Women Across Borders

Women's Leadership in cultural work

Women Performing Europe

The Magdalena Project - Across Borders

TOOLKIT

Welcome

Here comes a collection of texts, reflections and strategies the project partners have developed accross Europe from 2020 and 2022.

PROTAGON e.V. Frankfurt, Germany Im Rahmen des Erasmus+ Projekts Women Performing Europe – The Magdalena Project Across Borders fand im September 2020 die erste Learning Teaching Training Activity „Frauenkünstlerische Arbeit und Migration“ in Frankfurt statt während des Internationalen Frauentheaterfestivals (IFTF) unter der Regie von Barbara Luci Carvalho. Die Teilnehmer trafen sich im Rahmen eines fünftägigen Workshops und versammelten sich im Symposium, das dem Projekt gewidmet war. Natasha Czertok vom Teatro Nucleo, Julia Varley vom Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium und Teraz Poliz präsentierten ihre Arbeiten. As part of the Erasmus + project Women Performing Europe - The Magdalena Project Across Borders, the first Learning Teaching Training Activity "Woman artistic work and migration" took place in Frankfurt in September 2020 during the International Womyn Theatre Festival (IFTF), directed by Barbara Luci Carvalho. The participants met in the frame of a five days workshop, and gathered in the Symposium that was dedicated to the project. Natasha Czertok from Teatro Nucleo, Julia Varley from the Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium and Teraz Poliz presented their work. Website of Protagon e.V. Website of the IFTF ____________________________________________ Kollektive Ermächtigung über Grenzen hinwegCollective Empowerment Across Borders Das IFTF 2020 sollte den Charakter eines Festivals für ein interessiertes Publikum haben und gleichzeitig ein Treffpunkt für Frauen* im Theater sein. Natürlich brachte uns dieses Jahr mit einer globalen Pandemie zusätzliche Herausforderungen in unserer Arbeit und unserem Leben als Frauen* und Künstlerinnen. Wir haben es nicht aufgegeben, dieses Programm zusammenzustellen – und haben es sogar um einen Livestream erweitert, der auch diejenigen von uns erreichen wird, die dieses Jahr leider nicht physisch dabei sein können. Wir wollten inspirieren und ermutigen und rufen deshalb dazu auf, die feministische Auseinandersetzung auch in der aktuellen Situation nicht aufzugeben, sondern künstlerisch zu gestalten und zu leben.Partner des Projekts trafen sich in verschiedenen Workshops und präsentierten ihre Arbeit. Ein Vormittag war einem Vortrag über „Intersektionalität“ gewidmet, der uns mitten in das Thema dieser Festivalausgabe „Frauenkünstlerische Arbeit und Migration“ brachte. The IFTF 2020 was intended to have the character of a festival for an interested audience and at the same time to be a meeting place for women* in theatre. Of course, with a global pandemic, that year brought us additional challenges in our work and lives as women* and artists. We have not given up on putting this program together - and have even expanded it by livestreaming, which will also reach those of us who unfortunately cannot be there physically this year. We wanted to inspire and encourage, and therefore call for not giving up on the feminist argument even in the current situation, but to shape and live through it artistically. Partners of the project gathered in different workshops and presented their work. One morning was dedicated to a talk about "intersectionality", which brought us in the middle of the topic of that festival edition "Woman artistic work and migration". IFTF 2020: Julia Varley with AVE MARIA - Julia Varley - Odin Teatret IFTF 2020: CORPUS MUNDI - Barbara Luci Carvalho - antagon TheaterAKTion IFTF 2020: Black Square – Sonata for keyboard and tape - Wojtek Blecharz & Teraz Poliż Workshops IFTF 2020, Learning Training Teaching ActivityC1 - "Women Artistic Work and Migration" Symposium, "Womxn Across Borders" Pandora's box, video installation IFTF 2020 The video installation Pandora's Box is part of the Internationales Frauen*Theater-Festival 2020. It is the first edition that shows video and performance artists working from home from all over the world. The video installation takes up the pandemic challenges of womxn artists. It shows the individual experiences of their own artistic projects in the context of global restrictions. It poses the question of hope and outlines first answers. Renata Pegorer - "Quem sou" and "Carecas" Laís Aranha - " Cat's Cradle" and "Casa" Terezinha Malaquias - "NA POSE"/"IN DER POSE" Pleun Gremmen and Edith van den Elzen - "This work may contain nudity, do you want to proceed?" z.H. Eva Kessler - "(save me) not - an audio theatre of women and fiction" Barbara Schaefer - "Barbed Wire In Between - A Journey in Awareness" Joana Tischkau - "Colonastics" Alyona Mamay - "How to be" video made by Edith van den Elzen Pandoras box logo by Pleun Gremmen Notes for Women Performing EuropeLauren BoissonnetAugust 2022, Frankfurt am Main Protagon e.V. ist der Projektleiter des Projekts. Neben der Leitung des administrativen Teils des Projekts hat der Verein Partner in ganz Europa ausgewählt, ein Konzept mit unterschiedlichen Zielen entworfen und zum Leben erweckt, eine Reihe von Begegnungen und Treffen angesetzt und daran gearbeitet, nachhaltige Ergebnisse zu erzielen. Protagon e.V. is the project lead of the project. Apart from leading the administrative part of the project, the association has selected partners over Europe, imagined and brought to life a concept with different target points, set a series of encounters and meetings, and worked to produce lasting results. I. Ein Projekt haben ja, aber nicht alleine. I. Having a project yes, but not alone. protagon e.V. und die ihr nahestehende Theatergruppe antagon theaterAKTion zeichnen sich durch die Vielfalt der darin arbeitenden Menschen und die Nähe ihrer Mitglieder untereinander aus. Die Gruppe glaubt sehr an Teamarbeit und an die Verbindungen innerhalb ihrer Mitarbeiter. Deshalb raten wir Ihnen, sich nach Verbündeten umzusehen, nach Partnern, die Ihrer Vision entsprechen. Bei diesem speziellen Projekt war es zum Beispiel wichtig zu finden: Künstlerinnen mit starkem Gestaltungswillen trotz vielfältiger Schwierigkeiten, Künstlerinnen, die sich politisch engagieren, deren Arbeit von nationalen und internationalen Zusammenhängen erzählt, die Interessen haben weiterbilden, Erfahrungen austauschen und zusammenkommen… Die Verbindung mit NTL - Odin Teatret kam sehr schnell in Betracht, da Julia Varley die Gründerin des Magdalena-Projekts ist, in das sich Women Performing Europe einfügen wollte. Teatro Nucleo passte auch sehr gut zur Idee des Projekts mit seiner starken politischen Haltung, dem Auftreten von weiblichen Solos innerhalb seiner Gruppe und auch seinem parallel laufenden Projekt über Künstlermütter. Schließlich wurde auch die Verbindung zu Teraz Poliz sehr deutlich, da sie die erste Theatergruppe Polens sind, die nur aus Frauen besteht und jährliche Stücke und Performances als Formen des politischen Protests und als Bildungsinstrument produziert. protagon e.V. and the theatre group related to it, antagon theaterAKTion, are characterised by the diversity of people working in it and the closeness between its members. The group believes very much in team work and in the connexions within its people. This is why we advice you to start to look for allies, for partners who would correspond to your vision. In this particular project for example it was important to find: Female artists, with a strong will to create in spite of a wide range of difficulties, artists who engage themselves politically, whose work tells about the national and international contexts, who have interests in educating, exchanging experience and come together… The connexion with NTL - Odin Teatret came very quickly in consideration since Julia Varley is the founder of the Magdalena Project, in which Women Performing Europe was going to insert itself. Teatro Nucleo was also very much fitting to the idea of the project with its strong political stand, the apparition of female solos within their group and also their project on mother artists that was running in parallel. Finally, the connection to Teraz Poliz became also very clear since they are the first theatre group of Poland that is composed only by women and produce yearly pieces and performances as forms of political protests and educational tools. II. Wo hin?II. Where to go? Ein Projekt, das für den Ort, an dem Sie leben, von Bedeutung ist, ein Projekt, das auf der von Ihnen angestrebten geografischen Ebene von Bedeutung ist, aber auch ein Projekt, das für Sie von Bedeutung ist! Tatsächlich müssen Sie sich mit dem Thema identifizieren, mit dem Sie sich befassen, um die Energie zu finden, die notwendig ist, damit das Projekt erstellt wird, wächst und Bestand hat! Sie müssen genügend Energie aufbringen, und dies geschieht durch Eigenmotivation. Für protagon e.V. Was uns am meisten motivierte, war die Idee, einen Raum für Frauen (uns selbst und andere) zu schaffen, um sich auszudrücken und zu zeigen, kreativ zu sein, sie selbst zu sein und auch zusammen zu sein. Tatsächlich glauben wir, dass wir, um Theater zu machen, auftreten können, wir Schauspieler sein können, aber im Gegenzug müssen wir auch einen Raum schaffen, in dem Theater stattfinden kann. Deshalb organisieren wir Veranstaltungen und Festivals, nicht nur für uns selbst, sondern auch für andere, um diesen Raum zu nutzen und die Kette fortzusetzen. Wir glauben, dass dies der einzige Weg ist, den Kreis zu schließen und das Theater dauerhaft zu machen. In diesem speziellen Projekt war es uns wichtig, diesen Wert angesichts der Ungleichheiten zwischen männlichen und weiblichen Quoten in diesem Bereich insbesondere auf Frauen* anzuwenden. Unsere Motivation kam aber auch durch etwas persönlichere Kriterien. Jede von uns hat ihre eigenen Qualitäten und Interessen, von denen das Projekt profitieren könnte. Einige starke Interessen, die neben den Aktivitäten aufgetaucht sind, sind zum Beispiel die Richtung, die jedem LTTA gegeben wurde, oder die Rolle, die jeder von uns in dem Projekt übernommen hat. Barbara (protagon e.V.) legte im ersten LTTA den Akzent darauf, Women* of Color zu Vorträgen und Workshops einzuladen und Frauen* mit Migrationshintergrund Raum zu geben. Lauren (protagon e.V.), die Barbara unterstützte, konzentrierte sich auf die Einbeziehung und Motivation junger Teilnehmerinnen, insbesondere auf den Aufbau von Vertrauensbeziehungen. Edith (protagon e.V.) war vor allem damit beschäftigt, mit ihrer Kamera ein visuelles Bild der Aktion zu geben… Jede von uns hat ihren eigenen Platz mit dem gefunden, was sie am meisten motiviert hat, und das kann an einem persönlichen Hintergrund, einer persönlichen Geschichte liegen, aber auch, weil Sie wissen, wo Ihre größten Fähigkeiten liegen und wie Sie das Projekt umsetzen können Beste. Es ist sehr wichtig zu beurteilen, worin Sie gut sind und was Sie am meisten motiviert. Es wird Ihr Motor während des gesamten Abenteuers sein. A project that matters for the place you live in, a project that matters at the geographical scale that you are targeting, but also a project that matters for you! In fact, you need to identity to the topic that you are dealing with, in order to find the energy that is necessary for the project to be created, to grow, and to last! You need to find enough energy, and this goes through self-motivation. For protagon e.V. what was motivating us the most was the idea of creating a space for women (ourselves and others) to express and show themselves, to be creative, to be themselves and to be together as well. Indeed we believe that to do theatre, we can perform, we can be actors, but in return we also have to create a space for theatre to happen. This is why we organise events and festivals, not only for ourselves, but also for others to use this space and be continuing the chain. We believe that it is the only way to close the circle and make theatre last. In this particular project, it was important for us to apply this value to women* in particular, given the inequalities between male and female rates in that area. However our motivation also came through criteria that were a little more personal. Each of us has her own qualities and interests from which the project could benefit from. Some strong interests that have appeared alongside the activities are for example the direction that was given to each LTTA, or the role that each of us has taken in the project. Barbara (protagon e.V.), in the first LTTA, put the accent on inviting women* of color to speeches and workshops, giving the space for women* with a migration background. Lauren (protagon e.V.), assisting Barbara, was focusing on involving and motivating young female participants, especially in building trust relationships. Edith (protagon e.V.) was mostly busy with giving a visual image to the activity with her camera… Each one of us found her own place with what she was most motivated by, and this can be because of a personal background, a personal story, but also because you know where your biggest skills are, and thus how you can implement the project the best. It is very important to assess what you are good at, and what motivates you the most. It will be your motor throughout the adventure. III. Ausarbeitung eines Plans III. Elaborating a plan Jetzt, da Sie nicht mehr allein sind und eine klare Richtung haben, wohin Sie segeln sollen, ist es an der Zeit, Ihre Gedanken zu ordnen. Wir haben versucht, unsere Entscheidungen alle gemeinsam zu treffen. Es war nicht einfach, weil jeder seinen eigenen Zeitplan hat, aber wir haben es geschafft, uns regelmäßig zu treffen. Es ist sehr wichtig, sich zu treffen, auch wenn Sie nicht viele Neuigkeiten mitzuteilen haben, treffen Sie sich einfach regelmäßig, nicht zu oft, sonst riskieren Sie, die Wichtigkeit, die man diesem Treffen beimisst, zu verringern, aber oft genug für alle, im Auge zu behalten, was vor sich geht, und im gleichen Fluss weiterzumachen. Manchmal trafen wir uns bei Bedarf jeden Monat auf einer Online-Konferenz „Zoom“, manchmal nur einmal alle 2 oder sogar 3 Monate. Die Learning Teaching Training-Aktivitäten basierten ebenfalls auf einem regelmäßigen Zeitplan (alle 6 Monate) und wurden gleichmäßig auf die Länder verteilt. Es ist wichtig, das Grundgerüst des Projekts zu reparieren, und sobald es stabil ist und sich alle einig sind, können Sie jederzeit etwas überarbeiten, wenn ein Problem auftritt. Es war unser Fall, weil das Projekt 7 Monate vor Beginn der Pandemie begann. Es sah unmöglich aus mit all den Einschränkungen und den Lockdowns. Aber wir haben es geschafft; Wir tauschten den Ort und manchmal das Datum der Aktivität aus. Die Transnational Meetings fanden alle 6 Monate statt. Die Partner trafen sich in jedem Land, Italien, Dänemark, Polen und Deutschland. Die Sitzungen dauerten in der Regel ein bis zwei Tage. Es war gut, sich zu treffen, um Dinge zu besprechen, wir waren viel produktiver, als wir wieder vereint waren, es gab mehr Konzentration, mehr Fokus, weil wir ausschließlich zu diesem Zweck unterwegs waren. Es kam das Feedback, dass es ziemlich schwierig sei, nur für ein eintägiges Meeting zu reisen, und dass es auch über eine Online-Konferenz organisiert werden könnte, besonders wenn wir so viele aus so vielen verschiedenen Ländern sind, aber das ist definitiv eine Entscheidung, die muss je nachdem, was Ihre eigenen Verfügbarkeiten und Möglichkeiten sind und ob es sich lohnt oder nicht. Now that you are not alone anymore, and that you have a strong direction where to sail, it’s time to organise your thoughts. We tried to take our decisions all together. It was not easy, because everybody has its own schedule, but we managed to meet regularly. It is very important to meet, even if you don’t have a lot of news to share, just meet on a regular basis, not to often otherwise you risk to lower the degree of importance that one gives to this meeting, but often enough for everybody to keep in mind what is going on and to keep going on the same flow. Sometimes when necessary we were meeting on an online “Zoom” conference every month, sometimes only once every 2 or even 3 months. The Learning Teaching Training Activities were also based on a regular schedule (every 6 months), and equally divided between the countries. It’s important to fix the skeleton of the project down, and then once it is stable and everybody agrees on it, you can always revise something if any problem occurs. It was our case because the project started 7 months before the pandemic started. It looked impossible with all the restrictions and the lock downs. But we made it through; we exchanged the location and sometimes the date of the activity. The Transnational Meetings were happening every 6 months. The partners met in each country, Italy, Denmark, Poland and Germany. The meetings were usually one or two days long. It was good to meet to discuss things, we were a lot more productive when we were reunited, there was more concentration, more focus, because we were traveling exclusively for this purpose. The feedback came up that it was quite hard to travel for only one day meeting, and that it could also be organised through an online conference, especially when we are so many from so many different countries, but this is definitely a decision that has to be taken according to what your own availabilities and possibilities are, and if it is worth it or not. Symposium, "Womxn Performing Selves" IV. Erzielung greifbarer Ergebnisse IV. Producing tangible outcomes Das Projekt als Verwaltungsbegriff hat eine begrenzte Dauer, aber Sie sollten nicht darauf abzielen, etwas zu tun, das begrenzt sein soll. Was Sie tun, wird nach dem Ende des Projekts dienen, dies muss Teil dessen sein, was wir beabsichtigen. Konkret können wir über eine Struktur oder ein Produkt nachdenken, das bleibt. Wir entschieden uns, Online-Inhalte zu erstellen: Website und Social-Media-Seiten, wo wir beginnen konnten, ein Netzwerk von Teilnehmern und Menschen aufzubauen, die sich für unsere Arbeit interessierten. Es war auch viel einfacher, die Inhalte zu verbreiten, indem man sie teilte und im Internet veröffentlichte. Wir haben uns auch entschieden, dieses Toolkit hochzuladen, um Ratschläge und Teile unserer Erfahrungen mit den nächsten zu teilen, sowie ein Handbuch, in dem Sie eine Sammlung von Texten und Bildern darüber finden, was wir in diesen zwei Jahren erlebt haben. Darüber hinaus waren die Veranstaltungen, bei denen die Partner eingeladen wurden, ihr Solo und ihre Performance aufzuführen, auch ein Aufruf zur Kreativität, ein Ansporn, der uns schneller zu unserer künstlerischen Arbeit, zu Werken und Aufführungen brachte, die teilweise heute noch in Arbeit sind, aber das Sie können in ein Theater gehen. Tatsächlich hat das Projekt die künstlerische Entwicklung vieler von uns vorangetrieben. Nicht zuletzt haben wir unseren Horizont erweitert und unsere Kontaktliste mit Künstler*innen, wichtigen Organisator*innen, Akteur*innen aus Politik, Sozialpädagogik und Mitwirkenden vervielfacht. Die Beziehungen, die dank des Projekts entstanden sind, werden bestehen bleiben und für viele von ihnen sicherlich wachsen. The project, as an administrative term, has a limited duration of time, but you shouldn’t aim at doing something that is meant to be limited. What you are doing will serve after the project is gone, this must be part of what we are intending to. Concretely, we can think about a structure or a product that will remain after. We decided to create online content: website and social media pages, where we could start to build up a network of participants and people who were interested in what we were doing. It was also much easier to spread the content via sharing and posting it on the web. We also decided to upload this toolkit in order to share advices and parts of our experience with the next ones, as well as a handbook where you can find a collection of texts and pictures of what we experienced in these two years. Further than this, the events where the partners were invited to perform their solo and their performance were also a call for creativity, an incentive that brought us faster to achieve our artistic work, works and performances that are partly still in process today, but that you can go to attend to in a theatre. In fact, the project gave a push to the artistic development of a lot of us. Last but not least, we broadened our horizons and our contact list of artists, key organisers, workers involved in politics, socio-education, and participants multiplied. The relationships that have been created thanks to the project will remain and for a lot of them certainly grow up.

