at eye level, and I was happy to see how much effort and
thought went into the creations. The most important thing
for me was to see the happy and enthusiastic reactions of
the children and to experience how they are drawn into
plays full of imagination and inventions – which for me is
the essence of theatre.
We are extremely honoured to do a joint play with the
Orna Porat Theatre. Could you tell us more about it?
How was it for you to work with our artistic team,
in our theatre?
I came with a lot of fear to this project. I’ve never directed a
play in a language that I don’t understand, and had no idea
how to do it. But with the help of my amazing team I learned
that when the actor is delivering the sentence accurately
– you can understand the words, without really knowing
them. It was a very interesting and reassuring experience
for me and I am very grateful for that.
How was it for you to work with Ena Jagec, the young
actress?
A monodrama is such a challenge for an actor. Gladly Ena
succeeded in portraying all the characters in a deep and
layered way. Carolyn, the main character is such a challenge
for an actress, because she is a teenager that feels everyone
and everything all at once, in high levels. Ena is an amazing
artist, she is hilarious and so versatile.
If you could change/fix anything in the world right now
what would be the first thing that you would do?
I want to change so much in the world, but for now, the first
thing I would do is bring back the people that had been
taken away from their homes in Israel.
*immigration of Jews from the diaspora to the region,
which is today chiefly represented by the State of Israel.
My experience was very interesting, hard and beautiful.
I was involved in two ConnectUp-productions, both of
them talked about important topics. While I was working
on them, I also attended Zoom meetings, which prepared
me for my work in Forlí, Italy., where I acted as a facilitator
for young people who enjoy theatre. I had the privilege of
working with great teachers, artists and students. Working
with, for and by young people made me appreciate youth
theatre even more and inspired me to create new shows.
I hope that this project can bring young people, artists and
teachers together.
Melanija Balaž, school teacher, about her TMP
experience as a participant of TMP 2:
The most important thing I learnt is that we have to give
young people the opportunity to have their voices heard,
because their thoughts and ideas are interesting and worth
discussing.
Wildfire is a solo performance that shows and teaches how
to calm and redirect the anger and chaos in one‘s mind and
fight for a better future.
Team
Text Author: Mor Antar (Israel)
Director: Shachaf Berger (Orna Porat Theatre, Israel)
Translation & Dramaturgy: Mateja Posedi
Visual concept: Nenad Kern
Music Composer: Bojan Miljančić
Karate Instructor: Mladen Vizinger
Cast: Ena Jagec
Premiere: Cultural Centre Čakovec, March 23rd, 2024.
Age: 10+ | Duration: 50 minutes
It is the most senior repertoire theatre for children in Israel,
founded in 1970 by the German actress Orna Porat, who
made Aliya* to Israel. It is one of the biggest theatres in
Israel and every year it produces approximately 20 different
plays. They are presented to 400 000 viewers in 250 halls all
over Israel. It is the place where I fell in love with the art of
theatre as a kid, and it is one of my favourite places to work.
Theatre Mediation Programme 2nd run
In addition to the ConnectUp-productions, various training
courses for professionals were offered during the last 4 years:
\ Actors and drama pedagogues Ena Jagec and
Davor Dokleja for the TMP
\ Marketing employee Tasjenka Žnidar for acquiring
additional tools for communication with educational institutions,
but also for the realisation of European projects.
\ Teachers Aleksandra Pleh and Melanija Višnjić for working
with young people in the school theatre groups.
Lara Brajić, student in Drama studio DADA, about
her experience in the Youth Encounter 2024:
This was a wonderful experience that I will remember for
the rest of my life. We met a lot of people who I‘ll cherish.
We learnt new things and perhaps discovered some new
talents. But above all, we had fun and gave 100% of our
strength and abilities to this project. I am very proud of all
of us, especially Ena Jagec, who endured these days with
us. It‘s definitely an experience worth remembering.
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55

Landesbühnen Sachsen
Radebeul / Germany
The Landesbühnen Sachsen (LBS) are the professional
travelling repertory theatre of the German federal state
of Saxony with music, dance, drama and puppet theatre
ensembles and theatre for young audiences. Over 200
employees are responsible for organizing, preparing and
performing more than 600 performances each year in
Saxony (including the nature stage “Felsenbühne Rathen”),
Central Germany and other European venues.
Bus 57 – A True Story
A play based on the novel by Dashka Slater
German by Ann Lecker / Stage version by Kerstin Weiß –
world-premiere | Premiere 13.11.2021
Sasha is white, goes to a private school and defines
themself as agender. Richard is African-American, has just
come out of a residential group for supervised juvenile
offenders and is having trouble at school. Both are only
connected by the 57 bus route. Until one day Richard sets
fire to Sasha‘s skirt when they fall asleep on the bus.
BUS 57 offers the opportunity to get to the bottom of many
questions through encounters with two very different
characters. To what extent does a person‘s background influence
their future, their decisions and the paths they take?
How do I want to meet other people? What makes a change
of perspective possible?
RAUSCHEN
A Research journey from Agata Kucińska in cooperation
with “Cloud Theater” and “Wrocławski Teatr Lalek” –
world premiere
From September 2021 to July 2022, 14 young people between
the ages of 11 and 13 researched the topic of “Real
Digital” in a weekly theatre workshop. The results of this
research were being used by the artistic team to develop
the professional puppet theater production entitled
“Swoosh” [Rauschen]. The form, the content and the
means are inspired by the adolescents.
TABULA RASA
An inclusive dance project
Co-Production Landesbühnen Sachsen (DE)
and “Ich bin O.K.” (AU)
Audience feedback on the performances in Radebeul:
“It was wonderful to see how each of the dancers had their
own dance style. The costumes were very cool, and the
dynamics of the piece constantly surprised you. The audience
interactions were very funny and added a nice touch to the
piece. The ending with the group dance was beautiful and
a perfect conclusion.”
