The NYC World Theatre Day Coalition is comprised of representatives of theatre companies and advocacy groups whose common goal is to promote World Theatre Day within the New York City theatre community. The primary functions of the coalition are to organize events, to distribute the WTD message, and to coordinate a central location for companies to communicate their World Theatre Day plans. Visit us at our website www.nycwtd.org.
This year we are planning a series of Flash Mobs all over NYC on World Theatre Day as tribute to the rich world theatre day flash mob tradition. To RSVP to partake in a flash mob email info@nycwtd.com. There will be 7 in total and they are as follows:
The Message
Join Us in Song
All the World’s a Stage
Zip Zap Zop
[UNTITLED]
Cheers to You
The Kiss
We are also planning a Celebration & Networking Event at The Houndstooth Pub located on the southeast corner of 37th Street and 8th Avenue from 5pm – 8pm on Saturday, March 27th. At the event we will hear the reading of the NYC Mayoral Proclation, watch teh premiere of the Dame Judi Dench multilingual WTD message video produced by The Internationalists, hear Lynn Nottage’s International Message read by a special guests, and give everyone a chance to meet and mingle with others interested in international world.
For information about other World Theatre Day Events happening in NYC see our website www.nycwtd.com.
Best,
Amanda Feldman
Keep up the good work, Amanda, and I’d expect no less from one of the greatest theatre cities in the world!
Today I received this email from Susan Weiss, an ex-pat British Colombian who now lives in Mexico. Everyone give Mexico a big welcome to the World Theatre Day Party!
WORLD THEATRE DAY 2010 IN MEXICO – A FIRST EVER STEP!
These words are especially appropriate for Mexico: “But theatre…provides opportunities to educate and inform. All it needs is a space and an audience. Theatre has the ability to make us smile, to make us cry, but should also make us think and reflect”. Dame Judi Dench – excerpt from her World Theatre Day message. (I admit it! I am a huge ‘FAN” of Dame Judi Dench).
On the occasion of World Theatre Day 2010 I am honored and extremely excited to help launch Mexico as a first-time participant in this magnificent “world event”.
Mexico, ah…there are so many Mexico’s. The richness of Mexico and her culture, is her people. Mexican culture is also very complex.
There is a long and bold history of theatre is this country that spans two centuries. And, in this Bi-Centennial year, Mexico is celebrating its culture and its theatre all over this country in cities, towns, “pueblitos”, “plazas”, churches and “Casas de la Cultura” with great pride, dignity and above all, honor.
Great writers such as Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes; directors and innovators such as Luis de Tavira, (who created Casa del Teatro, a training ground for Mexican “creativity” by nurturing young writers, actors, directors, technicians, designers and teachers and inspiring the next generation); these “Mexican giants” all deserve a hearty round of applause.
My first “live theatre” experience in Mexico City was attending the play “Encuentros”, (Encounters), written, directed and acted by Guillermo Iván, Erik Heyser and Ragnar Conde and presented at the Casa Azul in Colonia Condesa. Casa Azul is a theatre centre, made up of many rooms, (it was at one time a Spanish conquest era “dignified Hacienda”). In one of those rooms, (9 feet by 12 feet – at the most), sitting in a circle on plastic chairs, 25 audience members anxiously waited for what was coming next; imagine, sitting in a room with only one door and one light bulb hanging from the high ceiling. BANG! The one door slammed shut.
What came in the next 90 minutes was gripping, gutsy, gritty and at times a ghastly encounter with three characters that had been kidnapped, (not knowing each other). It was raw and powerful emotion – that seared everyone in that 9 by 12 foot room.
And what could possibly be next? At the end of the “encounter”, a video tape rolled, recapping the events of the play and the audience was “compelled” to decide the fate of just one of the “kidnapped”.
My heart almost stopped, and, when the light bulb came on for the “Bows” I thought to myself, quietly, “Art imitating Life” or “Life imitating Art”? After all, this powerful, contemporary, in your face theatre piece, spoke volumes about the everyday life in this city.
From this theatre experience Ragnar, Guillermo, Erik and I have become fast and forever friends. I help them in any way I can to promote their work in theatre; they are visionaries, and they carry the “torch” for theatre in Mexico with immense honor, dignity, pride and humility. They are also “fearless” in their collective quest to inform. I love you guys, “un abrazo muy fuerte!”
