With these books most of the fun came halfway through when you guessed what the picture was going to be.

So what is the picture of Imploding Fictions and my new show ‘This Is Your Government Speaking’ going to be?

In the theatre, a playwright filters their ideas through words down onto a page. Then it goes from the page to the performer, before performer presents the show to the audience. This shifting of the material through one model to another does invest extraordinary energy into the work, but leaves the original act of creation somewhat removed… the playwright, while writing, is always trying to second guess what effect they will have on the audience by the end of the process.
So this is our first dot – to make a show whose structure is less contrived than anything we’ve attempted before. A show created in the moment, directly in front of the audience.

This gives us our second dot – building the show on the accepted principles of stand-up comedy. It is a short cut to winning an audience’s trust because they have expectations of improvisation, of creation in the here and now. And we can have lots of fun (in the fashion of Simon Munnery, Stewart Lee, Daniel Kitson) inverting the etiquette of what is normal, assumed.

The third dot? Is a goodbye to all the words I’ve written over the last ten years. I feel it is time to cultivate a fresh movement in my work, re-fresh how I express myself using my chosen platform of the theatre… but it is necessary to say goodbye first…

And the other dots?

I adore the idealistic philosophies of the delicate rogues, the scuffle monkeys and the trench clowns of this world… their mix of anarchism and absurdity, Foolishness and joy. Their influence is running through this show.

The wonderful composer Sarah Kershaw (of The Irrepressibles fame) will write the music… when an artist like Sarah agrees to craft you something, you stand back and give her the space to thrill you.

Summer, of course… the show debuts on July 2nd, a perfect time of year for sitting outside with a glass of wine talking to friends. Not sitting in a dark room, passively, watching a show. But a show we have, and as a thank you to you for coming to see it, and giving up that drinking outside in the sunshine time, we will bring some of the summer inside.

These then are the dots we’ve been connecting while making ‘This Is Your Government Speaking’. And it’s enormous fun seeing, halfway through, what it is to become.

We hope you can join us for its debut July 2nd, at Studio 101…

- Darren Lerigo

‘This Is Your Government Speaking’

Directed by Philip Thorne & Oystein Ulsberg Brager
Music composed by Sarah Kershaw
Written and performed by Darren Lerigo

“Treat your politicians like you’d treat your children. Don’t let them get away with murder.” The award-winning team of Imploding Fictions and Darren Lerigo bring you absurd jokes, contrived randomness and a message from the Gods in ‘This Is Your Government Speaking’, a new work – part theatre, part stand-up comedy – which asks what the difference is between truth and belief…

Performed at: Studio 101, Kingston College Kingston Hall Road, Kingston KT1 2AQ
Date and times: July 2nd 2011, at 5 pm and 8 pm.

Tickets:

Phone – 020 8547 5417

Online – click here

In Person – Tourist Information Centre, The Market House, Market Place, Kingston KT1 1JS

– OPEN FOR NORWEGIAN AND INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS -

Imploding Fictions and OIT are bringing two of Britains most respected theatre makers to Norway for a week of workshops in November!

Workshop for directors and actors with Ramin Gray – 21st to 24th November
Four teams of actors and a director will work on scenes from Motortown by Simon Stephens, with personal guidance from internationally acclaimed director Ramin Gray (Royal Court, Salzburg Festspiele, Staatsoper Hamburg), culminating in a work sharing at the House of Drama (Dramatikkens hus) in Oslo.

Workshop for playwrights with Simon Stephens – 23rd to 25th November
Acclaimed playwright Simon Stephens (Motortown at Royal Court, Pornography at Schauspielhaus Hanover, Harper Regan at National Theatre London) comes to Oslo to run a three-day practical writing workshop focusing on the potential of contemporary drama.

Both workshops will be in english, and are open to both Norwegian and international participants. See below for more detailed information.

Directors and writers who wish to participate can send an application email to oslointernasjonaleteater@gmail.com.

Actors should apply via www.skuespillersenter.no, where applications will open 20th June.

Included in the fee is the workshop, lunch every day and a special post show dinnner on the 24th. Participants from outside Oslo need to arrange their own travel and accomodation. Travel bursaries are available. Send an email to oslointernasjonaleteater@gmail.com for more information.

Click here for a schedule of the workshop week (exact times and content to be confirmed): Schedule Motortown workshop PDF

Workshop for directors and actors with Ramin Gray – 21st to 24th November

Where: Dramatikkens hus, Tøyenbekken 34 & Norsk Skuespillersenter, Welhavensgate 1, Oslo
When: Monday 21st November – Thursdag 24th November
Price actors: See www.skuespillersenter.no
Price directors: 1200,- NOK / 800,- NOK for international participants (bursaries available)

Four teams of actors and a director will work on scenes from Motortown by Simon Stephens, with personal guidance from internationally acclaimed director Ramin Gray, culminating in a work sharing at the House of Drama (Dramatikkens hus) in Oslo. The workshop will take place in English.