“The accompanying class teacher was thrilled – about the
piece itself, the performers, everything surrounding it,
simply everything. :-) An important experience for our ‚village
children‘ – the city, storytelling through dance, and of course,
inclusion.”
“The piece was very well received by the children in my class.
They were excited about the dancers (both the professional
dancers and those with Down syndrome). It was especially
impactful for my severely hearing-impaired student, as it was
a doubly effective theater visit for him (he fully understood the
piece and realized that having a limitation does not mean you
cannot do ‚normal‘ things – even professionally speaking).”
For further information about this project, also read
the article by “Ich bin O.K.” on page 61
Mittagspause (Lunchbreak)
“A classroom play by Anne Jentsch
Co-production with Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru (UK)
world-premiere
The two students Anja and Kati have the task of giving a
presentation to their class about Sorbian culture in Saxony.
They have exactly one hour to prepare. And this one hour
falls exactly during their lunch break. And just like in the old
Sorbian legend, the midday woman appears to them and
wants to take the lives of those who work during the lunch
break with her sickle – unless they can talk to her for an
hour without stopping.
The interactive classroom play “Lunch Break” tells of the
search for identity, friendship, self-worth, self-empowerment
and Sorbian culture as a tradition and lived reality today.
The rehearsal process for this production was preceded by
intensive research into Sorbian culture and legends. The
LBS commissioned the Sorbian author Anne Jentsch to
write the text, which, anchored in the Sorbian legend of the
“Midday Woman,” aims to shed light on this theme from the
perspective of the here and now in a contemporary setting.
Additionally, one of the two actresses is of Sorbian origin,
allowing the spoken (and sung) Sorbian language to be
incorporated into the script and performance. Using
tablets, teenage audience members interact and participate
alongside the two actresses in the search for traces of
Sorbian life in Saxony. This production was directed by
Welsh director and actor Arwel Gruffydd, who, due to
his background as a member of a “minority culture” and
“minority language,” was able to contribute numerous
experiences to the process. By performing in classrooms
throughout Saxony, young audience members from all
social backgrounds can be reached, fostering an awareness
of this vibrant (yet often still unknown) minority culture in
their federal state.
CAST:
Director: Arwel Gruffydd
Costumes and stage design: Susi Schwichtenberg
Dramaturgy & Theatre pedagogy: Ulrich Reinhardt
Composition: Thomas Bächli
Accordeon: Gerd Bayer
Webdesign: Sebastian Becking
Performer: Božena Bjarsch, Annabel Bayer
Premiere: 18.3.2024,
Evangelisches Schulzentrum Radebeul
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TMP – Projektwoche
Hans Erlwein Gymnasium
As part of a committed collaboration between the Hans
Erlwein Gymnasium Dresden and the Landesbühnen
Sachsen in Radebeul, an intensive theater project week
took place from April 8th to April 12th, 2024.
Under the guidance of a theatre educator from the Landesbühnen
and a teacher from the school, 26 students worked
on the play “Mittagspause,” the Landesbühnen‘s current
ConnectUp production. They not only explored the theatrical
aspects of the play but also discussed and reflected on
topics that were very tangible for the young people beyond
the content of the play. The students had the opportunity
to creatively contribute their own perspectives.
On the first day, the focus was on researching the Sorbian
legend of the “Mittagsfrau”, which also served as the basis
for the theatre play. This cultural immersion allowed the
students to gain insight into the diverse facets of Sorbian
traditions and mythology. The legend, according to which
the “Mittagsfrau” comes to the fields at lunchtime and cuts
off the heads of all labourers who can not tell a story for
an hour, also defined our goal: we asked the young people
what they would talk about, how they would talk and what
language means to them in general. This research laid the
foundation for the content of the week.
The fourth day was dedicated to writing poetic texts, thereby
fostering the creative expression of the participants.
By writing their own texts, they were able to express their
thoughts and emotions in an artistic way.
The variety of activities and the intensive exploration of different
subject areas contributed significantly to the success
of the project week. The students were not only able to develop
their artistic abilities, but also strengthen important
social and emotional skills. Through the collaboration with
the Landesbühnen Sachsen, the participants also gained
valuable insights into the world of professional theatre.
They were able to benefit from the expertise of the theatre
educator and unfold their own artistic potential.
ICH BIN O.K.
Vienna | Austria
The cultural and educational association “Ich bin O.K.”
exists since more than 40 years. We operate as a dance
studio offering weekly courses for more than 100 persons
with disabilities (mostly intellectual). We create inclusive
projects in which our dancers have the opportunity to
present themselves on stage together with dancers without
a disability. The more advanced dancers present their
abilities in the frame of the “Ich bin O.K. – Dance Company”
and some of them completed a one-year vocational training
to become “Dance Assists”. This means that these dancers
with Down Syndrome are authorised to assist dance
teacher(s) giving a class or leading a workshop in a school
or another institution.
Together with committed guest dancers and volunteers
from various schools and initiatives, the productions of the
“Ich bin O.K.” dance studio always endeavour to focus on
current topics that interest our dancers. They often deal
with socially critical topics with the intention of further
developing inclusive educational and cultural practices.
THE GOLDEN THREAD, Studio Production 2023
So, in preparation of the 2023 piece, a kind of brainstorming
process was initiated: What topics are of interest to our
dancers? How is it possible to put their visions/their phantasies
on stage? Which creative configurations can
be developed from improvisation?
Talks and discussions with the dancers resulted in themes
like conflict, fight and war. The dancers themselves
developed various stories within the several studio groups,
which led to the idea of the phantasy story of “The Golden
Thread”. The characters of the fairy tale were kings, queens,
dragons and fairies in a possible crystal world for which
it was worth to fight, and which told about misunderstandings
as well as reconciliation.