TERAZ POLIZ Warsaw, Poland W ramach projektu Erasmus+ Women Performing Europe - The Magdalena Project Across Borders, drugie Działanie Szkoleniowo-Nauczające „THE ROOTS”, pod hasłem „Jej historie i jej reżyserki”, gromadzi w stolicy Polski 5-dniowy warsztat dla lokalnego uczestnika oraz pokazy pracy i sympozjum. Teraz Poliz organizuje wydarzenie i gości partnerów przez tydzień wyzwań i odkryć. Podczas wydarzenia niektórzy z założycieli Projektu Magdalena odwiedzają partnerów projektu, w szczególności założycieli Open Page. As part of the Erasmus + project Women Performing Europe - The Magdalena Project Across Borders, the second Learning Teaching Training Activity "THE ROOTS", with the theme "Her stories and She-directors", gathers the participants in the capital of Poland to offer a 5 days workshop to local participant as well as work demonstrations and a symposium. Teraz Poliz organises the event and hosts the partners for a week of challenges and discoveries. During the event, some of the founders of the Magdalena Project visits the project partners, and in particular the founders of the Open Page. Website of TERAZ POLIZ Participants of "THE ROOTS" Geddy Aniksdal, Julia Varley, Gilly Adams and Brigitte Cirla in the Symposium, Warsaw, March 2022 Presentation of "The Flying Carpet" by Julia Varley, Warsaw, March 2022 Karolina Micuła with Agnieszka Małgowska, Monika Rak and Kaja Janiszewska, work in progress of "Polskie Halloween". Kiedy jesteś małą organizacją i po raz pierwszy robisz projekt Erasmus+, pamiętaj, że jesteś odważny. Pomyśl o swoich granicach i szanuj je. Poproś większe siostry o pomoc, nie wstydź się. Pamiętaj, że stworzyłeś taką organizację z jakichś powodów. Kiedy czujesz się słaby i niepewny, spróbuj przypomnieć sobie powody i przemyśleć je. Może są rozsądne i lepiej je zachować, nawet jeśli jest to trudne i inni nie rozumieją ich na początku. A może nie są tak rozsądne i możesz je ulepszyć przy wsparciu innych siostrzanych partnerów. When you are small organisation and you're doing Erasmus+ project for the first time remember that you are brave. Think of your boundaries and respect them. Ask bigger sisters for help, don't be shy. Remember that you made your organisation that way because of some reasons. When you feel week and unconfident try to recall the reasons and rethink them. Maybe they are reasonable and it's better to keep them even if it's hard and others don't understand them on the begining. Or maybe they are not so reasonable and you can improve them with support of other sister partners. Nie tylko ty się tutaj uczysz. Możesz też dawać dużo – staraj się zrozumieć, co możesz dać i bądź hojny. Jeśli uważasz, że twoje rozumienie feminizmu jest inne niż innych, zacznij o tym mówić. You are not the only one who is learning here. You can also give a lot – try to understand what you can give and be generous.If you think that your understanding of feminism is different than others' start to talk about it. You can disagree. If you don't want to do it out loud, say it to one person first and then together you can try to say it out loud. Możesz się nie zgodzić. Jeśli nie chcesz tego robić na głos, powiedz to najpierw jednej osobie, a potem razem spróbujcie powiedzieć to na głos. Zachowaj równowagę. Dla małej niedoświadczonej (na polu grantów UE) organizacji Erasmus+ wymaga dużo energii na poziomie organizacyjnym, ale dużo więcej energii odzyskasz podczas warsztatów i spotkań z innymi partnerami. Starajcie się więc nie eksploatować za bardzo, żeby zostawić siły na te niesamowite spotkania. Pamiętaj, że nie każdy mówi po angielsku lub płynnie po angielsku, który jest językiem dotacji UE. Postaraj się wspierać uczestników, aby utrzymać ich zaangażowanie i energię. Zapytaj o zaimki i używaj ich. Keep the balance. For a small unexperienced (on EU grants field) organisation Erasmus+ requires a lot of energy on the organisational level but you will get much more energy back during workshops and meetings with other partners. So try to not exploit yourselves too much to leave your strenght for those amazing meetings. Remember that not everyone speaks English or fluent English which is EU grants language. Try to support those in participation to keep their engagement and energy. Ask about pronouns and use them. TERAZ POLIŻ to mała organizacja. TERAZ POLIŻ jest organizacją niehierarchiczną. Proces podejmowania decyzji jest długi, równe dzielenie zadań wymaga czasu, znalezienie zgody nie zawsze jest łatwe, mimo że jesteśmy małym partnerem i nie ma tak wielu członków. Czasami jest to bardzo trudne dla większych teatrów i grup, w których mają konkretne osoby, które decydują lub indywidualnych liderów, ale nie jest to niemożliwe do współpracy z nami. To zabawne. TERAZ POLIŻ nie ma własnej przestrzeni koncertowej, co wydaje się straszne, ale wcale nie jest straszne. Trochę mniej skomplikowane jest dzielenie się odpowiedzialnością, gdy nie masz miejsca, a także daje większą swobodę i niezależność, gdy możesz wybrać, gdzie chcesz grać lub organizować festiwal. Problem w tym, że to nie tylko wybór TERAZ POLIŻ – właściciel wybranej przestrzeni musi się zgodzić także na to, co może wyglądać na bałagan, ale to po prostu wiele okoliczności i wiele osób i instytucji musi włączyć się w nasze decyzje. TERAZ POLIŻ nie ma mistrzów. Szanujemy dziedzictwo i wiedzę, którą przekazały nam starsze pokolenia, ale szczerze mówiąc słuchamy przede wszystkim matek, takich jak Magdalenas i queerowych rodziców. Co całkowicie polecamy. Kiedy jesteś małą organizacją i po raz pierwszy robisz projekt Erasmus+, jak TERAZ POLIŻ, będziesz miał wiele rzeczy do nauczenia się cały czas. Doceń swoją bardziej doświadczoną siostrę, ale pamiętaj, że możesz zostać taka, jaka jesteś – mała i odważna – jeśli chcesz. TERAZ POLIŻ is small organisation. TERAZ POLIŻ is unhierarchical organisation. The decision making process is long, to share the tasks equaly takes time, to find a consent is not always easy peasy, even though we are a small partner with not so many members. Sometimes it's super hard for bigger theaters and groups where they have specific persons who decides or individual leaders but it's not impossible to work with us. It's fun. TERAZ POLIŻ don't have its own performing space what seems scary but it's not scary at all. It's a little bit less complicated to share the responsibility when you don't have a space and it also gives more freedom and independence when you can choose where you want to play or organise a festival. The only problem is that it's not only TERAZ POLIŻ choice – the owner of chosen space has to agree also which can look like we are messy but it's just many circumstances and many people and institutions who has to join our decisions. TERAZ POLIŻ don't have masters. We respect the heritage and knowledge that we were given by older generations but to be honest we mostly listen to mothers, like Magdalenas, and queer parents. Which we totally recommend. When you are small organisation and you're doing Erasmus+ project for the first time like TERAZ POLIŻ you will have a lot of things to learn all the time. Appreciate your more experienced sister partners but remember that you can stay as you are – small and brave – if you want. Praktyczne narzędzia Nasza organizacja jako jedyna w projekcie nie posiada własnej przestrzeni i profesjonalnego zaplecza technicznego typu światła, mikrofony itp. Jak pisaliśmy wcześniej jesteśmy małym stowarzyszeniem, żyjemy z bieżących dotacji celowych, więc też nie mamy wolne środki, którymi moglibyśmy się wesprzeć w krytycznej sytuacji, a środki z programu Erasmus+ nie pokrywają kosztów takich jak wynajem powierzchni, sprzęt czy wynagrodzenia dla artystów. Z tego powodu organizowanie każdego spotkania w naszym kraju wiązało się z większym ryzykiem i kosztami. Jako organizacja partnerska stanęliśmy przed dużym wyzwaniem, ale bardzo chętnie uczestniczyliśmy w projekcie. Wyjątkowe dla tego projektu było również to, że mimo to pozostali partnerzy obdarzyli nas zaufaniem i zaprosili do współpracy. Było to i nadal jest bardzo inspirującym i rozwijającym doświadczeniem dla naszej organizacji. Mimo trudności i bardzo ograniczonego budżetu udało nam się zrealizować projekt w pełni profesjonalnie. Niestety w trakcie projektu wybuchła pandemia, więc to również mocno wpłynęło na harmonogram. Ostatecznie nasza organizacja była odpowiedzialna za organizację jednego 2-dniowego spotkania organizacyjnego oraz jednego 5-dniowego zestawu warsztatów edukacyjno-artystycznych, w tym sympozjum w Warszawie. Practical tools Our organization is the only one in the project that does not have its own space and professional technical facilities like lights, microphones, etc. As we wrote earlier, we are a small association, we live on current targeted grants, so we also do not have free funds with which we could support ourselves in a critical situation, and the funds from Erasmus + does not cover costs such as space rental, equipment or salaries for artists. For this reason, organizing each meeting in our country involved greater risk and costs. As a partner organization, we faced a big challenge, but we were very eager to participate in the project. It was also unique for this project that despite this, the other partners gave us trust and invited us to cooperate. It was, and still is, a very inspiring and developing experience for our organization. Despite the difficulties and a very limited budget, we managed to implement the project in a fully professional manner. Unfortunately, a pandemic broke out during the project, so this also has strongly affected the schedule. In the end, our organization was responsible for organizing one 2-day organizational meeting and one 5-day set of educational and artistic workshops, including a symposium in Warsaw. 1. Spotkanie organizacyjne - jest dość prosty w przygotowaniu. Najważniejsze jest znalezienie wolnej sali, która może być wygodna dla 10 osób, ma stół, krzesła, jest dostępna tylko dla uczestników spotkania przez dwa dni z rzędu w godzinach pracy i oczywiście spełnia wymogi sanitarne. W Warszawie jest sporo mniejszych instytucji czy organizacji edukacyjnych i kulturalnych, które oferują takie usługi, jeśli się z nimi wcześniej skontaktujesz. Generalnie jest to powszechna praktyka w dużych miastach europejskich, wystarczy jej poszukać. Na przykład skorzystaliśmy z sali prób w instytucji, w której właśnie realizowaliśmy kolejny projekt. Co było atrakcyjne również dla pozostałych uczestników, ponieważ mogli zobaczyć, w jakich przestrzeniach pracujemy i poznać jeden z warszawskich teatrów od tyłu. 1. Organizational meeting- is fairly simple to prepare. The most important thing is to find a free room that can be comfortable for 10 people, has a table, chairs, is available only to meeting participants for two days in a row during business hours and, of course, meets sanitary requirements. There are quite a few smaller institutions or educational and cultural organizations in Warsaw that offer such services if you contact them in advance. In general, this is a common practice in large European cities, you just have to look for it. For example, we used a rehearsal room in the institution where we had just implemented another project. What was also attractive to the other participants, because they could see what spaces we work in and get to know one of Warsaw's theaters from behind. 2. Spotkanie warsztatowe. - Tu robi się trudno, trzeba znaleźć przestrzeń z profesjonalnym zapleczem technicznym teatru, salami prób i audytoriami, bo warsztatom zawsze towarzyszą pokazy spektakli czy metody pracy uczestniczących artystów. Niezbędne jest zapewnienie zarówno warsztatom, jak i pokazanie uczestnikom komfortowych warunków pracy, jest to bardzo ważne dla prawidłowego przebiegu całego procesu. Na to spotkanie zaproszono również gości i osoby postronne, ponieważ większość oferowanych przez nas wydarzeń musiała być otwarta dla lokalnej publiczności. Ważna jest również lokalizacja, takie miejsce powinno znajdować się dość blisko centrum, a przynajmniej powinno być łatwo dostępne logistycznie dla uczestników i uczestników. Potrzebne były również przestronne przestrzenie ze względu na COVID. - Rozwiązaniem jest znalezienie instytucji lub organizacji kultury, która ma takie zasoby i chce się zaangażować w projekt, chce się taką współpracą pochwalić i czerpie pozafinansowe korzyści z takiego udziału. Wtedy możemy liczyć na wsparcie promocyjne i organizacyjne. Udało nam się pozyskać taką instytucję, był to Mazowiecki Instytut Kultury w Warszawie zlokalizowany w samym centrum starej części Warszawy. Było to jednocześnie niezwykle urokliwe i kojące miejsce. Nasza lokalizacja sprzyjała spokojowi. W tym momencie było to dla nas naprawdę ważne, bo nasze spotkanie zbiegło się z atakiem Rosji na Ukrainę, to był początek tej agresji. - W przypadku naszej instytucji partnerskiej zarząd tworzą głównie kobiety, dla których ten projekt był również ważny emocjonalnie i ideologicznie. Ponadto charakteryzowały się wysokimi umiejętnościami organizacyjnymi i komunikacyjnymi, wszak przez wiele lat z powodzeniem zarządzali dużą instytucją. Ponieważ mieli większe doświadczenie w organizowaniu takich projektów niż my, z własnej inicjatywy przejęli zadania poza naszą formalną umową (dla nas był to debiut). Przyjęli pełną odpowiedzialność za przebieg tej współpracy. To było naprawdę bardzo pomocne i oszczędziło nam niepotrzebnego stresu. W dniu inauguracji naszego 5-dniowego feministycznego festiwalu były na miejscu przed nami, aby sprawdzić, czy wszystko działa dobrze i czy nie potrzebujemy dodatkowego wsparcia technicznego, mimo że oficjalnie mogły rozpocząć pracę godzinę później. Oferowali jednocześnie pomoc i doświadczenie, nie przejmując kontroli nad formą ani treścią organizowanych wydarzeń. Pod tym względem zaufali nam. Nie znali nas od strony organizacyjnej, więc na wszelki wypadek chcieli pomóc. Kiedy zobaczyli, że wszystko działa sprawnie, opanowaliśmy sytuację, tak często przestali nas odwiedzać, ale wciąż byli w pobliżu, tak na wszelki wypadek. Z naszego doświadczenia wynika, że był to rzadki rodzaj zaangażowania ze strony instytucji. 2. Workshop meeting.- Here's where it gets tricky, you need to find a space with professional theatrical technical facilities, rehearsal rooms and auditoriums, because workshops are always accompanied by shows of performances or working methods of participating artists. It is necessary to provide both workshop and show participants with comfortable working conditions, this is very important for the good course of the whole process.Guests and bystanders were also invited to this meeting, as most of the events we offered had to be open to the local public. Location is also important, such a place should be fairly close to the center, or at least it should be logistically easily accessible to participants and attendees. Spacious spaces were also needed, for COVID's sake. - The solution is to find a cultural institution or organization that has such resources and wants to get involved in the project, wants to show off such cooperation, and derives non-financial profit from such participation. Then we can count on promotional and organizational support. We managed to get such an institution, it was The Mazovia Institute of Culture in Warsaw located in the very center of the old part of Warsaw. It was an extremely charming and soothing place at the same time. Our location was conducive to tranquility. At that moment it was really important for us, because our meeting coincided with the attack of Russia on Ukraine, it was the beginning of this aggression. - In the case of our partner institution, the board of directors is composed mainly of women, for whom this project was also emotionally and ideologically important. In addition, they were characterized by high organizational and communication skills, after all, they had successfully managed a large institution for many years. Since they had more experience in organizing such projects than we did, they took over tasks beyond our formal contract on their own initiative (for us it was a debut). They took full responsibility for the course of this cooperation. This was really very supportive and saved us a lot of unnecessary stress. On the day of the launch of our 5-day feminist festival they were on site before us to check that everything was working well and that we didn't need more technical support, even though they could officially start their work an hour later. They offered help and experience at the same time, without taking control of either the form or content of the events held. In this respect they placed their trust in us. They didn't know us from the organizational side, so they wanted to offer help just in case. When they saw that everything was running smoothly, we were in control of the situation they have stopped visiting us so often, but they were still around, just in case. This was, from our experience, a rare kind of commitment from an institution. - Oczywiście to nie przypadek, świadomie wybraliśmy mniej prestiżową artystycznie Warszawę w zamian za szczere zaangażowanie, a do tego kompletne wyposażenie techniczne potrzebne do realizacji naszego projektu. W tego rodzaju relacji opartej na współpracy ważne jest, aby wszyscy organizatorzy byli zaangażowani emocjonalnie, nie tylko formalnie. Formalności niestety nie działają, jeśli instytucja partnerska nie czuje się związana z projektem. Często zdarzają się takie sytuacje, że pomimo formalnych porozumień i wcześniejszych wspólnych ustaleń nagle okazuje się np., że dostępność obiecanej powierzchni lub jej jakość jest mocno ograniczona i niemożliwa do realizacji zgodnie z obietnicą, a mimo to będzie konieczna na pokrycie części kosztów utrzymania lub opłacenie zużycia energii. Niestety w takiej sytuacji mała organizacja taka jak nasza nie ma narzędzi do egzekwowania pierwotnych ustaleń, trzeba się dostosować lub poszukać nowego miejsca. Co oczywiście w trakcie trwania projektu jest dużym problemem. - Dobra komunikacja to podstawa! To samo dotyczy angażowania ludzi do projektu. Kiedy nie możesz zaoferować ludziom odpowiedniego wynagrodzenia za pracę, którą wykonują, radzimy poszukać ludzi chętnych do ciężkiej pracy na szczytny cel. Mogą nie mieć doświadczenia w organizowaniu takich projektów, ważne jest, aby mieli wysokie umiejętności komunikacyjne i mieli poczucie, że zamiast wynagrodzenia czerpią cenne korzyści. Np.: kontakty branżowe na poziomie międzynarodowym, zdobywanie doświadczenia, którego mogą potrzebować w dalszym rozwoju zawodowym. Ważne jest, aby osoba niedoświadczona była otwarta na naukę, potrafiła przyznać się do błędu i czuła się odpowiedzialna za współorganizację. - Of course, this is not a coincidence, we consciously chose a less artistically prestigious Warsaw venue in exchange for a sincere commitment, and on top of that, complete technical equipment needed for our project. In this kind of collaborative relationship it's important that all organizers are emotionally involved, not just formally. Formalities, unfortunately, do not work if the partner institution does not feel connected to the project. We often experience such situations, that despite formal agreements and previous joint arrangements, it suddenly turns out, for example, that the availability of the promised space or its quality is severely limited and not possible as promised, or, nevertheless, it will be necessary to cover some of the costs of maintenance, or pay for energy consumption. Unfortunately, in such a situation a small organization like ours does not have the tools to enforce the original arrangements, you have to adjust or look for a new place. Which, of course, during the course of the project is a big problem. - Good communication is key! The same also applies to engaging people to the project. When you can't offer people adequate remuneration for the work they do, you are advised to look for people willing to work hard for a worthy cause. They may not have experience in organizing such projects, it is important that they have high communication skills and feel that instead of remuneration they gain valuable benefits. E.g.: industry contacts on an international level, gaining experience that they may need in their further professional development. It is important for an inexperienced person to be open to learning, to be able to admit when he or she is wrong and to feel responsible for co-organization.

Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium - Odin TeatretHolstebro, Denmark Som en del af Erasmus+-projektet Women Performing Europe - The Magdalena Project Across Borders, den fjerde Learning Teaching Training Activity - "Fra personlig til kollektiv æstetik, historier om kvinder, vidnesbyrdsarbejde. Dramaturgi af begivenheden" fandt sted i Holstebro i juni 2022, inden for rammerne af Transitfestivalen. I fem dage deltog partnerne i workshops, foredrag og symposium og deltog i show og præsentation af partnernes arbejde. As part of the Erasmus + project Women Performing Europe - The Magdalena Project Across Borders, the forth Learning Teaching Training Activity - "From personal to collective aesthetics, stories of women, testimonial work. Dramaturgy of the event" took place in Holstebro in June 2022, in the frame of the Transit Festival. For five days, the partners took part into workshops, talks and Symposium, and attended to shows and presentation of the partners' work. Website of the NTL Website of the Transit festival ____________________________________________ Sidste udgave af Transit-festivalen Hope in Action – Theatre, Women, Will kom fra et ønske om at genvinde tilliden til kropskontakt, sang, musik, kærlighed, eventyrlyst, bevægelse, natur og tro på fremtiden. Det er ironisk, at dette tema blev valgt lige før pandemien. Til Transit 10 Festival, Tidernes Pragt – Teater, Kvinder, Mod, er kvinder i alle aldre blevet inviteret til at bidrage med deres erfaringer gennem forestillinger, arbejdsdemonstrationer, workshops, masterclasses, work-in-progress og talks. Programmet ønsker at overraske ældre og yngre praktikere og lærde og holde alle dansende i undren på tæerne. Mens man er i kontakt i stedet for at opretholde en adskillelse, blandes aldre i henhold til fødselsdato eller erhvervserfaring på en produktiv og kreativ måde. Vi har brug for hinanden for at få ideer og udvikle os Last edition of the Transit festival Hope in Action – Theatre, Women, Will came from a wish to regain confidence in body contact, song, music, love, spirit of adventure, movement, nature, and belief in the future. It is ironic that this theme was chosen just before the pandemic. For Transit 10 Festival, The Splendour of the Ages – Theatre, Women, Courage, women of all ages have been invited to contribute with their experience through performances, work demonstrations, workshops, masterclasses, work-in-progress, and talks. The program wants to surprise older and younger practitioners and scholars, and keep everyone dancing in wonder on the tip of their toes. While being in contact instead of maintaining a separation, the ages according to date of birth or professional experience mix in a productive and creative way. We need each other to have ideas and develop Julia Varley Bygningskompleksitet - Snapshots af kvinder, der optræder i Europa Building Complexity - Snapshots of Women Performing Europe Transit 10 Festival Transit 10 Festival fandt sted på Odin Teatret, Holstebro, Danmark, fra den 3. til den 12. juni 2022. Det valgte tema var ALDERNES PRÆGT – Teater, Kvinder, Mod. Jeg var især interesseret i generationsmødet og i det bidrag, som de forskellige synsvinkler og erfaringsmængder kan give hinanden. Efter temaer relateret til periferi, risiko, skønhed, anerkendte jeg mod i arbejdet hos så mange kvinder, der arbejder i teater over hele kloden i tider med økonomisk krise, isolation, vold, krig og pandemi. Som kvindelige teaterudøvere, producere og lærde har vi brug for mod til at stå ved siden af vores idealer, til at kæmpe mod diskrimination, til at dedikere os til at skabe en oase af skønhed og poesi uden illusion om nogensinde at opnå umiddelbart synlige resultater. Transit 10 Festival skal være et tidspunkt og et rum til at lære af hinanden og få energi og tryghed for at fortsætte. En af mine igangværende besættelser har været at bidrage til at opbygge vores egen historie som kvindelige teaterudøvere, finde et nyt sprog, dokumentere vores præstationer og dele spørgsmål. En af mine motiver for Transit 10 Festival var at skabe et rum og tid til, at dette kunne ske. Magdalena-projektet har bygget et miljø, hvor kvinder fra forskellige generationer udveksler og arbejder sammen. Transit 10 Festival repræsenterede en milepæl i dette internationale netværk, hvor vi fejrede det, vi har gjort, og forestillede os, hvad vi vil og skal gøre næste gang. Den nyetablerede forening Transit Next Forum - Teater og Kvinder stod over for sin første opgave i tilrettelæggelsen af Festivalen og forberedte sig på at udvide aktivitetsfelterne med flere fortsatte tiltag i fremtiden. Transit 9 Festival Hope in Action - Teater, Kvinder, Vil i 2019 kom fra et ønske om at genvinde tilliden til kropskontakt, sang, musik, kærlighed, eventyrlyst, bevægelse, natur og tro på fremtiden. Det er ironisk, at dette tema blev valgt lige før pandemien. Til Transit 10 Festival, Tidernes Pragt - Teater, Kvinder, Mod, i 2022 blev kvinder i alle aldre inviteret til at bidrage med deres erfaringer gennem forestillinger, arbejdsdemonstrationer, workshops, masterclasses, work-in-progress og talks. Programmet ønskede at overraske ældre og yngre praktikere og lærde og få alle til at danse forundret på tæerne. Transit 10 Festival var dedikeret til Else Marie Laukvik, en af grundlæggerne af Odin Teatret i 1964, som stadig er aktiv, optræder og instruerer i dag og er et eksempel for yngre udøvere. Transit 10 Festival happened at Odin Teatret, Holstebro, Denmark, from the 3rd to 12th of June 2022. The theme chosen was THE SPLENDOUR OF THE AGES – Theatre, Women, Courage. I was particularly interested in the meeting of generations and in the contribution that the different points of view and amount of experience can give to each other. After themes related to periphery, risk, beauty, I recognised courage in the work of so many women working in theatre across the globe in times of economic crisis, isolation, violence, war and pandemic. As women theatre practitioners, producers and scholars, we need courage to stand beside our ideals, to fight against discrimination, to dedicate ourselves to creating oasis of beauty and poetry with no illusion of ever achieving immediately visible results. Transit 10 Festival should be a time and space to learn from each other and get energy and reassurance in order to continue. One of my ongoing obsessions has been to contribute to build our own history as women theatre practitioners, finding a new language, documenting our achievements, and sharing questions. One of my motivations for Transit 10 Festival was to create a space and time for this to happen. The Magdalena Project has built an environment in which women of different generations exchange and work together. Transit 10 Festival represented a milestone in this international network, celebrating what we have done and imagining what we want and need to do next. The newly established association Transit Next Forum - Theatre and Women confronted its first task in the organisation of the Festival preparing to enlarge the fields of activity with more continuative initiatives in the future. Transit 9 Festival Hope in Action - Theatre, Women, Will in 2019 came from a wish to regain confidence in body contact, song, music, love, spirit of adventure, movement, nature, and belief in the future. It is ironic that this theme was chosen just before the pandemic. For Transit 10 Festival, The Splendour of the Ages - Theatre, Women, Courage, in 2022, women of all ages were invited to contribute with their experience through performances, work demonstrations, workshops, masterclasses, work-in-progress, and talks. The programme wanted to surprise older and younger practitioners and scholars, and keep everyone dancing in wonder on the tip of their toes. Transit 10 Festival was dedicated to Else Marie Laukvik, one of the founders of Odin Teatret in 1964, still active, performing and directing today, setting an example for younger practitioners. Programmering Programming At være den 10. udgave af Transit Festival betød at have en masse tidligere erfaringer, men det undgik ikke at skulle konfrontere vanskeligheder. Pandemien først og krigen i Ukraine for nylig har fuldstændig ændret den verdenssituation, vi lever i, økonomisk, socialt og psykologisk. Tilrettelæggelsen af vores arbejde skulle tage højde for denne virkelighed. Men mest af alt led organisationen af Transit 10 Festival under det interne skift i Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium-Odin Teatret med direktørskifte og generationsledelse. Alt dette havde en konsekvens af betydelige økonomiske begrænsninger af budgettet, reducerede det sædvanlige antal inviterede gæster, antal dage, deltagere, papirdokumentation og betaling af rejser og gebyrer. Mere end nogensinde før blev denne udgave af Transit Festival opnået takket være generøsiteten fra hver kvinde, der kom, og af dem, der støttede langvejs fra. Tidligere erfaring førte til valget af at invitere kunstnere til at repræsentere meget forskellig international oprindelse, erfaringsniveau, generation, type kunstnerisk æstetik, politisk og socialt engagement og personlighed. Nogle kvinder blev inviteret til at give dem de muligheder tilbage, de har tilbudt andre i deres egen kontekst, som Viviana Bovino fra Residui Teatro, Spanien. Nogle kvinder blev inviteret, fordi Transit 10 Festival ville repræsentere dem en vigtig anledning til udvikling og møde med et stort netværk, der åbnede fremtidige muligheder for samarbejder, som Giovanna Michaliadi Sarti fra Fabrica Athen, Grækenland. Alle partnere i Performing Europe-projektet blev inviteret som rygraden i Transit 10 Festival for at uddybe den gensidige læring og udveksling. Nogle erfarne Magdalena Project-kvinder blev inviteret til at give eksempler på mangfoldighed, kvalitet og robusthed. Nogle kvinder blev inviteret på grund af deres pædagogiske kapacitet, andre for deres nysgerrighed og tilgængelighed til at lære og deltage. Nogle kvinder blev inviteret som eksempler på forestillinger instrueret af andre kvinder, nogle for at konsolidere deres kunstneriske vej, nogle for at præsentere deres synspunkter på undervisning, nogle for deres politiske engagement. Det er en utrolig præstation at tænke på, at Patricia Ariza, en af Transit 10-festivalens gæster, siden er blevet kulturminister i sit land, Colombia. Tidligere erfaringer førte til valget af at blande international oprindelse, erfaringsniveau, generation, type kunstnerisk æstetik, politisk og socialt engagement og personlighed også i tilrettelæggelsen af de workshops og foredrag, der var programmeret under festivalen. Det er ikke kun én kvindes stemme og synspunkt, der imponerer og er lærerigt, men at møde al den mangfoldighed, der er til stede sammen, og se, hvordan de er i stand til at kommunikere og udveksle. Tilsyneladende modsatte praksisser er ikke stationære modsætninger, men inspirerer til en dynamisk transformation. Under Transit 10 Festival foregik den grundlæggende læringsproces ikke kun i fysiske og vokale workshops, i konkret praksis af forskellige teaterteknikker, men også ved at lytte til foredragene og se mange forestillinger efter hinanden under det intense program. Et element, der ændrer opfattelsen, er at arbejde, sove og spise sammen i fælles rum og dele rengøringsopgaverne. Alle skal føle sig hjemme på teatret og tage ansvar for plejen af rummet. Den sværeste opgave i forberedelsesdagene er at sammensætte rengørings- og måltidsrydningslister, blande aldre, nationaliteter, kunstnere og deltagere og tage hensyn til, hvor alle sover, de rum, de bruger, om de er rygere, hvis de kan lide sent. natfester eller vågner tidligt om morgenen, og datoer for ankomst og afrejse. At holde tiden strengt er en nødvendighed for, at det intense program kan finde sted på trods af de pludselige problemer, der altid opstår. En af mine hovedaktiviteter under festivalen er at tænke fremad for at forudse løsninger, minde alle om deres opgaver og aftaler, samtidig med at holde en personlig kontakt med alle tilstedeværende. Det sker også ved at tage billetterne ved døren til forestillingerne: Bare et blik, et smil eller et ord informerer mig om, hvordan alle har det, væsentlig viden for et godt og kreativt miljø. Tiden til måltider er kort, hvilket betyder, at maden skal tilberedes og anlægges, så folk hurtigt kan betjene sig selv, med forklaringer på, hvad maden er. Oversættelser er også vigtige. Alle skal have lov til at tale på deres eget sprog eller have tid og selvtillid til at udtrykke sig på et fremmedsprog. Øjeblikkelig fortolkning sætning for sætning bruges til at bevare talerens originale stemme så meget som muligt, idet man insisterer på at holde rytmen og energien mere end grammatisk korrekthed. Being the 10th edition of the Transit Festival meant having a lot of previous experience, but this did not avoid having to confront difficulties. The pandemic first and the war in Ukraine more recently have completely changed the world situation in which we live, economically, socially and psychologically. Organising our work had to take this reality into account. But most of all the organisation of Transit 10 Festival suffered from the internal shift within Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium-Odin Teatret, with a change of director and generational leadership. All of this had a consequence of considerable economic limitations to the budget, reducing the usual number of invited guests, quantity of days, participants, paper documentation, and the payment of travels and fees. More than ever before, this edition of Transit Festival was achieved thanks to the generosity of every woman who came and of those who supported from afar. Previous experience led to the choice of inviting artists to represent very different international origin, level of experience, generation, type of artistic aesthetics, political and social engagement, and personality. Some women were invited to give back to them the opportunities they have offered to others in their own context, like Viviana Bovino of Residui Teatro, Spain. Some women were invited because Transit 10 Festival would represent for them an important occasion for development and meeting with a large network opening future opportunities for collaborations, like Giovanna Michaliadi Sarti of Fabrica Athens, Greece. All the partners in the Performing Europe Project were invited as the backbone of Transit 10 Festival to deepen the mutual learning and exchange. Some experienced Magdalena Project women were invited to give examples of diversity, quality and resilience. Some women were invited for their pedagogical capacity, others for their curiosity and availability to learn and participate. Some women were invited as examples of performances directed by other women, some to consolidate their artistic path, some to present their point of view on teaching, some for their political engagement. It is an unbelievable achievement to think that Patricia Ariza, one of the Transit 10 Festival guests, has since become Culture Minister in her country, Colombia. Previous experience led to the choice of mixing international origin, level of experience, generation, type of artistic aesthetics, political and social engagement, and personality also in the organisation of the workshops and talks programmed during the Festival. It is not the voice and point of view of one woman alone that impresses and is instructive but facing all the diversity present together and seeing how they are able to communicate and exchange. Seemingly opposed practices are not stationary contraposition but inspire a dynamic transformation. During Transit 10 Festival the fundamental learning process happened not only in physical and vocal workshops, in the concrete practice of different theatre techniques, but also listening to the talks and seeing many performances one after the other during the intense programme. An element that changes the perception is working, sleeping and eating all together in common spaces, and sharing the cleaning tasks. Everyone should feel at home at the theatre and take responsibility for the care of the space. The most difficult task in the days of preparation is compiling the cleaning and meal clearing lists, mixing ages, nationalities, artists and participants, and taking into consideration where everyone is sleeping, the spaces they use, if they are smokers, if they like late night parties or wake up early in the morning, and dates of arrival and departure. Keeping the time strictly is a necessity for the intense programme to take place despite the sudden problems that always occur. One of my main activities during the Festival is to think forward in order to anticipate solutions, remind everyone of their tasks and appointments, while keeping up a personal contact with everyone present. This also happens by taking the tickets at the door of the performances: just a look, a smile or a word informs me of how everyone is feeling, essential knowledge for a good and creative environment. The time for meals is short, which means the food should be prepared and laid out so that people can serve themselves quickly, with explanations of what the food is. Translations are also essential. Everyone should be allowed to speak in their own language or given the time and confidence to express themselves in a foreign language. Immediate interpretation sentence by sentence is used to maintain the original voice of the speaker as much as possible, insisting on keeping the rhythm and energy more than grammatical correctness. Vanskeligheder Difficulties For mig som kunstnerisk leder betød lederskiftet i Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium-Odin Teatret i begyndelsen af 2021, at jeg på et tidspunkt opgav at arrangere Transit 10 Festival, på et andet tidspunkt besluttede jeg at placere den et andet sted og organisere den selvstændigt, og til sidst endte jeg med at skulle bruge en masse tid og energi på at nå frem til en aftale om at gennemføre Transit 10 Festival inden for det sted, den produktive struktur og den menneskelige kraft, hvor festivalen altid havde eksisteret. Europe Performing Europe blev en konkret forpligtelse og støtte, der gjorde Transit 10 Festival mulig. Især et langt telefonopkald med Bárbara Carvalho fra Protagon, hovedpromotør af Europe Performing Europe-projektet, den 3. november 2021, gav mig modet og motivationen til at fortsætte. Det er interessant at bemærke, hvordan yngre generationer kan nære driften hos dem, de tror, de lærer af. Nathalie Jabalé var ved siden af mig gennem alle op- og nedture i forberedelsesprocessen. Vi opmuntrede hinanden til at møde de vanskeligheder, som til tider syntes umulige at overvinde. Den russiske invasion af Ukraine provokerede en bevægelse af millioner af flygtninge i Europa. Danmark forberedte sig også på at modtage nogle af dem. Det betød, at alt det billige overnatningssted i Holstebro blev rettet mod at være vært for flygtninge, og Transit 10 Festival skulle pludselig løse, hvor gæster og deltagere kunne bo. Vi kunne bestemt ikke stille os selv i den situation, at vi konkurrerer med flygtninge, der flygtede fra krig, og vi kunne heller ikke bede om private tilbud om indkvartering, som også kunne være tilgængelige for ukrainere. Siden begyndelsen af 2021 er antallet af ledige værelser på Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium-Odin Teatret blevet markant reduceret til at blive kontorer og omklædningsrum. Igen tænkte jeg på, om jeg skulle aflyse festivalen, da vi absolut ikke havde råd til dyrere hoteller eller pensionater. Vi tænkte på telte og campingvogne og transportable toiletter og brusere, men det var også for dyrt. Endelig tilbød borgmesterkontoret i Holstebro Kommune en løsning, der gav os brug af tre huse på listen, der skal rives ned til nybyggeri i fremtiden. Vi skulle kun betale for at genetablere brugen af badeværelser og for det varme vand. Husene var fuldstændig tomme og beskidte. Meget tid og rengøring var nødvendig i forberedelsesperioden for at gøre disse huse gæstfrie nok til at modtage gæster og betalende deltagere. En af konsekvenserne af pandemien har været en generel reduktion af frivillige. Gennem de forskellige udgaver af Festivalen har vi opbygget et samarbejde med omkring tredive overvejende pensionister. I 2022 kunne færre hjælpe. Ældrehjem, hospitaler, kirker og aktivitetscentre stod over for det samme problem, samtidig med at de opgav at få yngre frivillige. Vi kunne få internationale frivillige, men de ville blive motiveret af at se forestillinger, der opstår i de tider, hvor deres hjælp er nødvendig for at tilberede måltiderne, og de ville have brug for et sted at sove. Mette Jensen, der stod for koordineringen af de frivillige, var død i 2020. Vi skulle opdage, hvor mange praktiske spørgsmål omkring vand, køleskabe, mad, tallerkener, viskestykker og meget mere, Mette havde løst, uden at andre var klar over det. . Siden 2020 har pandemien forværret brugen af virtuel kommunikation. Meddelelser, foldere og plakater, som plejede at foregå på papir til Transit 10 Festival, blev ikke længere trykt, men gjort tilgængelige på hjemmesider. Som en del af generationen af trykt design, blev jeg konfronteret med behovet for at producere kortere tekster, mere umiddelbare billeder og en kommunikation, der kun disponerer over den plads, en telefon tilbyder. Marco Donati, designeren af alle Transit Festival plakater og foldere, der altid brugte malerier af Dorthe Kærgaard, var også død i 2020. Rina Skeel og jeg brugte mange timer på at kigge på tekster og billeder på computeren og derefter på en mobiltelefon for at finde løsninger, der bibeholdt en informationskvalitet tilpasset nutidens rytme og indtagelsesvaner. Fausto Pro, den tekniske direktør for mange udgaver af Transit, svarede glad, da jeg fortalte ham, at Transit 10 Festival skulle finde sted på Odin Teatret. Endelig nogle gode nyheder! - skrev han til mig, mens jeg var på turné. For hver udgave, jeg havde lovet ham, ville jeg reducere antallet af forestillinger uden at klare mig. Under forberedelsen lægger jeg stor vægt på fortsættelsen af forestillinger på de forskellige dage, skiftende kontinenter, æstetik, antal optrædende og kompleksiteten af de tekniske behov. Fausto og jeg bruger lang tid på at placere forestillingerne og andre aktiviteter i Odin Teatrets tre teaterrum og i gården. Hvis det regner, skal vi have mulige alternativer til udendørsaktiviteter. Hvis det er varmt eller koldt, skal vi tænke på opvarmning eller ventilation. Tiden til at sætte op og slå, rummets mål, akustikken, loftets højde, typen af gulv, placeringen af tilskuere og deres antal, nærheden til et andet rum, en kunstners særlige tilknytning til et rum , er alle elementer, der bestemmer det endelige valg af spillestedet. Jo mere intens programmet er, jo mere skal vi regne med et godt og glad teknisk hold. De skal føle sig som en del af den samlede organisation. Men til Transit 10 Festival kunne jeg ikke betale det honorar, de fortjente, og jeg måtte begrænse antallet af teknikere. Ikke desto mindre var jeg heldig, at foruden Fausto Pro arbejdede Donald Kitt, Henrik Videbæk, Jakob Nielsen, Oscar Alonso Sanchez (Rusti), Paul Anthony Hales og Valerio Peroni hårdt og så ud til at nyde at være blandt så mange kvinder. Også filmskaberen Claudio Coloberti tilbød sit arbejde gratis og dokumenterede alle foredrag og workshops og nogle forestillinger. Jeg havde valgt den unge Antonia Cezara Cioaza som assistent, vel vidende at oplevelsen ville være en utrolig læringsmulighed for hende. Jeg informerede hende om alt hele tiden. Janaina Matter, Tatiana Horevicht og Hermane Schneider var også ved siden af mig og tilbød deres hjælp i dagene før og under festivalen, mens Anne Savage, Barbara Manighetti, Lene Højmark, Pushparajah Sinnathamby, Søs Banke, Tage Larsen hjalp Nathalie og mig til billetkontoret , frivillige og transport. Gæster fra Taiwan og USA var forbløffede over manglen på ansigtsmasker, da de ankom til Transit 10 Festival. Danmark havde fjernet alle Covid-19-restriktioner i marts 2022. I juni 2022 var adfærden gået tilbage til en tilsyneladende præ-pandemisk normalitet. Vi havde taget nogle forholdsregler, såsom alkohol for at desinficere hænder, når vi serverede mad, have færre mennesker, der sover i samme rum og ekstra rengøring, men alle krammede hinanden for glæden ved at mødes og arbejde sammen efter lang tid, og den første vokalværkstedet havde omkring tres mennesker, der sang i samme lokale. Så en dag kom Covid-19 uønsket med en deltager fra Portugal. Efter at hun ikke havde det godt, lavede hun en test, og resultatet var positivt. Hun holdt testen i hånden, græd nær cykelstativet udenfor, uden at vide, hvad hun skulle gøre, og gentog undskyld en million gange, som om det var hendes skyld. Vi bad alle om at lave en test, og den dag var der ingen andre, der var positive. Vi isolerede den positive kvinde, flyttede nogle af aktiviteterne udendørs, insisterede på at holde åbne døre og vinduer og forsøgte at forhindre andre gæster og deltagere i at blive forskrækkede. To dage senere resulterede to mere positivt, og organisationen med at isolere dem med et badeværelse og bringe dem mad og vand, blev mere kompliceret. Fra den dag bad vi alle om at bære ansigtsmasker, mens de så forestillinger. Vi flyttede en forestilling, det sidste møde og fest udendørs, da vejret heldigvis var skiftet fra regn og kulde til solskin. Efter hjemkomsten kom flere gæster og deltagere positivt ud af det, men det gjorde Nathalie og jeg, der havde talt med alle og krammet dem alle. Kun maleren Dorthe Kærgaard havde en slem feber, der varede i ti dage, mens det for de fleste var et par dage med utilpashed. Balancen mellem at lade festivalen følge sin gang, og at aktiviteterne fandt sted, og beskytte dem, der havde brug for det, var vanskelig. Ved hver Transit Festival har der været aflysninger i sidste øjeblik af kunstnere. Ofte er det familiemæssige forpligtelser, der hindrer deltagelse. Det skete også for Transit 10 Festival, da Parvathy Baul lod os vide, at hun ikke kunne komme. Så fik Kapila Venu ikke visum til Europa, og Deborah Hunt fik ikke fornyet sit grønne kort til ophold i Puerto Rico. Pludselig manglede jeg en sidste forestilling til festivalen. Jeg var i La Paz i Bolivia i slutningen af maj 2022 og optrådte i 4.750 meters højde, da jeg besluttede at kontakte Keiin Yoshimura for at høre, om hun kunne komme med så kort varsel. Jeg ønskede virkelig kvaliteten af en asiatisk traditionel form. Da hun svarede ja, brugte jeg flere timer på at kommunikere med Japan og Danmark fra Bolivia for at organisere hendes rejse. Det var også fra La Paz, jeg skulle løse, hvem der skulle lave aftensmaden under festivalen, da kokken havde forladt sit arbejde på restauranten, som vi havde en aftale med om leveringen af mad. Det var bare et lille problem, men det føltes som dråben, der knækker kamelens ryg. Generelt kan jeg sige, at Transit 10 Festival, trods vanskelighederne, var en succes, hvilket åbnede for yderligere samarbejder, læringsmuligheder og udveksling i fremtiden. Det er endnu tidligt at vide præcist, hvad resultatet bliver i de kommende år. De, der stadig ikke er født, vil bestemme dens betydning en dag. Vi vil ikke længere være der for at komme med kommentarer og skelne sandhed fra misforståelser og hensigter fra resultater. Vi vil have gjort de nødvendige handlinger for at andre kan finde ordene til at fortælle historien. For me as artistic director, the change of leadership within Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium-Odin Teatret in the beginning of 2021 meant that at one point I gave up organising Transit 10 Festival, at another point I decided to place it somewhere else and organise it autonomously, and finally I ended up having to use a lot of time and energy to reach an agreement to carry out Transit 10 Festival within the venue, productive structure, and human force where the Festival had always existed. The Europe Performing Europe became a concrete obligation and support that made Transit 10 Festival possible. In particular a long telephone call with Bárbara Carvalho of Protagon, main promoter of the Europe Performing Europe project, on November 3rd 2021, gave me the courage and motivation to continue. It is interesting to note how younger generations can nourish the drive of those they think they are learning from. Nathalie Jabalé was beside me through all the ups and downs of the process of preparation. We encouraged each other in facing the difficulties that at times seemed impossible to overcome. The Russian invasion of Ukraine provoked a movement of millions of refugees in Europe. Denmark also prepared to receive some of them. This meant that all the cheap accommodation available in Holstebro was directed to hosting refugees and Transit 10 Festival had to suddenly solve where guests and participants could stay. We certainly could not put ourselves in the position of competing with refugees fleeing war, nor could we ask for private offers of accommodation which could also be available to Ukrainians. Since the beginning of 2021, the number of bedrooms available at Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium-Odin Teatret had been notably reduced to become offices and changing rooms. Again, I wondered if I should cancel the Festival, as we could absolutely not afford more expensive hotels or guest houses. We thought of tents and caravans, and transportable toilets and showers, but that was also too expensive. Finally, the Mayor’s office of Holstebro Municipality offered a solution giving us the use of three houses on the list to be demolished for new constructions in the future. We only had to pay to re-establish the use of bathrooms and for the hot water. The houses were completely empty and filthy. A lot of time and cleaning was necessary in the preparation period to make these houses hospitable enough to receive guests and paying participants. One of the consequences of the pandemic has been a general reduction of volunteers. Through the various editions of the Festival, we have built up a collaboration with about thirty mostly retired people. In 2022 fewer could help. Old people homes, hospitals, churches and activity centres were confronting the same problem, at the same time as giving up on getting younger volunteers. We could get international volunteers, but they would be motivated by seeing performances which occur in the times when their help is needed to prepare the meals, and they would need a place to sleep. Mette Jensen, who was responsible for the coordination of the volunteers, had died in 2020. We were to discover how many practical questions involving water, fridges, food, plates, tea-towels, and much more, Mette had solved without anyone else realising. Since 2020, the pandemic has exacerbated the use of virtual communication. Announcements, leaflets and posters which used to be done on paper, for Transit 10 Festival were no longer printed but made available on websites. Belonging to the generation of printed design, I was confronted with the need to produce shorter texts, more immediate images and a communication which only disposes of the space offered by a telephone. Marco Donati, the designer of all Transit Festival posters and leaflets, always using paintings by Dorthe Kærgaard, had also died in 2020. Rina Skeel and I spent many hours looking at texts and images on the computer and then on a mobile phone to find the solutions which maintained a quality of information adapted to the contemporary rhythm and habits of intake. Fausto Pro, the technical director for many editions of Transit, responded happily when I told him Transit 10 Festival was going to take place at Odin Teatret. At last some good news! - he wrote to me while I was on tour. For each edition I had promised him I would reduce the number of performances, never managing. During the preparation, I give great importance to the sequel of performances on the different days, alternating continents, aesthetics, number of performers and the complexity of the technical needs. Fausto and I spend a long time placing the performances and other activities in Odin Teatret’s three theatre spaces and in the courtyard. If it rains, we need to have possible alternatives to outdoor activities. If it is hot or cold, we need to think of heating or ventilation. The time for put up and striking, the measures of the space, the acoustics, the hight of the ceiling, the kind of floor, the placing of the spectators and their number, the closeness to another space, a performer’s particular attachment to a room, are all elements that determine the final choice of the venue. The more intense is the programme, the more we need to count on a good and happy technical team. They should feel part of the total organisation. But for Transit 10 Festival I could not pay the fees they deserved and had to limit the number of technicians. Nevertheless I was lucky that besides Fausto Pro, Donald Kitt, Henrik Videbæk, Jakob Nielsen, Oscar Alonso Sanchez (Rusti), Paul Anthony Hales and Valerio Peroni worked hard and seemed to enjoy being amongst so many women. Also filmmaker Claudio Coloberti offered his work for free, documenting all the talks and workshops, and some performances. I had chosen the young Antonia Cezara Cioaza as assistant knowing the experience would be an incredible learning opportunity for her. I informed her of everything all the time. Janaina Matter, Tatiana Horevicht and Hermane Schneider where also beside me, offering their help in the days before and during the Festival, while Anne Savage, Barbara Manighetti, Lene Højmark, Pushparajah Sinnathamby, Søs Banke, Tage Larsen helped Nathalie and me for box office, volunteers and transport. Guests from Taiwan and the USA were amazed by the lack of facemasks when they arrived at Transit 10 Festival. Denmark had taken away all Covid-19 restrictions in March 2022. By June 2022, behaviour had gone back to a seemingly pre-pandemic normality. We had taken some precautions, like alcohol to disinfect hands when serving food, having fewer people sleeping in the same room, and extra cleaning, but everyone was hugging each other for the happiness of meeting and working together after a long time, and the first vocal workshop had about sixty people singing in the same room. Then one day Covid-19 came undesired with a participant from Portugal. After not feeling well, she made a test and resulted positive. She held the test in her hand, weeping near the bicycle stand outside, not knowing what to do, repeating sorry a million times, as if it were her fault. We asked everyone to make a test and that day no one else resulted positive. We isolated the positive woman, moved some of the activities outdoors, insisted on keeping open doors and windows, and tried to keep other guests and participants from becoming alarmed. Two days later, two more resulted positive, and the organisation to isolate them with a bathroom, and bring them food and water, became more complicated. From that day on we asked everyone to wear facemasks while seeing performances. We moved one performance, the last meeting and feast outdoors, as luckily the weather had changed from rain and cold to sunshine. After going home, several more guests and participants resulted positive, but Nathalie and I who had spoken to everyone and hugged them all did not. Only the painter Dorthe Kærgaard had a bad fever which lasted for ten days, while for most people it was a few days of not feeling well. The balance between allowing the Festival to follow its course, and for the activities to occur, and protect those who needed it was difficult. At every Transit Festival there have been last minute cancellations of artists. Often it is family responsibilities that impede participation. It happened also for Transit 10 Festival when Parvathy Baul let us know that she could not come. Then Kapila Venu did not get a visa for Europe and Deborah Hunt did not get the renewal of her green card for residency in Puerto Rico. Suddenly I was missing a final performance for the Festival. I was in La Paz in Bolivia at end of May 2022, performing at 4,750 metres altitude, when I decided to contact Keiin Yoshimura to see if she could come at such short notice. I really wanted the quality of an Asian traditional form. When she answered yes, I spent various hours communicating with Japan and Denmark from Bolivia to organise her travel. It was also from La Paz that I had to solve who would make the suppers during the Festival, as the cook had left his job at the restaurant with whom we had an agreement for the food delivery. It was just a small problem, but it felt like the drop that breaks the camel’s back. In general, I can say that Transit 10 Festival, despite the difficulties, was successful, opening to further collaborations, learning opportunities and exchange in the future. It is still early to know exactly what the outcome will be in years to come. Those who are still not born will determine its meaning one day. We will no longer be there to make comments and distinguish truth from misunderstandings, and intentions from results. We will have done the necessary actions for others to find the words to narrate the story. Julia Varley