Motortown
“Danny returns from Basra to a foreign England and a different kind of battle. He visits an old flame, buys a gun and goes on a blistering road trip through the new home front. Written during the London bombings of 2005, Motortown is a fierce, violent and controversial response to the anti-war movement – and to the war itself. Chaotic and complex, powerful and provocative, Simon Stephen’s play portrays a volatile and morally insecure world.” – Royal Court Theatre

Ramin Gray
Ramin Gray is a leading British theatre and opera director with an impressive track record. Gray has directed productions in Salzburg, Paris, Moscow and Hamburg as well as France, India and Uganda. In Britain he has directed for the Royal Shakespeare Company, been associate director at the Royal Court Theatre and is currently artistic director of ATC.

How to apply as an actor
If you want to participate as an actor you should apply via www.skuespillersenter.no. We apologise that the website is only available in Norwegian. If you are struggling, please do not hesitate to send us an email and we will help you as best we can.

Go to www.skuespillersenter.no. Fill out the application form under Påmelding, and put a tick in the box next to Workshop for regissører og skuespillere med Ramin Gray. The price is given in Norwegian Kroner.

The application form translated:
Påmeldingsinformasjon = Application information
Fornavn = First name
Etternavn = Surname
Epost = Email
Adresse = Address
Postnr = Post code
Telefonnr = Phone number (remember country code)
Annen bakgrunn (send CV) = Other background (send CV)
Godta vilkår = Accept terms and conditions
Registrer = Apply

Please put a tick in the box that says Annen bakgrunn (send CV) and send your CV tooystein@skuespillersenter.no. Applications open 20th June.

How to apply as a director
Please send an application email to: oslointernasjonaleteater@gmail.com

Workshop for playwrights with Simon Stephens – 23rd to 25th November

Where: Dramatikkens hus, Tøyenbekken 34, Oslo
When: Wednesday 23rd November – Friday 25th November
Fee: 500,- NOK (bursaries available)

In this practical three day workshop acclaimed playwright Simon Stephens will give the participants an insight into his writing process, and give personal feedback on texts that the participants write during the workshop. The workshop will be take place in English.

Simon Stephens says: “This will be a practical rather than a theoretical  workshop based on writing approaches and exercises that I use in my own work. It will include scene studies of some of my plays as well as other writers work. It will consider the mechanics of dramatic action, character, narrative and structure.

It will be deeply informed by my experiences as a playwright working within the aesthetic and industrial contexts of British theatre but hopefully will resonate outside that culture. Or at least act as a provocation.”

Simon Stephens
Simon Stephens is one of Britains most performed contemporary playwrights, both at home and abroad. His plays have been performed at National Theatre London, Gester Theatre in Tel Aviv, Steep Theatre in Chicago og Schauspielhaus Hanover as well as theatres in Stuttgart, Salzburg, Hamburg, Zurich og Berlin. In 2006 he received the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award for his play On The Shore Of The Wide World.

How to apply as a writer
Please send an application email to oslointernasjonaleteater@gmail.com.

The workshops are organised by Oslo International Theatre in collaboration with the Norwegian Actors Centre (Norsk Skuespillersenter) and the House of Drama (Dramatikkens hus), and supported by the Norwegian Arts Council (Norsk Kulturråd) and the Foundation for Performing Artists (FFUK).

YOU ARE INVITED…

Coming soon… To your computer!

You Are Invited is our contribution to Brisbane’s Anywhere Theatre Festival, a festival that goes beyond the proscenium arch and celebrates theatre in unusual places… The site of our performance will be the WWW. You are invited to call five different Skype Accounts. There’s no telling yet what awaits you at the other end… Go on. You know you want to.

To watch the show you need to have Skype installed on your computer or smart phone. Skype can be downloaded for free from: www.skype.com

To access the show call youareinvitedentry during the following times (the last caller will be let through aproximately ten minutes before the stated end time):

—

Dates and times local to Brisbane:

Monday 9th May: 17.00 – 19.00
Wednesday 11th May: 14.00 – 16.00
Friday 13th May: 17.00 – 19.00

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European mainland times for the show:

Monday 9th May: 09.00 – 11.00
Wednesday 11th May: 06.00 – 08.00
Friday 13th May: 09.00 – 11.00

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UK times for the show (GMT):

Monday 9th May: 08.00 – 10.00
Wednesday 11th May: 05.00 – 07.00
Friday 13th May: 08.00 – 10.00

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You can watch the show from anywhere in the world, provided you have a Skype account. Is your time zone not mentioned above? To work out when the show is online in your time zone, the following website might come in handy: timeanddate.com

Credits

The Texas Invitation
Created by: Kelli Bland
Filmed at the Art Seen Alliance warehouse in Austin, TX
Score: Allen Cote
Lighting: Steven Shirey
Puppets: Erin Meyer
Camera: Michael Pugliese
Cam assistant: Cross Rogge
Collaborators: Jacob Trussell, Rachel Weise, Erin Meyer, Cleve Weise, Meghan Dwyer, Briana McKeague, Michelle Keffer
Special thanks to: Warren McKinney, Rob Matney, Beth Burns, Pedro Alexander, Kate Cote, Kelly Hasandras, Jorge Sermini, Aaron Alexander

The Norwegian Invitation
Created and performed by: Ingrid Askvik
Thanks to: Arild Rohde

The German Invitation
Created and performed by: Alexandra Müller

The Spanish Invitation
Created and performed by: iara Solano Arana and Sammy Metcalfe (Sleepwalk Collective)

The English Invitation
Created and performed by: Astor Agustsson
Thanks to: HalfCut

You are invited… is curated by Øystein Ulsberg Brager and Philip Thorne (Imploding Fictions).

