ICEBREAKING
PROJECT
Four partners led by AND (project coordinator) will produce a street performance act CIRCUS CARAVANA focusing on closing the distance between V4 citizens and Ukrainian refugees. ICEBREAKING will be an original physical-visual expression of social inclusion that tells stories of people living in mixed communities through theatre. A theatre that breaks down the prejudices, portrays the benefits of global coexistence and gets people closer together.
HUMAN CARAVANA – pilot music and movement performance created at a workshop in Banská Štiavnica on 22.9.2023 within the ICEBREAKING V4+UA project.
PARTNERS
COORDINATOR (Slovakia)
The Ensemble of Irregular Theatre NPO (AND) is an independent group of theatre and contemporary art professionals formed in 2017 after transforming from Kremnica Theatre Underground (*1973). It focuses to bringing new forms of modern street cabaret and socially engaged productions in cooperation with foreign creators. In 2016 AND founded the international multigenre AMPLIFIER Festival − New Cabaret & Street Art in Banská Štiavnica. AND was also the co-author of Renovation of the Identity for the City of Culture Banská Štiavnica 2019. Work of the AND has been presented at international festivals such as Za dveřmi (Behind the door) Praha, Festival REGIONY (REGIONS) Hradec Králové, ULICA (STREET) Krakow and domestic festivals such as Anasoft Litera, Akademický Prešov, Festival slobody (Festival of Freedom), Dotyky a spojenia (Touches and connections), POHODA Festival, etc.. The role of the AND in the project ICEBREAKING is to coordinate the project activities and the implementation of the whole project.
PARTNER 1 (Poland)
The KTO Theatre (*1977) is one of the most respected professional Polish theatres with a long tradition of street performances and open-air theatre. The group has visited over 250 cities in over 40 countries on 5 continents. The KTO Theatre has been involved in numerous international projects and is also the organizer of the international ULICA Festival in Krakow (36 years). The theater operates under the leadership of the renowned director Jerzy Zoń. Partner’s role: script &
PARTNER 2 (Czech republic)
Creative members of PROSTORES group from Prague, representing the middle generation of Czech artists and musicians, are teamed around the cabaret theatre KRVIK TOTR (*1992). The group’s two founding members Petr Novotný and Tomáš Kout who specialize in playwriting will participate in the project. Their main role will be to write an original script based on the use of authentic materials collected via field research in the identified V4 locations in which the local citizens and refugees from UA co-exist.
PARTNER 3 (Hungary)
The FIREBIRDS new circus group formed in Budapest in 2000. Embodied by a wide range of artists its repertoire consists of street performances, cabaret, contemporary circus and children theatre. The goal will be to reach the spectators in all V4 countries through a non-verbal circus and movement art and to ease the gravity of serious topics by using sensitive humour and story visualization. Their connection with a Ukrainian community will be essential for the main objective of the project: breaking down barriers between the V4 citizens and UA refugees. Partner’s role: creative, performing.
PARTNER 4 (Ukraine)
WE: MEDIA THEATER (2018) is an independent Ukrainian artistic ensemble working in the field of multimedia theatre. It was founded in Lviv and its leader is a young activist, director, screenwriter and playwright Sashko Brama, self-named Oleksandr Palianychka, who experiments in the border between post-documentary theatre and documentary film. Brama’s productions have been presented at festivals in Ukraine, Poland, Germany and Slovakia. Currently, the events of the all-out Russian war in Ukraine are the main theme. Partner’s role: artistic video reportage of the research.