Geddy Aniksdalthe Open Page Geddy Aniksdal (Norway) co-creator of The Magdalena Project and The Open Page. Website of the Magdalena Project and Open PageGeddy Aniksdal is performer, director, teacher and long time member of Grenland Friteater in Norway. She has also worked closely with The Magdalena Project since the beginning and is a member of the editorial board of The Open Page. Her performances Blue is the smoke of War, Bo Doctor for The dead (with Anette Rode Hagnell) and My Life as A Man, as well as 7 songs of the Refugee has toured internationally within the Magdalena Network. Geddy is the artistic director of Sense of Place, a multicultural project for cities and communities. Website of Grenland Friteater Geddy Aniksdal was invited to our week event in Warsaw in March 2022 in collaboration with the Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium. She has led workshops and told us about her experience as part of the Magdalena Project and as a writer of the Open Page. Geddy shared some words with us about the topic of writing and creating. ___________ _______________________ Porsgrunn , Norway May 2022Notes from Geddy to the Women Performing Europe project I wanted to write. I tried to write. I wrote. I was fascinated by the stories of Anais Nin, of Karen Blixen, of the Scandinavian Bohemians; you will write about your own life… I had the wrong idea that my written words would shape themselves, and come out,-deep, wise, sharp, witty and truly original. They did not. They were not right for me, they were in a certain way not mine, stolen feathers, someone else`s coat. Shoes too big for me. I had this strong belief or ideal, that you wrote when you were inspired, and naturally, you were inspired. Far from it. Still, I think back to the young woman that I was, with sympathy, because she so much wanted to write like that. The first text I wrote was when we published material about our theatre’s work back in the eighties. I published excerpts from my logbook/ diary, and later I wrote for the programme for the performance. Started to have to weigh my words, make them reflect what we did, what we wanted, what we had tried. In the nineties we women started the newsletter for the Magdalena Project, and we wrote in a semi-professional/semi-personal/professional tone, that felt reassuring. Then we made an important shift in our writing history; we went from the newsletter to The Open Page, where we planned to collect articles, poems, letters from women in contemporary theatre, where each edition had a different theme, where women wrote in their mother tongue, or more often English. I had a hard time accepting the long, tedious, often boring work of writing, rewriting, editing. Starting again. This was the real thing. This was serious. This was hard work, not often inspired. This was the beginning of really learning to write. How glad I am that I was part of this collective. Of serious, constructive, honest feedback and a push here and a shove there when needed. Now so many years later I am glad if I receive feedback that tells me I am on to something! Geddy, Julia, Gilly and Brigitte at the Symposium of Women Performing Europe in Warsaw, March 2022. My first solo performance was based on the last poems Sylvia Plath wrote. I saw copies of poems that poets worked on, famous poems that had many versions before they became what we now know as THE poem. This showed how much work is involved, and still, I had this inkling that if something was well enough felt, thought, seen, the precise words should appear at once. I needed to find the tools and the patience and to have several attempts at the same text. There were so many other voices. I needed to find mine. To recognize it. Whilst singing, dancing, moving, even speaking, it felt easier to find my writer`s voice? Where was my own writer`s voice? For most of my life I have kept a diary, and my friends know me as a letter writer, even today I write handwritten letters and send them by snailpost. When I started here in Grenland Friteater, my diary became a log, an archive, a journal, a repository of pictures, programmes, different kinds of paraphernalia. In the letters we wrote each other in the Magdalena Project you could see something of the same, formal letterhead, crisp yellow paper, typed letter, and, on the bottom half of the page, scribbles in pen, and in more personal words. True for our project, true for our lives. In the early nineties when we started The Open Page, a journal for women in contemporary theatre, I was occupied with the need to make women practitioners write, perhaps for the first time, about their experiences in theatre. Every edition had a different topic, so there was always more than one angle, more than one possibility. From the beginning we wanted a mixture of first time and more experienced writers, scholars and academics. We, in the editorial board, were like midwives, helping the first time articles to be born. By encouraging, sending back, writing or phoning or faxing when the deadline was getting too close, telling the new writers to hang on in there, the reward is seeing your own words in print, amongst many other articles from other artists. There was also something to learn not only from your own mistakes, but also, as an editor, learning to shape, cut, reshape. I keep Virginia Wolfe`s words close to my heart; Give a woman five hundred pounds and a room of her own! Geddy Aniksdal Grenland Friteater

