RIOTE
Rural Inclusive Outdoor Theatre Education
2017-2019
"Rural Inclusive Outdoor Theatre Education 2" (RIOTE 2), the present project was born out of a previous "exchange of good practices" project (RIOTE).
The partnership members: Teatro Tascabile di Bergamo (Italy), Kud Ljud (Slovenia), Spec.Street (Hungary), Control Film Studio Association (Hungary, the coordinator), Shoshin Theatre Association (Romania), Dartington (UK) and Take Art Limited (UK) and a former partner, Soltis Lajos Színház (Hungary).
The project RIOTE was based on knowledge and skills exchange between performing arts organisations, dealing with adult education through outdoor theatre, physical theatre or other cultural and adult educational practices in rural settlements. The project is, at the same time, based on the research question: 'As performing arts organisations how can we develop our adult educational activity, so we can reach more of our target group?'
The new project, RIOTE 2, will use the experience and outcomes of the previous project to further develop them and to produce three intellectual outputs:
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A practical guide for outdoor theatre,
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A rural touring handbook,
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A film of outdoor theatre in rural environment
These will be presented in each partner country as a complete training program.
The partnership exchanges outdoor theatre education methods to create a new methodology which can be shared on a European level. Outdoor performance is traditionally a good tool to create reciprocal cultural dynamics in rural areas. Some of the partners provide theatre courses or camps for local people in rural settlements. They also offer a "barter” by which we mean a cultural exchange between professional artists and local people, offering their own folk songs, local history or other unique skills. The project's main idea is that outdoor performing experience and educational methods can offer an extraordinary support for rural theatre activities.
Outdoor performing adult education can revitalise culture in socially marginalized environments with proposing: dialogic approach, critical thinking by revealing social problems, trigger the visualization of social change, interactive cultural exchange, empowerment of the community, collective education, development of multiple intelligences, strong pedagogical aspect and collaborative process.
The other aim is to understand the English model of the rural touring network. We intend to observe the English practices to implement the mentioned model in our partner countries on a long-term.
The new English partner, Take Art, will have a conducting role in this research, while the Italian and the Slovenian partners will greatly contribute to the outcome with their long history of outdoor touring. The results will support the Hungarian and Romanian partners to establish a network in their own localities. Shoshin Theatre Association and Control Stúdió will be responsible for preparing a professional background of this network.
The national networks are supposed to meet on a long-term prospective, creating the European Rural Touring Network that sustains as well the impact and the outputs of the project.
PARTNERS
TRAINING
MEETINGS
PHOTOS
VIDEOS
Joint Staff Training - Kud Ljud
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Performance of the Dunaszekcső Temporary Theatre Group
July 2017, in Dunaszekcső, Hungary
Joint Staff Training - Teatro tascabile di Bergamo
7-13 December 2016, in Bergamo, Italy
BOOKS
STREET THEATRE HANDBOOK
Does the world of outdoor theatre enchant you and you would like to make a performance on your own? Are you educating adults through the medium of theatre and would like to get some practical tips or tools? Or are you just fascinated when you see an outdoor performance and would like to read about some of the tricks being used?
Why Don’t We Do It in the Road invites you to enter the world of outdoor theatre through the personal experiences, stories and views of performers, directors and pedagogues from across Europe. The book shares their theoretical thoughts as well as practical advices. It provides tools for analysing existing theatre phenomena and suggests helpful tips and exercises that will help you make a new creation of your own.
The book enables the reader to step into an interactive process of exploration and tries to encourage independent thinking. While hoping to inspire educators, cultural organizers, artists, students and academic researchers the guide combines theoretical texts and personal stories with abundance of illustrations and graphic presentations that make it accessible also to the general public.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
VIDA CERKVENIK BREN graduated in theatre and radio directing from the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana. She has conceived and co-directed several independent theatre, radio, puppet and contemporary dance projects. In 2006 she co-founded LJUD and has since then co-authored and co-directed all its projects as well as co-lead its educational program.
LJUD is an international collective of performers, directors, visual artists and anthropologists, based in Ljubljana (Slovenia), that explores the possibilities of artistic expression in public spaces. Since its formation Ljud has created diverse interactive performances and site-specific projects: from live radio plays to interactive hospital waiting rooms, as well as toured the world with its projects The Invasion and Streetwalker, open air ready-made gallery. Ljud’s main focus lies on developing a reciprocal relationship with its audience, encouraging the spectators to become co-creators of theatre as a game, a ritual and a social event.
Download the book here:
Version for digital reading:
Version for printing:
RURAL TOURING HANDBOOK
A guide to creating a rural touring network in your European region.
It provides a background to the successful rural touring sector in England and will act as a useful practical guide for three of our RIOTE partners; Shoshin Theatre in Romania, Control and Utca- Szak in Hungary, to investigate the possibility of starting similar initiatives in their respective countries.
The Handbook offers advice and information to those who might wish to create a ‘pilot’ rural touring network in their area. It also includes tips on how to support volunteers in rural communities to promote professional touring shows and how to advise theatre companies on what to expect when performing in non-dedicated arts spaces.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
SARAH PETERKIN, Director Rural Touring Take Art, has been running the scheme in Somerset, UK since 1996. She has a wealth of experience in bridging the gap between artists, companies and volunteer promoters to bring some of the best touring work available to small rural communities.
Executive Director, RALPH LISTER, has worked at Take Art since 1989. Ralph has safely steered the organisation to grow from a small rural touring scheme to a multi-faceted arts development organisation working locally, nationally and internationally.
Download the book here:
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
The film is constituted by three units, which can also be seen independently, and they present three theatre groups: Kud Ljud, Teatro Tascabile di Bergamo and Broken Spectacles. The movie presents the fundamental working methods of the companies through archive documents, interviews and crucial moments of the training sessions during the RIOTE and the RIOTE 2 projects.