Two siblings flee from the quarrels of their everyday lives
into the magical empire of the Woman with the Golden Hair,
the Guardian of Time. Nonetheless, in this world disharmony
exists as well as the Green Queen and the Purple King
are really quarrelling. Not even the Dragon of Time can
bring them to terms. As the war clouds gather, the Guardian
sends the children on a quest to find the Great Crystal that
will help them. On their journey, the sisters learn how to
overcome obstacles through solidarity.
The second day was characterized by a presentation of the
classroom play “Mittagspause”, followed by a discussion
and a comparison of the expectations that had arisen from
the previous day‘s research. The participants were able to
reflect on their impressions and exchange their thoughts
on the themes portrayed in the play, such as friendship, the
search for identity, dealing with minorities and prejudices.
On the third day, the students had the opportunity to talk
about topics that moved them personally. This not only
encouraged self-reflection, but also promoted exchange
among each other and the development of a common
understanding.
“The Golden Thread” is a fairy tale about the power of
conciliation. The artistic adaptation is intended to show
that current issues equally matter for our group of dancers
with learning disabilities. Dance, music and acting are
combined to an intergenerational stage event!
Direction Team
Artistic Director: Hana Zanin-Pauknerová
Assistant Director: Benedikt Berner
Choreography: Dancers and Teachers
Musical Concept /Arrangement: Andreas Hellweger
Text: Stephan Lack
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Milla Kanew, digitale Zeichnung TMP – Workshop at Festival Segnali (Milano, IT) 2022
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The Target Group
In order to particularly enable the young people in the
audience to engage sustainably with the themes of the play,
we send working materials to schools and the respective
teachers a few weeks before the performance. In these
materials, we explain the motivation for the play as well as
the staging approach and the pedagogical approach and
put them up for discussion. We also send out short scene
descriptions to give students ideas for preparatory
discussions.
Showing big interest in the production we welcomed about
900 young people from 28 schools and 25 sheltered workshops.
The play was performed by two different casts in six
performances and was also reported about by public media
(ORF, Puls4, ZDF).
Workshop “Turn the page and start dancing!”
at “PULS”- Festival Vienna (AT)
On October 11th, 2023, the “Ich bin O.K” team, two Dance
Assists and dancers of the so-called intensive-class of the
Studio, prepared, organized and implemented a workshop
for ConnectUp performers and Young Ambassadors at
”PULS”- Festival at Dschungel Wien.
It demonstrated an example of inclusive team teaching.
The teaching team consisted of two dance educators,
advanced dancers and dance assists (dancers with a disability
who have completed the “dance assist” training of the
“Ich bin O.K.” association). Thematically, the workshop was
connected to the performance “Tabula Rasa”. Based on our
“O.K.- artistic and educational concept”, participants were
invited to engage in creative, playful interaction using the
means of dance theater. The idea followed that the bodies
and the movements shall be steadily re/invented and
presented in new forms!
Workshop at PULS Festival 2023
After a general warm-up together, several movement
tasks had been assigned – e.g. funny unusual walking or
expressing different feelings through movement and facial
expressions. Another task was to build a “landscape with
statues” – a few performers formed a statue in space, then,
after a little while of watching, the whole group passed by
and “scratched” the space again. This sequence of various
improvised group shapes was finally composed to a small
choreography which was presented to the invited public at
the end.
A link to the 5-min
video clip of the workshop
The ConnectUp Youth Encounter 2023 TOMORROWLAND
in Portugal has been a week of interaction and collective
thinking about the social, environmental and political
issues that young people envision in their own future,
which culminated in a big event
The participants from Vienna were dancers with a disability
and the teachers from “Ich bin O.K.”, as well as seven
teen-aged students from a Viennese school. The group
met in advance to prepare for the topic “Why is it necessary
to actively engage for a better future?”.
The challenges for the young people with different backgrounds
turned out to be not always easy in terms of
language, cognitive development phase, understanding of
contexts, etc. Sometimes it was difficult for them to find the
right balance between friendship and assistance. Finally,
the feedback was very satisfying, as the dancers got to
know other peer groups and involved themselves in different
working groups, as they were used to doing (e.g. create
costumes, design pictures or write comments).
TABULA RASA, 2023
Did you ever ask yourself: Do I have hidden talents?
Do I have prejudices towards others? Is life dependent
on reputation and money or rather more on community,
self/acceptance and solidarity? Shouldn‘t we let ourselves
be surprised from time to time?
Suggested answer: “Tabula Rasa”! Now is the time to get a
clearer perspective! Life must be profitable! Stop making
mistakes! Let‘s open up to life in all its diversity! Let‘s dare
to be our true selves and show our best side!
Using the means of dance theatre, “Tabula Rasa” addresses
the different ways of life of people in different financial
situations and the challenges and opportunities that come
with them. With a group of six dancers with and without
disabilities, the piece is a call for inclusion and equality of
non-normative people.
The experience and professional dance training of the
dancers from Landesbühnen Sachsen (LBS) met the passion
and knowledge of the dancers with and without Trisomy 21
from “Ich bin O.K.”. In an encounter at equal level,
they exchanged their dancing styles and preferences and
created a space of experience that showed that new ways
are possible as soon as the beaten tracks are left behind.
Rehearsals for the production started in February 2023
for 5 days in Radebeul (DE). This meeting for training and
thematic discussion was followed by monthly meetings to
develop the scenes of the play and an intensive exchange
on the topic. The collaboration with the theatre was
successful, as we had professional departments for
scenery, scaffolding and costumes at our disposal.
Despite facing some challenges concerning the change of
the artistic director of the company (Wagner Morera was
replaced by Natalie Wagner) the cooperation between
“Ich bin O.K.” and LBS went smoothly. Anyway, an additional
pressure was given by the fact that the three members of
the LBS company – Simon Wolant, Marianne Reynaudi,
Gavin Law – had to rehearse and perform their usual repertoire
at the theatre, thus, could not be available all the time.