TEATRO NUCLEO Ferrara, Italy Nell'ambito del progetto Erasmus+ Women Performing Europe - The Magdalena Project Across Borders, il secondo Learning Attività Formativa Didattica - "Significato della maternità nel lavoro artistico" si è svolta a Ferrara nel settembre 2021, nell'ambito del Festival Totem Scene Urbane. Le attività consistevano in corsi di formazione teatrale, incontri e Simposio e presentazione del lavoro dei partner. As part of the Erasmus + project Women Performing Europe - The Magdalena Project Across Borders, the second Learning Teaching Training Activity - "Signification of motherhood in artistic work" took place in Ferrara in September 2021, in the frame of the Totem Scene Urbane Festival. The activities consisted in theatre trainings, meetings and Symposium, and presentation of the partners' work. Website of Teatro Nucleo Website of Totem Scene Urbane ____________________________________________ Symposium Immaginiamo questo spazio come un cantiere aperto, in cui mettere in comune le esperienze, le difficoltà, sogni e particolarità del lavoro “al femminile” nel mondo del teatro, inteso come luogo della creazione e come luogo di lavoro, come campo di sperimentazione artistica, politica, culturale. We imagine this space as an open construction site, in which to pool the experiences, difficulties, dreams and peculiarities of "female" work in the world of the theater, understood as a place of creation and as a workplace, as a field of artistic, political, cultural experimentation. Moderato da Augusta Nicoli Maria Augusta Nicoli è specializzata in psichiatria, dottore di ricerca in psicologia sociale, ha ricoperto ruoli manageriali in la pubblica amministrazione nel campo delle politiche di welfare della Regione Emilia Romanga, è un sociale ricercatore e autore di articoli e volumi sui processi partecipativi, sui dispositivi per l'organizzazione innovazione sociale in una prospettiva internazionale e locale. Attualmente è vice coordinatore dell'Associazione Rede Unida International (Brasile). Moderated by Augusta Nicoli Maria Augusta Nicoli is specialized in psychiatry, PhD in social psychology, has held managerial roles in the public administration in the field of welfare policies of the Emilia Romanga Region, is a social researcher and author of articles and volumes on participatory processes, on devices for organizational social innovation in an international and local perspective. She is currently deputy coordinator of the Association Rede Unida International (Brazil). PRIMA PARTE : Cappello introduttivo di Natasha Czertok e Cora Herrendorf, focus sul tema > Di cosa si parla quando si parla di donne a teatro? Dove iniziare? Barbara Luci Carvalho – introduzione al progetto "Women Performing Europe". Marta Jalowksa – Collettivo femminista LGBTQ "Teraz Poliz" (Polonia) Bruna Braidotti – testimonianza di una madre artista teatrale MadrInscena :-interventi degli artisti in residenza Caterina Scotti, Manuela Rossetti, Francesca Mari Associazione AmletA: un'introduzione alla realtà italiana dal punto di vista dei dati FIRST PART : Introductory hat by Natasha Czertok and Cora Herrendorf , focus on the theme > What are we talking about when we talk about women in the theater? Where to start? Barbara Luci Carvalho – introduction to the "Women Performing Europe" project Marta Jalowksa – LGBTQ feminist collective "Teraz Poliz" (Poland) Bruna Braidotti – testimony of a mother theater artist MadrInscena :-interventions of the artists in residence Caterina Scotti, Manuela Rossetti, Francesca Mari AmletA Association: an introduction to the Italian situation from the point of view of data DIVISIONE IN GRUPPI PER AREE TEMATICHE i gruppi riflettono sul tema prescelto e hanno come obiettivo la compilazione di una domanda da presentare agli artisti presenti DIVISION INTO GROUPS BY THEMATIC AREAS the groups reflect on the chosen theme and have as their objective the compilation of an application to be made to the artists present pausa caffè coffee break SECONDA PARTE Ai confini della storia > interventi di Cora Herrendorf e Julia Varley – testimonianze sul lavoro di regia e come attrici di teatro Spazio a domande e riflessioni SECOND PART On the edge of history > interventions by Cora Herrendorf and Julia Varley – testimonies on the work of directing and as theater actresses Space for questions and reflections Ogni anno dal 2015 ospitiamo residenze di 15 giorni, presentando performance studies, spettacoli, workshop. Per il 2021 lo spazio di creazione, condivisione e incontro è stato dedicato agli artisti che portano avanti una riflessione sulla maternità e sul rapporto tra essere madre e performer, troppo spesso motivo di conflitto nella nostra società. Every year since 2015 we host 15-days residencies, presenting performance studies, shows, workshops. For 2021 the space for creation, sharing and meeting was dedicated to artists who carry out a reflection on motherhood and the relationship between being a mother and a performer, too often a cause of conflict in our society. Il rapporto annuale 2020 di Save the Children ha definito le donne madri in Italia "The Balancer". Le donne in Italia hanno sempre più difficoltà a diventare madri, a scegliere la maternità, a conciliare la maternità con il lavoro. La condizione del lavoro nelle arti, in particolare delle lavoratrici dello spettacolo, e ancor più delle lavoratrici autonome e indipendenti, questa difficoltà è ancora più evidente e drammatica a causa di una legislazione carente in termini di contratti, sindacati e sicurezza sociale. Conciliare lavoro e famiglia. Una famiglia sempre più ridotta all'osso, spesso composta solo da genitori, priva quindi della protezione collettiva e comunitaria di cui ha bisogno. Save the Children's 2020 annual report defined women mothers in Italy as 'The Balancers'. Women in Italy find it increasingly difficult to become mothers, to choose motherhood, and to reconcile motherhood with work. The condition of work in the arts, specifically of women workers in the performing arts, and even more so of self-employed and independent women workers, this difficulty is even more evident and dramatic due to deficient legislation in terms of contracts, trade unions and social security. Balancing work and family. A family increasingly reduced to the bone, often consisting only of parents, thus lacking the collective and community protection it needs. Partendo da questi presupposti ci siamo posti la domanda: di cosa ha bisogno una regista, una madre attrice per lavorare sulla creazione senza rinunciare al suo rapporto con i figli? La maternità può essere un valore aggiunto alla creazione? Starting from these assumptions, we asked ourselves the question: What does a she- director, a mother actress need in order to work on creation without sacrificing her relationship with her children? Can motherhood be an added value to creation? Prendendo spunto da altre esperienze internazionali che supportano le artiste e le madri interdisciplinari, abbiamo deciso di aprire uno spazio dedicato principalmente a questo aspetto della produzione artistica in questo momento storico (a causa della pandemia), in cui la vita per le artiste è estremamente difficile, mentre per artiste (e madri) è sempre stato, uno spazio dedicato principalmente a questo aspetto della produzione artistica. Inspired by other international experiences that support interdisciplinary female artists and mothers, we decided to open up a space dedicated primarily to this aspect of artistic production at this historic moment in time (due to pandemic), when life for artists is extremely difficult, whereas for female artists (and mothers) it has always been, a space dedicated primarily to this aspect of artistic production. Come racconta Manuela Rossetti, una delle artiste coinvolte: "La mia esperienza personale riflette drammaticamente la realtà sociale sopra evidenziata. Fin dalla nascita della mia prima figlia, l'effetto sul mio lavoro è stato principalmente che ho dovuto 'dosare' e scegliere progetti teatrali in base al tempo che avevo a disposizione. Pertanto, rispetto alla mia carriera teatrale pre-maternità, la quantità di lavoro è stata drasticamente ridotta, selezionata. La scelta è stata anche logistica. I progetti teatrali non tengono mai conto degli spostamenti delle persone che non sono direttamente coinvolti nel progetto artistico, quindi la copertura delle spese di viaggio, vitto e alloggio in una situazione di viaggio di persone, bambini, mariti o baby sitter è a carico dell'artista, che spesso sembra impossibile da sopportare e quindi risulta nell'artista che rinuncia al fidanzamento. As Manuela Rossetti , one of the artists involved, says: "My personal experience dramatically reflects the social reality highlighted above. Since the birth of my first daughter, the effect on my work has mainly been that I have had to 'dose' and choose theatre projects according to the time I had available. Therefore, compared to my pre-maternity theatre career, the amount of work was drastically reduced, selected. The choice was also a logistical one. Theatre projects never take into account the travel of people who are not directly involved in the artistic project, so covering the costs of travel, food and accommodation in a travel situation for people, children, husbands, or babysitters, has to be borne by the artist. This often seems impossible to bear and therefore results in the artist giving up the engagement. Un altro problema per le artiste in residenza è la mancanza di legislazione (non esiste una figura giuridica per un lavoratore dello spettacolo, che definisce le caratteristiche intrinseche del lavoro artistico) e quindi il conseguente deficit contrattuale, che annulla ogni possibilità di sostegno genitoriale e familiare dallo Stato». Another problem for female artists in residence is the lack of legislation (there is no legal figure for a performing arts worker, which defines the intrinsic characteristics of artistic work) and therefore the resulting contractual deficit, which wipes out any possibility of parental and family support from the State." Gli artisti in residenza A settembre 2021 il Teatro Nucleo ha invitato tre artiste mamme, di età diverse, anche a stimolare un confronto generazionale integrando diversi aspetti della produzione artistica: ricerca, presentazione performativa e incontri pubblici. The artists in residenceIn September 2021, the Teatro Nucleo invited three female artists who are mothers, of different ages, also to stimulate a generational confrontation by integrating different aspects of artistic production: research, performance presentation and public meetings.

