Being enchanted by the idea and the spirit of theatre festivals and out of curiosity, I checked the Internet for festivals the other day. And the enormous number of theatre festivals taking place all over the world during the next four months amazed me. Hundreds! The whole world a stage and a never-ending venue?

So, what is the miracle about a festival besides the word that already does promise non-stop fun?

Having been involved in the preparation and production of what was planned to become a major international theatre festival, I was driven only by one factor: love and passion for the ancient Greek drama. Which, as it turned out, as a rather bitter truth, was probably not enough to turn a plan into reality.

It takes sponsors, a huge excellent staff of capable co-workers and time.

The drive for others to go into all these preparations (given the fact that they do have all the money, media and people to work with)?

The introduction to most festivals seems to be written by the same person, or does the same spirit influence everyone? It usually reads something like:

“New faces, new ideas, new perceptions; a continuation of last year’s festival with a new orientation, new concerns, new topics and, as a matter of course, new names. The festival’s new Artistic Directors XXX are the designated XXX Director of XXX and author of novels and plays, both for stage and radio. His versatility, his familiarity with widely varying genres is impressive enough in itself. But what makes him apparently predestined for the programming of the

XXX festival is the way he experiences the world by travelling, the fact that he is constantly moving and that this movement is the very theme of his literary work.”

So, it seems, the fundamental thing in achieving a task as a director of a festival is to be someone with a name. Fair enough! Seems I was apparently not predestined…

What about the spirit then?
What about the layout for a festival that states as follows?

“As inhabitants of the Western industrial nations, we live accelerated lives, defined by a multitude of information and networks, shaping our perception and our conscience. We live within mutually interfering networks, developing at terrific speed. We think internationally, act interactively, and work interdisciplinary. All this speed, all this “Inter” is giving us vertigo – we have to join the motion in order to be able to position points of reference from within it…. etc “

We are talking about actors, a director, a play and lots of people backstage who come from a different town, country or even continent to do what?

Perform, play, act, see, exchange, talk, meet people, have fun. Or was I wrong in my original concept?

Could that be the answer?

“A contemporary festival should take this accelerated and interlinked life into account, as should contemporary theatre. This is why the new XXX festival will be an interdisciplinary festival.

And this is what the XXX aims to achieve: to present a broad, interdisciplinary spectrum of artistic work, to point out connections and influences – to try to do justice to the complexity of our present times.”

What justice?
That is what it’s all about? Art out of justice to the complexity of our present times?

But the introduction to another international European festival explains, what art is about.

“Art is one area of life in which references, mutual influences and networks manifest themselves with particular clarity. The boundaries between music theatre, drama, dance, performance, video art, literature and music have become more and more permeable. There is, therefore, a need for openness towards these other art forms, these new media, to get a grasp on reality through art.”

The venue I had been dreaming of was meant to be a “festival” in the word’s original meaning –a celebration. An homage. A chance to see friends. A chance to see plays whose development I had shared from the beginning. The joy and expectation to share with others what I knew would be an unique experience and had been hard, disciplined work for everyone involved in the preparations, planning, and rehearsals.

Among all the big words and nonsense I read was however a statement from the makers of a small Canadian theatre festival: “I hope this upcoming festival will appeal to those of us who believe in the urgent necessity of theatre”.

Thank you! The necessity of theatre.
Next year I might dare to plan my festival once again from the very beginning.

  ©2003 Andrea Kapsaski

For more commentary and articles by Andrea Kapsaski, check the Archives.

Andrea Kapsaski is a Ph.D scholar, translator,
theatre and film producer, and a hell of a cook.

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