In my current adopted home of Querétaro, Mexico I met another young, creative, ambitious and innovative Mexican theatre man: Alonso Barrera. Alonso Barrera is a writer, an actor, a director, a businessman; (he created La Fabrica, a theatre space in Querétaro), to further his passion of and for theatre.
When I first met Alonso he was writing, (with the Grade 11 Drama Club of the John F. Kennedy American School of Querétaro), a theatre piece in English. The acting, design, writing and “entrepreneurship” (securing sponsorship for the production), of these young people was remarkable. What an experience for these adolescent students, their families and the community of Jurica. I too applauded them one and all.
I asked Alonso if he and La Fabrica might participate in World Theatre Day 2010 and in true Mexican fashion, he said YES. (“No”, does not work in the vocabulary here). To this end he has secured the 50th performance of the play “La Estacion” performed by “Barón rampante” on WTD, March 27, 2010 in Querétaro, Mexico.
What is even more outstanding is that there will be no tickets sold; the audience will be asked to make a donation, of whatever they can afford, at the show. This is dedication and shows entrepreneurship on the part of La Fabrica and “Barón rampante”.
It is with great pleasure that I shall show my support by attending, (and taking a group of friends with me), to this historic, first entrance of Mexico onto the world theatre stage in celebration of World Theatre Day, 2010.
To Alonso, “Barón rampante” , La Fabrica, I thank you for your dedication, passion and I honor you for sharing your theatre with us!
Many, many, years ago I was invited to Jordan to “produce an event”, and I share an inside “glance” of one of my conversations: “If you can transport me from my everyday life, for three hours, I shall be eternally grateful to you”….Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan on the occasion of an audience with her planning for AIDA at the football stadium in Amman, Jordan to benefit her causes for women and children in Jordan. (SCW: alas this did not come to pass, the “Intifada” created another kind of theatre). Her Majesty’s words are forever burned onto my soul.
In closing, I say to all people, everywhere, “Run, don’t walk”, beg, borrow, barter, do whatever you need to do; please support theatre in your community, especially on March 27, 2010.
BUT, please do not stop there, continue to put your bottom and your friends’ bottoms in seats in theatres; by doing this you will support art, be informed and most of all “you will be transported, I guarantee!”
Susan C. Weiss
Producer, writer, entrepreneur; (passionate for theatre, wherever I am – right now in Querétaro, Mexico)
PS – and a very important one! A very special thank you to Rebecca Coleman of Vancouver, Canada, (herself), a theatre producer, marketer and publicist extraordinaire for introducing me to WTD; “una abrazo fuerte” Rebecca, from all of us participating in WTD 2010 in Mexico.
I also celebrate WTD 2010 with you in Vancouver, (in spirit), from Mexico. “VIVA EL DIA MUNDIAL DEL TEATRO! VIVA!”
Thanks, Susan. I look forward to your photos and video.
Hello, my name is Scott Florence and I am the artistic director of a theatre company in Ottawa called A Company of Fools.
Every year (since 2002) we have hosted the OTTAWA THEATRE CHALLENGE on March 27 to celebrate World Theatre Day.
We invite theatre companies from across the region – professional, emerging, community, theatre training centres, French and English companies – to participate in a “contest of creation”. Each participating company has 48 hours to create and rehearse a new piece of theatre. Participating companies exchange “Inspiration items” to spark the creative effort (and ensure everyone is working on a new piece in the 48 hour period!) and then two days later the results of the creative frenzy are showcased at the National Arts Centre’s Fourth Stage. Proceeds are donated to charity; the charity is chosen by the winner of the previous year. That’s right, we pretend it’s a competitive format – but the competition is very tongue in cheek, and the judges are expected and encouraged to take bribes to sway their opinion.
I just discovered your blog and am very excited by it – I look forward to reading on previous posts to find out what is happening elsewhere around World Theatre Day!
If you live in Canada, you’ll probably recognize Jackson Davies.
Jackson will be hosting a series of panel discussions on Saturday, March 27, at the Central branch of the Vancouver Public Library. Come to the Alice MacKay room at 1, 2, and/or 3 pm. Admission free.
