PragOrient Express

international site-specific project

"PragOrient Express" is a new project of the Four Days association that will include workshops and presentations related to site-specific productions. The project will také place in three European metropolies – Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade. The partners of the project are A4-Nultý prostor in Bratislava, Center for Arts and Culture at Central European University in Budapest and University (Faculty of Theatre) in Belgrade. The team of leaders is made up of individuals from the Czech performing arts community who have several years experience of working on site-specific productions. The main aim of this series of workshops is to introduce students, young theatrical artists, and audience to the site-specific practices of the Czech artists and to help them find ways in which to use public spaces for their artistic expressions.

Lectors include:

Šárka Havličková (artistic director of the Alfred in the Courtyard Theatre Prague) - Artistic Leadership and the Production of Site-Specific Projects

Miroslav Bambusek (director) - The Actor in the Virtual Space
Daniela Voráčková and Phillipp Schenker (Stage Code) - The Actor in the Site Specific

Tomaš Zizka (stage designer, director and pedagogue at DAMU, Prague, director of mamapapa) – Initiated Projects Community Art as Site-Specific Events

The second part of the project is to realize site-specific performance supervised and directed by Czech director (Miroslav Bambusek, Tomas Zizka, Howard Lotker) together with the local artists. Here is the small example of the project, which was successfully realized in October 2006 in Mostar.

MIROSLAV BAMBUŠEK: BYSTANDER EFFECT
THEATRE ACADEMY OF MOSTAR AND THE MOSTAR YOUTH THEATRE

The basic theme of the entire project was the phenomenon of the citizen's involvement during times of danger, and the analysis of the phenomenon that is commonly called the Bystander Effect. How do people and entire communities behave in times of danger? In a broader sense, the general theme was extremism and the possibilities of adequately responding to them.
The expressive environment was the location where Miroslav Bambušek and his team of artists prepared the production, and focused on smaller incidents that occurred on the streets. Everyone had experienced these small scenes - a drunk turns on someone in a tram, a skinhead accosts a Romany, a pickpocket preys on his unknowing suspect. Together they all had the same through line. During this project, the creators relied on their long-term experience with the phenomenon of political theatre (the Balkan Season, Perzekuce.cz) and with the real experiences of people in this area. Many actors from the local Theatre Academy, as well as local citizens, participated in the project.