CALL: Young Critics' Workshops in June

Workshop for Young Critics in Limoges

The International Association of Theatre Critics (AICT–IATC) is organizing a workshop for young theatre critics scheduled to be held June 11–17, 2018, in Limoges, France. The program will be undertaken during the Festival International des Écoles de Théâtre, with support from the Théâtre de l'Union, Centre Dramatique National du Limousin. Potential participants are invited to apply, as soon as possible, to join one of two working groups of six participants maximum per group (one French-speaking group and one in English). 

Candidates must be professional critics between the ages of 18 and 35. All candidates are invited to send an application form completed (see below) with a brief resume (one page), 2 or 3 samples of published articles in media and a letter of recommendation from the person in charge of the AICT–IATC section in their country, if the country has an IATC section.

All documents must be sent in a single PDF file, if possible. Please note the following:

1) Only candidates may apply, not the national representative of AICT–IATC sections. 

2) Candidates must have a good knowledge of one of the two working languages. Please describe your fluency level in English and French.

Participants will be hosted in a shared double room. Noon and evening meals will be provided. You will receive a free entry pass for all the shows and encounters during the Festival. You will also be picked up at the train station.

Working-group monitors will include theatre critic Jean-Pierre Han, assisted by Mariko Anazawa (French-speaking group). The name of the English-speaking monitor will be announced later.

Applications will be accepted until May 8, 2018, and they must be sent to the Director of Seminars, Jean-Pierre Han: jp.han@free.fr. A final list of all accepted applications will be announced as soon as possible, in order to allow time for participants to prepare for their trip, and get visas for France as necessary.

Application Information for the Young Critics’ Workshop

Name:

Gender:

Nationality:

Age:

E-mail:

Other contacts (telephone, mobile):

Language:

IATC-affiliated national\regional section recommending the young critic:

Other documents:

Short CV and main professional experience (newspapers, journals, radio/TV, web, blog, etc.)

Attached samples from articles published or otherwise (2-3)

Other recommendations (should home country be without national association of theatre critics).

CALL: Three Young Critics' Workshops

National Theatre. Iași, Romania 

The International Theatre Critics Association (AICT-IATC) has announced three Young Critics' Workshops to be held in the final months of 2017.

The 10th International Festival of Theatre for Young Audiences: This workshop will be held in Iași, Romania, from October 4 to 10, 2017. The arrival date is October 4 and the departure date is October 10 for a total of a six-night stay. There will be two working groups: one in English and one in French. The size of the groups is limited to ten participants. Monitors will be announced later.

Wuzhen Theatre, China

The 5th Wu Zhen Theatre Festival: This workshop will be held in Wu Zhen (also written Wuzhen and Wu-Zhen, in some sources), China, from October 19 to 29, 2017. The festival will take place between October 19 and 29. The exact dates of the workshop, which will include a six-night stay, are to be announced later. There will be two working groups, one in English (ten-participant maximum), monitored by Octavian Saiu, Adjunct Secretary General of IATC, and one in Chinese (six-participant maxium), monitored by Peng Tao, President of the IATC China section. The waterside town of Wu Zhen has been declared "UNESCO World Heritage Site." According to our colleagues from China, it is the "uniquely beautiful location of the most vigorous theatre festival in China today." Workshop participants will have the opportunity to see performances created by artists such as Katie Mitchell and Oskaras Koršunovas, new works produced by Germany's Schaubühne and Russia's Vakhtangov State Academy Theatre, in addition to a wide variety of productions from Australia, Switzerland, Brazil, Lebanon, Ireland, Romania, and other countries. Alongside such international productions, Wu Zhen Theatre Festival will also offer a varied showcase of Chinese theatre created by young and established theatre artists such as Tian Qinxin, He Nian, Zhou Ke, and Ban Zan.

The 2017 International Association for Performing Arts and Research Festival: This workshop will be held from November 4 to 10, 2017, in Pune, India. The arrival date is November 4 and the departure date is November 10 for a total stay of six nights. There will be two working groups of 6 participants each. The English-speaking group will be monitored by Deepa Punjani, a member of the IATC Executive Committee, and Ajay Joshi. The French-speaking group will be monitored by Mariko Anazawa, Adjunct Director of Training Workshops for IATC. 