This is the most thrilling part of learning Spanish – the discovery of how to use these verbs, and when to exchange one for the other. And it’s so odd to the English ear! How can you be something in essence, but then speak in the past or future tense? My friends and teachers spent time explaining it to me, but I preferred not to listen – when a concept is that funny, why ruin it with explanations?

(My idea) of a joke was to say to Spanish people ‘I am a train station’ using the verb ‘Ser’ – ‘To Be; in essence’ – To be, in essence, a train station! Ha! I enjoyed the idea more than anyone else ever did, and I’m stubborn enough to continue in the face of failure; so though the joke wore thin, the idea for ‘I Am (defined by the essential quality of) A Train Station’ grew.

The play was written quickly, over three days, and given a platform by Factoria de Fuegos in the Basque capital city Vitoria-Gasteiz. I put into the text a pineapple (because they look funny on a stage) a hot, fresh pizza (which was shared between the audience) and the headless corpse of Mickey Mouse (I spiked the head on a sharp stick and paraded it around the city as a way to advertise the show. Except I didn’t do that.)

Those are the elements that made ‘I Am A Train Station’. But what the text suggests, what it tries to express as its central image is that, in your life, you are not on a train being taken on a journey but you are the station waiting for something to arrive.

Irate audience members have spoken to me about this theory after seeing the show, and told me I am completely and utterly wrong. That if they stood still and let life come to them, nothing would ever get done. ‘I Am A Train Station’ seemed to hit a nerve with some people, and I would have to explain that as the writer I didn’t necessarily agree with the idea, it’s just an idea I liked.

A year on from the show then, and what else do I remember…? I remember how Ismael de la Hoz listened to his audience and performed the show beautifully. How Virginia Fernandez was wonderfully patient with me as she made the translation. How I was happy, because… because we had a pineapple on the stage dammit and that is funny…. it is. I insist upon it!

I was asked by Oystein and Philip, those bright, ever generous and open-minded directors of Imploding Fictions, to tell you about ‘I Am A Train Station’. I have fulfilled that obligation. So…

… you have two options now. If you’re bored with reading this I offer you a link to some music. Go on, if you want to, take it…

Option two, for those of you who wish to stay, is to take a leap. It’s a small leap, towards the title of this text – ‘Where’s My Gorilla?’ – but it does require some effort because the next part is different to what has gone before.

If you’re ready and going to join me… Jump!

I went to a dress rehearsal for a pantomime last week. About midway through the first half the curtains opened on a new scene; a scene in a jungle, parrots cawing, drums beating faintly in the distance.

A moment, the stage is empty.

And then something wonderful happened.

Another moment passed and the stage stayed empty!

Those of us in the audience held our breath, understood collectively that something was wrong. We waited waited waited…

We watched this empty stage, for what
Felt like an age

We were witness to a pantomime
Turning, before our very eyes
Into an existentialist tragedy

Oh yes we were.

Until
The director shouted
From the back of the room
‘Where’s My Gorilla?’

Where’s my gorilla?
I would love to know the answer.

And that is it. I didn’t do anything… I sat, and I waited, and life… arrived… the gorilla didn’t, but life did.

‘Where’s my gorilla?’ has become my favourite mantra. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, with too much to do, I just ask –

‘Where’s my gorilla?’ –

and wait. Just wait for it.

And here is the conclusion to this text; ‘I Am A Train Station’ could easily have been called ‘Where Is My Gorilla?’ Or even ‘Spring Arrives When Winter Is Over;’ or even ‘If Given Adequate Heat, A Watched Pot Will Eventually Boil.’ The title is unimportant; it is the central image that matters. That life unfolds and sometimes, it is best to be patient, keep your eyes open, and wait.

If you think this idea is worth a try, go, try it. If not, forget about it and go back to the musical option I gave you above… because you should at least take five…

- Darren Lerigo, playwright and collaborator of Imploding Fictions

—

I am a train station
Performance (30 mins)

Premiered at Factoria de Fuegos Noche Scratxe, february 2010

Written and directed by Darren Lerigo
Performed by Ismael de la Hoz
Spanish translation by Virginia Fernandez

We also wish you all a very, merry Christmas and a happy new year and look forward to seeing you at our performances and events next year!

Best wishes,

Øystein and Philip

—

First of all Paul, tell me what you do?

I find things that make no sense to me and then set about changing them. I find walls and tear them down. I point out the ridiculousness of life and question it. That’s pretty much stuck with in everything I have done from directing, writing plays, writing sitcoms, sketch comedy, producing and marketing my work and others. This wall tearing approach has worked in all aspects of my life except in my life as a tenant of properties. For some reason I never get my bond returned.