CALENDAR 2024
12 RESIDENCY I. SK
The creative rehearsal process of the new international street performance CIRCUS CARAVAN
24. – 28. 1. 2024, Banská Štiavnica, SK
13 RESIDENCY II. CZ
The creative rehearsal process of the new international street performance CIRCUS CARAVAN
14. – 18. 2. 2024, Prague, CZ
14 RESIDENCY III. HU
The creative rehearsal process of the new international street performance CIRCUS CARAVAN
20. – 24. 3. 2024, Budapest, HU
15 RESIDENCY IV. PL
The creative rehearsal process of the new international street performance CIRCUS CARAVAN
24. – 28. 4. 2024, Krakow, PL
16 CIRCUS CARAVANA V4+UA – PREMIERE, PL
Premiere of the new international street performance CIRCUS CARAVANA (V4)
Premiere of the short film documentary CHIEF OF THE CIRCUS (UA)
28. 4. 2024, Krakow, PL
17 CIRCUS CARAVANA – RERUN 1, CZ
First rerun of the new international street performance CIRCUS CARAVANA
6. 6. 2024, Krnov, CZ
18 CIRCUS CARAVANA – RERUN 2, PL
Second rerun of the new international street performance CIRCUS CARAVANA
5. 7. 2024, Limanowa, PL (International festival STREET)
19 CIRCUS CARAVANA – RERUN 3, PL
Third rerun of the new international street performance CIRCUS CARAVANA
6. 7. 2024, Niepołomice, PL (International festival STREET)
20 CIRCUS CARAVANA – RERUN 4, PL
Fourth rerun of the new international street performance CIRCUS CARAVANA
7. 7. 2024, Krakow, PL (International festival STREET)
21 CIRCUS CARAVANA – RERUN 5, CZ
Fifth rerun of the new international street performance CIRCUS CARAVANA
16. 7. 2024, Praha, CZ (Festival Za dveřmi)
22 CIRCUS CARAVANA – RERUN 6, SK
Sixth rerun of the new international street performance CIRCUS CARAVANA
21. 9. 2024, Banská Štiavnica, SK (International AMPLIFIER Festival)
RESEARCH
RESEARCH TRIP I / PRAGUE
(socially inclusive activities with CZ citizens and the UA community)
A four-day visit to Prague and its selected districts by an international team of theatre artists (CZ+SK+UA) focused on research and collection of authentic stories during fieldwork with target groups as inspiration for the script of a future street production by four theatres from V4+UA aimed at bringing local V4 citizens closer to Ukrainian refugees. Based on the script, a non-verbal movement-visual theatre of social inclusion will be created to tell the stories of people in mixed communities through theatre. A theatre that breaks down prejudices, shows the benefits of global coexistence and brings people together.
PROGRAMME
MONDAY 7.8.2023
10:00 − 13:00 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK), Prague
16:00 − 19:00 / Creative writing workshop for art students from the CZ + UA led by Petr Novotný from DAMU, Prague (CZ), only for registered at petr@krviktotr.cz
TUESDAY 8.8.2023
09:00 − 12:00 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the CZ + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA), Prague
14:00 − 18:00 / NEIGHBOURHOOD PICNIC for families with children from CZ + UA with experiential activities and ICEBREAKING workshop led by set designer Tomáš Žižka (SK/CZ), Thomayer Gardens, Prague-Libeň, public
More info: • Picnic Prague (invitation)
WEDNESDAY 9.8.2023
09:00 − 13:00 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the CZ + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA), Řevnice
09:00 − 13:00 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK), Řevnice, Plzeň
14:00 − 18:00 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the CZ + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA), Plzeň
14:00 − 18:00 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK), Řevnice, Plzeň
THURSDAY 10.8.2023
10:00 − 13:00 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the CZ + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA), Prague
10:00 − 13:00 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK), Prague
14:30 − 18:30 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the CZ + UA, directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA), Prague
14:30 − 18:30 / Processing of selected materials by scriptwriters + PR activities (CZ+SK)
Change of the programme reserved.
More info and contact at: https://prostores.cz/
RESEARCH JOURNEY II / BUDAPEST (socially inclusive activities with HU citizens and the UA community)
A three-day visit to BUDAPEST by an international team of theatre practitioners (CZ+SK+UA) focused on researching and collecting authentic stories during fieldwork with target groups as inspiration for the script of a future street production by four theatres from V4+UA aimed at bringing local V4 citizens closer to Ukrainian refugees. Based on the script, a non-verbal movement-visual theatre of social inclusion will be created to tell stories of people’s lives in mixed communities through theatre. A theatre that breaks down prejudices, shows the benefits of global coexistence and connects interpersonally.
