The project " Theater without borders: let's share our classics! " have the ambition to allow the realization of an artistic creation by bringing together 2 groups of 15 high school students (between 15 and 18 years old). All of them have a regular theater practice and are coming from the high schools located in rural areas: one in Chinon in France and the other in Sakiai in Lithuania. A one-week exchange for students from both partner countries will be an opportunity to immerse themselves in each other’s culture, practices and skills. They will be able to share theatrical practice workshops, exchange knowledge and experiences, attend together various classes and shows (classical or contemporary theater, opera, dance, circus ...), discuss tastes, traditions and choices. artistic, finally, to follow the progress of the artistic work carried out by their European comrades. Each group of students will work throughout the year on a specific project, and on an author embodying the cultural specificity of his country. Thanks to regular meetings via social networks, a blog, emails and videos exchanges, etc., and during these special meeting and sharing moments in the each of the host countries, French and Lithuanian students will then discover this specificity, and enrich themselves with the otherness of which art and creation is fed. Thus, the French students will stage a comedy-ballet by Molière, "The Bourgeois Gentleman", and will work on the repertoire of French Baroque music of the 17th century (Boesset, Lambert, Lully ...), under the direction of François Bazola , director of the old music ensemble Consonance. For their part, Lithuanian students will work on a comedy of Keturakis, "America in the sauna" In May 2019, the 2 projects will be able to be gathered and presented to the public during the same evening, at Espace Rabelais in Chinon. The project will be supervised on the one hand by a teaching team involved in the theoretical and practical teaching of the theater, and on the other hand by professional artists as Ms. Migle Bereikaite - actress, Ensemble Consonance under the direction of Mr. François Bazola, Laura Saunoriené and Marijanas Staniulénas, choreographers. It will also mobilize, in addition to all the educational and administrative personnel of the partner schools, the families of the students involved, the local population, the territorial elected representatives and the municipal cultural services, as well as the regional cultural and artistic structures (theaters, operas, conservatories or schools of music and drama) who will be involved in the project and will intervene at various levels. Original and ambitious, our project is however realistic. It feeds on our common theater experience and specific objectives - concrete and measurable. Beyond purely artistic objectives, our projet contributes to the training of judgment and taste, as well as to the reduction of territorial and socio-cultural inequalities of which many students are victims, inequalities that, we know, are frequently associated with economic and academic difficulties and are accompanied by an almost total absence of mobility. We also know that such cultural openness is not without impact on the success path of each student, and produces positive effects in more theoretical disciplines. In this sense, such project is an effective way to fight against failure or dropping out of school, and helps to strengthen the motivation of the student, and to develop the fundamental values of solidarity, respect and tolerance.
To allow two groups of secondary school pupils from rural areas to discover another country whose fascinatingly strange language they knew nothing about, to encounter different cultures, traditions, and practices (artistic or not), to create long-lasting bonds of friendship with other pupils, families and teachers, and finally to experience differences in repertoire, directing and performing in shared workshop sessions, these were the aims of our project, called "Théâtre sans frontières : échangeons nos classiques !" (Theatre without borders; let's swap our classics!), a partnership between the Lycée Rabelais in Chinon (France) and the Ziburio Gymansija in Sakiai (Lithuania). The two schools were chosen because of their size, their location (far from large urban cultural centres), and similar profiles. The pupils shared a common practice of the theatre arts in their schools, as well as a love of acting. So, the exchange between the two groups was conceived in relation to these arts, with the final ambition, for each of the partners, of presenting a play that was iconic of the culture of their country. Thus, the French pupils worked on "La Princesse d'Élide", a little-known comédie-ballet by Molière. They were supervised by their drama teacher Catherine Jacoux, aided by Christine Raoux, as well as by a group of professional artists, the French-Lithuanian actress Migle Bereikaite and "Consonance", a baroque music ensemble directed by François Bazola. On their part, the Lithuanians staged a play by Keturakis called "America in the sauna", which was directed by their teacher Vilija Meskaitiene, along with choreographer Laura Saunoriené. There were two steps to the exchange: in December fourteen French pupils travelled to Sakiai, with Ms Jacoux, Ms Bereikaite and five professional musicians. Besides the surprise of discovering Lithuania covered in snow, they had the opportunity to share varied artistic and cultural activities such as visits, workshops and lessons with their Lithuanian counterparts … At the end of the week this first meeting led to a joint performance at the new Sakiai Cultural Centre, around "La Princesse d'Élide" and Lully's vocal compositions. The performance, with both French and Lithuanian pupils, was a great success. At the end of April, 16 Lithuanian students had the opportunity to discover France, (with a short visit to Paris), the town of Chinon, as well as the Lycée and their host families. Several visits were organised, to the Château de Chambord and the Royal Fortress in Chinon, as well as theatre workshops in Tours, and the Centre Dramatique National (National Drama Centre), directed by Jacques Vincey. The highlight of the week, and the apex of the project, occurred when each of the groups presented their work at the Espace Rabelais (Chinon's performance hall), on Tuesday April 30th, 2019. A large audience (inhabitants of Chinon, teachers, school staff members, pupils, families, elected officials) greatly enjoyed the performance, which was followed by a Loire valley style buffet in the renowned Caves Painctes in Chinon, and an open mic. Mrs Isabelle Raimond-Pavero, senator for Indre et Loire, who awarded the project generous financial support, was also there. Finally, the exchange had very positive results, both for the pupils and the whole educational community: progress in language proficiency (English is shared by French and Lithuanian pupils alike), history (for instance, the history of Soviet-bloc countries and the ex-USSR thanks to the visit to the KGB museum, the history of France and its monarchy, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Templars, etc.), geography, economy, literature (discovering new authors), and of course the arts. Practical exercises in the different workshops in France and Lithuania were reused for lessons for other pupils. But the greatest benefit goes way beyond the framework of school or the arts. This exchange enabled each person involved to mature by coping with foreignness, while developing values of tolerance and respect. The links that were forged between pupils, but also between teachers, are extremely valuable and likely to become long-lasting relationships. Several French families are already planning a discovery visit to Lithuania! And the partnership between the two schools was such a success that it will be extended next year for a new exchange project, and a new European theatrical adventure.