ON AXIS 09: everyone is leaving home
(formerly ASYLCAFÉ)
Sociotheatrical project with refugees / 2. phase
in cooperation with the local television OKTO.tv
Moderator/Editor: Radovan Grahovac (HR/EU)
Camera: Matja sSrdar (HR)
Start of the new 4-year cycle ART OF SURVIVAL [2009-2013]
- 2nd phase of the 2008 successfully tested sociocultural pilot project in collaboration with refugees -
- inclusion of local shops and businesses in the 7th district -
- creating a social testing ground with the"art" of theater; three often separate groups in society meet and learn to deconstruct common prejudices and rehearse inter/actions in solidarity -
PERFORMANCE PROCESSION 1: April 27th, 28th and 29th, each at 7 pm
Starting point: BUTCHERIE (Entrance fee: Donation), Duration 2 hours
a fall-performance-cycle is planned for the end of November 2009 to be followed by a continuation in 2010 (BUTCHERIE, brunnen.passage, in educational centers of the 6th, 7th, 8th districts).
The work goes beyond the largely educational workshop-character of 2008 and establishes the beginning of a long-term intercultural learning- and working process of artists in conjunction with refugees - a process which shall be organized as a partnership and through nonhierarchical dialogue on diversified cultural experiences and expressions.
Structured as a mobile art-project the work takes place in 4 parallel interdisciplinary teams which function autonomously and hold rehearsals and performances at the BUTCHERIE and at so-called "outposts' - at coffee-shops, stores and restaurants in the environs of the theater. Each project team consists of 1-2 artists from the disciplines of theater, visual arts, music and theater pedagogy and creates a performance piece to be synthesized into a common performance procession in the end. The work is based on the refugee's stories of the participants and created in close connection to the site-specific spaces of the 7th district - ranging from a local cafe to an African taylor to a Hungarian restaurant owner.
The audience follows the procession and gains insight not only into the working process of the theater and the lives of refugees but also the daily routine of the small business owners in the district who will be actively involved. The event culminates in a Grand Finale as collectively evolved final scene with participation of the audience at the BUTCHERIE.
Material & methods
Singular working processes use different materials - from oral histories to interviews, newspaper articles circumscribing the chosen theme as well as pars of classical dramas such as the Aischylos-text „The Suppliants“ and „Prometheus“.
The research circumscribes questions of difference and convergence of social identities of the three groups involved – artists, refugees and small business owners. In addition the notion of "work" is reexamined, i.e. the working conditions of a Turkish restaurant owner in comparison to those of a local boutique owner. Explorations include issues of xenophobia, precariousness, fear of deportation, not only concerning minorities, their strategies of survival and their future visions. Different approaches and aesthetics collide and are confronted in the final performance-procession through commonly shared characters, musical motifs and theatrical structures.
Rehearsal process and methods
In the course of the rehearsal process a theatrical sequence emerges from different scenes with different focal points to form a coherent whole which is at once interconnected and can stand by its own. The scenes shall reflect the unique site-specific locations as well as the individual refugees' stories - interconnected by scenic overlaps repetitions, crossings and modes of intensification. The work shall deepen the reflection process of segregation mechanisms and alternatives.
Translations range from a collective painting-action to forum- and newspaper theater (Theater of the Oppressed) to a chorus from ancient Greek texts in several languages to a jazz improvisation with lyrics of participating refugees - and finally a shadow theater play in a container.
The Finale at the BUTCHERIE synthesizes the best-off all teams to a common framework with audience participation as insinuated in the play „The Suppliants“ asking the question: Shall refugees into the "bulwark Europe" be allowed to stay or must they go?
ASYLCAFÉ 09 builds on results of the first phase in 2008 (OKTO.tv aired the working process) whereas the new focus lies on the strengthening of the refugees' own creative faculties in dance, song, music and oral histories. Artistic directors approach their themes with interdisciplinary methods (traditional and experimental acting, techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed, performance, dance, music, visual arts, video).
Documentation & outlook
OKTO.tv – since 2008 media-partner of the BUTCHERIE will document the entire working process, performances and discussions, moderated by Radovan Grahovac. This way the work can be seen by several thousand people throughout Austria.
The BUTCHERIE seeks to establish a series of long-lasting projects with refugees in order to create a sustaining model of work and present new methods and realization techniques for theatrical collaborations of local and foreign artists with refugees in Austria.