PROGRAMME
FRIDAY 11.8.2023
15:00 – 19:00 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the HU + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA), centre
15:00 – 19:00 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK), centre
SATURDAY 12.8.2023
09:00 – 12:30 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the HU + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA), centre
10:00 – 12:00 / Circus activities for children by new circus group Firebirds (HU), community center Konnektor, Budapest, for public
13:00 – 19:00 / NEIGHBORHOOD PICNIC for families with children from HU + UA with experiential activities and ICEBREAKING workshop led by director Jana Mikitková (SK), community centre Konnektor Inkubátorház, 33, Vágóhíd u. 31, Budapešť, for public
More info: • Picnic Budapest (invitation)
SUNDAY 13.8.2023
09:00 – 12:00 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the HU + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA)
09:00 – 12:00 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK), periphery
13:30 – 16:30 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the HU + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA)
13:30 – 16:30 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK), periphery
18:30 – 21:30 / Processing of selected materials by scriptwriters + PR activities (CZ+SK)
Change of the programme reserved.
More info and contact: https://firebirds.hu/show/icebreaking
RESEARCH JOURNEY III / BANSKÁ ŠTIAVNICA
(socially inclusive activities with SK citizens and the UA community)
A three-day visit to BANSKÁ ŠTIAVNICA and its surroundings by an international team of theatre practitioners (CZ+SK+UA) focused on researching and collecting authentic stories during fieldwork with target groups as inspiration for the script of a future street production by four theatres from V4+UA aimed at bringing local V4 citizens closer to Ukrainian refugees. Based on the script, a non-verbal movement-visual theatre of social inclusion will be created to tell stories of people’s lives in mixed communities through theatre. A theatre that breaks down prejudices, shows the benefits of global coexistence and connects interpersonally.
PROGRAMME
MONDAY 14.8.2023
09:00 – 12:30 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the SK + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA), centre
09:00 – 12:30 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK), centre
14:00 – 18:00 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the SK + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA), centre
14:00 – 18:00 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK), Štiavnické Bane
TUESDAY 15.8.2023
09:00 – 12:00 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the SK + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA), centre
14:00 – 19:00 / NEIGHBORHOOD PICNIC for families with children from SK + UA with experiential activities and ICEBREAKING workshop led by set designer Tomáš Žižka (SK/CZ), Scout´s House Hostel Garden, Banská Štiavnica
More info: • Picnic Banská Štiavnica (invitation)
WEDNESDAY 16.8.2023
09:00 – 12:30 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the SK + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA), periphery
09:00 – 12:30 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK) + field research in Drieňová, Šobov
14:00 – 18:30 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the SK + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA)
14:30 – 18:30 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK) + field research in Banská Belá, Red Well
20:00 – 22:00 / Processing of selected materials by scriptwriters + PR activities (CZ+SK)
Change of programme reserved.
More information and contact: https://www.and-theatre.art/icebreaking-eng/research/
RESEARCH JOURNEY IV / KRAKOW
(socially inclusive activities with PL citizens and the UA community)
A three-day visit to KRAKOW by an international team of theatre practitioners (CZ+SK+UA) focused on researching and collecting authentic stories during fieldwork with target groups as inspiration for the script of a future street production by four theatres from V4+UA aimed at bringing local V4 citizens closer to Ukrainian refugees. Based on the script, a non-verbal movement-visual theatre of social inclusion will be created to tell stories of people’s lives in mixed communities through theatre. A theatre that breaks down prejudices, shows the benefits of global coexistence and connects interpersonally.