This article is reprinted in full, with permission from the authour, from 2am Theatre.
Odds are the first four words ever spoken were “tell me a story.” And the next four? “Once upon a time…” It’s why we have cave paintings, sculpture, theatre, film, television both scripted and “real.” Everything in our world is crafted to communicate something, whether memory or information, association or emotion. Everything–and everyone–has a story.
As theatre artists, no matter our discipline or technique, we find, create and tell stories to our audiences. What if we let them have a turn? Would that lead to a stronger bond, a better appreciation of what we all do? Could it let them get a glimpse behind the curtain, a look at the “process” to see how it’s done?
That’s the idea–and the meta-idea–behind 360.
What is 360?
A gathering, much like this, but without computers, iPhones, what-have-you. And you all tell stories. It’s just that simple, really. Why 360?
Your story can start anywhere, go anywhere. It may be a memory, something you’ve done, someplace you’ve gone. You have six minutes–or 360 seconds–to bring your story full circle. The time limit helps to keep you focused, and also helps to keep the event moving.
All you need is a space and a timer.
Let the people know, see who shows up. We’ll even provide the logo and other images you might need for signage, mailing lists, posters, etc. The license is free–all we ask is that you credit it back to us here at 2amtheatre.com.
Unlike the Moth and other storytelling concepts, this can be as formal or informal as you like. It can be made up of invited storytellers or open to anyone in the crowd. If you want to guarantee a theme, you might invite a few people and give them a prompt beforehand, but then open it up and see what their stories inspire from the crowd. You want to stand, sit, doesn’t matter, whatever feels right.
What kind of space?
Any space will do. Any theatre at any size can set up a 360. If you’re Actors Theatre of Louisville, do it in the mezzanine. If you’re Riverrun Theatre, you do it in a bookstore that’s one of your sponsors.
You could move from sponsor to sponsor, bringing people into a coffee shop one month, a winery the next, a bookstore or library the next. Now, you’re doing something even more concrete than advertising their business, you’re bringing actual people into that business. Was it difficult to set up?
Not at all. The idea’s been percolating for some time, but once we decided to do it, I just walked in to our bookstore sponsor, asked if we could do it. Then, a Facebook event page. A word on Twitter, a note here and there. I did not send a mailing, I did not go to the radio or the newspaper, I didn’t even put it up on our website. This was as under-the-radar as it gets. And then, one week later, I walked in the store with fifteen minutes to spare and we did this thing.
You can do it that quickly and easily, too. I know you can.
The idea is not the polished, practiced story.
That’s for the Moth and others. This is not a competition, this is not a show. If the stories are polished and practiced, that’s icing on the cake. This is mainly to engage your audience, your community. It’s a way to share with them the joy of crafting and telling a clear and entertaining story. And it really works.
The possibilities are endless.
Maybe you archive stories, record them, share them on your website. You become a de facto Story Corps for your neighborhood, city, etc. Maybe you craft a larger work–I’m sorry, maybe you “devise” a work–based on some stories for a wider audience. Maybe you host poetry editions in April for National Poetry Month.
Eric Ziegenhagen posted a link over on Twitter the other day, which was an idea every independent bookstore should steal. (He’s right, by the way, in case any independent bookstores are reading this.) 360 is very much the same idea, only with your own stories instead of books.
I hosted the very first 360 this past weekend as a Riverrun Theatre event at the Village Lights Bookstore in Madison, Indiana. We kept it low-key, wanted to see who would show up. I compared it to a restaurant having a soft opening. (Eric Z. ought to like that analogy.) What amazed me was not that it worked–though it did–or that people came–though they did–but how the evening played out…
Lightning in a bottle.
We had a small group, quiet at first, waiting and wondering how the concept worked. (This was all right, the bookstore is small, very intimate.) I started the evening off with a story to show how it was done, finished with seconds to spare.
Once the ice was broken, the stories flowed.
As the timekeeper and host, I would wave at the speaker at the three minute mark and then again at the one minute mark.
For a timer, I used my iPhone. When it counted down to zero, it would play Take Five by Dave Brubeck. The bookstore owner loved that; Brubeck’s on their speakers most of the time. You could use a stopwatch and a bell. Anything will work.