Gilly Adamsthe Open Page Gilly Adams (Wales) is co-creator of The Magdalena Project and The Open Page. Website of the Magdalena Project & Open Page Gilly Adams lives in Wales. With a background in theatre, radio and the arts, she now works as a free- lance story facilitator, workshop leader, dramaturg, teacher and independent celebrant, who specialises in creative writing and the development of text and scripts for performance, storytelling and ceremony. She is currently a tutor for the MA in Creative Writing at Swansea University where she teaches life writing, radio drama and writing for the stage. In 2020 she brought her interests together by writing and performing a solo story- telling piece, Mrs Blister changes Boots, an account of walking the five hundred mile long Camino de Santiago in Spain. Gilly was a founder member of the international network of women in theatre, the Magdalena Project, and has for many years been part of the editorial team for The Open Page, the journal of the Magdalena. She was also a long term Artistic Associate of the celebratory arts company, Welfare State International and continues to work with them under the aegis of Dead Good Guides to offer practical workshops in rites of passage. On an occasional basis, she is a secular celebrant, creating and leading ceremonies to celebrate or mark special life events. Gilly visisted us in Warsaw during our week activitiy in March 2022. She participated in the workshops and led some exercices. We talked about her experience in the Magdalena Project and in the Open Page. Questions were raised such as: What can we do to keep working and be useful in a place of optimism and hope? With an exercise called “These times are dark, but still I can love (*this* or *that*)". How to find the right energy for a project, when reality is being discouraging? What role can Hope or Trust play in the pursue of a goal? Here comes part of a text that Gilly wrote for one of the editions of the Open Page called Risking Hope : ____________________________ ______ Poems and Memories I am participating in a poetry workshop in a small arts venue in West Wales. I have signed up at the suggestion of a trusted friend and colleague and my expectation is that we will be invited to write poetry and given advice on how best to do so. In fact, the experience is very different. The workshop leader immerses us in a soundscape of some of the many poems she knows by heart; sometimes there is music too; sometimes we dance; always we pay attention. At intervals there are opportunities for us to respond in writing to the words that have stayed with us after what she calls a poetry dive. We are given opportunities to share what we have written; it can also remain private. Each of us has been invited to bring a significant poem to work with. I have brought an extract from a poem by the American poet, Mary Oliver, whose work I love, but on the drive back to my accommodation at the end of the second day, a poem that glowed during my first great love affair more than fifty years ago pops intact into my head and I am transported back to the pleasure and pain of that experience. So I work with these words on the final day of the workshop and they provoke a powerful, visceral memory; I re-connect with the adolescent me, the young woman who loved poetry and immersed herself in words and I feel again the joy that poetry brings to me, a joy that was battered into submission by formal education and abandoned somewhere along the way. The sensation is vital and fills me with elation and I vow that I will learn a poem by heart every week, that, in particular, I will make the effort to learn the poems that have had meaning for me at special times in my life. I begin with Tennyson's The Lady of Shalott, because this is the first poem that moved me. I was nine years old, I remember, sitting at my desk, listening to a Schools' broadcast with the rest of my class. Something about the rhythm and imagery of the words captivated me and that experience stays in my mind as a shining moment, an introduction to a different world. Now I find that learning all nineteen stanzas is a challenge. The repetition is not always helpful - which verse am I in? - and the words describing Lancelot's armour are arcane, but I struggle on muttering them to myself on car journeys or while I am doing the washing up. Always I am sustained by the poignant beauty of the last few lines and the images that they conjure up for me: But Lancelot mused a little space; He said, "She has a lovely face; God in his mercy lend her grace, The Lady of Shalott". The other gift of the poetry workshop is that I am introduced to unfamiliar poems that speak to this particular period of my life. I am in my eighth decade and it is good to be reminded that "I am not done with changes or with quiet joy", unless I choose to be, unless I succumb to inertia or the pain in my knees. I want to be present and to pay attention to the day's possibilities, the minutiae of the ordinary that is so essential a part of the texture of life, even though there is a danger that a preoccupation with home and hearth can obscure the yearning to contribute to something more important. I want to be alert too to opportunities for kindness, whilst recognising my capacity for failure in these endeavours. I know that these are my aspirations, but, in truth, it is a bit of a struggle. Two steps forward, three steps back. And the idea of steps makes me think about the stairs in my house with their sharp turn and uneven treads. I have to concentrate and count them as I descend to avoid tripping and damaging myself. Is this some kind of metaphor, I wonder? At the very least it poses the challenge of how one keeps bold and optimistic in the face of limitations to the body's capacity and an occasional shortfall in energy. At my age, it is only too easy to embark on a threnody for lost youth, for the beauty of our youthful faces and bodies that we did not celebrate because we did not understand that they were a temporary gift; to feel sadness for missed opportunities and relationships that no longer thrive; to lament those I have loved who have left me through death or for more pragmatic reasons. Memory is so slippery and misleading. Why do I remember this and not that? Why is this story vivid, but not that one? The memories I cherish are strung together like a fine and intricate necklace. Sometimes important events fade but the heart holds the best and the worst. Tears come but also the gentle upward movement of the lips, the fine creasing of the lines around the eyes that signifies a gentle smile, the quiet pleasure of the remembrance of love, of friendship, of special moments These are diamonds, real or imagined, that illuminate my life. And yet, whilst memory, however tricky, is the essential fabric that holds our lives together, and the potential loss of it is terrifying, it is also necessary to make psychic as well as literal space. To clear away. Become unencumbered. Let go. To walk more lightly in the world. In the context of hope in action, what is the significance of de-cluttering, as it is now so fashionably called? Is it a positive, life affirming action? Is it connected with the hope for a good end? The hope not to be a burden to those who come after? The need to feel completion? For me, there is a strong connection with the rites of passage work I do, the need to mark life events and the gestalt of things. Surely there is optimism in disencumbering? Making oneself lighter to move forward. Metaphorically emerging into the light. Like Pilgrim dropping his bags. Getting rid of attachment; finishing unfinished business that lingers and contaminates. Coming to terms with the past - not just what has been done but what was left undone - letting go in order to concentrate on, make room for, what is happening now and what one can do NOW. To find energy for these things. I wish that it were possible to avoid the news with which we are bombarded every day. It is so easy to become depressed by the state of the world, to feel paralysed and impotent, to lose agency in one's own life. To block it all out as if singing loudly with one's hands over one's ears. And yet it is impossible to ignore so much of what is happening, impossible to behave as though untouched by what makes one angry, hurt, ashamed. It is necessary to fight passivity with passion. Passionate anger leads to action and change. Passionate anger can take us out onto the streets to protest against the folly of governments or the perpetuation of injustice. Passion can make us speak up for what we believe. Passion inspires us to take risks. Passion connects with hope and optimism. I find a summons to action: Don’t just stand there with your hair turning grey. Soon enough the seas will sink your little island, So while there is still the illusion of time, Set out for some other shore. No sense packing a bag. You won’t be able to lift it into your boat. So give away all of your collections. Take only new seeds and an old stick. Send out some prayers on the wind before you sail. Don’t be afraid, Someone knows you are coming. An extra fish has been salted. Mono Santacroce