PROGRAMME
THUSDAY 17.8.2023
15:00 – 19:00 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the PL + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA), centre
15:00 – 19:00 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK), centre
FRIDAY 18.8.2023
09:00 – 12:00 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the PL + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA), centre
15:00 – 19:00 / NEIGHBORHOOD PICNIC for families with children from PL + UA with experiential activities and ICEBREAKING workshop led by director Jana Mikitková (SK), garden in Teatr Kto, Zamoyskiego 50, Krakow
More info: • Picnic Krakow (invitation)
SATURDAY 19.8.2023
09:00 – 12:00 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the PL + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA)
09:00 – 12:00 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK), periphery
13:30 – 16:30 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the PL + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA)
13:30 – 16:30 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK), periphery
17:00 – 18:00 / Teatr KTO: IRINA in the land of storks – a staged reading about a UA girl / Teatr KTO, Zamoyskiego 50, Krakow, public
18:00 – 20:00 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees from the staged reading led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK)
SUNDAY 20.8.2023
09:00 – 12:00 / Filming of the video report ICEBREAKING with pre-selected heroes from the PL + UA directed by WE: MEDIA THEATER (UA)
09:00 – 12:00 / Individual interviews with pre-selected interviewees + field research led by humanities student, Ema Rajčanová (SK), periphery
12:00 – 14:00 / Processing of selected materials by scriptwriters + PR activities (CZ+SK)
Change of programme reserved.
More info and contact: https://teatrkto.pl/projects/
WORKSHOP
МІЖНАРОДНИЙ ВОРКШОП КРАЇН ВИШЕГРАДСЬКОЇ ЧЕТВІРКИ
INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP V4
Tuesday 19.9.2023
19:00 – 21:00 First coordination meeting of the whole creative team / Art Cafe
Wednesday 20.9.2023
09:00 – 12:00 Workshop (idea, libretto, tour of the route)/ Rubigall + terrain
14:00 – 18:00 Workshop (creation) / Rubigall + terrain; evening rehearsals also possible (if required)
Thursday 21.9.2023
09:00 – 12:00 Workshop (creation) / Rubigall + terrain
14:00 – 18:00 Workshop (creation) / Rubigall + terrain; evening rehearsals also possible (if required)
Friday 22.9.2023
09:00 – 12:00 Workshop (rehearsing) / Rubigall + terrain
13:00 – 15:00 Technical preparation of premiere / terrain
15:30 – 16:30 Acting preparation of premiere / Old Castle → Garden of the Scout House
17:00 – 17:45 Premiere of the pilot – work in progress / Old Castle → Garden of the Scout House
AMPLIFIER FESTIVAL
Banská Štiavnica Will Host a Festival about the Need for Sensitivity and Neighbourly Understanding
The 8th edition of the festival of cabaret, street and engaged art will feature six Slovak premieres
and a novelty, the travelling theatre about rapprochement − HUMAN Caravana (V4+UA)
Banská Štiavnica − On the penultimate weekend of September, Slovak and foreign artists will meet in Banská Štiavnica for the international festival of cabaret theatre and street art AMPLIFIER. The leitmotif of the festival’s eighth edition is the renewal of sensitivity, tolerance and mutual understanding between people. The playwrights of the Ensemble of Irregular Theatre (AND) perceive that society is coarsening, losing empathy and solidarity with the victims of war, poverty or otherness. In the current crisis of values, they offer a clue ̶ culture and contemporary art as a suitable tool for sensitization. The idea of understanding is expressed in the slogan: BEING SENSITIVE IS ART!
Carefully selected artistic groups from 7 EU countries will present their sensitive programmes in the city centre as well as in the surrounding area over the weekend of 22-24 September 2022. Festival-goers will enjoy two exceptional headliners. The first is the renowned and world-famous Teatr KTO from Krakow, Poland, which will make the festival audience feel the universal story of human life from birth to death in the non-verbal performance ARCADIA. The second headliner, the Hungarian Firebirds company from Budapest, will light up the audience with their circus cabaret full of acrobatics,burlesque and humour called FREAK FUSION CONFUSION. Opening the festival and bringing enthusiasm to the entire city will be the marching 22-member Orkest de Tegenwind, a street brass band from Utrecht, Netherlands. An emotional yet hilarious experience for the whole family will be created by the young Spanish acrobat niMú in JACUZZI, a poetic-circus show on a tightrope. Spanish rhythms and temperament will also be brought to the festival by the highly sensitive band MiraMundo from Barcelona, who will play unique world music to dance to. World-famous chansons and hits performed by the charming female trio Cmorejová, Humeňanská, Baarová known as the BONBON trio will evoke the sentiments of Parisian cafés. A whimsical literary cabaret with original songs will be performed by the Czech recessional group Krvik Totr from Prague, who will also add a melancholic after concert as the band Filtr. The magical puppet cabaret of the young Slovak performer Katanari KABINET ALIVE! will be a musical-visual treat not only for children. The ART PUTIKA series will also continue. In the first one, named LAUGHING THROUGH TEARS, the Daily N editor Patrik Garaj will talk about his feelings and the work of Valerij Kupka, translator of the Ukrainian writer Yuri Andrukhovych.