American Theatre Critics Association members who are 35 years of age and younger may apply for admission to these workshops by submitting the completed application information below to the Director of Training Workshops, Jean-Pierre Han (jp.han@free.fr). The application is also available on the website IATC website aict-iatc.org). Please send all required attachments to Jean-Pierre Han, jp.han@free.fr before August 15, 2017.

International Young Critics Workshop Application

Name:

Gender:
Nationality:
Age:
E-mail:
Other contacts (telephone, mobile):
Language (English / French):
IATC national section recommending:
Other materials required:

1) Short CV and main professional experience (newspapers, journals, radio/TV, web, blog, etc.)
2) Three attached samples of published articles
3) Proof of membership in the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) or other IATC national section

REPORTS: An American in Sweden

Jay Handelman

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE of the American Theatre Critics Association was represented at the recent executive committee meeting of AICT-IATC last month by Foundation ATCA president Jay Handelman. Held this time in Malmö, Sweden, on the occasion of the biennial festival of the arts, executive committee meetings allow for lively exchanges of ideas related to the business of managing our various associations. When the delegates are not in meetings, they have the opportunity to sample local theatrical offerings and report back to our membership in the United States. As someone with numerous experiences in our international meetings, Handelman served as delegate for Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chair of the International Committee and vice president of the International Association of Theatre Critics. The critic for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Handelman also reported on his theatergoing experience for his readers in Florida.

Margareta Sörenson

The Malmö meeting, chaired by AICT-IATC president Margareta Sörensen of Sweden, was devoted largely to discussions about future opportunities for international seminars for young critics and for established critics, the planned 2016 World Congress, and developments aimed at helping the AICT-IATC webjournal, Critical Stages, to sustain the growth it has experienced since its inception. Now overseen by its third editor, Savas Patsalidis of Greece, Critical Stages has embarked on a project of outreach and development aimed at larger readership and greater impact in cultural discourse.

[The minutes of the executive committee meeting are available in English here, and in French here.]

Jean-Pierre Han

Jean-Pierre Han, the director of seminars who represents France and serves as one of three vice presidents of AICT-IATC, reported that there have been numerous challenges in getting seminars to fruition--there were more than a half dozen proposed in Beijing--due to shifting budget priorities in potential host countries and the cost of travel for potential attendees. There are positive signs that a Young Critics' Seminar will be arranged in Bangkok, Thailand, at the end of October 2015, but there are no additional details. A call was sent by ATCA chairman Bill Hirschman to all American Theatre Critics Association members about an Established Critics event in Novi Sad, Serbia, set for September 2015. The application deadline was June 20. There is also a possibility of an Established Critics' Seminar in Buenos Aires, Argentina, late in 2015, though there is no further information as of this date.

Ivan Medenica

In Beijing last fall, Serbia proposed hosting the 2016 World Congress and leaders continue to discuss the possibility of making it work. According to Ivan Medenica, the representative from Serbia, the country's current financial outlook and upcoming elections may lead AICT-IATC to seek a different arrangement for 2016. Other possibilities are under consideration, including an alternative format for hosting a congress, which is currently under consideration by the leadership of the AICT-IATC executive committee.

Savas Patsalidis

The vision for Critical Stages continues to evolve under the leadership of editor Patsalidis, managing editor Don Rubin, and executive editor Jenkins. With overhead amounting to the equivalent of $10,000 USD, the publication now seeks donations and advertising from individuals and groups. Illinois Theatre has committed to advertising its programs of study on the site through 2016. An ongoing challenge to the journal are the archives of the first ten volumes, which have been rendered inaccessible due to changes in technology and technical personnel. Patsalidis offers a strong vision for the publication's continued improvement, which will ultimately reflect well on the organization.

Finally, the organization has created a logo contest that seeks submissions for a visual representation of the association that takes into account the contemporary dimensions of "live performance" as AICT-IATC engages with them. Submissions should be forwarded to Michel Vaïs, the secretary general of the association, by September 21, 2015.