BRIGITTE CIRLA the Open Page Brigitte Cirla (France) is a co-creator of The Magdalena Project ad The Open Page. Website of the Magdalena Project and Open Page Brigitte Cirla is a singer, musical theatre director, choirmaster and voice teacher. She runs the musical theatre company Voix Polyphoniques, which she created 30 years ago. Website of Voix Polyphoniques She directed more than 25 performances, and pursues a cultural artwork with the schools of disadvantaged neighbourhoods of Marseille. She is part of the adventure The Magdalena Project from its very beginnings, she lives in Marseille and her company is settled in La Friche La Belle de Mai. She has taken part in two of our gatherings (in Poland and in Denmark) in collaboration with the Nordisk Teaterlaboratorium, where she has led voice workshops and talks. Questions were raised such as: - How experience is being passed on to the next generation? and how does this transition works? - Out of which necessities does a project start and what keeps it alive? Here is a text that Brigitte wrote about the joy of creating, the necessity of transmission. She shares with us some stories of the beginning of the Magdalena project, and gives us some precious advice for who wants to organise an event or build up a project. Workshop of Brigitte Cirla in WarsawPicture by Edith Van den Elzen “My joy is unbroken” There are so many different stories to describe the Magdalena project, and telling this adventure from here in 2022, is always a way of rewriting and reinterpreting this story. Several things stand out to me strongly: we were all from the same generation, we were all in alternative theater/music groups, we were all becoming professionals, and we all felt we were alone in the face of a silent and denied social injustice. We were crossed by all these questions concerning our place as an artist, as a woman, as a mother, in front of an unbeatable glass ceiling, we did not have the listening or the support of our partners or colleagues because no one understood what we were experiencing, intimately, and we ourselves didn’t necessarily have the words. I have often said that it was rage that had founded the Magdalena project and that there originated its profound necessity. It is inaccurate, it was not just that, there was also an appetite for creation, for work, an enormous desire to work, to create, to make one’s place, to find the means, to live from one’s work, to present one’s works. And the task for each, alone, was superhuman. Meeting each of us was groundbreaking and gave us immeasurable energy; I remember being amazed to realize that my concerns, my discrepancies were not only mine but those of women artists in general. The times were different, it was not glamorous to defend feminist issues, even with our partners, our directors and our audiences... It was not commercially beneficial either, not in fashion, it was complicated and it projected us even further to the margins of the alternative system. It is important to realize this because the theoretical reflection, the putting in words, the writing, the putting in perspective only came in a second time, after the creation of MP. We had to think about what we were groping for, without model, without reference, and there we discovered the discussion, the confrontation, all the differences we had, the importance of cultural antagonisms, the semantic value of a word, the symbols so different for each, we discovered how much what seemed obvious and simple to us, could be problematic for the other... and in these meanders of communication, we sought and found how to continue together, how to carry a project without agreeing on everything and even sometimes without agreeing at all. Because what carried us, what united us, was vital for us, and essential and there was no other option, no other alternative to carry our voices. We who were speechless, without words, without speech, without recognized legitimacy, have gradually learned, first to listen to each other, then to let each other speak. We no longer wanted any words to be silenced or repressed, and we had to let out waves of logorrhea. At that time, the «Round» appeared, a circle that gives the floor for a specific time to each without comment or interruption. It is an exercise that seems surreal today, because it is long, it takes time, it immerses most people in listening to others and in listening to the echoes made by the words of others. It curbs emotional reactivity and allows thought to unfold. But it is also a radical way of giving everyone a voice, especially those who would not have allowed themselves to do so. Then came the necessity of writing, and it was The Open Page, a newspaper that asked artists to move on to the written word, to leave traces, stones on the path that others could consult. The Open Page was one of the important means of exploring this work of thought, of reflection on our art, our place, our lives. The other founding principle of the Magdalena project is "do it". We started with this, without really thinking; Jill Greenhalgh proposed a meeting of 38 women from 15 countries for 3 weeks in 1986 to also create a laboratory/show together without leading.It seemed incoherent and impossible but behind this bet, everyone went to work for 3 weeks and it was never discussed. One of the things I learned in the Magdalena project is the commitment to create, to work, to do. I know, as an artist, that I have to set foot on the set physically and search with my body and my voice to trace the threads of the beginning of a creation. We did the same with MP, we used the creative tools we knew to grow this network, with the deep conviction that the solutions are always found in the process of construction or creation. The themes chosen for meetings, festivals, workshops always came from our obsessions and questions. Friendship, respect, fidelity, benevolence are born of shared tasks and have grown with projects, difficulties, time. Anyone who has ever come to a MP festival has always said the same words: ‘it is different from other festivals.’ There are several principles of difference that have emerged from practice as evidence: Having participated in several festivals (at least 2) before creating an event yourself, the guest artists come for the entire duration of the festival, workshops, and shows included and not only for the performances, the importance of transmission, workshops, discussions and always a space for work in progress, risk-taking. One of our greatest strengths is the exponential power of contamination rather than the capacity for conviction or persuasion. The women who come in a MP meeting, choose themselves to create other meetings in their own country that is how MP 2nd, 3rd and even 4th generation were born and that other projects develop that completely escape the initial seed. The Magdalena project is at the beginning the creation of a generation of women, greedy and impatient who did not want to wait for a place and decided to create it and support each other. At the beginning, The MP is the creation of a generation of women, greedy and impatient who did not want to wait for a place and decided to create it and support each other. This generation has often developed its artistic work through long learning processes and «of craftsman at work» traditions, the awareness that creative work is slow, laborious and requires years of uninterrupted practice, that the path is paved with pitfalls and failures, and that nothing is due. We didn't have social networks, the internet, or even cell phones, so the need to be in touch was imperative. We had to meet at all costs and I remember the importance of the waiting time for these meetings, the preparation time but also the time to digest what had been said, seen, felt, exchanged. We had to meet each other at all costs and I remember the importance of the waiting time for these meetings, the time for preparation but also the time for digestion of what had been said, seen, felt, exchanged. Everything has changed and nothing has changed. Women artists still have to fight twice as hard to find their place today. There is more audience and echoes given to our words but they are often drowned in the incessant flow of emotional comments and spontaneous and ephemeral statements. The Magdalena project remains a special place, of risk-taking and yet protected, of discovery, of listening, of meeting and of commitment. . Of this generation of thirty years old, we have become the grandmothers: unwise, always rebellious, always enthusiastic, more impatient than ever because time is running out for us now. I discover a new injustice, that of my age, this place that I conquered, rehearsal after rehearsal, I am proposed to leave it for the "young people". More politely, I am offered to rest! I am not tired of creating, of "doing", of meeting, of exchanging and I even believe that along the way, I have discovered some nuggets. There is a conformism in our society which would like to confine seniors to transmission and teaching as if the source of creation could no longer exist. I believe it's the exact opposite. Of course, there is transmission, but it has always been there, alongside and nourished by the act of creation. What can be transmitted is the “joy” of doing at all costs, “the joy” of joining forces with others, not similar but with the same urgencies, “the joy” of trusting one's desires, and of never giving up. Obstinacy seems to me to be the most necessary quality today for those who take on these still unresolved questions, woman/artist/mother/private/public/ and I will add the artist and "the splendor of ages" (title of upcoming Transit Festival).