But overall, the LBS team welcomed the “Ich bin O.K.” team
openly, tenderly and on eye level. All this had been made
possible through the support of ConnectUp – for which we
feel very grateful and honored.
Direction Team:
Choreography: Simon Wolant
Choreographic Assistant: Attila Zanin
Stage and Costume Design: Ralph Zeger
Dramaturgy: Dr. Ruth Heynen
Cast: Simon Couvreur, Raphael Kadrnoska,
Maria Naber, Sophie Waldstein;
Gavin Law, Marianne Reynaudi
Performances in 2023:
Norway, Kristiansand, Kilden Performing Arts Centre,
Sept 14/15
Germany, LBS, Radebeul: Sept 19/20
Austria, Dschungel Wien, PULS Festival: Oct 10/11
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61

Lutkovno gledališče
Ljubljana
Ljubljana | Slovenia
Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana & ConnectUp
Over the past four years, Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana‘s
engagement with ConnectUp has yielded four successful
productions tailored for adolescent audiences. However,
beyond mere production output, the theatre has undergone
a significant development in its understanding of this
specific demographic. By actively involving key practitioners
in the educational aspects of the project, the theatre
has expanded their understanding of and connection to
this target audience. Through strategic involvement in
educational components, the theatre has empowered its
staff who directly engage with adolescent audiences. This
initiative has expanded their knowledge base and enabled
them to better understand the nuanced needs and preferences
of this demographic. It has also enabled the theatre
to continually refine and improve its strategies for engaging
with and catering to this audience segment. This concerted
effort to deepen connections with adolescent audiences
underscores the theatre’s commitment to evolving with its
community. By utilising educational opportunities within
ConnectUp, Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana has not only
refined its understanding of adolescent audiences, but also
built a more solid and meaningful relationship with them.
The Amazons
4th ConnectUp production of Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana
The Amazons marked a significant milestone as the fourth
instalment of Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana‘s involvement
in ConnectUp. Following the trajectory of previous productions,
which ranged from incorporating teenagers as actors
in prewritten dramas (Yellow Moon, 2020) to empowering
them both as actors and content creators (Everything is
Alright, 2021), and even engaging them in the dramaturgical
process (Shame on You, 2022), The Amazons has ambitiously
brought these approaches together. In this innovative
production, two 11-year-old actresses were invited to team
up with actors from three other generations – women in
their 30s, 40s and 80s.
At its core, The Amazons was a narrative exploration that
aimed to illuminate the differences and parallels between
generations through the compelling saga of the ancient
warrior women, the Amazons. This thematic choice provided
a rich tapestry through which the interplay of age, experience
and perspective could be explored. By interweaving the
stories of these legendary figures with the lived experiences
of different age groups, the production sought to promote a
deeper understanding of the human condition across time.
In addition to the thematic depth, The Amazons also
served as a platform for the promotion of young talent
in a professional theatre environment. By incorporating
a pre-written play structure, the production offered the
young participants a framework in which they could engage
with theatre on a highly professional level. This immersive
experience not only catered to their burgeoning interest in
the dramatic arts, but also provided our theatre team with
the opportunity to refine their methods for working with
younger collaborators.
The decision to integrate teenagers into such a sophisticated
theatrical environment was strategic and served multiple
purposes. Not only did it offer the teens the opportunity
to immerse themselves in the craft they were passionate
about, but it also served as a litmus test for the theatre’s
strategies in engaging with younger audiences. By actively
involving them in the creative process and providing them
with a platform to make their voices heard, The Amazons
sought to bridge the gap between generations and create
a more inclusive and dynamic theatre landscape.
The Amazons is a co-production between Lutkovno
gledališče Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Theatre For Children
Kragujevac (Serbia), which aims to further explore the
possibilities of involving young actors in the performing
arts.
Authors: Jaša Koceli, Júlia Sándor
Director: Jaša Koceli
Dramaturge: Júlia Sándor
Choreographer and asistant director: Tajda Podobnik
Set designer: Darjan Mihajlović Cerar
Music: Miha Petric
Costume designer: Branka Pavlič Guček
Lighting designer: David Andrej Francky
Language consultant: Maja Cerar
Photography: Mankica Kranjec
Translator: Maja Ropret
Make-up artist: Tina Prpar
Pattern making, cutting and sewing: Marjetka Valjavec
Cast: Jožica Avbelj, Asja Kahrimanović, Zala Ana
Štiglic, Ivana Pinterič/Anna Katarina Vavti
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17th International Biennial Festival
of Contemporary Puppetry Arts LUTKE 2024
Ljubljana will be filled with vibrant theatre for young
audiences and puppetry from September 22nd to 28th
2024, as Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana hosts the 17th international
festival, LUTKE 2024. The first part of the festival
will focus on theatre for young audiences, with outstanding
ConnectUp productions from partner organisations.
The second part will showcase international puppetry
productions from recent years, promising a captivating
exploration of diverse theatrical forms and themes. From the
imaginative narratives for young audiences to the intricate
puppetry techniques utilised in international productions,
LUTKE 2024 promises to captivate audiences of all ages.
Moreover, the festival serves as a celebration of cultural
exchange and collaboration, bringing together artists,
performers and theatre enthusiasts from around the globe.
Through shared experiences and creative dialogue, LUTKE
2024 fosters connections that transcend borders and
inspire a deeper appreciation for the transformative
power of theatre.