What have you been doing?

Directed a lot of new writing. Written quite a lot. Sketch comedy, comedies, Pirandelloesque fantasties, I’ve even written an episode of “Joey” an “Two and a half men”. The latter two never made it to production. I don’t mind admitting that. Don’t think my heart was in it even though I understood their formats like the back of my hand. I have too much of an inner drive to break the format. It’s a real talent to be able to exploit a format without breaking it. I always laid the mechanics of the format out too clearly for all to see and then broke them. Which isn’t exactly what Chuck Lorre wants in a script.  I’ve also moved. A lot. U.K., Europe, U.S. Australia and at the moment I find myself in Brisbane Australia, a town where I felt I had the best chance to achieve my goals in the arts because there is so much room for improvement. I’m not saying that to get offside people who work in the arts here in Brisbane – don’t get me wrong. What I am saying is that this is a city with the capacity for more theatre, with an audience that wants more and yet there isn’t. To start a project like the Anywhere Theatre Festival here and make it works is nicely ambitious…

What influenced you to be where you are?

There have been pivotal moments. Most recently it was the lack of spaces to rent or buy that I could legally use as a venue theatre. That influenced me incredibly to make this festival work. The thing with influences is that there are the ones you acknowledge in interviews and there are the ones that you realise while looking back at your work thinking, “Ah, I’d forgotten about that.” But at a lower level it was there in such a way that it was a larger driver than all the known influences. Shunt, theatre de complicite, Company B Belvoir, Peter Brook’s Empty Space. Any artist that is grabbing at something slightly thicker than air and then trying to channel it. The people that do work that just is. I also like a good fart gag.

What is your expertise?

Being a thicko. I say that in a typical slightly antintellectual Australian way for fear of being seen to think too much about it all. But being thick is probably the one common element to every success I have had. I’ve sat there and thought, “this doesn’t make sense to me. Why don’t we…?” Even if the end of that particular journey doesn’t work out, at least you’ve explored it and discovered something else along the way.

Tell me about Jam and Bread -

My wife and I wanted to create a space that people could call home. A place for people to create, to be inspired, to dream. Finding a space has been a big issue.

Why the name Jam and Bread?

The name evokes so many different images for different people. All of them we liked.

Tell me about Anywhere Fest -

The Anywhere Festival is a festival of theatre that can be anywhere: backyard, elevator, car, second life, whatever. Anywhere except in a traditional theatre venue

Why is this festival necessary?

We as artists have spent so long trying to fit into the spaces that others make available for us that we sometimes forget the original reason for our work and for our existence. Why do we have to make our creations work inside a theatre space? To be in an environment that allows people to focus on the creation? Because we need to be in a place that people know they can go to see a particular thing? Technology has moved on so that if you have a phone you can buy, receive your tickets and find your way there while doing anything else. This wasn’t possible (or easy) a few years ago. Now it is. We’ve got the tools to liberate theatre from the theatres and this festival allows audiences and producers to get involved knowing that there are a lot of of other people who also know it works. Takes the fear away.

What are your hopes for Anywhere Festival?

Goal for the festival is that this way of doing theatre becomes so commonplace that people don’t need it to be placed within the framework of a festival to do it or go see it. To create a critical mass for this way of doing things. Create a new section in the culture section of the paper. I’d argue it will grow more without that.

How does it feel to start a project like this?

Even at this early stage it is lovely piece of jelly with the sun behind it. I look at it and I can sometimes see so clearly what it will be with the sunlight reflecting and refracting through the jelly and then I move and suddenly I need to figure out what I’m looking at, and then it make sense again.

What do you want to happen next? (And how can people help/be involved?)

I want the first festival to happen and get that snowball to start rolling down the hill. I want people to feel passionate about it and want to spread the word and get involved. Right now, I’m about to start putting the word out there for people who want to be involved in getting this festival to work organisationally and creatively. People that liked to be pushed, that can push me and as a result make something extraordinary. People who can contribute from around the corner and people who can contribute from the other side of the world. Ideas people. If people feel passionate about this project and want to get invovled I will find a way that they can do that.

What is your day like getting this Festival ready to go?

This is the very beginning and so there is lovely process of creating and writing what the festival is about. Giving it a form that others will understand or at least be so perplexed by they will want to be involved just so they can find an answer in the same way an incomplete phrase from a song can run around in your mind until you discover the missing word. The song becomes clear and you understand and then you forget again just so you can rediscover it.

What dreams do you have for twenty years time? Will you continue with the same line of work?

I hope that I look back and see that I have changed the way things are done as a result of my projects. That my kids have been influenced by that and grow up looking for other ways.

What would you like to say about the theatre? What is your relationship to theatre?

Who are you? Facebook? Oh, actually, I do have it on my profile so I’ll stop being mock rude. What can I say about it without appearing trite or repeating what others have said in a less memorable fashion?

What advice can you give people?

