Residency programme and playwriting competition organised by the Centre for Inclusive Art / Theatre 21
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The reality around us is changing irreversibly. Although change is part of our lives, we are at a tipping point. Time has accelerated: war, climate change, economic crisis, pandemic have challenged the foundations of the old world. What should we take with us into the new future? How to cope in new circumstances? How to face one’s fears and in weakness find the strength for a new start? Is it possible to get through this time alone? How to find allies? Is it possible not to make old mistakes in a new future? The catalyst for the “We Share Space” project is the experience of the war in Ukraine lived from the perspective of our neighbours, a community that, from one day to the next, had to answer the question of what it means to share space, goods, resources, and sought the answer in specific strategies of action. With this first crisis moment behind us, a shared future lies ahead. What will it be like? What new competences and skills do we need for this new time, which is so different from our past experiences?
The Centre for Inclusive Art / Theatre 21 are launching the “We Share Space” programme, in which artists from Poland and Ukraine, selected through the call for proposals procedure, enter specific public spaces: schools, parks, theatres, squares and streets, aiming to find artistic ways of taming diversity in common places, seemingly open, but often burdened with the sphere of unspoken fears associated with a new situation.
The “We Share Space” programme will begin at a very special moment for Theatre 21. The Theatre 21 Foundation will soon open the headquarters of the Centre for Inclusive Art in the Praga district of Warsaw, which is intended to be a welcoming and accessible place. Theatre 21’s experience to date has been to share space with others. The company has often benefited from the hospitality of institutions open to collaboration. This activity was nomadic in nature, and constant change did not allow it to put down roots anywhere. This several-year journey has been conducive to gaining many allies and has allowed many partnerships to be forged in Warsaw, Poland and around the world. As a result, the artistic language of Theatre 21 has continued to develop, enriched by new contexts and encounters with others. With the move into the new premises comes the time for us to be the ones to share space with those who are on a journey, experiencing change and wishing to talk about these experiences using the language of art.
The Competition’ results announcement:
After reviewing the 9 applications for the “Residency – We Share Space” Competition, the Jury composed of: Justyna Lipko-Konieczna, Justyna Sobczyk, Justyna Wielgus, Wiktoria Siedlecka-Dorosz, Katarzyna Lalik, Uliana Roj, chose the projects of the following authors:
Roza Sarkisian
Zoi Michailova
Volodymyr Riga
Thank you for all applications submitted to the Competition.
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Based on the provisions of clause 10 of the Competition Terms and Conditions, the Organiser announces that, for important organisational reasons, the deadline for the acceptance of Competition Tasks set out in clause 2.12. has been extended until 18 October 2022. Entries made after 28 September 2022 do not need to be re-submitted. Winners of the Competition will be selected by 25 October 2022.
The “Artist-in-Residence” project is aimed at Ukrainian artists currently residing in Poland, who are interested in carrying out an artistic project with the Polish-Ukrainian student community in Warsaw’s primary or secondary schools.
As part of the “We Share Space” programme, three residencies of Ukrainian artists will be realised in selected schools in Warsaw, in collaboration with theatre pedagogues working in Poland. The activities proposed by the artists should be created with a view to supporting school communities in the process of intercultural integration. This project is an extension of our long-standing “O!SWÓJ” project, in which, together with actors and actresses from Theatre 21, we have been developing a culture of diversity and inclusive education in Polish schools.
The projects will be selected by the content team of the Centre for Inclusive Art: Justyna Lipko-Konieczna, Justyna Sobczyk, Justyna Wielgus, Wiktoria Siedlecka-Dorosz, Katarzyna Lalik and Uliana Roj.
