The labyrinth is a metaphor for life and the thread a metaphor for the breath, or perhaps for the sense of being alive. This was the suggestion made to 28 participants from Italy, Romania, Germany, Wales, Turkey, Bulgaria and Portugal who gathered at the Vila Affori in Milan Nord for a training in COIAPA (Context Oriented Inter-Cultural Applied Participative Arts). Over 5 days a Sensory Labyrinth Theatre performance was created. As now seems natural, the process led to a very heartfelt performance which had a profound impact on visitors and inhabitants.
Many thanks to all who took part and to Robert, Katja and Lorenzo from Arci Varieazioni for hosting and to Bistra Choleva from Biveda, Bulgaria for assisting with the training. Bistra has worked with Cynefin for 5 years as actress and organizer of several projects in Bulgaria and is bringing her experience with Michael Checkov's actor training to strengthen the presence of actors when performing in the Labyrinth.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Porto Revisited
As part of the Tikktika: Playing Beyond Space and Time project, funded by the EU Grundtvig 2 fund, artists Jane Fox and Tomos Barton helped create a Labyrinth in the city of Matosinios, near Porto, Portugal last week. Co-devised with artists from Bucharest, Porto and Paris this was the second of four small Labyrinths that are being created for the project. The first in Paris worked with children in a primary school to transform their school in the last week of term to a 'Republic of the Imagination' and as a setting to tell the story of the lost child. The one last week in Portugalwas designed to launch a new second chance school and the audience were the pupils of the school enetering it for the first time through the Labyrinth!
Thank you to Luis Mesquita Isabel Leal and Isabel Moreira for hosting such an innovative application of the Labyrinth and thank you to Tomos and Jane for representing Cynefin.
The next Labyrinth will be in Bucharest with grandparents and the next in Wales with young parents. The hope is that the materials generated by these Labyrinths will come together to create a children's book an accompanying website and a workshop outline which can be used in schools to look at the issue of playing, lost childhood and the urban environment.
Thank you to Luis Mesquita Isabel Leal and Isabel Moreira for hosting such an innovative application of the Labyrinth and thank you to Tomos and Jane for representing Cynefin.
The next Labyrinth will be in Bucharest with grandparents and the next in Wales with young parents. The hope is that the materials generated by these Labyrinths will come together to create a children's book an accompanying website and a workshop outline which can be used in schools to look at the issue of playing, lost childhood and the urban environment.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The Wonder of the Other - Sofia Labyrinth 2008
"In time, everything you hear will fade into silence.
Everything you see will perish.
Everything you smell and taste will rot,
and everything you touch will break.
But there is that which never breaks, never dies
and can be found in the place from where you are hearing these words
the place where you are looking from
the place where you smell, taste, think, feel, touch from.
Go to the heart of this place.
Find that which never dies."
These are the words that frame the journey of visitors to our current Labyrinth production in Sofia, Bulgaria. A co-production between Biveda and Cynefin made possible by the European Foundation for Culture. Co-devised with ten young local volunteers, twelve Bulgarian actors and six Serbian actors this is one of the most populated Labyrinths Cynefin has made so the large space available to us at the "Chitaliste" or Cultural House in downtown Sofia has been utalized.
There's been a lot of coverage on national TV and we were sold out quite soon. With 7 performances to go the audience reaction is getting stronger...which seems to be a pattern to longer runs.
Everything you see will perish.
Everything you smell and taste will rot,
and everything you touch will break.
But there is that which never breaks, never dies
and can be found in the place from where you are hearing these words
the place where you are looking from
the place where you smell, taste, think, feel, touch from.
Go to the heart of this place.
Find that which never dies."
These are the words that frame the journey of visitors to our current Labyrinth production in Sofia, Bulgaria. A co-production between Biveda and Cynefin made possible by the European Foundation for Culture. Co-devised with ten young local volunteers, twelve Bulgarian actors and six Serbian actors this is one of the most populated Labyrinths Cynefin has made so the large space available to us at the "Chitaliste" or Cultural House in downtown Sofia has been utalized.
There's been a lot of coverage on national TV and we were sold out quite soon. With 7 performances to go the audience reaction is getting stronger...which seems to be a pattern to longer runs.
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