Conservatoires are places of outstanding training excellence, in intense interaction with the national and international labour market, through the recruitment of highly qualified teacher-artists. They enjoy means that give them the possibility to carry out innovative actions, in connection with a research dimension on the one hand, and with the evolutions of the profession on the other hand. Their aesthetic and pedagogical choices reflect a strategic vision of the profession that the students graduating from these schools will then disseminate in the industry, of which they are often high-profile participants, and where they frequently work themselves as trainers, with other professionals, school and university teachers, or amateurs. The six conservatoires and superior schools of theatre involved in this project and operating in five European countries (France, Germany, Poland, Spain and Scotland) are aware of the various challenges this situation involves. They are constantly trying to open up to the diversity and the whole range of audiences in vocational training, and to adapt their courses to the cultural and economic changes in the sector, while taking into account major social issues, particularly from the point of view of the inclusion of disadvantaged audiences. Five of these schools are also members of the EUTSA network, where their dynamism and willingness to get involved in Europeanisation and international cooperation is reflected in their presence on the steering committee, where they were elected in 2016. However, the initial vocational training provided in these institutions is still very much marked by a more than century-old, national and monolingual teaching model. It needs to evolve, in particular by integrating a transnational and multilingual dimension, and thus contribute to supporting the internationalisation of the sector, which is desired by the stakeholders and the supervisory authorities, of training and vocational provision as a whole. This observation, shared by these schools and conservatoires, was further developed and quantified in a dialogue with a pair of researchers who are the authors of the attached study (ANNEX 1). Its main conclusions were shared in the course of intensive exchanges with several artistic and professional organisations in the performing arts and cultural diplomacy, especially focusing on issues of linguistic diversity and transnational cultural cooperation. All of these actors share the conviction that internationalisation, and in particular the increased mobility of professionals in Europe, supported by the introduction of multilingualism and cross-cultural skills, is a very relevant response to the economic and societal challenges that these schools, and the whole professional sector, are facing today. The overall objective of the project is therefore to strengthen transnational cooperation in order to create the conditions for a true European integration in the professional field of theatre. Which will be done through: -the development of training contents and skills (in particular language skills) which students and professionals in the sector need in order to be able to develop their professional life at a European/international level; -the pooling of practices, pedagogical and artistic approaches, and heritages, with a view to developing shared education and training programmes for professionals in the performing arts within schools and in particular via a dedicated platform E:UTSA Online Academie; -strengthening the mobility of European actors and directors, by acting on both the supply side (development of skills) and the demand side (creation of new opportunities for transnational collaboration). The target groups are: Current and recently graduated students, educators, relevant staff, associated artists and researchers in schools. Active members and users (artists, researchers, volunteers), staff (artistic direction, partnerships and international development) of partner arts organisations. Educators, users, audiences and relevant staff (cultural cooperation, language teaching) of cultural institutes. Trainers and users, national vocational training agencies. The whole sector and in particular actors and directors wishing to develop their activity internationally, production and distribution venues whose activity requires knowledge of the different European professional contexts, deaf artists, theatre or dance companies integrating sign languages.
Le premier résultat attendu était le lancement de la plateforme E:UTSA Academie. Les partenaires ont produits plusieurs documents en format rapport et vidéo. Ces décrivent les contextes et acteurs principaux des différentes industries, proposent de nombreuses recommendations, et sont complétés par des documents ressources. Le deuxième résultat attendu était la création d’une stratégie de soutien à la mobilité et à l'européanisation des pratiques pour le réseau E:UTSA et au delà. La stratégie proposée par le groupe sera présentée lors de l’AG d’E:UTSA 2024. Le troisième résultat attendu était la conception de spectacles multilingues conçus et réalisés par l’équipe pilote. Les spectacles ont eu lieu les 5 et 6 juillet 2023 au CNSAD-PSL. Les partenaires sont à la recherche de festivals ou des théâtres pouvant à présent les accueillir dans des conditions professionnelles. Le quatrième résultat attendu était le lancement du JTE (Jeune Théâtre Européen). Il s’agira d’un organisme de production transnational qui aura pour vocation à inciter à la création multilingue et transnationale en Europe. Le but est également que les artistes supportés par les projets du JTE soient majoritairement issus des écoles du consortium E:UTSA.
Le projet ACADEMIX! est né au sein du consortium E:UTSA (Europe: Union of Theater Schools and Academies). Ce réseau met en lien les personnels, professeurs et élèves de différentes écoles de théâtre du continent européen. Il a pour but de faire émerger des projets et des collaborations théâtrales entre écoles et artistes, de mettre en place un large réseau professionnel, et d’échanger des bonnes pratiques. Malgré l’existence de nombreux échanges financés par Erasmus+ (concernant principalement les élèves) et les collaborations entre les écoles du réseau à certaines occasions, les responsables des établissements ainsi que les professionnels de l’industrie du théâtre en Europe, consultés dans l’écriture du projet, avaient dressé les constats suivants : - La difficulté à mobiliser d’autres langues que les langues d’apprentissage et l’anglais dans le cursus de formation des élèves en art dramatique - L’absence quasi totale de productions théâtrales transnationales entre élèves et/ou alumni issus des écoles du réseau E:UTSA. - L’absence de ressources communes concernant les différentes industries européennes ou le multilinguisme. Les rares échanges et/ou mobilités des professeurs entre les différentes écoles du réseau E:UTSA.