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65

Aftershow Talk at Festival Segnali 2023
Makani
Elsinor‘s fourth and final production within ConnectUp
is the result of long creative work shared with the HTY
company of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Elsinor Centro
Di Produzione Teatrale
Forlì, Milano, Florence | Italy
Elsinor is a Centre for theatrical production based in Milan,
at the Teatro Fontana, but it is composed of two other local
units, such as Teatro Cantiere Florida in Florence and Teatro
Testori in Forlì. These three venues share the same commitment
in exploring new contemporary theatrical prose.
Since the beginning of the project, Elsinor has activated
various projects aimed at increasing cultural participation,
with the goal of recreating a receptive and sensitive
community around its theatres through theatre and
drama workshops, participatory shows, theatrical
forays into unconventional places and creative ateliers.
Looking back now, being nearly at the end of the project,
we can see the positive effects of the implemented actions.
The inspiration given by the project, triggered the implementation
of a series of diversified actions – also on a
territorial level in the different locations – which each
contributed in their own specific way to the change.
A change that we do not consider concluded but still ongoing
and growing, constantly in need of care and attention.
There are two elements that in a particular and more
incisive way contributed to driving the process forward:
creating new and specific collaborations with bodies and
institutions that could help identify the difficult-to-reach
public audience as intermediaries; and then giving this new
audience the possibility of engaging with the artistic creation,
which is crucial in order to establish a strong and lasting
connection with them.
It was also important to ensure that this target group had
the opportunity to participate together with the existing
public, rather than being restricted to specific occasions.
In some cases, it was exciting to see how the participants of
this new audience then became sounding boards for other
new audiences, ambassadors in a sense for the proposed
activities and catalysts of awareness in community areas
not normally involved in cultural activities. This demonstrates
how this type of action, which requires constant and
careful work, can also trigger a positive mechanism that
contributes to their growth.
The Festival Segnali, organized by Elsinor and Teatro del
Buratto and directed by Giuditta Mingucci and Renata
Coluccini, is a historical and fundamental event for Italian
theatre for young audiences. Segnali is the chance to meet
all the different kinds of productions and distributions
coming from the whole country, and to compare and find
out about all the different types of poetic and artistic paths.
A crossroads of paths that over the years has allowed a
direct knowledge of current programmes, encouraging
more aware and effective programming, and an important
help to distribution throughout the whole country.
In May 2022 and 2023 the festival hosted meetings of the
ConnectUp partners and shows produced in the frame of
the project, such as Elsirnor’s The Frogs and Cross the line,
Dschungel Wien’s Kalaschnikov Mon Amour, Divadlo Alfa’s
and Bialystock Teatr Lalek’s co production Symulator.
The theme that united the work of two geographically
distant realities is the wind, first and foremost as a natural
element, but also as a metaphor. In both of these cases,
it was investigated in interviews and workshops with the
target audience and beyond, in a long research work across
the cultures of the world which involved people of all ages,
participants in workshops and artists of different origins.
While the ideation and research process began as early as
2022, the rehearsals began with a first session in July 2023
in Forlì, where the Hawaiian artists involved were able to
get to know the local reality of Elsinor. A second session
took place in February 2024 in Honolulu, thanks to the
hospitality of HTY which welcomed part of the Italian
team into its spaces, also creating laboratory and research
opportunities on the island. The final editing phase of the
show took place in Forlì the following March, and concluded
with a preview meeting with the public in view of the debut
at the Segnali festival (Milan, May 2024).
The possibility of comparing and creating together, for two
realities active in such distant parts of the world, was a
precious opportunity to broaden horizons and deepen the
understanding of artistic making not only of the partner
company and its territory, but also of one‘s own. The
exchange and comparison with a different reality in fact
require elasticity and willingness to go beyond one‘s habits
and visions, and in exchange give new food for thought
capable of dismantling the automatisms of the processes.
“Makani was born from the desire to share stories and
artistic practices across two oceans and cultures. A small
team of artists met first on a Zoom screen, then a stage
in Forli, with children in schools in Hawaii and Italy and a
on stage in Hawaii. Stories, language, food, music, dance,
laughter, beachtime, medieval castles and tear-inducing
poignant moments of connection in the Hawaii mountains
were shared. We stepped into these rooms and moments
each with our own experiences and reached out to other
artists across the world to ask what the wind meant to
them. Our show Makani is a stream of many of those stories
woven together and told by our titular character as she
is held by both the memory and the embrace of her dear
grandfather (Nonno). One never knows where an idea really
comes from in a rehearsal room with so much play and
ideas but Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much in Hawaiian)
ConnectUp for that initial first crazy idea that brought us
together. It has enriched our lives so much more than just a
cultural exchange.”
Annie Cusick Wood
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Annie Cusick Wood (left) at the rehearsal at Honolulu Theatre for Youth
Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY) produces professional
theatre and drama education programs that make a difference
in the lives of young people, families and educators in
the state of Hawai‘i.
HTY believes that drama education and theatre are unique,
socially-based education and art forms that help their participants
and audiences walk in the shoes of others, allowing
them to expand their imaginations, enrich their lives and
discover the infinite possibilities in the world. HTY works
towards a future for Hawai‘i in which people are culturally
literate and imaginative, are critical thinkers and inventive
problem solvers, with a respect for history and a sense of
place in a complex world.
Founded in 1955, HTY is one of the oldest and most respected
children’s theatres in the country. HTY has served over
five million people through school and family performances
and drama education programs. Over 300 new plays for
young audiences have been commissioned by HTY.
Annie Cusick Wood
Director & Writer
Born in Scotland and residing in Kailua, Hawaii, Annie
Cusick Wood has forged her way as an award-winning
children’s theatre director, playwright, and producer for
the past 30 years. Since leaving her role as artistic director
at London’s Polka Theatre in 2006, she has written and
directed an array of thought-provoking shows at Honolulu
Theatre for Youth (HTY), as well as written and directed for
HTY’s three time Emmy-award-winning TV show “The HI
Way.” Her plays have performed across the UK, USA, Canada
and China. Her first short film “The Tiny Tree” won Best
Short Fantasy Film at the San Diego International Children’s
Film Festival in 2022.
