BackFestival of Contemporary Theatre and Performance Art Workshop – Seminar – Festival in Yangon, Myanmar
iUi#01 – Process of Initiating, Updating and Integrating
Organized by Theatre of the Disturbed – Alliance Française based independent theatre group, in collaboration with Alliance Française de Yangon, Myanmar
Submitted by Theatre of the Disturbed - Nyan Lin Htet & Lorène TAMAIN
WORKSHOP
ON PERFORMING/ IMPROVISATION & PRODUCTION PROCESS
(2-11-2007 to 6-11-2007)
SEMINARS
ON HISTORY OR THEATRE AND COMTEPORARY THEATRE
(7-11-2007 to 8-11-2007)
THEATRE EVENTS
PRODUCTIONS OF LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL PLAYWRIGHTS
(9-11-2007 to 10-11-2007)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Objectives of the project
The aim of this project is to extend the boundary of art practice in Myanmar by initiating the practice of contemporary theatre and updating the performance art practice.
Although the country has a rich cultural background in traditional arts, contemporary practices of art and theatre have difficulties in finding their own grounds on Myanmar’s art scene. Especially contemporary theatre and knowledge about it is under-nourished in this country.
Practices on contemporary theatre and art such as performance, installation and new media art are of Theatre of the Disturbed’ s major interest, and by initiating contemporary theatre in Myanmar the group intends to educate its members as well as Myanmar art community and the general public about such practices.
Such initiation of contemporary theatre can also be taken as a challenge in this country where the general public is used to traditional theatre and art trends. However, the aim is not to contest the status of traditional theatre and traditional arts rooted for a long time in Myanmar.
The group is also keen to share knowledge with artists from other countries and make collaboration with them in order to exchange ideas and knowledge about contemporary theatre and art.
Above all, theatre of the Disturbed intends to show, through this event, the fact that Myanmar artists and art community is willing to extend their boundary of art practice and integrate in the international art community.
Brief history of the Theatre of the Disturbed
Alliance Française based Theatre of the Disturbed is a non-profit, non-political and independent theatre group set up by Myanmar artist Nyan Lin Htet in 2005 with Lorène Tamain, a French theatre enthusiastic who is working for an international non-governmental organization based in Myanmar.
The group's intention is to initiate the contemporary theatre trend in Myanmar, by means of presentation (productions), discussion, education, and international collaboration.
Performance art, installation, new media art and above all, contemporary theatre are of the group major interests.
The current members of the group are: Nyan Lin Htet (artist, director and performer), Soe Myat Thu (performer/assistant director), Lorène Tamain (manager of the group), Moe Satt (performance artist/performer), Natacha Schaffner (artistic adviser / performer) and Aung Ko (performance artist/performer).
The group has more upcoming projects in collaboration with artists, poets, music bands, theatre artists, and multimedia artists from local and international art community.
So far, Theatre of the Disturbed has already made 3 productions in Myanmar in collaboration with French Cultural Centre, namely:
- 18 November 2005 at French Cultural Centre, Yangon, Myanmar:
“The Visit” (script and direction by Nyan Lin Htet), hybrid production of contemporary theatrical performance in three languages ( Myanmar, English, French);
- 16 November 2006 at French Cultural Centre, Yangon, Myanmar:
Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”, “Not I” and “Happy Days”, extracts from 3 texts in the version of Theatre of the Disturbed directed by Nyan Lin Htet;
- 24 February 2007 at French Cultural Centre, Yangon, Myanmar:
Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros”, in the version of Theatre of the Disturbed directed by Nyan Lin Htet.
Contact of the Theatre of the Disturbed:
Theatre of the Disturbed
c/o Alliance Française
340, Pyay Road - Sanchaung Township
Yangon , Myanmar
Ph: 95(1)536900, 537122
Fax: 95(1)537733
Email: chitbae@gmail.com
Facts about Alliance Française de Yangon, Myanmar (French Cultural Centre – Yangon, Myamar)
This cultural centre of the French embassy in Yangon is one of the very few places in Myanmar where Myanmar artists can exhibit their works of either traditional or contemporary trend such as paintings, sculptures, music, installation, performance, video art and contemporary theatre. More than 200 art exhibitions of different practices have been held from 2005. Therefore, it can be said that Alliance Française de Yangon plays an important role for Myanmar contemporary art and local art community.
Contact :
Alliance Française
340, Pyay Road - Sanchaung Township
Yangon , Myanmar
Ph: 95(1)536900, 537122
Fax: 95(1)537733
Email: a-thouy@cccl-rgn.net.mm
Brief description of project
The event is made up of these three following parts:
Part 1: 5-day workshop
This workshop will focus on practical knowledge for theatre production, namely: performing-improvisation and production; using and controlling light and sound equipments in theatre.
The workshop will be conducted by local and international theatre artists and technicians. It is to be noted that this workshop will be open only to local artists, performers and theatre enthusiasts from local community.
Part 2: 2-day seminars
Seminars will be held for 2 days on the histories of Western and Eastern theatre and their trends, the history of contemporary theatre and its development, the history of Myanmar theatre and its current practices and the evolution of performance art in Myanmar. All the discussions will help participants develop the brainstorming process about setting up and promoting contemporary theatre and performance art in Myanmar.
