Roberto Frabetti von Teatro Testoni Ragazzi – La Baracca in Bologna war letzte Woche zu Gast im KJTZ und hat eingeladen zum Festival Visioni di futuro, visioni di teatro… – International festival of theatre and culture for early childhood vom 28. Februar bis 8. März 2020.

Er hat uns auch sein Buch Stubborn Little Thumblings. 30! Thirty years of theatre in the crèches mitgebracht und seine Stücke im Archiv bewundert: Wolfgang Schneider, Ehrenpräsident der ASSITEJ International und ASSITEJ Preisträger 2019, hat ihn herumgeführt und mit ihm drei Fragen zu aktuellen Projekten notiert:

What is the new project you discussed today with the former president of ASSITEJ Germany Wolfgang Schneider?
As ASSITEJ International we intend to participate in the next Creative Europe Program call with a cooperation project (large scale for the period 2021-2025). We would like to develop artistic research about language barriers, one of the points of the ASSITEJ Working Plan. We aim at a project about reflection on communication through the artistic work, about the flow of understanding in general, and then descend into the details of intercultural dialogue, mutual understanding, respect for the languages of other ages, children and youth as specific cultural diversity. Investigating the languages of performing arts and overcoming language barriers are issues, opportunities and may be possible bridges. It will be a project involving nine European festivals for TYA. The artistic research will be led by Brigitte Dethier and Alex Byrne. And we would like to add an academic research that could offer artists a different point of view on the project’s themes. This is what we talked about today with Wolfgang, because we asked him to design the modalities and the structure of this research – and then to direct it, if the application is accepted.

How are the preparations going with your next festival Visioni di futuro, visioni di teatro… ?
There will be 10 days totally dedicated to children from 0 to 6 years of age and to all those adults, parents, teachers and artists, who live with them those moments of intense sensitive sharing that enclose shows and events of performing arts. We offer 43 shows by 19 companies (12 of them are international), 18 workshops for teachers and educators, an experience of artists meeting early years involving 12 from the next generation from 10 different countries all over the world. And also: The Open Window that will host ASSITEJ Australia this year, the exhibition of illustrations „Children spectator“, 15 conferences and conversations for operators and teachers – and the welcome surprise of hosting a short meeting of the Executive Committee to take care of the last details in preparation for the next ASSITEJ World Congress in Tokyo. The whole programme has been sold out for a long time and we are very much looking forward to the festival!

Being a member of the Executive Committee of ASSITEJ International: what do you expect in Tokyo for the next World Congress this May?
After the exciting experience of Cape Town 2017 I want to go to Tokyo without expectations, to avoid comparisons. I want to give myself a space to be surprised, to take advantage of the many opportunities offered by the World Congress – if you visit with curiosity.
However it will be a great opportunity for me to observe the variety, in terms of contents and formats, of the proposals of the companies coming from different Asian countries of which I have a very partial knowledge. Moreover it will be the moment of the Congress, certainly no less important than the Festival, because it is the place where the relations between different national centers and international networks are strengthened, where ASSITEJ’s path is redesigned – which I hope will continue to pursue a transnational vision of openness and sharing.