Creating and pushing boundaries means you are always verging on being an anosognosic. I think all you can do is be aware of it and pause to reflect. Oh, and don’t spend all your spare time tweeting. I like acting as a dramaturg, for want of a better term, a director, a bouncing board, a motivator. I love talking ideas with people I barely know and helping them turn it into something more. Drop me a line via the myriad of comms methods below if you are looking for someone like that.

How do you juggle family life, creative life and find time to start big new projects?

I want the elements of my life to inform each other. This is why I can’t do the normal day job thing and either last very long or end up saboutaging it at some point as I push the boundaries. I want my kids to be a part of my creative life and many of my new projects are inspired by something they say. Great thing about kids – they haven’t built up all the filters we have and they love asking “silly” and “obvious” questions.

What one improvement would you like to see in the theatre industry?

It changes from moment to moment depending on what I am working on. We can all sit here talking about what improvements need to be made to the theatre industry and that’s great to discuss what could be, but while we’re doing that somebody else is doing things to make it the way they want it. The best thing we (I) can do is to get out there and do the things I feel are necessary to make the theatre what I want and see how many people pick it up. Yes, there needs to be robust debate, dialogue and a vigorous methodology but sometimes we have to embrace Nike’s catchphrase.

When writing a play, how do you consider your audience? What position do they take in your thoughts in relation to the play?

I don’t. If it takes a year to get my head around a character in a play, getting all their motives and thoughts and actions to make sense how can I even imagine that I can understand an audience of 100 different people and write something that is somehow going to appeal to them in some way. Not possible. SO I don’t consider anything other than what works for me. Makes me sound like a self centred wally but I’d do my head in if I started thinking otherwise.

What is theatre to you?

A dramatic moment happening in space and time. Could be orchestrated and it may not. It that’s grey area in between that is increasingly interesting me.

Thanks very much Paul!

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Find out more about Anywhere Festival

Follow Paul on Twitter

- interview by Darren Lerigo

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What is Oslo International Theatre? How did it begin?

Oslo International Theatre (OIT), is a project run by Imploding Fictions. Oslo International Theatre presents contemporary international drama which has not been performed in Norway before, at a venue in Oslo. With a few exceptions (‘Flap and Fear’ by Darren Lerigo being one of them), we get all the plays translated into Norwegian, and perform them as rehearsed readings. Oslo International Theatre began in November 2009 with a reading of Caryl Churchill’s provocative play ‘Seven Jewish Children’, and has quickly grown to become Imploding Fictions biggest undertaking. The idea appeared out of a wish to start a longer, sustained project, a desire to do something that might have a lasting impact, and the want to do finally do something in Oslo.

Who runs Oslo International Theatre?

Imploding Fictions runs OIT. The artistic leadership is held by Øystein Ulsberg Brager and Philip Thorne, and all sorts of practical and organisational things are taken care of by our eminent collaborator & stage manager Michael H. Sciarrone.

How do you choose plays? What are you looking for in the work?

OIT work only with contemporary plays (the oldest play we have done was written in 1990), and we choose plays that take place in contemporary society, that comment on contemporary society, and often plays which are critical of something in contemporary society, be it politics, economics, culture, trends, peoples behaviour or attitudes, you name it. Plays for now. Plays for people who live today. Plays about the experience of today.

In order to find these plays, we read, read, read and read some more. At least 90% of the plays we read don’t make the shortlist. Some because they don’t fit our criteria, most because they are simply not good enough. We are looking for the gems. We only want the best.

How have the shows been received so far?

We have received very positive feedback both from audiences and the industry. After only two readings, we were invited to an informal meeting with the second largest theatre in Oslo this spring to talk about OIT and about some of the plays in our program. We were very proud to be noticed by the big fish so early in our progress! Next year we are not only doing readings of plays, we are also organizing workshops run by two noticable figures in international theatre, both of whom have expressed great excitement about being part of our program for 2011. Rehearsed readings are not done very much in Norway, so I think the audiences are gradually discovering what a rewarding and exciting format it is for those interested in contemporary drama. I think the audiences in Oslo are craving new plays, new stories, contemporary stories. And I sense an excitement related to the discovery that there is now a place to experience that on a regular basis.

What has been your favourite play to work on?

What an impossible question to answer! We only do great plays. Thats why we do them. Because they’re great. I can’t answer that, because I love them all for different reasons.

Where does Oslo International Theatre fit in the Norwegian theatrical landscape?

Norwegian theatre consists of two main camps: The theatres / big institutions and the free groups / the independent theatre companies. Imploding Fictions belongs amongst the independent companies, but Oslo International Theatre stands out as a different kind of project to what most other companies do. Most independent companies make touring shows, that tour internationally, nationally or schools, or they make a show which is on for a sustained run in a programming or hired venue. Most companies make one show at the time (only a few of them are big enough to have more than one show in their repertoir). Not very many companies run regular projects or a series of related events (the ones that do, tend to organise lab sessions or workshops). The way OIT works, programming 6 or 8 plays a year (6 in 2010, 8 in 2011), means that we stand out, operating in a way which is very idiosyncratic.

