From 17-18 May 2022, 10 ETC Member Theatres will gather in Prague to kick off Young Europe IV, ETC’s flagship artistic collaboration project for young people.

The events will include a workshop on diversity and unconscious bias for the participants, followed by mentoring programmes for writers included in the programme and a masterclass on classroom plays.

The conference will open with a reception at Národní divadlo’s New Stage of, featuring speeches by Hana Třeštíková, Councillor for Culture at Prague City Hall; Daniela Spinar, Artistic Director of Národní divadlo; Serge Rangoni, General and Artistic Director of Theatre de Liège; and Heidi Wiley, Executive Director of ETC.

In Focus: Ukraine 2022 (10:00 – 10:45) 

A session dedicated to shining a spotlight on artists who remain in Ukraine or have fled the country because of the Russian invasion. Includes lively discussion about ETC’ss deep history of international collaboration in the country, and from ETC Member Theatres that have kept this collaboration alive by hosting Ukrainian artists and collaborating on new shows. There will also be messages from the Ukrainian Artistic Taskforce, based at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin.

Panel Discussion: Diverse-Cities & Diverse Theatre for Europe’s Local Communities (11:00 – 12:45). 

This will take place on The New Stage and will be recorded and later available on demand. A deep dive into the topic of inclusion in theatre, asking not only who is on stage – and who makes our work – but what is driving the working culture in our organisations. How can we make every aspect of theatre a safe space for art and artists, developing strong policies to prevent the misuses of power that have become all too common in the performing arts? What does it mean to be diverse in every part of Europe, and can we agree on one common definition of the term? How do we remain embedded in our local communities – our cities – which are often more advanced and diverse than our own venues? This will feature interventions from:

• Leyla Ercan, 360° Agent for Diversity at Staatstheater Hannover;
• Daniela Špinar, Artistic Director of Narodní Dívadlo - National Theatre Prague;
• Nina van Tongeren, Theatre Maker & Researcher
• Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture (via video)
• Moderation: Evein Obulor - Coordinator of the European Coalition of Cities against Racism & Migration Hub Heidelberg

The conference will continue with Speed Meetings, for fast-paced and semi-informal networking between conference participants. There is then a session titled: TRANSFORMATIONS – ETC’s major EU networking project Milestone 2, to trace the development of ETC’s work in 2022, and the ETC General Assembly for network decision making.

Project Pitching & Calls for Artistic Collaboration (10:00 – 10:45). 

An opportunity for ETC Members and invited guests to put a call out for collaboration on artistic projects, coproductions and other projects with fellow ETC Members.

Talent Market (10:45 – 13:00). 

A chance to meet ETC’s network of Women Directors and Ukrainian artists, the 2022 Scholars of ETC’s Artist Residency Programme and the Winner of the Fast Forward Festival 2021 from Staatsschauspiel Dresden.

Participatory Readings and Q&A with the Authors (14:00 – 15:30). 

A participatory event to discover the two pieces of new European drama that were selected for translation into English, and introduction to a wide European audience, by the ETC Drama Committee. These are:

• Alaska, by Greek stage director and author Evangelos Kosmidis. This is a work in progress performance created in Mariupol, Ukraine, in 2021, including real thoughts and comments from children who face war: Mariupol has been near the front line since 2014.
• ‘Everything OK’, by Slovenian playwright Simona Hamer explores the topics on (un)employment, (im)migration, discrimination and racism, patriarchy, mental health, ageism and loneliness through three intertwined stories.

The conference will conclude a workshop to prepare the forthcoming ETC ‘Roadshow’ travel to CINARS, Montréal, Canada and closing words from conference speakers.

Special guided tour around the Národní divadlo – National Theatre Prague historical building (11:30 – 13:00).

A tour with sustainability expert Michaela Rýgrová and a member of the technical team, with a specific focus on the sustainability renovations that have taken place in the theatre in recent years.

A Bouquet, written by Karel Jaromír Erben and directed by SKUTR (Martin Kukučka a Lukáš Trpišovský). A village, a church, and a plenty of life stories. The most popular of the Czech classics adapted for the stage. First published in 1853, under the title A Bouquet of Czech Folk Tales, it was the one and only collection of poems by Karel Jaromír Erben (1811–1870). Inspired by Czech legends and tall stories, it garnered success back at the time of publication and went on to influence numerous artists.

Lunch at Wittgenstein, written by Thomas Bernhard and directed by Daniela Špinar. This is about a trio of siblings’ love. What cannot be formulated in sayable propositions can only be shown – that is how we may paraphrase one of the statements of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, which served as inspiration for Thomas Bernhard, one of the major Austrian authors, for writing his play ‘Ritter, Dene, Voss’, which we have adapted under the title Lunch with Wittgenstein.

The Father Watches Over the Daughter, written by Ondřej Novotný  and directed by Jan Frič. This is about a seemingly banal situation in the life of a father in the 21st century – taking his daughter to a playground – served for the dramatist Ondřej Novotný as a springboard for his humorous, ironic, yet also serious, essay on the theme of fatherhood and manhood in today’s turbulent times.

Vassa Zheleznovova, by Maxim Gorky and directed by Jan Frič. Vassa Zheleznova is a businesswoman. Vassa Zheleznova is a mother. Vassa Zheleznova’s husband is dying. Vassa Zheleznova’s children are no good. Luckily, her oldest daughter returns from abroad and perhaps could set things right. Is there any FUTURE for Vassa Zheleznova?