Bitef

40th Bitef 2006 1 New Theatrical Trends I 7th Bitef Polyphony 116.09 - 29.09.2006 |

VARIATIONS FOR LIFE The Adventure of Theatre in Education for Social Change 2000-2006 Open workshops with lectures, presentations, projections, performances and reviews of preceding events The seventh Bitef Polyphony, as in previous years, discovers, explores and presents, through participants exchange, the realms of new theatrical trends emerging and developing from alternative and informal engagement of theatre artists and various experts with the youth in different development programs primarily in education, social work, interculture and other fields of importance for everyday life. The first Bitef Polyphony was held f in 2000 as a presentation of the ’i regional program Art For Social Change - Play Against Violence ууяД | For Life. It was dedicated to artists /' Æ of Southeast Europe and their work ||| has been presenting different national, regional and international у projects, providing a rich experience exchange via workshops and gatherings. Every Bitef Polyphony has been the inspiration and initiation of new actions and projects to become realized in the following Polyphony, thus forming a cyclic structure of continuous development. Polyphony's touchstone has always been Bach's music and an abundant variety of its interpretations. These were seeds and the play from which the Bitef Polyphony theme connected with the main Bitef Festival theme would spring, and from which the Bitef Polyphony program variations on the theme would arise. This search has as its main purpose to show how new tendencies in theatre stems from the fact that there are many diverse variations on the theme of searching through an infinite space. Some of them lead to infinite searches, some of them lead to finite searches, while some others hover in between. The seventh Bitef Polyphony, as Bitef Festival that has been going on for 40 years, will in a way sum up and present all themes of previous years and expose this seven year long adventure in theatre in education for social change 2000-2006.

For Life were the words intentionally chosen to signify the essence of first Bitef Polyphony activities, and the essence of this seventh polyphony, which with its contents and its name presents the variations of the main theme, and thus stands the word Variations. On the other hand, these words appear in titles of two Bitef Festival plays: the opening play "bODY_rEMIX/gOLDBERG_vARIATIONS" and the closing play "Ballet for Life". It is not therefore, accidental, that this seventh Polyphony is named Variations for Life, and in the 40 years of Bitef Festival Adventure are its seven years of Theatre in Education for Social Change interwoven. The seventh Bitef Polyphony is speciaily dedicated to burning issues of 4EL everyday life of young people, their growth, education, social integraJ tion, delicate questions and topics, the gap between generations, ,у4Кщ , people, nations, cultures...but -Jr f • above all it is dedicated to permaf nent attempts to preserve continuЩШ щ ity of program concept and to make « ■# grounds for mutual actions and disÆ coveries for new, theatre tendencies and bonds so important and valuable for life. This year's Bitef Polyphony is focused on the one such attempt: the cooperation of regional centers for drama and theatre in education in Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are all members and national centers of the IDEA International Drama/Theatre and Education Association The National Center ASSITEJ of Serbia, a member of the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People, will be presented on the Bitef Polyphony for the first time. The 7th Bitef Polyphony begins on September 16th - the plays, workshops, lectures and discussions embody the essential theme, i.e. composition which will then be developed, varied and continued through different open plays, workshops, presentations, gatherings, lectures and performances until the closing date September 29th, These variations will open a new cycle which will be integrated into the next Bth Polyphony in 2007.