No one ran overtime, although we do plan for that–if you’re in the middle of a thought, finish the thought. If you’re nowhere near finishing your story, if there’s time, we’d have an “overtime” list for people to come back up and finish in three minutes. But that wasn’t an issue this time around.
What did surprise me, and what’s perfectly logical in retrospect, is that one story triggered another and on through the event. The connections weren’t so obvious as if it were a planned, themed set of stories, but there were clear themes and through-lines from one story to the next. None of us really knew one another, we’ve all led very different lives, but all of the stories connected and resonated. And that resonance was exciting, because it wasn’t scripted, it wasn’t proscribed or planned. It just happened.
It was the joy of creating a larger patchwork of stories, shared with everyone in the room.
By the end of the event, everyone was wired, buzzing, talking, chatting, sharing more and more. They had seen what we do, if only on a small scale. It wasn’t like watching a lecture or an open rehearsal, it was participation.
They didn’t get a look at the process. They were the process.
They had seen how exciting it is to be in the room with the story being told. They had seen how different it was from the fourth wall of television or film. And those who had never come to a Riverrun show–those who only came because they’re bookstore patrons or happened upon the listing and were curious–they’re coming to our next show. Some didn’t even know we were doing live theatre in town–now they’re on our mailing list.
Some had never been to live theatre. Now, they want to come. So what have we learned?
This is a fun, easy way to connect with and develop your audience.
It’s a great way to support and engage your sponsors and bring some of your magic–and patrons–through their doors.
You can set it up and produce it at the drop of hat. The only real cost to you is the hat.
All you need is a space, a sign, a timer and someone to act as a host.
Want to do it? Go right ahead.
Very soon, we’ll be setting up a separate section of the site to host 360 information, news, stories, etc. If you want to record any stories either as audio or video and upload them to YouTube, Vimeo or another video site, we’ll happily embed them here as part of the 360 website.
This will also be where you can go for promotional language, logos, images and more for mailings and PR purposes.
As I said, the license is free–see the Creative Commons license below for details.
And you know, this would be an excellent instant event to produce for World Theatre Day on March 27th…
Last year, Ian MacKenzie, a writer from Toronto, came up with the idea of a World Theatre Day meme. For those of you that are new to this concept (and I certainly was), Wikipedia defines a meme as
a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through Internet-based email, blogs, forums, Internet-based social networking sites and Internet-based instant messaging. The term derives from the original concept of memes, although it has come to refer to a much more narrowly defined category of cultural information.
Ian’s idea was to take a picture of us standing on our favorite theatre books–the books that had supported us throughout our career in the theatre. You can see the results here.
Us WTD10 faciliators loved this idea, and wanted to do it again this year. So, we are asking people to create a short video, 1-2 minutes long, on the theme of “Why I love the theatre” OR “What theatre means to me.” Once you’ve created your video, go to this URL for further instructions about how to share it with the world.
2010 will mark the seventh year that The Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance has organized local World Theatre Day celebrations. While World Theatre Day was established by the International Theatre Institute on March 27th, 1961, many theatre artists are still unfamiliar with this one day a year when we commemorate Theatre.
This year’s WTD celebrations will take place primarily during the final week of March, and include free and discounted theatre performances, open rehearsals, play readings, backstage tours, and talkbacks. Also, expect the unexpected in the form of theatre flashmobs popping up all over.
This year also includes the ever-popular Art by Actors, where well-known theatre personalities try their hands at visual art for a change. Their paintings will be on display at The Stanley Industrial Alliance Theatre and viewable online on the Arts Club website from March 11–April 17.
On March 21, at the Central Branch of the library, Vancouver’s beloved stage and screen actorJackson Davies (The Producers, The Foursome, The Beachcombers) will be hosting a series of intimate, no-holds barred discussions with people who shape theatre in this city. The panel includes Pat Smith (Playhouse Costume Mistress), Colleen Wheeler (Bard on the Beach), Amiel Gladstone (writer and Artistic Director), Sasa Brown (Jessie-winning actor) and many more.
On March 28, come to the World Theatre Day Wrap Party at the WISE Hall. Mix and mingle with other theatre lovers and artists as we party it up, World Theatre Day style! Program includes reading the International WTD message, encore performances and videos of our flash mob events, and video conferencing with other WTD parties world-wide. Admission is by donation.
