The project « Théâtre sans frontières : cap à l’Est » « Drama without Borders : Heading Eastwards » is aimed at setting up an artistic production gathering 2 groups of 22 high school students ( age group: 15 -18 years old) used to practicing drama activities on a regular basis . Both groups come from rural areas in France (Chinon) and Lithuania (Sakiai). This one-week school exchange will give the two groups the opportunity to immerse themselves in their partner country’s culture, customs and skills. They will thus be able to take part in drama workshops, share their knowledge and experiences, attend acting and performance classes as well as various plays and shows (classical theatre/ modern theatre/opera/ dance/ circus…), discuss their tastes, traditions , and artistic choices, and eventually follow the evolution of their counterparts‘ artistic work .Each group of students will indeed work all along the year on a specific project and on an author who embodies the cultural specificity of the partner country. By regularly communicating via social networks and a dedicated blog and sharing other special moments, both French and Lithuanian students will discover and make the most of the specificities of each country, this interchange of cultural experiences will enrich their experience of “otherness” which is so much at the core of creation and art. Thus, while French students will discover authors from Eastern countries (Russia, Poland, and Lithuania of course), Lithuanian students will explore western theatre and its main authors. In April 2020, the two projects will be united and presented on the same day to an audience in Chinon’s Espace Rabelais performance hall. The project will be supervised by an education team involved in teaching practical and theoretical drama and by professional artists: Mrs Migle Bereikaite, an actress, Laura Saunoriené and Marijanas Staniulènas, both choreographers. It will also involve – together with the education team and the school administrators – the students’ families, the local people, the local elected officials and cultural services as well as the regional cultural and artistic structures (theatre and opera houses, music and drama academies and schools) which will all fully take part in the project and intervene at each level.
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 "Cap à l'est !", a partnership between the Lycée Rabelais in Chinon (France) andthe 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 "The Master and Magaret", by Boulgakov. They were supervised by their drama teacher Catherine Jacoux, aided by Christine Raoux, as well as by professional artists, the French-Lithuanian actress Migle Bereikaite and the french actress Korotoumou Sidibe. On their part, the Lithuanians staged a play by the french author Marivaux "The double inconstancy", which was directed by their teacher Vilija Meskaitiene, along with choreographer Laura Saunoriené. In November 2019, 21 French pupils travelled to Sakiai, with Ms Jacoux, Ms Bereikaite and Ms Raoux. Besides the surprise of discovering Lithuania and its traditions, 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 scool performance hall. The performance, with both French and Lithuanian pupils on the same stage, was a great success. In April, 22 Lithuanian students should have had the opportunity to discover France, the town of Chinon, as well as the Lycée Rabelais and their host families. Several visits have been organised, such as a journey in Paris, a visit to the Castle of candé, the Royal Fortress in Chinon, or the Rabelais museum, 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, should have been the presentation, by each of the groups, of their work at the Espace Rabelais (Chinon's performance hall). The performance should have been followed by a Loire valley style buffet in the renowned Caves Painctes in Chinon, and an open mic, in the presence of Mrs Isabelle Raimond-Pavero, senator for Indre et Loire, school staff members, pupils, families, elected officials, etc. Unfortunately, the health crisis prevented us from carrying out the second part of the project, and we had to withdraw on March 16, 2020. However, 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), geography, economy, literature (discovering new authors), and of course the arts. Practical exercises in the different workshops in 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.