There are also no other Norwegian company devoted to contemporary, international drama, in the way that we are. There are other companies that perform contemporary international drama now and again, and the big theatres do include contamporary foreign plays in their repertoir to a certain extent, but no other company or theatre has the same long term, singular dedication to bringing plays to Norway that haven’t been performed here before, and getting plays translated and made accessible in Norwegian.

What else does Oslo International Theatre provide? Workshops? Encouragement for new writers?

OIT also organizes other events in relation to some of our readings. After the reading of ‘Seven Jewish Children’ by Caryl Churchill we organised a panel debate about political texts and the political drama in a Norwegian context. After ‘Flap and Fear’ there will be an informal conversation about being a young playwright with Darren Lerigo and the Norwegian playwright Toril Solvang. Next year we are organising workshops both for young directors and young playwrights, as well as conversations, debates and Q&As after several of our readings. We want the project to contain more than just the performances, we want OIT to be a meeting place for people interested in contemporary drama.

What dreams do you have for the project? Would you be open to bringing Norwegian plays to other countries, say, England?

My dream is that OIT will keep on running for years and years, feeding norwegian theatre with exciting texts from all over the world, building an ever stronger and growing team of theatre artists who share the same interest in contemporary drama.
I would be very excited for OIT to become involved in international exchange, contributing to bringing norwegian drama abroad as well as bringing international drama to Norway.

What has been the most important thing you’ve learnt so far?

As an artist and as a producer of theatre: That I need to be challenged to get better. I need people around me to challenge my ideas, in order for the ideas to grow into good ideas. Projects get better from having had more people (the right people, of course) think cleverly and properly about them. I am better when I get forced to be better, and I need to surround myself not with people who pander to my every whim, or who see my flaws but ignore them, or who trust unquestioningly that I probably always know what I am doing, but people, who want the same ultimate outcome that I want, and who dare to question how we are supposed to get there.

What problems have you found most difficult to overcome?

My own impatience. I want OIT to be very big, succesful and noticed by all the right people right away. But it will take time. We are getting there, and we are actually growing in quite a significant tempo. But my dreams are even quicker…

Also, on more practical and less philosophical note: Getting press. The norwegian press are notoriously bad for covering cultural events. How to get noticed by the big newspapers is a code we still haven’t cracked.

What is Oslo like for Theatre?

Good. In the last 5-10 years, better and better. Bar OIT there isn’t that much contemporary international drama on. Some, but not a lot. But the cultural scene is thriving, and the scope of what gets put on very broad. Oslo is a good place to be for culture at the moment.

Who inspires you the most?

Several people. My friend Dazzler, because he insists on living life on his own terms and not on anybody else’s. He has a freedom I admire him deeply for. My cousin Marie, who is a producer of cultural events. She has this unflinching belief that it is possible to make things happen. My great friend and collaborator Philip, because I can create with him. My friend Birgitte who is a theatre director, because she belives in me. She never seems to doubt that I will manage what I want to do. Even when I have doubts. My friend and collaborator Michael for his unashamed pride over everything we achieve. The five of them are fantastic people who I am very, very lucky to know. As an artist and as a human being.

What is the best advice you’ve ever had?

“F*ck, f*ck and f*ck!”

This was advice from a fierce and fabulous mentor. It should be read both literally and metaphorically – she was telling me to grow up. Maturity and experience. As a person, to become an artist. Crude words. But oh, so true.

What are your plans for the rest of the day?

Keep marketing the next reading with Oslo International Theatre, and perhaps work some more on some funding applications. And maybe read a play.

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Find out more about Oslo International Theatre

- interview by Darren Lerigo.

Fra en produksjon av Sense av Anja Hilling på Southwark Playhouse i London

En kikk på Nationaltheatrets høstlansering viser en imponerende satsning på moderne dramatikk med norgespremiere på hele ETT originalt moderne skuespill; Mr Kolpert på Thorshovtheatret. Av moderne norsk dramatikk finnes kun Jon Fosss nyskrivning av det antikke greske stykket Ifigenia i Aulis.

Det Norske Teatrets gjentatte satsning på moderniseringer av klassikere, nylig med Jungelboken og nå med Den Hemmelige Hagen, skal absolutt berømmes. Men samtidsdramatikk er det ikke. Av moderne dramatikk presenterer høstsesongen Neverland av Maria Tryti Vennerød, musikalen Next to normal og Køntrilåvv av Ragnar Hovland. Skal vi si: Marginalt bedre enn Nationaltheatret?

Man skulle kanskje tro at stedet å få med seg et representativt utvalg av ny norsk dramatikk var ved Norsk Dramatikkfestival. Vel, i 2009 viste festivalen fram 5 nye norske scenetekster. I 2007 viste festivalen også fram 5 skuespill, pluss en håndfull ti-minutters tekster. Til sammenligning viser en rask opptelling på www.dramatiker.no at Norsk Dramatikerforbund har over 200 medlemmer. Her er det altså åpenbart et marginalt utvalg som er foretatt, og en stor bredde som ikke er representert.

