East European Performing Arts Platform (EEPAP) supports the
development of contemporary performing arts (dance and theatre)
in 18 countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

Les Kurbas Theatre on EEPAP

sylwias
Description
Information about institution: 

Marta Shvets, Les Kurbas Theatre (Lviv, Ukraine):

"I think, these four aspects of the network identified in Krakow it is enough to start doing/networking. It is not necessary to add more, we need to deal with those already identified. Below I will write what I think and how my Institutions or I can join these issues/working groups.

  • culture policy: there is no culture policy in Ukraine. To say more precisely, there is official policy to destroy the Ukrainian culture. This is evidenced by recent laws for culture which Ukrainian government legislated. So what we need here in Ukraine is not to change culture policy, but to change current president and government. But it is not issue for EEPAP.
  • knowledge exchange: this is very important issue for Ukrainian culture/Ukrainian theater. The Ukrainian culture by and large is in a certain isolation (I think this is happening with culture in all countries of the so-called Eastern Partnership). First of all because those who officially manage culture, who manages major state cultural institutions, they are not interesting in the progress, they feel much calmer if nothing changes. And it’s huge problem of our culture, our society, big problem for young people who see that nothing has changed and lose interest for their own culture. Therefore, exchanges/lectures/workshops of our colleagues from other countries could bring some fresh air to the cultural situation, they could engage young people, help them to participate and even initiate cultural changes in Ukraine and other countries.

Les Kurbas Theatre is ready for active participation in such activity. Moreover, we have long practiced such activity and we are constantly serving workshops and lectures by our colleagues from Ukraine and abroad. Well, we have its own interest because our Theater has its own acting and directing school (until 2001 it functioned as an Studio in the Theater, and it is officially operates as the Course at the Lviv National University for last 10 years) and next year we are going to recruit new actor’s course.

In addition, Les Kurbas Theatre holds its own Theatre Festival "Theatre: Method and Practice" and main idea of this Festival is actually knowledge exchange. The Festival includes not only demonstration of performances, but also a mandatory exchange of experiences/methodologies/information (workshops and lectures) during the event. Also, the Company holds our own workshops in Ukraine (Theatre Institutes in Kyiv and Kharkiv) and abroad (CPR in the UK, U.S. theatrical schools: Yale, Harvard, Columbia and Pennsylvania Universities). So we are very interesting and ready to learn from someone else's experience, and ready to share our own!

  • education: yes!!!  As Lenin said, "learn, learn, and learn again!" smiley Moreover, there is no schools that train cultural managers or curators in Ukraine. Me, for example, I’m theater critic by my background, but I had to start to do cultural management because it was very more needful for my Company than my work as Dramaturg smiley. So my education in this field is only my experience and my own tests and errors. There is the same situation with the majority of my colleagues who are engaged in cultural management in Ukraine. Therefore, such activity of network is really needfull!
  • programming & organisation: "yes" again! Les Kurbas Theatre has already some experience in such activities - we have implemented several joint projects and joint productions in the last few years. We have experience in the organization, in finding funds. We have knowledge of all organizational, legal, financial nuances that may appear in such activity. So we can share this experience and give an advice and we are open for interesting ideas and interesting projects.

P.S.
Regarding Rotating board – yes, great idea!
Regarding including Western European participants to the network – yes, of course! smiley"