- For whom: artists from Ukraine currently residing in Poland
- Implementation of the residency programme: October 2022 – January 2023
- Prize: the resident will receive a PLN 7,000 honorarium, PLN 3,000 for the task and the support of the theatre pedagogue, teacher and translator
- Applications in the form of a completed and signed “Application form” should be sent by 18 October 2022 to the following address: rezydencje@teatr21.pl
Download: Terms and conditions
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE PLAYWRITING COMPETITION RESULTS
The Playwriting Competition “We Share Space” received 9 entries, of which 8 met the conditions set out in the Terms and Conditions of the Competition and were assessed by the Prize Committee. Guided by the criteria of Art. 6.5 of the Terms and Conditions, the Prize Committee, consisting of: Agnieszka Lubomira Piotrowska (Chairperson), Dorota Chałaczkiewicz, Daria Kubisiak, Uliana Roj, after reading the texts unanimously decided to award the prize to Ostap Junko for the text “Walls” and 2 honourable mentions: to Zuzanna Kolebacz for the text “And Our Not” and to Weronika Orawiec for the text “We Do Not Need Mirrors”.
Justification for the award of a prize:
Ostap Junko’s prize-winning play describes the situation of a teenage female war refugee in a foreign country, her being lost in a new reality and language, her loneliness and her attempt to integrate into a new environment. We recommend it for staging due to its high educational values, theatrical potential and literary quality.
The play by Zuzanna Kolebacz, which received an honourable mention, attracted our attention due to the theatrical awareness of the author of the text, as well as her in-depth and ambiguous approach to difficult topics such as pandemics, social protests or the climate crisis.
Weronika Orawiec’s play, on the other hand, stood out for its intriguing literary language, which the author skilfully used by means of metaphors and poetic images in her dramatic text.
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As part of the “We Share Space” programme, we are launching a playwriting competition for texts aimed at young people, written with a view to staging in schools.
The texts should problematise the experiences faced by contemporary youth today. We are particularly interested in the tensions of adolescence, of entering adulthood in a rapidly changing world consumed by the effects of pandemics and the loosening of ‘face-to-face’ relationships, the migration crisis, the war crisis and the psychological condition of contemporary adolescents in this new landscape associated with these turning points. Is there room for diversity in a politically radicalising modern age? Who or what is the point of reference for today’s teenagers and adolescents? With what or with whom do they share micro and macro worlds that are no longer stable and predictable places and whose future is increasingly uncertain and unexplored and needs to be re-imagined? Where can we find a point of reference for ourselves, how should we talk about weakness in such a way as to give strength?
In the emerging texts, male and female authors should confront the theme of ‘a new beginning’, entering a new community, group, new culture, new language and new space. Is our identity something permanent, something coherent, what happens to us and our memories, to our self-image, when it is suddenly another culture that becomes a point of reference for us? How can we cope with the ‘crisis of a new beginning’, the feeling of losing ground, the change of perspective that makes us suddenly see ourselves and the world in a completely new light?
The situation of ‘a new beginning’ is also interesting to us in the context of entering a new community, group, new culture, new language and new space. Is our identity something permanent, something coherent, what happens to us and our memories, to our self-image, when it is suddenly another culture that becomes a point of reference for us? How can we cope with the ‘crisis of a new beginning’, the feeling of losing ground, the change of perspective that makes us suddenly see ourselves and the world in a completely new light? Texts should be written for one actor/actress. Texts can be submitted in Polish, Ukrainian and English. As part of the competition, the jury will award two works, which will then be staged as theatre performances in school classrooms. The performances presented in schools will be accompanied by workshops with psychologists and theatre pedagogues.
The dramatic texts will be assessed by a jury composed of: Agnieszka Lubomira Piotrowska, Daria Kubisiak, Dorota Chałaczkiewicz, Uliana Roj.
- For whom: for persons between 16 and 26 years of age, permanently or temporarily residing in the territory of Poland
- Texts should be written for one actor/actress, they should have a maximum length of 40,000 characters, the performance should be planned for one lesson (45 minutes)
- Texts may be submitted in Polish, Ukrainian and English
- The jury will award two equal prizes of PLN 10,000 each
- Entries: You should send your signed declaration and text in a pdf file by 30 October 2022 (results to be announced till November 30th) to konkurs@teatr21.pl
- Preparation of performances based on the awarded texts: December 2022 – January 2023.
- The performances will be staged in selected schools across Poland in 2023.
Download: Terms and conditions
Download: Form and Declaration