“Det virker heller ikke som om folk har merket seg www.dramas.no” sier Stene. Mulig det. Men så ble den nye databasen også åpnet 1. mars i år, for knappe fire måneder siden. Til sammenligning foregikk første runde av opptaksprøvene til KHIO fra 9. mars, altså bare åtte dager etter at det nye Dramas var lansert. Åpenbart ikke tid nok til å hverken finne eller få tilsendt relevante manus. Vi må nok vente lenger for å se effekten av den nye databasen.

Når det gjelder Dramas så bør det for øvrig nevnes at man er nødt til å oppgi tilknytning til en teatergruppe for å kunne registrere seg, noe det ikke er sikkert at alle søkere til skuespillerutdanningen har muligheten til. Dramas er også nøye med å opplyse om at “Dramas er et serviceorgan for amatørteatergrupper i Norge”, altså ikke et bibliotek for teaterinteresserte ungdommer. Hver såkalt “lånekopi” må også i realiteten leies for 80 kroner, så hvis du for eksempel ønsker å lese la oss si seks skuespill for å ha sjans på å finne en monolog som passer deg, så må du ut med 480,- kroner. Og finner du fremdeles ikke noe som egner seg så vil det hele etterhvert begynne å bli en ganske dyr affære.

Hos landets bokhandlere står dramatikken stort sett sammen med lyrikken. Det er det sikkert gode, akademiske grunner til. Men det er ikke nødvendigvis så lett å gjette seg til. Og når prisen for et enkelt skuespill kan komme opp i 300,- kroner (som for eksempel Fosses “Jente i gul regnjakke” som med sine 87 sider er å få kjøpt til 299,- kroner på Bokkilden.no), så er det ikke så rart om bokhandlerne ikke er ungdommens første kilde til skuespillmanus.

For de ungdommene som faktisk går på teater og prøver å få med seg det som finnes, så er det allikevel få muligheter til å oppdage dramatikk ut over det stykket du har billett til. Tenk om det var en bokhandel i foajeen på Nationaltheatret som solgte dramatikk, slik det finnes for eksempel på National Theatre i London eller Volkstheater i Wien! En liten bokhandel som solgte både norsk og utenlandsk dramatikk; utgivelser på norsk og gjerne også engelske utgivelser, eller på andre språk for den saks skyld. Da hadde det faktisk gått an å snuble over dramatikk og dramatikere du ikke hadde hørt om før. For et eller annet sted må man jo høre om alle de fantastiske samtidsdramatikerne for første gang. Og hvor er det meningen at det skal skje?

Dramatikk til salgs på teatrene?

Jeg antat at en god del av søkerne til skuespillerlinja, om ikke på langt nær alle, har bakgrunn fra Drama VGS. I læreplanen for Drama på videregående nivå er ordet “samtidsdramatikk” overhodet ikke nevnt. Til gjengjeld er dramatikk fra “det 20. århundre” eller “nyere tid” (når nå det måtte være) nevnt tre steder:

“Elevene skal kunne arbeide praktisk med sceniske tekster, fortrinnsvis med utgangspunkt i det 20. århundre.”
“Elevene skal kjenne sentrale uttrykk for teater fra det 20. århundre, slik de er nedfelt i dramatiske tekster.”
“Elevene skal ha tatt aktivt del i oppsetningen av ett dramatisk verk, som f.eks. en
klassiker fra eldre eller nyere tid.”

Hvordan dette tolkes på de forskjellige skolene rundt om i landet som tilbyr drama VGS vet jeg ikke, men min egen erfaring fra å ha gått dramalinja er følgende: Jeg gikk ut av dramalinja uten å ane noe om mangfoldet som fantes i samtidsdramatikken. Jeg skjønner godt at man i løpet av tre år på videregående ikke kan rekke over alt. Og det kan godt hende at det kan argumenteres akademisk for at det er viktigere at jeg vet hva koturner er enn at jeg har lest “Meir” av Maria Tryti Vennerød eller “Shopping and f*cking” av Mark Ravenhill. Men jeg skulle ønske at jeg hadde gått ut av videregående med et inntrykk av at det fantes MASSE spennende dramatikk der ute som dramalinja dessverre ikke hadde rukket over, heller enn et inntrykk av at jeg hadde vært gjennom “det viktigste” og at det jeg hadde gått glipp av ikke var så mye å kimse av. Det er mulig dette er et personlig hjertesukk, og at andre har hatt en helt annen opplevelse. Men etter Stenes hjertesukk å dømme, så virker det kanskje ikke sånn allikevel?

Spørsmålet er altså: Hvor skal ungdommen oppdage samtidsdramatikken? Eller like gjerne: Hvor skal du og jeg og publikum generelt oppdage samtidsdramatikken? Hvis den ikke spilles, ikke er synlig, ikke er tilgjengelig? Hvis den ikke utgis? Ikke oversettes?

Ungdommen er ikke skyldig sin mangel på kjennskap til samtidsdramatikken. Ansvaret der må kanskje deles bredt, men det er nok først og fremst teatrene og skolene som sitter med nøkkelen til ungdommens interesse for og kjennskap til samtidsdramatikken. Og for at de skal interessere seg, så må vi – teatermiljøet – interessere oss først.