Makàni
Storie di Vento
Cast: Francesca Tisano
Set design: Valentina Dagrada, Federica Ricchio
Music consultancy: Lucas Cusick
Research consultancy: Dirk Neldner
Directed by Annie Cusick Wood
A production Elsinor / Honolulu Theatre for Youth
in the frame of the project ConnectUp
Wind is an atmospheric agent. A force of nature.
Air in motion.
It can be cool, hot, pleasant or unpleasant, strong,
fast; it‘s a current of air that can carry you too.
The wind is a mystery: it is there, but you don‘t see it. It is
something indecipherable, to which billions of meanings
can be attributed. It marks all of us. It carries sounds, movements,
smells, memories.
Pā ka makani
By Lokomaika‘i Lipscomb and Annie Cusick Wood
The wind blows stories onto the Honolulu Theatre for
Youth stage from Hawaii and beyond. This show features
hula (dance), oli (Hawaiian chant) and science, exploring
the winds of Hawaii and our relationship to these winds.
What does the wind and its stories mean to us in our Hawaii
island home? What stories will we send into the breeze?
Makàni is a Hawaiian word that means ‚wind‘. But it is also
the name of the protagonist, who, following the memories
linked to her artisan grandfather, takes us on a tour of the
world made up of stories linked to the wind. Stories that,
like the wind, know no boundaries.
Rehearsals in Honolulu – Francesca Tisano and Lokomaika‘i Lipscomb
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FITEI
Porto, Portugal
FITEI (International Festival of Theatre of Iberian Expression)
is a cultural institution whose aim is to promote theatre and
the performing arts, as well as to foster artistic creation, by
holding an annual festival with an outstanding vision of the
Iberian Peninsula.
Throughout its history, the festival has programmed more
than 800 companies from various countries, including
Portugal, Spain, Latin America, and Portuguese-speaking
African countries. It is currently preparing its 47th edition
with national and international shows, workshops, talks,
debates, performances, book launches and other activities.
In an effort to attract and captivate new audiences that are
difficult to reach within the framework of the larger festival,
FITEI launched a festival in 2020, which has been held
continuously ever since, essentially dedicated to children
and young people, but also to all those who have had little
or no contact with the theatre: O Meu Primeiro FITEI
(My First FITEI).
We want this festival to be for everyone, from 0 to 99 …,
and for its language to be as inclusive as possible,
to have the sparkle of first times and discoveries. We
won‘t give up on reaching the most difficult audiences
who, for whatever reason, economic or social, are far
from what FITEI has to offer: high quality national and
international shows!
– Gonçalo Amorim, artistic director of FITEI
In this way of reaching new audiences, the collaboration
with ConnectUp is proving to be an advantage, as both are
committed to spreading the art of theatre to young people.
Through the numerous mediation tools and methods
provided by the TMP – Theatre Mediation Project – FITEI is
able to reach and engage new audiences. Three measures
we were able to apply at this festival that were proposed in
this programme were Theatre For Young People, Theatre
With Young People and Theatre By Young People.
In its fourth edition, O Meu Primeiro FITEI reached around
1,300 visitors with shows by national companies created
especially for young people. We also presented a show
entitled “O Meu Primeiro Corpo” (My First Body) by Cátia
Pinheiro and José Nunes, which focussed particularly on
interaction with children. The audience was invited to
explore the different textures, sounds and lights that
surrounded the stage and to embark on a journey to discover
their own bodies, which meant that the show only possible
with the active participation of the little ones. However,
one of the most successful actions of the festival was the
presentation of the show “Selfie”, by Juan Ayala and Miguel
Oyarzun, whose creation involved 30 young people from the
community on stage. In this process, the young people were
challenged to reveal their experiences, discuss their anxieties
and share delicate thoughts about what it means to be
young in today‘s society. This exchange, under the guidance
of the directors, culminated in an emotional presentation to
families, friends, schools and the public.
In order to reach the target audience, FITEI invites all
schools in the city of Porto to take part in the festival, at a
special price. The feedback from the students is extremely
positive every year and the schools are always keen to
return for future editions. One of the festival‘s strong points
continues to be the special winter square: a craft fair with
workshops for the whole family, and we can‘t fail to mention
that this edition saw the opening of the first children‘s
disco.
In 2024, for its fifth edition, My First FITEI will return with
enthusiasm, this year with co-productions created by
partners within the framework of ConnectUp. These performances
will greatly enrich the character of the festival
and further boost its quality. In fact, this whole partnership
with ConnectUp has greatly increased FITEI‘s competences,
opened horizons and broadened the different perspectives
on mediation and artistic work for young audiences.
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Ancestor’s gift
ATASH شطع contemporary dance company
and DSCHUNGEL WIEN
Our ancestors are numerous and pass on a lot to us. Some
things are transmitted in mysterious ways. It seems to be
in our bones. In “Ancestors’ Gift” Ulduz Ahmadzadeh and
ATASH شطع contemporary dance company examine what
our relatives have given us on the path of life. These can be
beautiful experiences, talents and gifts, but also traumas
or fears. The show leads through a poetic world of dance,
projection and sound into an associative world of images
of the past and the future, on the path of discovery, transformation,
and healing.
