The project ATIPIA (Applied Theatre in Practising Integrated Approaches: Movement and voice as connecting expressions) is a new European partnership with the main idea to share the concept and practices of applied theatre on a wider European level. ATIPIA – recalling the notion of “atypical” – has an innovative quality of incorporating unique nonverbal, embodied performative techniques of voice, movement and body-awareness into the field of theatre education for adult and elderly target groups. The partnership consists of five members aiming to exchange good practices. Káva Drama/Theatre in Education Association (Hungary): recognised and well-trained pioneers of applied theatre and TIE, with about twenty years of experience. Leeds Beckett University and Teresa Brayshaw (UK): Principal Lecturer Performing Art, a qualified Feldenkrais practitioner and awareness through movement teacher with an age-friendly institutional background. Colaborative Reichenow (Germany): a "gesamtkunst" artistic community, hosting the pedagogic and therapeutic voice programme, the 'Eigene Stimme,' inspired by the traditions of Roy Hart. Roy Hart International Arts Centre (France): keepers of a knowledge-based European heritage, the unique pedagogic and artistic concept of ‘voice without boundaries.’ Shoshin Theatre Association (Romania): the coordinators of the project, creators, developers and sustainers of artistic, pedagogic and social theatre projects. The idea of the project has arisen out of the need to implement and strengthen applied theatre competences in Romania, the main importer partner country. It is based on the recognition of the lack of theatre education – as a tool of social inclusion, community building and therapeutic self-expression – addressing adult learners. ATIPIA intends to unfold the great potential inherent in nonverbal inclusive techniques, as forms of non-hierarchical expression and perception of others. Five joint staff training activities within 13 months, with the participation of all the partner organisations give the kind of pillars of the project. These are occasions to learn each others’ working methods and skills, and experiment on their pedagogic combinations. The first in Budapest (HU) will be a kick-off event, where all the partners will introduce their techniques, and find a common base for further cooperation and strategies. The second in Malerargues (FR), the third in Leeds (UK) and the forth in Reichenow (DE) will give space for a more complex engagement with the partners’ specific practices of adult education, and their integration into applied theatre. The fifth training in Cluj-Napoca (RO) is a certain climax of the implementation process: a summary in practice of the educators’ knowledge exchange, an open test programme with the participation of a civil target group that will consist of workshop series and a public work demonstration. Supporting the main activity, there will be two joint staff training, allowing more focused collaborations of members of different partners. Shoshin delegates two colleagues to Leeds Beckett University to study the initiations of ‘active aging’ and receive a Feldenkrais training, which they can integrate into their pedagogic work. A colleague of Káva will supervise the preparation of the final pilot test programme in Cluj-Napoca. Roy Hart Centre will host two members of Shoshin on a longer term, to transmit their voice approach during an intense, profound training. As a result of the training activities, a permanent expert team will be formed, based in Cluj-Napoca. Their will be three organizational mobility meetings in the beginning, in the mid-term and towards the end of the project duration. The last mobility meeting in Budapest will also give space for presenting all the outcomes of the project. Four outcomes are planned: a documentary film about the activities, a research of the new applied theatre approach, three articles about the main exporter partners and the open test programme with a public work demonstration. ATIPIA relies on two main values to be shared on a European level: One is the age friendly programme of Leeds Beckett University, providing educational access for older people, as a real answer for an actual demographic issue in Europe, and the ‘active aging’ as a form of social inclusion and reduction of generational gaps. The other is the Roy Hart Centre’s unique ‘voice without boundaries’ concept, as a European cultural heritage. One of the missions of the project is to contribute to the dissemination of this pedagogic, therapeutic, socially inclusive and artistic treasure. As a conclusion, ATIPIA intends to experiment on a new adult education form, which we named as post-dramatic applied theatre. On a long term perspective, it will lead to the search for new educational methods. The present project is a preparation of the future vision of ATIPIA 2, a two year-long innovative strategic partnership.
The project ATIPIA (Applied Theatre in Practising Integrated Approaches: Movement and voice as connecting expressions) was a new European partnership with the main idea to share the concept and different practices of applied theatre on a wider European level. It had an innovative quality by incorporating unique nonverbal, embodied performative techniques of voice, movement and body-awareness into the field of theatre education for adult educators and elderly target groups. The idea of the project emerged from the need identified in the region of the coordinating organization (Shoshin Theatre Association). In Romania the afore mentioned different theatre techniques represented in this case by the participating partners: Káva Drama/Theatre in Education Association (Hungary), Leeds Beckett University and Teresa Brayshaw (UK), Colaborative Reichenow (Germany), Roy Hart International Arts Centre (France), are not known by the adult educators or by the potential beneficiaries. Moreover the experienced partners wanted to learn and experiment with new techniques. The project was constructed based on these principles with the following objectives: to have common trainings hosted by each partner, in order to learn and experiment with each other’s techniques, and through these to have by the end of the project a combined set of tools which was tried out with a civil elderly target group. In case of the coordinating organization as a result a team of adult educators were also formed who participated on the trainings and can continue to incorporate these methods into their work in the local region. Accordingly with the project’s objectives we held five joint staff trainings: one in each partner's country. The first four served as a profound meeting of the partners and their methods. The partners took turns in leading and participating in the trainings, giving space for everybody. Each training was led by the hosting organization, the others participating in the sessions. The visits were supplemented by tours in the local organizations facilities in order to meet the local circumstances and culture. The last one held in Cluj-Napoca was a complex training led collectively by the partners to the civil target group. One longer training was also scheduled where two members of the coordinating organization visited Leeds Beckett University to acquire techniques and methodologies through intense training used by the establishment in the field of education, active aging, movement awareness and different performative styles. The two members were able to meet a number of diverse local and regional groups and/or initiatives active in the field of participatory theatre. During the joint staff trainings 38 different adult educators from the five participating organizations were involved, many of them participated on several trainings. These participants formed the first target group of the project: beginner or professional adult educators from the field of applied theatre. On the final joint staff training the second target group was addressed by the coordinating organization: seven 60+ elderly participants from Cluj-Napoca who participated in the one-week long workshop. This session was ended with a public presentation of the work the partners prepared during the week. There were present approximately 30 people who were interested in applied theatre or came from other areas such as social workers. The first few trainings prepared the adult educators in terms of the techniques and the partnership in terms of collaboration for the final training where the verbal, non-verbal and body awareness techniques complemented each other and they proven to be beneficial to the elderly participants on physical and mental level as well. The community we formed during the project cooperated well and made strong connections with the elderly participants. As a result, maintaining a longer impact, the local community from Cluj-Napoca will continue to meet and work together with the coordinating organization and its adult educators on a regular basis. During the 13 months of the project there were three organizational mobility meetings: in the beginning, in the mid-term and towards the end of the project. During these 18 different people have participated from the organizations. The last mobility meeting in Budapest also gave space for presenting all the outcomes of the project for 12 interested from the field of theatre. Four outcomes were completed: a documentary film about the activities, three articles about the trainings, two research papers and the open test programme with a public work demonstration. As a conclusion, ATIPIA experimented on a new adult education form, which on a long term perspective leads to the search for new educational methods. The present project was a preparation of the future vision of ATIPIA 2, a two year-long innovative strategic partnership.