Stenes oppsummering er jeg hjertelig enig i: Hvis du har lyst til å bli skuespiller, så er det et godt råd å se så mye teater som mulig og lese så mye dramatikk som mulig. Og hvis det er noen der ute som gjerne vil bli skuespillere, og som har lyst til å lese moderne dramatikk, men som ikke vet hvor de skal begynne å lete, så må de gjerne ta kontakt med undertegnede. Jeg vet ikke alt, men jeg kommer mer enn gjerne med råd, tips og anbefalinger fra det jeg har lest, om det skulle ønskes!

For øvrig vil jeg gjerne få nevne at Oslo Internasjonale Teater (http://oslointernasjonaleteater.wordpress.com) gjør iscenesatte lesninger av moderne internasjonal dramatikk på jevnlig basis. Hovedvekten av vårt arbeid dreier seg rundt å få stykker oversatt til norsk, med fokus på dramatikere som er anerkjent internasjonalt eller i sitt hjemland, men som foreløpig ikke er kjent i Norge. Høstens program inkluderer flere spennende dramatikere som tyske Anja Hilling og kroatiske Ivor Martinic. Og det er også mulighet for å oppdage fantastisk monologmateriale til neste års søknadsrunde på KHIO, om det er det man skulle ønske seg.

Sånn for å avrunde:

På Det Åpne Teater, før de skiftet navn, oppdaget jeg en gang en låst glassmonter i en mørk krok i foajeen. Den inneholdt et par-tre utgivelser av moderne norsk dramatikk. Glassmonteren var gjemt bak den store jerndøra inn til Hallen, et sted der ingen kunne se den. Der lå den moderne dramatikken altså innelåst og støvet ned, som en museumsgjenstand, uten at det gikk an å bla i bøkene eller i det minste snu dem opp ned og lese synopsiset på baksiden.

Sist jeg var innom Dramatikkens Hus var monteren borte.

Jeg håper bøkene kommer tilbake. Og at de har tatt med seg noen av vennene sine, og at de igjen har tatt med seg enda flere venner, og at et besøk i foajeen på et av byens teatre vil kunne bli en fest der man kan bade seg i utgitt dramatikk.

Og monteren, den håper jeg fortsetter å holde seg langt, langt unna.

- Øystein Ulsberg Brager
Teaterregissør og kunstnerisk leder for Imploding Fictions og Oslo Internasjonale Teater

Sieben Frauen und ein Mann betreten im Lauf des Abends die kleine Bühne im Theater Drachengasse, Raum Bar & Co. Sie präsentierten das Finale des Nachwuchs-Theater-Wettbewerbs, Thema “Die Angstmacher”. Die meisten von ihnen sind schauspielerisch sehr gut ausgebildet, haben auch schon an großen Bühnen Erfahrungen gesammelt.

Die fünf Kurzstücke sind unterschiedlich, nähern sich dem Thema von verschiedenen Seiten. Das reizvollste ist wohl “Flap an Fear”, in dem zwei aufgeschreckte Täubchen (herrlich komödiantisch Rowena Hutson und Lauren McCullum), da sie der deutschen Sprache nicht mächtig sind, das Lied vom “Tauberln vergiften” gründlich missverstehen. “Flaneur of Fear” (darstellerisch facettenreiches Trio: Elisa Seydel, Franziska Hackl, Cora Jeannee) relativiert geschickt den Begriff des Bösen. Als sperrig erweist sich “Bang! Bang! Ein Manifest” und bedarf der hervorragenden Interpretin Susanna Kellermayr, um zu voller Wirkung zu kommen.

Allzu einfach macht es sich der begabte Eugen Fulterer mit “Baracks Wurscht-fisch”, eine Gratwanderung ist Anne Frütels “Einbau”.

79 Projektvorschläge waren eingelangt, 70 Prozent aus Österreich, die übrigen 30 Prozent aus 15 weiteren Ländern. Man muss der Jugend eine Chance geben, dann zeigt sie, wie viel Kraft, Mut und Talent sie hat.

English translation:

In the course of the evening, seven women and one man take to the small stage at Theater Drachengasse’s bar & co. They are the finalists of the theatre’s newcomer competition with the theme „Fearmongers“. Most of them have trained at prestigious schools and gained experience at big theatres.

The five short pieces are very different, and approach the theme from alternate angles. The most engaging is Flap and Fear in which two alarmed pigeons (in wonderfully comic portrayals by Rowena Hutson and Lauren McCullum) thoroughly misunderstand the song of poisoning pigeons due to linguistic differences. Flaneur of fear (a trio with a wide range: Elisa Seydel, Franziska Hackl, Cora Jeannee) artfully relativizes the concept of evil. ‘Bang! Bang! a Manifesto’ turns out to be quite clunky and needs Suzanne Kellermeyer’s considerable acting skills to bring it to life.

Eugen Fulterer’s Baracks Wurscht-fisch is too simplistic and Anne Frütel’s Einbau is a balancing act.

79 young artists applied for this scheme, 70% from Austria the other 30% from 15 different countries. The evening shows that if you give young artists a chance they show how much energy, courage and talent they have.