Artistic co-direction,
concept and choreography: Ulduz Ahmadzadeh
Artistic co-direction,
concept and scenography: Till Krappmann
Composition and live electronics: Adrián Artacho
Text: Marek Zink
Choreographic assistance: Annelie Andre
Lighting: Michael Zweimüller
Technical advice: Claudia Wielander
Production: Mascha Mölkner, Julia Haas
Performance and co-creation: Desi Bonato,
Naline Ferraz, Xianghui Zeng
Firewall
Derby Theatre and Philippine Educational Theater
Association (PETA)
We were 10 when they told us. They said that a long time
ago, people built these computers – big enough that humans
could live inside of them. “And that’s where we live”,
they said. “In the Metaverse”. When humanity holds a referendum
to seal the Firewall – cutting humanity’s ties with
the ‚old world‘ permanently – 17-year-old Ren and Thea find
themselves without a vote and without a voice in their own
futures.
As they venture through a glitched and broken landscape,
Ren and Thea must navigate their personal and political
differences and decide whether to reboot the system or shut
it down for good. Firewall is a new play written in conversation
with Year 9 Derby students and university students living in
the Philippines. Over an action-packed 50 minutes, audiences
will explore humanity’s relationship to technology and
its disregard for the voice of its next generation, all whilst
asking what it really means to be human.
#4 _ BENFAZEJA
Teatro O Bando and Lume Teatro
The show will be based on the universe of Guimarães Rosa,
a Brazilian novelist, short story writer, poet and diplomat,
more specifically on the story A Benfazeja from the writer‘s
book Primeiras Estórias (1962). It tells the story of Mula-
Marmela, who’s deprivation does not even allow her to be
named. By mirroring the contradictions and mood of her
community, we see the tragic story of this woman that
sacrifices herself in the name of everyone but is sentenced
to wander in isolation.
Cast: Karen Barredo, Joel Howard
Writer: Ryan Leader
Director: Oliver O’ Shea
Assistant Director: Norbs Potales
Designers: Laura Guthrie, Izzy Hollis
Sound Designer: Amanda Priestly
Movement Director: Ayesha Fazal
Wardrobe Supervisor: Tim Heywood
Direction and Dramaturgy: Suzana Branco
Corporality: Vânia Rovisco
Set design: Rui Francisco
Props and Costumes: Maria Taborda
Music: Ana Raquel Martins
Visual Art: Maria Taborda
Production: Inês Gregório and Pedro Freitas
With: Jesser de Souza and Suzana Branco
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Ie Ie Ie Production
Theatr
Genedlaethol
Cymru
Carmarthen | Wales (UK)
Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru (Theatr Gen) is the Welshlanguage
national theatre, making theatre for Wales and
touring bold theatrical experiences across the nation and
beyond. Our productions and projects – created for and
in collaboration with the people of Wales – respond to the
world around us and reflect the experiences of contemporary
Welsh life.
Sian Elin James giving a workshop
ConnectAPP
The past year has seen the company go from strength to
strength under the leadership of Joint Chief Executives Angharad
Jones Leefe and Steffan Donnelly, leading them to
be nominated as Producer of the Year at The Stage Awards
2024.
Theatr Gen’s Participation Coordinator, Sian Elin James,
has been working alongside ConnectUp partners and we
caught up with her to hear more about her experience as
part of the project:
“Shw’mae bawb! I’m Sian Elin and I lead on participation
work at Theatr Gen, facilitating opportunities for people of
all ages to experience the joys of creativity.
I’ve4 loved being part of TMP2 with its focus on theatre
for young people by young people. In July 2023, we came
together at Derby Theatre –this was a really valuable few
days and I learned a lot, from accessibility in theatres for
young people, to practising collaborations and negotiations.
The aim in Derby and across our online modules was to
co-create something for young people by young people
and it’s been a joy to work alongside Iris and Julia from
Landesbühnen Sachsen in Germany. As two companies
working with young people, we wanted to create a piece
that celebrated our minority languages of Welsh and
Sorbish.
Our idea is to engage young people from both countries in
online workshops to create a bilingual song in Welsh and
Sorbish, followed by a short film. We’re putting plans in
place to make this collaborative project a reality – watch
this space!
In the meantime, Theatr Gen has driven forward the principles
of co-creation with young people, with our production Ie Ie
Ie – an important piece of theatre about relationships and
consent based on the real lived experiences of young people
in Wales today.
In the lead-up to the Ie Ie Ie tour, I travelled to schools
and colleges across Wales to host a series of workshops.
Participants discussed their first kiss, what consent means
to them, and their experience in dealing with relationships
and the online world. And what was most important to me
was providing these young people with a safe space to speak
openly and share their experiences, working in collaboration
with sexual health charity Brook Cymru.
As part of the touring show, audiences watched short films,
created in collaboration with the young people, discussing
their experiences of healthy relationships and consent
openly and honestly – smashing the taboo around these
topics and shining a light on the lives of young people today.
I’m so proud of this work, which has definitely been
strengthened by the knowledge I’ve gained as part of
TMP2. Diolch to ConnectUp for the opportunity!”
The aim is for ConnectAPP to be a practical and
user-friendly tool which achieves the following:
\ spoken or written text on stage can be followed
in the respective translations either spoken
(via earphones) or written text
\ makes productions in different languages
understandable for young people and reduces
prejudices among teachers (internationalisation
of festivals as a new business model)
\ provides innovative solutions to existing barriers such as
people who are visually impaired or blind and deafness
or living with hearing loss (strengthens the ”missionary
approach”)
\ allows young people to engage with theatre on an
immediate, personal level in their social media groups
(marketing support) and to give direct feedback such
as smiley-based evaluation.
\ allows direct communication with young
people (without any detour via teachers)
\ provides theatres with a reliable evaluation module
(which will also be used for research purposes by
the two universities).
ConnectAPP was used the first time within ConnectUp
in Porto (PT), during the FITEI festival (11/ 2021) for the
Portuguese production ”Doors”, later on at ConnectUp
festivals and showcases in Čakovec (HR), Milano (IT),
Kristiansand (NO), Pilsen (CZ) and Bialystok (PL).
