During October and November, three creative labs were held as part of the Eclectic of Otherness project, co-financed by the European Union through the Creative Europe program.
Since the project began in February 2023, the three partner organizations from Serbia, France, and Croatia, along with their creative and research teams, have been working on researching the themes of their future performances, which are being developed as part of the project. These performances will premiere during the Festival of Otherness in all three main partner cities at the end of 2024 – Paris, Zagreb, and Belgrade.
Heartefact (SRB) held the first of the three labs on October 16 via the Zoom platform, with around 20 participants, including representatives of partner organizations, actors, writers, human rights activists, and others who could contribute to the further creative development of the upcoming performance. Director Andrej Nosov presented video material that serves as the main inspiration for the creation of the play “They Have Already Gone” by author Doruntina Basha, parts of which were also read during the lab. The significant feedback from the diverse participants will contribute to the further development of the final version of the text, as well as the start of rehearsals for the play, which addresses the consequences of the Srebrenica genocide.
Arterarij (CRO) organized the second of the three creative labs on November 18 via Zoom, where the future performance on the theme of the consequences of war-time rapes was presented. Parts of the text were read by Lada Bonacci and Rok Juričić. Choreographer Petra Hrašćanec presented the movement workshop she conducted during the research phase titled “The Transformation of Trauma Through the Physical Experience of the Performer.” Playwright Dorotea Šušak and activist Mario Mažić presented the approach they used to develop the text from both artistic and activist perspectives, and the feedback from participants helped further refine the text, with rehearsals set to begin soon at Arterarij.
El Vaiven (FRA) held the final creative lab in this project phase on November 30. After a historical overview and context presentation of the text, the dramatization of the novel by author Laura Alcoba was introduced, with the author herself participating in the lab. The lab participants had the opportunity to speak with the author about the writing process of the novel, which was inspired by her memories of growing up under the dictatorship of Argentina and her exile to France in the 1970s. Argentine-born actress Astrid Albiso, who will perform in the upcoming play, connected her personal experiences with those of the author, while choreographer Maria Joao Costa Espinho presented the movement workshops that were organized during the research phase.
The conclusion of the research phase has enabled the transition into the next, creative phase of rehearsals and preparations for the three upcoming performances, which are being developed as part of the Eclectic of Otherness project. These performances explore the question of what it means to be “the other” and different in the context of contemporary Europe.
The project coordinator is the Heartefact Fund, and the project runs from February 2023 to January 2025. The project is co-financed by the European Union.
