World Congress Update: 10/8/08

Jonathan Abarbanel reports:

1. We are about where we were in Sofia in terms of pledges of money and in-kind services; that is, around $100,000 of an estimated need of $355,000-$400,000 (current draft budget is $355,000).

1A.--The distinguished legal firm of Kirkland & Ellis--of national repute--has agreed to handle any matters of legal review, including VISA ISSUES, on a pro bono basis through Lawyers for the Creative Arts.

1B--A few additional personal pledges of delegate funding--approx. $2,500 per--have been made, but the main campaign for individual gifts has not been made yet.

1C--We have received informal indications of grant support from two foundations but still are awaiting formal confirmation and "how much." Neither one will be THE one gift that makes it all possible, but every little--or not so little--bit.

2. Money aside, there has been some fruitful progress.

2A. A very important figure in commercial theatre, Steve Traxler, President of Jam Theatricals, has pledged personal and organizational support, details still to be arranged. Steve has indicated to me likely monetary support plus his own active participation in opening both local and national doors (read Broadway League). Jam, based in Chicago, are producers of SPAMALOT, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, NOVEMBER, THE SEAFARER, etc. Steve is on the Goodman board, and Goodman Exec. Dir. Roche Schulfer has pledged Goodman's support (including $5,000 cash). Roche, in turn, is president of the League of Chicago Theatres. So, while this is somewhat old news, it is an extremely high-powered pair of supporters. Steve, Roche and I will meet soon to create an active plan. Roche, for example, has suggested he can take the Congress plan to certain select members of his board. This might prove more productive than endless Foundation applications.

2B. Partnership discussions with the Chicago Humanities Festival continue.

2C. Chicago remains intent on securing the 2016 Olympic Games, which makes the prospect of a meeting of international journalists in 2010 appealing--an opportunity to promote the Games upon which we can capitalize.

3. These positive aspects notwithstanding, it goes without saying that the climate for fund-raising has grown sharply more difficult in the last few months/weeks/days/hours/minutes (choose one).

3A. It is too early to know, or to assume, how the global economic climate change may affect the WC prospects.

3B. But undue negativity is no more useful than undue high expectations.

3C. We still are far from the fail-safe point on this project.

3D. Ultimately, the project success may rely on an individual giving campaign. Even in hard times, it may be easier to secure many gifts of $1,000-$2,500 than large leadership gifts.

4. Local conditions--that is, Chicago specifically--are going slow at the moment because:

4A. My expected chief assistant for the individual giving campaign, Kelly Kleiman, is working full-time running an Obama campaign office (she's organizing the Iowa get-out-the-vote effort). Kelly, a lawyer by training, is consultant on not-for-profit fundraising when she's not being a theatre critic.

4B. The League of Chicago Theatres has been without an Executive Director since July (actually just hired one last week). While the support of the League is not in question--certainly not with Roche Schulfer's involvement--it DOES mean I'll need to retrace my steps via an introductory/informational meeting with new ED to bring her up-to-speed.

4C. None of these are major problems, but the local and national focus IS elsewhere for the next few weeks.

World Congress update--8/15/08

From Jonathan:

Slow, measured progress is being made. The exciting updates are that
(1) we now have one of Chicago's oldest, distinguished, conservative law firms--Kirkland & Ellis--representing us pro bono on visa matters and contracts; and
(2) Steve Traxler, president of Jam Theatricals, has signed on with enthusiasm in support of the World Congress. Jam, as you may know, is the Chicago-based lead producer on MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT (the cash cow) as well as AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, THE SEAFARER and NOVEMBER among other productions.

To have Jam supporting us is another door--big door--open to the Broadway League as well as to Chicago resources. Steve and I still are discussing the exact nature of Jam's participation, but Steve is open to some combination of cash, influence and joining the Host Committee . . . perhaps all three.

Steve also is a member of the Goodman Theatre board and a close personal/professional associate of Roche Schulter, the Goodman's Exec. Dir. Roche also is president of the League of Chicago Theatres. The Goodman itself has pledged $5,000 cash.

New Critics Seminars 2008/09

The International Association of Theatre Critics hosts New Critics Seminars for professional theater critics under the age of 35 in various locations around the world. The goal is to foster international exchange, nurture young critics and share information about the field of professional theater criticism. All eligible members of ATCA are welcome to apply.

The director of IATC seminars selects up to 12 participants for each seminar. No more than one U.S. critic may attend any one seminar. If you have participated in a seminar before and are still under the age of 35, you are welcome to apply again, though preference will be given to those who have never attended an IATC seminar.

Upcoming Opportunities:

September 2008: Quebec, Canada, in connection with the puppet theater Festival Maniganses

March 2009: Romania at the Tamási Áron Theatre

June 2009: Amsterdam in connection with the Holland Festival

Interested? Contact Kerri Allen at
allen.kerri@gmail.com

Photo: Holland Festival 2008

D.C. Meeting

Thanks to all who contributed to our meeting on June 20. We had a full house! Ten committee members and three other ATCAns who were observing!

Hope to see you all in Sarasota next April.

Here are the minutes. Click on the top right button to read them as full pages:

6 20 minutes - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: 6 20 minutes

Get Your Passport Ready!

Committee member Steve Capra found lots of theater festivals the world over for us to explore. (Thanks, Steve!) Please let us know if you attend any.




Stamsund International Theatre (Norway)

Liverpool International Theatre Festival (Nova Scotia)

International Istanbul Theatre Festival (Turkey)

Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival (Florida, USA)

Malta International Theatre Festival (Malta)

Children's Imaginate Festival (Scotland)

International Hispanic Theatre Festival (Florida, USA)

International Festival of Puppetry Schools (Poland)

Theatre Festival A Part (Poland)

International Theatre Festival Sarajevo (Sarajevo)

Moldova It Over

VIII BITEI INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF PERFORMING ARTS:
"INTERSECTIONS"

May 24–31, 2008
Chişinău, Moldova (One of the greenest cities in Europe!)