Through practical experimentation, research and trialing,
ConnectAPP will lead to an international market readiness
till the end of the project. As ConnectAPP, it will be internetbased
and thus be expanded as a marketing and research
tool. Theatre makers from whole Europe already discovered
new ways to use the full potential of the app and make it an
integral part of new productions.
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ConnectUp
Future / Legacy
The ConnectUp partners started 2019 with big goals. During
the preparations, it was important for everyone to clearly
define their ambitions and actually put the project motto
“The lives of others” into practice. However, just a short
time after the inaugural meeting in Vienna in January 2020,
the coronavirus forced the world to pause. Theatres were
barely able to produce, festivals were cancelled and the
planned encounters, which are so important for building
trust and an open artistic exchange, could only take place
online - if at all.
The management team tried to get the project off the
ground and to connect the partners with each other. There
were regular zoom conferences in which each of the partners
presented their work and specific expertise alongside
general questions. In this way, the possibilities of digital
communication were utilised with maximum results.
TMP-Workshop Festival Segnali 2024
Despite all these difficulties caused by the coronavirus, all
partners made every effort to implement the project ideas
at their organisations.
It was particularly difficult to start the first round of Theatre
Mediation Programme(TMP). A one-week opening meeting
with workshops, lectures and visits to performances at Landesbühnen
Sachsen (DE) was planned for the participants,
artists and teachers from all theatres and festivals. Due to
the coronavirus, this intensive first meeting was cancelled;
until November 2022, all meetings, including the opening
meeting in TMP could only take place online. Nevertheless,
it was clear even then that the programme had great potential
and was extremely well received by the participants.
The partners were only able to meet again from November
2022. The impossibility of seeing each other‘s productions,
exchanging ideas in intensive conversations and getting
closer to each other, made it difficult for the partners to decide
on a co-production #3 with a partner from the ConnectUp
network. But the results have shown that despite these
challenges, remarkable productions on relevant, controversial
topics have emerged. The fact that they were shown
and discussed at the ConnectUp showcases significantly
intensified the relationships between the partners. Several
of the working relationships created will continue after the
end of ConnectUp and lead to further cooperation.
The central concern of ConnectUp, to bring new marginalised
target groups into the theatres and to develop offers
that are also of interest to them, has proven to be highly explosive.
The fact that the partners have not lost sight of this
goal despite the unexpected difficulties caused by coronavirus,
which presented them with almost insurmountable
problems, shows its relevance.
Even though ConnectUp is coming to an end, the message
and content of the project will not lose its importance. The
idea of inclusion, diversity and participation has arrived in
theatres and at festivals and is beginning to establish itself.
The fact that there are artists and teachers around in the institutions
who have received methodological and practical
training as a result of the TMP will increase and deepen the
sustainability of ConnectUp.
Odette Bereska
Literary Adviser ConnectUp
Aftershow talk at FITEI 2021
TMP - participants in a workshop at FITEI 2021
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Imprint
Picture Index
Management Team of ConnectUp
Artistic Director (DE) Dirk Neldner
Head of Department
Visual Arts and Drama,
University of Agder (NO) Merete Elnan
Head of Theatre Mediation
Programme (NO) Gunnar Horn
Literary Adviser (DE) Odette Bereska
Artistic Advisor (DE) Sven Laude
Producer (PT)
Inês Gregório
Marketing Assistant (IT) Francesca Tissano
Imprint
ConnectUp The Lives of the Others
European Theatres for Young Audience
in a Union of Diversity
Magazine #2
Publisher
Dirk Neldner
Editor
Odette Bereska
Layout & Design
sign-berlin.de
Printed at
FLYERALARM GmbH (DE)
University of Agder
Assitej NO
Dschungel Wien
Teatro O Bando
FITEI
Bialystok Puppet Theatre
Theatre Alfa
Derby Theatre
Ich bin O.K.
Landesbühnen Sachsen
Pinklec
Ljubljana Puppet Theatre
Teatro Elsinor
ConnectUp
Jørund F. Pedersen
Ingvild Lien, Kobbel Kunstbyrå
Rainer Berson,
Peter Rauchecker,
Anahita Asadifar
Rita Santana, Reiner Berson,
Alessandro Poeta,
Graphic Benfazeja Maria Taborda
José Caldeira, Peter Rauchecker
Tomasz Pienicki,
Eliza Dubrowska, Maria Żynel
archive
Chris Webb
Alexander Altmann, Wito Zaar
René Jungnickel
Žan Novosel, Davor Dokleja,
Tasjenka Žnidar
Mankica Kranjec, Borut Bučinel,
Johan Karlsson
Simone Pelatti, Giuditta Mingucci
Elisa Braun, Johanna Malchow
© ConnectUp ConnectUp is a European Theatre Network supported
by the European Commission. The views expressed in this publication
are only the views of the authors. The Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use, which may be made of the information
contained therein.
Contact: Odette Bereska
odette@connect-up.eu
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Partners of ConnectUp
Universitet i Agder | NO
Białostocki Teatr Lalek | PL
University / Theatre Derby | UK
FITEI I PT
uia.no
btl.bialystok.pl
derbytheatre.co.uk
fitei.com
Landesbühnen Sachsen | DE
Divadlo Alfa | CZ
Teatro O Bando I PT
ASSITEJ Norge | NO
landesbuehnen-sachsen.de
divadloalfa.cz
obando.pt
assitej.no
Lutkovno gledališče Ljubljana | SI
Elsinor Centro Di Produzione Teatrale | IT
Dschungel Wien | AT
Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru | UK
lgl.si
elsinor.net
dschungelwien.at
theatr.cymru
CZK Pinklec, Čakovec | HR
Elsinor Centro Di Produzione Teatrale | IT
Ich bin O.K. | AT
czk-cakovec.hr
festivalsegnali.com
ichbinok.at
connect-up.eu
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Notes
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connect-up.eu