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Internationales Frauen*Theater Festival 2020

Collective Empowerment Across Borders

IFTF 2020 is intended to have the character of a festival for an interested audience and at the same time to be a meeting place for women* in theater. Of course, with a global pandemic, this year brought us additional challenges in our work and lives as women* and artists. We have not given up on putting this program together - and have even expanded it by livestreaming, which will also reach those of us who unfortunately cannot be there physically this year. We want to inspire and encourage, and therefore call for not giving up on the feminist argument even in the current situation, but to shape and live through it artistically.

That's why this year, too, theater makers and performers will be present on the premises of protagon e.V. for 4 days, presenting their work and their positions, discussing and leading workshops, and exchanging ideas with the audience, invited active women* from science, art and culture - and with you!Because at the 4th IFTF the theme "Collective Empowerment Across Borders" is in the center and creates our common space: a free space for mutual empowerment, to track down geopolitical, gender-socialized and age-related borders within us and to go beyond these limitations - artistically researching and creatively realizing what moves (us).And you are all welcome to join us!This festival is initiated by Bárbara Luci Carvalho

Work Demonstration Carolina Pizarro

Odin Teatret

A live working logdancing among theoretical and practical, technical and creative, mental and experiential. A constant dialogue with the viewer, who is invited to know the routes for the preparation of an actress in continuous learning. An actress who travels seeking to develop their own theatrical language, keeping in mind the possibility and the consistence of theatrical and life experience ́s transfer.The result is an opening up of the living process of the work of an actress who puts the spectator in the center of the cracks, efforts, searches and discoveries; an actress who dances and builds on the risk of the search, which is revealed through from different disciplines, and offers fine edge of a body that perseveres in the game of physical and vocal actions, improvisation and composition. It shares to the viewer the research behind the building of a show that will serve as a tool for deepening and support other professionals dedicated to stage work.

In this case Carolina, under the direction of Julia Varley, shares what she has collected over years of research: what she writes in her travel log. The medullar knowledge she received in meetings with teachers, and the woven into the nerves of his political vision according to her origins and social reality, approached from the point of view of who is learning.“The oriental kaki is an ancestral tree dating from thousand years ago. You can take to a 70 or 80 years old tree and its fruits, without exception, will be bitter. Only when they are more than 100 years its first sweet fruit starts to ripen. Then, what does mankind do to have sweet fruits earlier? They go to an old tree and cut the sweet fruit ́s branch to graft it on a younger tree. Some on them will start to give sweet fruits, while some others will continue giving bitter ones. That ́s experience handoverto me”. (Work demonstration’s extract, C.Pizarro)

AVE MARIA - Julia Varley

Odin Teatret

Death feels lonelyA ceremony for the Chilean actress María CánepaThree hundred steps in a few momentsOn the head stony skin.The dead and the transparent flies -what are they? And what do I count?Perhaps death does not take everything away.These verses by Italian poet Antonio Verri sum up the performance. British actress Julia Varley recalls her meeting and friendship with Chilean actress Maria Cánepa. Death itself celebrates the creative imagination and dedication of Maria, who managed to leave a mark.Actress: Julia VarleyProduction: Eugenio Barba AssistantAssistant Director: Pierangelo PompaText: Odin Teatret and quotes by Gonzalo Rojas and Pablo Neruda

Julia Varley works as an actress at Odin Teatret in Denmark. She is also active as a director, teacher, organizer and writer. Before her employment at Odin Teatret she worked in Milan with Teatro del Drago, Centro Sociale Santa Marta and Circolo La Comune and earned her money as a production assistant for film. Together with Odin Teatret, Julia Varley teaches at schools and universities. She brings her experience together in four works, including The Echo of Silence. Since its beginnings in 1986, she has been active in The Magdalena Project, a network of women in contemporary theater. She is also artistic director of the Transit International Festival, Holstebro and editor of The Open Page, a magazine dedicated to the work of women in theater. She has directed several theater productions and served as assistant director for two films. Julia Varley has written two books: Wind in the West - a novel by a theatre character and Notes of an Odin Actress - Stones of Water. Her articles and essays have been published in journals such as The Mime Journal, New Theatre Quarterly and Teatro e Storia.

CORPUS MUNDI - Barbara Luci Carvalho

antagon TheaterAKTion

CORPUS MUNDI is an autobiographical narrative that transcends aesthetic barriers in fluid movements between dance and theater and geographies. A performative account of the experiences of an Afrodescendant female body that transforms personal experiences into a public performance."The door is open... I hear the voice of my ancestors saying, 'Don't forget that you have to take care of the genes of this world and bring life to a body that is constantly challenged to break through social constructions.' You have just begun to create your own history...'"Concept, choreography and performance: Barbara Luci CarvalhoVideo: Jorge BascuñanMusic: Bernhard Bub and Ruben WielschLight and stage: Barbara Luci Carvalho and Bernhard Bub

An antagon theaterAKTion productionBarbara Luci Carvalho is a dancer, actress and lecturer for theater and dance. She has been working in Frankfurt am Main since 2010 and is part of the collective antagon TheaterAKTion. Previously, she studied theater education at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) in Brazil. She is currently studying in the M.A. Choreography and Performance at the Institute of Applied Theatre Studies at the Justus Liebig University Giessen in Hesse. artistic direction of IFTF since 2017.

Black Square – Sonata for keyboard and tape

Wojtek Blecharz & Teraz Poliż

The play is inspired by the text of the same name by the Polish playwright, children's book author, poet and resistance fighter Anna Świrszczyńska (1909-1984). The absurd seemed to her to be necessary for survival; only laughter a perfect remedy against the side effects of reality. Using the method of the prepared keyboard, Blecharz's sound sculpture links the absurd from Świrszczyńska's text with the origins of electronic music and builds a new ambient type on stage. Teraz Poliż' performance brings the forgotten Świrszczyńska back to life.Composition and direction: Wojtek BlecharzPerformers: Dorota Glac, Marta Jalowska, Marta Wesołowska, Kamila WorobiejCostumes: Marta Szypulska

TERAZ POLIŻ is the first professional theater company in Poland consisting only of women. The ensemble was founded in Warsaw in 2008 as an independent group that brings together creative women connected with theater. Actresses Marta Jalowska, Dorota Glac, Adrianna Kornecka, Dominika Strojek, Kamila Worobiej and directors* Ula Kijak and Marta Miłoszewska were members of the first hour. The ensemble often addresses issues such as exclusion and abuse and regularly participates in actions that address children and young people. It produces theater performances, happenings, concerts and performative readings, and organizes theater workshops and discussions. Since 2015, the group has been engaged in historical research projects aimed at restoring the memory of women who have significantly contributed to Poland's contemporary art and world cultural heritage. The group embraces non-hierarchical organizing principles and continuously explores various collaborative structures both on stage and within the group.

Workshops

Symposium, "Womxn Across Borders"

Pandora's box, video installation at the IFTF 2020

Pandora's box at IFTF 2020

The video installation Pandora's Box is part of the Internationales Frauen*Theater-Festival 2020. It is the first edition that shows video and performance artists working from home from all over the world.The video installation takes up the pandemic challenges of womxn artists. It shows the individual experiences of their own artistic projects in the context of global restrictions. It poses the question of hope and outlines first answers.Renata Pegorer - "Quem sou" and "Carecas"Laís Aranha - " Cat's Cradle" and "Casa"Terezinha Malaquias - "NA POSE"/"IN DER POSE"Pleun Gremmen and Edith van den Elzen - "This work may contain nudity, do you want to proceed?"z.H. Eva Kessler - "(save me) not - an audio theatre of women and fiction"Barbara Schaefer - "Barbed Wire In Between - A Journey in Awareness"Joana Tischkau - "Colonastics"Alyona Mamay - "How to be"Video made by Edith van den ElzenPandoras box logo by Pleun Gremmen

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Internationales Frauen*Theater Festival 2021

Una A Una, a workshop by Ana Barros

Symposium, "Womxn Performing Selves"

Pandora's box, video installation at the IFTF 2021

Pandora's box at IFTF 2021

Pandora’s Box is the feminist container of the festival; a space that gathers 15 films and video installations by artists during the pandemic. Are you ready to open the box? Then climb the steps to its tin wall and enter a space between fiction and reality... Witness life stories of murdered women in Germany, marvel at space travel in fleshlight, mourn empty paradises, observe the intergenerational growth of compost, encounter artificial intelligences and alter egos, and don’t miss how the figure of the “pretty woman” is created in Hollywood films! Once you’re inside, make yourself comfortable on the cosy seating and check out our permanent programme. More information about the artists and their works is available at the entrance and you can stay as long as you like.

Video artists

The Roots - Warsaw

Pandora’s Box is the feminist container of the festival; a space that gathers 15 films and video installations by artists during the pandemic. Are you ready to open the box? Then climb the steps to its tin wall and enter a space between fiction and reality... Witness life stories of murdered women in Germany, marvel at space travel in fleshlight, mourn empty paradises, observe the intergenerational growth of compost, encounter artificial intelligences and alter egos, and don’t miss how the figure of the “pretty woman” is created in Hollywood films! Once you’re inside, make yourself comfortable on the cosy seating and check out our permanent programme. More information about the artists and their works is available at the entrance and you can stay as long as you like.

"The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is – it's to imagine what is possible." Bell HooksThe Roots Symposium is a space where women and AFAB individuals working in the cultural field will come together - practically and/or theoretically. As part of the symposium, they will share and exchange their professional experiences, observations and conclusions regarding the importance of herstory, lesstory and queerstory in the construction of one's identity. During the symposium we will discuss issues around discovering our own stories and using them in our work as well as the empowerment journey of reclaiming the feminine voice. We will also look at what we have gained and what we can still gain by creating together, showing support for each other instead of competing and thus strengthening the presence of women and queer people in culture.

The Roots Symposium

The Roots Symposium

"The Flying Carpet" - work demonstration, Julia Varley

"Polskie Halloween"Karolina Micuła, Agnieszka Małgowska, Monika Rak and Kaja Janiszewska

Workshop by Agnieszka Małgowska and Magdalena Staroszczyk on lesbian archives