Part 3: 2-day theatre events
During theses 2-day theatre events, there will be several theatre works (by both Myanmar and international playwrights), performed by local and international theatre artists. There will also be sessions for performance art.
Implementation of the project
WORKSHOP (5 DAYS)
The event will start with a 5-day workshop.
The focus of the workshop is to give local artists and theatre enthusiasts a chance to gain the knowledge about performing and using technical equipments in production process.
It is also important to note that this workshop period constitutes an intensive rehearsing period for both local and international artists and participants for the 2-day theatre events to be held at the end of the project.
Both local and international artists, dancers, playwrights, performers, directors and theatre technicians will share their knowledge during 5 days.
This workshop is only open to the local art community in Myanmar and the number of participants will be limited from 16 up to 25 people maximum. All the participants of the workshops will also have to participate in the 2-day theatre events at the end of the project in the process of production and performing respectively.
Light and sound equipments must be provided for a few days for the effectiveness of the workshop.
SEMINARS (2 DAYS)
This 2-day seminar will start with an opening ceremony on the first day for medias and general public.
This event will be open to everyone.
Different seminars on different topics concerning contemporary theatre will be given by experts (local and international) from the fields of contemporary theatre and art practices; such as local and international artists, educators, academics, observers and researchers. Seminars topics will include the history of western and eastern theatre and their trends, contemporary theatre and its various practices, Myanmar theatre history and its current situation. All the subjects discussed during the 2-day seminars will cover the brainstorming process on raising the interest of local art community about contemporary theatre, developing such practice in Myanmar, and drawing attention of general public concerning contemporary theatre in Myanmar.
English language will be used as a major language throughout the seminars for the convenience of both local and international community, and Myanmar translation will also be provided. Handouts (both in Myanmar and English) of all the subjects discussed during the seminar will be distributed to the audience. Native Myanmar speakers will volunteer for the translation process throughout the event.
THEATRE EVENTS (2 DAYS)
For these 2-day theatre events, different plays of both local and international playwrights will be presented, either entire plays or extracts, in the form of contemporary theatre from 10:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m.
This event will be open to everyone and entrance will be free.
Open session for performance artists will be arranged in order to attract a larger crowd.
Timeframe of the project
This project is expected to take place at French Cultural Centre in Yangon from 2 nd to 10 th November 2007.
As mentioned above, the total length of this event is 9 days, but the main event of this project will be for 4 days and open to general public: 2 days for seminars and 2 days for theatre productions.
Though the 5-day workshop event is not included in the major event of the project and open only to a limited number of local people, it is no less important than the event of seminar or theatre production.
Projected output
In fact, this project covers all the process of workshop, seminar/discussion, and production concerning contemporary theatre and performance art. Therefore, by doing so, the Theatre of the Disturbed is hopeful to educate its members as well as the art community and general audience in Myanmar about contemporary practice of theatre and performance art.
In addition, after the project, documentation of the entire project will be sent to international art community and will also be available on Theatre of the Disturbed’s website.
Target audience of the project
The target audience is Myanmar art community as well as general public; both local and international in Myanmar.
Theatre of the Disturbed intends to invite people from different fields of art practices including local and international writers, artists, critics, playwrights, performers, dancers, performance artists, art organizations, art foundations, and funding agencies involved in art and cultures.
Dissemination of information about the project to the target audience
In collaboration with Alliance Française de Yangon, Theatre of the Disturbed will hold a press conference before the event to publicize the information about the project to local medias. Journals and magazines are the most effective ways to reach a large audience in Myanmar.
Alliance Française de Yangon will also announce this information in its monthly programme booklet.
Moreover, the group will launch a website about this event 3 months in advance in order to spread its news, its history, and its projects, and above all, about this event to the international community.
Impact on the cultures that Theatre of the Disturbed wants to engage with
First of all, by initiating this event which is the immediate project of Theatre of the Disturbed in Myanmar, local artists and people in the art community as well as the general public can be introduced to the contemporary theatre.
Then it is expected that the event could initiate a movement of creation and collaboration among artists of various fields to produce and perform contemporary theatre shows as well as collective art events.
From this event, local artists and potential playwrights as well as the international playwrights, theatre groups and artists can also benefit from working together and exchanging ideas.
Moreover, similar projects can be expected in the future as a cultural exchange process with the very aim of promoting and encouraging more practices in contemporary trend of theatre and art in Myanmar.
Theatre of the disturbed truly believes that initiating the practice of contemporary theatre in this country can help Myanmar artists raise their profile and Myanmar audience develop their appreciation for contemporary trends in art, theatre, and cultural activities.
Theatre of the Disturbed truly believes that initiating the practice of contemporary theatre in this country can help Myanmar artists raise their profile and Myanmar audience develop their appreciation for contemporary trends in art, theatre, and cultural activities.
Moreover, for long-term objective, Theatre of the Disturbed intends to hold this kind of event annually in collaboration with artists from local and international art community. The group wishes to open a permanent space as a theatre / art centre in Myanmar in the future. The space would be used as a rehearsing place, as an office of the group, as a place where local artists can be informed about art event and can also have opportunities to work with international artists, and above all as a small theatre hall where artists can create their projects. The group also intends to invite artists from international theatre community occasionally for further collaboration with local artists and to organize more workshops concerning contemporary theatre practice.