Rhodopi International Theatre Collective, 7 July to 14 August, 2006

[Denis Salter]

 Dear Colleagues, if you are planning to attend this practicum (see below)  in July and August and if you  might
be interested in writing an article about it for alt.theatre: cultural diversity and the stage, would you please get 
in touch with me and or with alt's editor-in-chief, Ted Little (elittle at alcor.concordia.ca)? A quarterly journal that is part of the 
outreach program of Teesri Duniya theatre here in Montréal (go to http://www.teesriduniyatheatre.com),  alt provides a forum for  news and views about intersections between / among politics, cultural plurality, social activism, and theatre. Rhodopi's project this summer, engaging students to adapt the stories of Dionysus in connection with subjects as diverse as Karagoz, the Dervish dances of the Sufis, advancements in digital media, Commedia dell'arte, the Cham Mysteries, Chinese Opera, Meyerhold's Biomechanics, and so on, looks as though it will provide a perfect fit with alt's remit.
Many thanks.
--Denis Salter.
 
The first summer practicum (July 1 to August 8, 2005) of the Rhodopi International Theatre Collective
was an exciting success- a truly rare international 
consortium of teaching artists, scholars, and students
 from organizations such as the Indonesian Institute
of Arts, The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art,
the Yale School of Drama, the Carnegie Mellon School
of Drama, The University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, the Russian Academy of Theater Arts, and the
Komissarzhevskaya Drama Theater of St. Petersburg (in
addition to representatives of the organizing
institutions: UCLA's HyperMedia Studio, Bulgaria's
National Academy for Theater and Film Arts, the
Academy of Dramatic Arts at the University of Zagreb,
Croatia, and The Fourth World Laboratory for
International Theater Research). 

We are pleased to announce that for 2006 (July 7 to August 14), the
multicultural and multimedia course of study has been
extended to include visiting theater artists and
lecturers from Italy, Tibet, and Turkey.

Hosted by one of the most productive regional
companies in the Balkans, the Rhodopi Dramatichen
Theater in Smolyan, The Collective is based just miles
from the border with Greece at the center of the
Rhodopi Mountains  (the birthplace of the mythic
figures that have helped shape the Western view of
theater and performance- Orpheus, Eurydice, and the
cult of Dionysus). Each summer we intend to provide
our students with the necessary tools to
re-contextualize and recreate the legends and folk
tales that have deeply influenced the global gestalt.
We feel that by bringing students to this significant
(and beautiful) location, and involving them in the
exciting discourse that naturally occurs when diverse
cultures meet, we can help shape their creative
processes and internationalize their imaginations for
years to come.

In 2005, participants retold the myth of Orpheus and
its global parallels. In 2006, the students will be
adapting the stories of Dionysus, as they are informed
by workshops and seminars on subjects as diverse as
Karagoz, the Dervish dances of the Sufis, advancements
in digital media, Commedia dell'Arte, the Cham
Mysteries, Chinese Opera, Meyerhold's Biomechanics,
among others.

For a more in depth view of the program, please visit
our web site, www.worldtheater.org. 

If you feel that any of your students would be
interested  or can benefit from our program, please
refer them to the site. If you have any questions
regarding The Collective or student participation,
feel free to e-mail me. Sincerely,
Ben Nadler
The Fourth World Laboratory
for International Theater Research
ben at thefourthworldlab.org

The Rhodopi International Theater Collective
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
Attention: HyperMedia Studio
102 East Melnitz Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90095
www.worldtheater.org

__________________________________________________________
"When a people forget a language, they forfeit the heart of who they  
are and the ability to comprehend the stories that are central to their 
cultural, spiritual and emotional health."--Keren Rice.
____________________________________________________________________
"That's what hybrids were invented for: survival in changing ecologies."--Lisa Doollittle 
_______________________________________________________________________
"To celebrate this award, and the work it recognizes of those around the world, let me recall the words of Gandhi: My life is my message. Also, plant a tree."  Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize for Peace.

__________________________________________________
Denis Salter
Professor of Theatre
McGill University
853 Sherbrooke St. West
Montréal, QC
H3A 2T6
Tel (514) 398 6550
Regular Fax (514) 398 8146
Computer Fax (309) 294 0444
denis.salter at mcgill.ca
d.salter at videotron.ca
__________________
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