Participants:
- Yunes Amiri (AF)
- Vanessa Bersis (GR/A)
- Didar Can (TR)
- Zuzana Ciráková (SK),
- Philoméne Kajangu Chiranga (CG)
- Alexander Dada (NGA)
- Sufian Darwisch (IQ)
- Zlatica Deáková (SK)
- Stefanie Dufhues (G)
- Azimet Firato (TR)
- Yousef Gazraui (IQ)
- Franca Chinwe Ibegbulem (NG)
- Bahman Jalali (IN)
- Mika Marinkovic (SRB)
- Sadia Mohammed (GH)
- Akini Nurudeen (NGA)
- Francis Okpata (NG)
- SAKINA (Kurdistan)
- Noah Steurer (A)
- Tanja Witzmann (A)
Project-teams / Artistic directors
Eva Brenner (A/USA, director)
Michael Fischer (A, musician)
Martina Gimplinger and Ahmad Abu Kharma (A/Palestine, Jordania - theater pedagogues)
Radovan Grahovac (HR+EU, director)
Katka Csanyiova (SK, theater worker, tehater scholar)
- Sun Sun YAP (SGP, actress, singer)
Supporting Team
Sociologue/Socio-pedagogical collaboration: Michael Genner (Asyl in Not)
Dramaturgy: Eva Brenner (A/USA, director, producer)
Costumes & Props: Markus Kuscher (A)
Sets/Videos: Andreas Pamperl (A, set-designer, video-maker)
Administration: Heidemarie Ambrosch (A)
Production Director: Katka Csanyiova (SK, theater scholar)
Assistants: Evgenia Stavropoulou (GR), Julia Stiefelbauer (A),
Juan Pablo Vacaflor del Carpio (BO)
Fotos: Blind Spot E², Andreas Pamperl, Bahmann Jalali (IN)
Singular projects of ON AXIS 09: everyone is leaving home
I Parallel Wolrd / What does a stranger know? [woas Waaß a Fremder?] - Eva Brenner (A/USA)
The pretty design shop „SU-REE“ and the elegant optician store „Brillen Giovanni“ at Kirchengasse are sites of theatrical scenes with the topic parallel worlds, so-called "domino-couples" and resistance against racist violence. Articulated are the lack of contact between the upwardly-mobile population of the district - a few footsteps behind the scenes of the grand musuem mile "MQ (MUSEUMS QUARTIER"), in the heart of Vienna - and refugees. But they bespeak also the wish on both sides of the social devide to change this isolation as multi-culturality is considred a specila quality of peaceful coesistance in the local district, the so-called "Grätzel". Under cooperation with the owner of the shops the team uses video, text fragments by Elfriede JeLinek, Afrodance and Kurdish songs to set a challending contrast between the noblesse oblige of this design-community and the precarious situation of refugees.
II IMPROVISING FREEDOM – Director: Michael Fischer (A)
5 actions with readings of poets and a sound-manager: exploring language - sound - imagination. Communication- and reflections processes are ignited about the topics of „home and foreignness“. foreign language speakers and poets realize common readings mixing music and text whereby both undergo new alliances while audiences enter a search for new significations...
IV DreamBent– Directors: Martina Gimplinger (A) / Ahmad Abu Kharma (PS/JO)
Theater development following methods of Augusto Boal's „Theater of the Oppressed“. Construction of an encounter-laboratory with the telling of personal stories on the theme of „dreams“ and "liberation". Creation of a common performance/play along the motto „Script the play“ instead of„Play the script“! What is theater, what reality? Who watches whom? Who looks over the heads of whom? Methods used include Newspaper theater, Forum theater, Invisible theater on the street and in local shops.
V AISCHYLOS' THE SUPLLIANTS (betw. 465-460) – Director: Radovan Grahovac (HR)
Fragments of Aischylos are set in front of a local cafe at Vienna's Burggasse, in search of the roots of our theater- and social history, together with refugees. The content of the play: 50 Egyptian women are searching asylum in the Greek city of Argos. Its citizens are asked to decide if they will be allowed to stay or must go. Parts of the play are acted out and translated by the participants themselves into their different languages. The question is: How can understanding happen across and through The use of diverse languages? …
VI UPWARD & DOWNWARD MOBILITY – Projektleitung: Katka Csanyiova (SK)
Leaving home, exape and journey into the unknown, impressions of the newly experienced culture, fears, wishes and fantasies of social upbward mobility … thes mtoifs serve as starting poins of commonly created scenes inside and in font of a fashion boutique. A young African refugee is trying on expensive design fashion for his first interview whilst a busy troupe of young Slovak cleaning women are washing the shopw-windows. The audience stands inbetween adn becomes witness of a tragic-comical double-reality of life designs and chances for upward miblity, expressed in two collding dialgues: between boutqiue owner, sales aldy and refugee who ahs some money but no chances for a job or asylum, encounters the sharp and witty comments of already "integrated" women and former economic migrants from Bratislava. The confrontation illuminates different heritages, starting points and options for the furure - in the hope to destabilize hierarchies of exclusion and foster solidarity amognst migrants.
A SHADOW PLAY – Director: Sun Sun YAP (SGP)
A performance procession using puppets and real people in a mobile container appearing along the journey through the district. Shadows symbolize the many faceless, nameless refugees traveling to Europe in search for protection and the right to life. Shadow plays free our fantasy and allow us to recall our childhood memories through a mix of different media – from video to puppetry installation...