The Eugene Ionesco Theatre, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Moldova, the City Hall of Chişinău and UNITEM the Theatrical Union of Moldova, presents the 8th edition of BITEI International Festival of Performing Arts, with the title "Intersections".

The Festival is structured in 5 sections:

1. Drama ("big" performances, small-format performances, solo-performances)
2. Non-verbal theatre (pantomime, dance, physical theatre etc.)
3. Theatre for children
4. Theatre in non-conventional spaces (street theatre etc.)
5. Musical theatre

For more information, contact:
Petru Vutcarau
Artistic Director
BITEI International Festival of Performing Arts
teatrul.ionesco@starnet.md

New Drama Festival in Slovak Republic

4th Festival of Contemporary Slovak and World Drama
May 9-14, 2008
Bratislava, Slovak Republic

The festival of contemporary Slovak and world drama, "Nová dráma/New Drama Festival", was established in 2005 as an annual presentation of the best contemporary Slovak and world drama productions created by Slovak theatre makers. Attended by arts professionals from more than 30 nations each year, the festival offers an overview of contemporary Slovak theatre, interesting insight into Slovak directors and playwrights´ work, a wide range of performances from different regions of Slovakia.

The main program will bring nearly a dozen productions from theatres of all Slovak regions. The new feature of the festival in 2008 is its foreign section. This special section of the program entitled "Focus Russia" is an original presentation of contemporary Russian drama and dramatists and playwrights Yelena Isayeva, Olya Mukhina, Rodion Beletsky, Yuri Klavdiev and Maxim Kurochkin will be in attendance.

Within the Focus Russia project there will be an international conference entitled "Russian Drama in Theatre after 1989“, creative writing workshops, translation workshops, lectures on contemporary drama, staged readings, meetings and discussions with the Russian guests and specialists focusing on Russia from Europe and Slovak theatre professionals. There will be a production of the visiting theatre from Moscow presented within the program.

The final festival program will be available in March 2008 on the Theatre Institute website www.novadrama.sk.

The registered festival guests will be offered free tickets to all performances, free access to accompanying events, meetings and discussions, local transportation in Bratislava and hotel accommodation bookings. Festival provides interpreting assistance, transport from and to airport and visa support if needed.

If you would like to attend the festival, contact Diana Selecká, Registration of International Guests, by March 7, 2008.
E-mail: diana.selecka@theatre.sk
More info at www.novadrama.sk, www.theatre.sk, and the IATC website.

Seminar in Germany: Applications Due 3/12!

The IATC just announced a Young Critics Seminar (YCS) from June 13-19, 2008 in Wiesbaden, Germany.

In addition to the standard included provisions of hotel accommodations, meals and theater tickets, this seminar ALSO offers travel subsidy in the amount of 300 Euros (approx $450).

Preference will be given to early-career critics under age 35, but mid-career critics over age 35 will be considered as well.

The host festival is "New Plays From Europe 2008", aiming to bring in original work from around Europe performed by the original companies. Wiesbaden is only 18 miles from the major German airport in Frankfurt. The language of the seminar will be English, supervised by the IATC's coordinator of YCS's Margareta Soerenson of Sweden and by Juergen Berger, critic of the Munich-based Sueddeutsche Zeitung and the magazine Theatreheute.

To be considered for this YCS, send a resume and a recent review (in English, French or German) to Larry DeVine for processing and selection at ldevine@windstream.net by March 12. Full details are on the IATC web page at www.aict-iatc.org. There is information about the festival itself at www.newplays.de.

Feb 22: Dreaming The Americas

On Friday, February 22, the theatre conference, "Dreaming the Americas" will take place at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, The CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue on 34th Street in NYC. 10 AM to 9 PM.

The theme is "The Body Politic in Performance" and the conference is free and open to everyone.

NYTHEATRE.COM posted an interview of several NoPassport members (including committee member Randy Gener, Caridad Svich, Jason Grote, Oliver Mayer, Otis Ramsey-Zoe) in the site's "nytheatre voices" department:

Mr. Gener's panel is as follows:

1:30 PM FRIDAY FEB. 22, 2008
Narrative Connections: Dramaturgy, Design and New Technologies

Presentation and panel moderated Randy Gener

With Sam Buntrock, Ping Chong, Kevin Cunningham, Kirby Malone, Jay Scheib

Rapid developments in animation, video-game, digital and new media technologies are profoundly affecting the domain of narrative and scenography.

Presentation: An excerpt from Randy Gener's “Storytelling by Digital Design: How New Technology Transforms the Way We Create Plays.” This multimedia lecture was recently presented at the 2007 Sibiu International Theatre Festival in Romania and the 2007 Prague Quadrennial for World Scenography with the support of the Ford Foundation, through the Institute of International Education.

Panel Discussion: Featuring and exploring the recent works of contemporary American and British theatre artists who have been deeply involved in new media.

The UK Supports Arts Excellence

IATC chair Ian Herbert sent this message to us today:

Today saw the publication of a report by Brian McMaster, former director of the Edinburgh Festival, on how to promote excellence in the arts in England. I think it would be worth circulating it ( or the link to reach it) to all the IATC mailing list - it's full of good ideas and very internationally oriented.

Could you please draw members' attention to the report.

The day before, our actors union, Equity, passed a motion of no confidence in Arts Council England, because they have proposed to cut 200 client arts companies from their list of 900. The companies got three weeks to appeal, then in April they lose some or all of their funding. Any arts group that has not by now planned or even undertaken spending beyond April is obviously badly managed, so the price of good management will be financial suicide.