In addition, this year’s World Theatre Day message, written by Dame Judi Dench, will be read prior to curtain on stages all over Vancouver and the World on March 27.
Join Chicago theatre’s WTD Celebration at the Chopin Theatre on Saturday, March 27. In the evening, experience a special World Theater Day performance of The House’s WILSON WANTS IT ALL or BackStage’s ORANGE FLOWER WATER. Then, beginning at 9:30 as the city’s Saturday shows come down, join us for some complimentary food, music, conversation, and performances all provided by the League of Chicago Theatres, the Chopin Theatre, and folks in the Chicago theatre community.
Every space in the Chopin becomes a promenade party, with a little bit of something for everyone to celebrate our corner of the world, and reach out to all the others. Downstairs will feature live music and loungey hob-nobbing with the folks who make Chicago theatre tick. In the lobby, social media connections fuel an international conversation with a host of Chicago’s international friends. And on the mainstage, Chris Piatt, former theatre editor for TimeOut Chicago, brings his PAPER MACHETE live magazine to investigate – and roast – Chicago’s historic relationships with other cities in “The Second City Complex.”
INTERNATIONAL THEATER SHOUT-OUTS
Since World Theatre Day is all about generating cross-cultural dialogue that explores the power of theater to celebrate life and effect social change through collaborative performance, we’re hoping to foster some real international dialogue and collaboration leading up to the event. So this goes out to both Chicago companies and theatres outside of the United States – we want to be “sister” companies with you this year!
STEP ONE – Let’s make contact. Connect with an artist or company in Chicago, or outside the country – and think about what issues, ideas, and dialogue you would want to share them. Tell them about World Theatre Day and how theater changes your community.
STEP TWO – Talk it out. Record a video or audio greeting to that sister company, and have them send one to you. Share your thoughts about social issues, community issues, aesthetic exploration, or just who you are. Listen to what your new friends across the globe are working on and trying to accomplish. Find common ground.
STEP THREE – Share. Make a record of your conversation – a video greeting, an audio recording of a skype conversation, a collaborative art project, a photo – and post it to the internationally-contributed World Theatre Day tumblr blog (http://wtd10.tumblr.com), just by emailing a link to what you’ve made to http://tinyurl.com/wtdmedia, or ask us for help with this project at worldtheatreday@nikku.net.
In celebration of World Theatre Day Mind The Gap Theatre is taking over the Crooked Knife Bar & Restaurant in Gramercy for the night! This cozy bar/restaurant is located at 29 E. 30th Street (between Park and Madison).
We’ll be celebrating theatre and the wonderful people who make it. Enjoy a relaxing night with fellow thespians and make some great new contacts over a pint.
There will be $4 Well drinks and $3 Miller lights, raffles, fun and so much more. bring a HEADSHOT AND RESUME or a short scene you have written for us to consider for our upcoming short play festival BRITBITS.
More details will be announced in the coming weeks, but for now SAVE THE DATE and plan on joining us for drinks specials and witty repartee from 7pm!
World Theatre Day is an opportunity to celebrate Theatre in all its myriad forms. Theatre is a source of entertainment and inspiration and has the ability to unify the many diverse cultures and peoples that exist throughout the world. But theatre is more than that and also provides opportunities to educate and inform.
Theatre is performed throughout the world and not always in a traditional theatre setting. Performances can occur in a small village in Africa, next to a mountain in Armenia, on a tiny island in the Pacific. All it needs is a space and an audience. Theatre has the ability to make us smile, to make us cry, but should also make us think and reflect.
Theatre comes about through team work. Actors are the people who are seen, but there is an amazing set of people who are not seen. They are equally as important as the actors and their differing and specialist skills make it possible for a production to take place. They too must share in any triumphs and successes that may hopefully occur.
March 27 is always the official World Theatre Day. In many ways every day should be considered a theatre day, as we have a responsibility to continue the tradition to entertain, to educate and to enlighten our audiences, without whom we couldn’t exist.
Welcome to the official blog of World Theatre Day, 2010! It is a place for those of us who are passionate about the Theatre to connect on an international level.
We encourage you to blog, upload videos or photos from your own World Theatre Day celebrations.