Discussion series accompanying the production of
ON AXIS 09: everyone is leaving home
in cooperation with OKTO.tv (Airing dates to be announced soon)
asyl mondays: NO JUSTICE NO PEACE!
Curators: Eva Brenner (A/USA), Peter Kreisky (A)
Moderator: Radovan Grahovac (HR)
Discussion1/ ZOOM MIDDLE EAST 1, Mon., February 16th, 2009, 7 pm - Peace beyond and above nationalism and fundamentalism
How can we understand the two historical narratives? What can we – from a save European perspective – do to help accelerate the peace process?
Curator: Peter Kreisky (Sozial economist, former collaborator of the Chamber of Labor, Vienna)
Moderated by: Radovan Grahovac
Participants: Marwan Abado (born Beirut, musician, composer), Viola Raheb (born Bethlehem, protestant theologist, development consultat for qeustion of the Near East, Decade against Violence/Council of World Churches), Jacqueline Csuss (A, Translator), Doron Rabinovici (A, geb. Tel Aviv, author, historian).
Followed by „Hoping for the Olive Twig“ – musical-lyrical concert by Marwan Abado and Viola Raheb
Discussion 2/ ZOOM MIDDLE EAST 2, Mon., March 2nd 2009, 7 pm - HOW PRECARIOUS IS THE SITUATION IN ISRAEL-PALÄSTINA?
Discussion with those who support peace and care for alternatives.
Curator: Peter Kreisky
Moderation: Radovan Grahovac
Participants: John Bunzl (historian with focus on the Middle East), Thomas Schmidinger (Political scientist, Expert on the Middle East), Michael Ingber (Scholar of Judaic sciences, former officer in the Israeli army, member of the defense, now peace acitivst) and representatives of the Palestinean community in Vienna.
Followed by a concert in the basement: Jam-Fusion of self-composed jiddish songs by Hans Breuer: „Jiddish? Muslim? Oriental!“ (www.hansbreuer.com)
Discusssion 3/ NO GULASH PLEASE!, Mon., march 16th, 7 pm - ON AXIS 09: everyone is leaving home?
Discussion with refugees, asyl experts and memebers of the project team of the new FLEISCHEREI theater project, ON AXIS 09 - flight into the fortress of Europa and flight from inward-orientation.
Curatorin: Eva Brenner / Moderated by: Radovan Grahovac
Participants: Collaborators of the FLEISCHEREI theater project ON AXIS 09, Michael Genner (Asyl in Not). With socio-theatrical interventions by the actors of the theater project ON AXIS 09.
Discussion 4/ NO GULASH PLEASE!, Mon., March 30th 2009, 7 pm- „Which other world is possible!“
Discussion with activists and participants of the 2009 World Social Forum in Belèn (BR) – How can the world economy be reformed/revolutionized, which models exist, where and how are the realized and with waht result/s? what can Europa learn from the so-called „Third World“?
Curatorin: Eva Brenner / Moderated by: Radovan Grahovac
After the first screening of his most recent film (20 minutes) Leo Gabriel (journalist, Social anthroplogist and member of the International Council of the World Social Forum) will speak about solidarity economy as it was discussed at the 2009 Wolrd Social Forum in Brasil (Belèn) with other participants at the Forum: Walter Baier (economist, member of the Europe-wide network of social sciences TRANSFORM), Cornelia Schweiner (A, Human Rights activist and member of the Styrian Regional Goverment for womens and social questions).
Discussion 5/ ZOOM MIDDLE EAST 3, Mon., April 20th 2009, 7 pm - Peace or war?
About historical narratives, solution models, and alternatives
Participants: Gertraud Auer (A, General Secretary of the Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue, Crossing Borders/Middle East Youth Peace Forum), Karin Schneider&Friedemann Derschmidt (A, curators, exhibitions designers, e.g. „overlapping voices, Israeli and Palestinian Artists at ESSL MUSEUM„ 2008) and others.
Followed by a concert of shepard and songwriter/singer Hans Breuer with arabic-israeli guests.
SPECIAL EVENT, Mon., March 9th 2009, 19 Uhr "SAKINA sings"
SONGS FROM KURDISTAN - Benefit Concert for International Women's Day
with Azimet Firato (Baglama), Cihan Can (Gitarre). Entrance: € 10/€ 7- erm.
SPECIAL EVENT, Wed., March 11th, 19h - „Hermann Langbein - Die Stärkeren“
A report from Auschwitz and other Concentration Camps
Reading, Film and Discussion with Franz-Richard Reiter (Ephelant Verlag)
Entrance: Donations
SPECIAL EVENT, Mo., 23. März, 19h
"TAKE BACK PUBLIC SPACE" - Protest Action & Infotainment"
with IG Kultur Wien, IG Freie Theaterarbeit, DORFPLATZ: neubau(en),
Verein Freies Plakat and concerned free lance artists. Entrance: Donations