In the second, ICEBREAKING V4+UA, the creators of an international theatre project about rapprochement will discuss their work, and will present a premiere of a reportage film by Ukrainian director Sashko Brama portraying the coexistence of V4 countries citizens with the UA expatriates. Current social and political events taking place in Slovakia will be analysed by commentators Marián Leško, Martin M. Šimečka and Matúš Kostolný, in a debate moderated by Monika Tódová.
In a significantly upgraded AMPLIFIER Caravana feature of the festival, which in past years had exported festival productions to the periphery and surrounding villages, an international team of artists from the V4 countries and Ukraine led by the Ensemble of Irregular Theatre (AND) will work together in a three-day workshop before the festival.
An original brand new international non-verbal street-based procession production HUMAN CARAVANA will be created based on research recently conducted in Prague, Budapest, Banská Štiavnica and Krakow. The first – work in progress – version of it will be performed by actors and performers from Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia during the AMPLIFIER Festival on the periphery of Banská Štiavnica (premiere and two reprises). The event is part of the international project ICEBREAKING (IVF+CE). The AND team will also perform the bar cabaret noir GODLIKE about those who feel more like God and those who resemble him. They will also prepare two composed programs: NO SOFT, NO FUN − modern artistic performances by the ad hoc group D’sensitive Jenerejšn on the theme of sensitization, complemented by a musical walk with Marcela Cmorejová. Furthermore, the 5th edition of the annual Czech-Slovak cabaret sketch competition SKETCH UP, offering entertaining performances of new talents will be hosted by actor Martin Toman. Cabaret songs will be played along by the BON-BON trio. The AMPLIFIER Festival will take place on Sep 22-24, 2023 on 12 stages in the centre of Banská Štiavnica. During these three days, 90 artists from 7 EU countries will ignite the audience with up to 25 productions performed in the interiors and exteriors of the town. The festival will present 6 Slovak premieres of foreign artists, 2 exceptional headliners will shine and 2 original discussion formats will enrich the spectators. 3 selected buskers and 1 special happening will add to the unique atmosphere in the streets. The Amplion Argentum Award for the most inspiring works will be awarded to four laureates. And the tiny yellow Fiat of Janko Mišík from Kremnica will once again accompany the AMPLION Caravana, artists’ trips from the centre to the periphery and to the surrounding villages. It pays off to be sensitive at AMPLIFIER!
Pre-sale tickets are available from 1st of September 2023 at https://goout.net/sk/banskastiavnica/festivaly/lezbkcokkzk/. For complete information and programme, visit www.amplion.eu .
AMPLIFIER Festival − New Cabaret & Street Art® is an international multi-genre festival full of theatre, music, literature, movement and visual arts. At the end of September, it pours energy into the streets of charming Banská Štiavnica, filling it with selected pieces of Slovak and international art. The festival is supported from public funds by the Art Support Fund and the International Visegrad Fund, the main partners of the event. The main media partners are Radio Expres and Daily N. The eighth AMPLIFIER Festival will also take place with the financial support of the European Union, the Banská Bystrica Region, the LITA Fund, and thanks to Zuzka and Peto from Košice.
More information:
Jana Mikitková, datelinova@gmail.com, 0908 801 137
Ján Fakla, amplion@mail.telekom.sk, 0905 258 284
www.amplion.eu
https://www.facebook.com/festivalamplion/