CHANGE NOW! — International Call for Young Artists

Recruitment start day: 30th May 2021
Deadline application: 30th June 2021

Open call results will be published till 31st July 2021
Contact & questions: changenow@e-at.edu.pl

Application papers:
Required

  • CV: Information regarding artistic education, university affiliation and experience in creative work (no word limit)
  • Description of the project idea or direction you would like to explore during the project (no word limit)
    or 3-5 minute video talking about yourself, your practice, ideas and how you imagine the theater you would like to create (link)

Optional

  • Description of your interests related to the project (no word limit)

Because CHANGE NOW! is conducted only in English, its participants must have a fluent command of this language.

Application form →

IDEA

CHANGE NOW! is  an EDUCATIONAL ARTISTIC PROGRAMME that brings together European theatre and performance schools to jointly create innovative practices for standardisation, diversity and empowerment
in theater. We call for applications from students from the partner institutions to participate in a 2-year workshop cycle with the possibility to develop a full scale performance in one of Warsaw’s most renowned theatres.

Our aim is to support the autonomy of young artists and the non-violent process of theatre education: a system of constructive feedback, development of anti-violence and anti-discrimination policies, supporting diversity in all schools taking part in the project.

CHANGE NOW! is an Erasmus Strategic Partnership project. For this project, five European theater schools have formed an alliance in order to foster change:

  • Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw (Poland)
  • Academy of Theatre and Dance (ATD), Amsterdam (Netherlands)
  • Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique (CNSAD), Paris (France)
  • Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow (United Kingdom)
  • Institute of Applied Theatre Studies, Justus-Liebig University of Gießen (Germany)

Additionally, we also work with The Institute of Performative Arts, Maastricht (Netherlands). We have invite renowned Warsaw theaters to work with us:
Teatr Powszechny, Nowy Teatr, Komuna Warszawa and Teatr Studio.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are looking for students from project schools – young artists, directors
or project leaders who are going to commit to the full 2-year workshop cycle of the CHANGE NOW with their own performance ideas.

The program is open to students from ALL FIELDS OF STUDIES from project theater schools The subject
of matter is OPTIONAL: participants are free to choose which themes they’d like to work with. During the project participants will get familiar with different methodologies and ways of work and after that they will be able
to combine discovered styles to create their own original method.

We’d like to know who you are, what you’d like to work on and why. Show us your personality and your ideas. Tell us why you want to take part in the programme: what are your aims and interests.

During the recruitment process (deadline: 30 June 2021) a jury consisting of school and theatre representatives
is going to choose 12-16 students (participants).

In Spring 2022, 4 projects will be chosen by the same jury to receive funds for implementation in 4 Warsaw theatres.

Important:

At the time of the recruitment process, applicants must be a student enrolled (BA or MA) at one of the participating schools: Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam, Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in Paris, Royal Conservatoire
of Scotland, Institute of Applied Theatre Studies, Justus-Liebig University of Gießen.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN?

CHANGE NOW consists of following phases:

  • workshops led by experienced creators and researchers who use democratic working methods in their practice where participants will develop the ideas
    of their projects and get feedback. The sessions will focus on peer-to-peer methodology with in-depth interaction between all participants;
  • production of chosen projects in the participating theatres in Warsaw;
  • cycle of conferences dedicated to the process of departing from the rigid, hierarchical model of work towards empowerment and emancipation of the team.

The goal is to create a platform to learn about the specifics of teaching and studying theatre in different European countries, identify European, national and local problems characteristic in the cultural context and intensify joint work on searching for the desired changes.

There will be a cycle of theoretical meetings in the form of a conference or an open discussion held by the project schools during workshop days. A team of researchers has been invited to project works to explore different modes of teaching, relations between artists and institutions, processes within the production team and strategies for communicating with the audience, in frames of the project logic.

Participation in all of project components mentioned above (workshops/conferences)
is obligatory to all of participants.

There are three possible forms of the events: live, hybrid or online.

The project starts online with Gießen’s workshops  however we hope to move
to stationary forms by Spring 2022.

The form of each event will meet the health and safety regulations in the EU.

WORKSHOPS SCHEDULE

Dates, location of the session and topics of the workshops:

  • 6-10 September 2021, Institute of Applied Theatre Studies, Justus-Liebig University of Gießen, Germany, ONLINE
  • 4-8 July 2022, Academy of Theatre and Dance (ATD), Netherlands
  • 7-11 November 2022, Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in Paris, France
  • 20-25 March 2023, Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw, Poland

Please note that in case of a pandemic, the duration of the project can be prolonged and dates may be changed.

INVITED ARTISTS

The following artists have been already invited to conduct workshops and to give feedback to participants:

  • Die Institution: Melanie Mohren and Bernhard Herbordt – duo of reaserchares and multidisciplinary artists
  • Edit Kaldor – theatre-maker, writer and dramaturge
  • Claire Lasne Darcueil – actress and a stage director, a current director of the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in Paris
  • Vanessa Coffey – Intimacy Coordinator, a movement director and actor, she has also has a background
    as a corporate lawyer
  • Weronika Szczawińska – theatre director, playwright, performer, cultural expert and curator of several artistic projects

there will more of them!

PERFROMANCES IN WARSAW THEATRES

During the project, a jury consisting of representatives of participating  universities and theaters is going
to select 4 participants’ projects to be produced by Warsaw theaters and will receive an implementation budget. Project premieres are scheduled for 2023.

All projects will be granted a small development budget.

WHAT WE PROVIDE / FINANCIAL MATTERS

Participants do not pay for the workshops. We cover all of the workshop expenses, including:

  • travel and accommodation during stationary sessions (participants will
    be located in multi-person bedrooms);
  • development of participants’ projects. All of the participants’ projects will receive development funds (depending on individual needs, not higher than €1,300 each). All participants are invited to develop their artistic ideas in cooperation with the network’s schools. Project consortium’s help depends on each project’s needs, and will always be a matter of individual agreement between project team and participant;
  • feedback from invited artists – experts during the whole project;
  • an opportunity of taking part in all of projects events (open events, conferences);
  • productions of 4 chosen performances in Warsaw theatres. 4 projects chosen to be implemented in 4 Warsaw theatres will receive an implementation budget (not higher than €9,000 each including the artist’s fee and the costs of accommodation in Warsaw);
  • Participation in all of the project components including conferences, publications, performances and open events.