FRATZ International 2024
Encounters – Symposium – Festival for the very young
Oct 11 – 17
Here comes our selection for the 2024 edition of FRATZ!
It was the first time FRATZ implemented a jury and an open call to reach out to a wider community of theater makers for very young audiences. Our aim was to bring more artistic perspectives into our programming process and the festival.
We received 113 entries in response to the open call and thank all colleagues for taking part and sharing their work. After reviewing and discussing the entries in several rounds, the jury chose three productions. Together with a play curated by our Indian partner THINK ARTS Kolkata and the contributions and cooperations of the festival organizer, Theater o.N., the festival will present a diverse program for babies and children.
The productions selected by the jury are:
Dalija Acin Thelander
Fields of tender
An immersive durational dance performance for babies and children with disabilities | 3 months to 10 years
tout petit
Shall we together...
Performance for children from 2,5 years and seniors
Magnet Theatre
Bounced
Performance for children from 3-6 years
The production selected by the arts organization ThinkArts Kolkata is:
Sananda Mukhopadhyaya
I Am Home (Hanv Gara Asa)
Play for children from 2-5 years
The productions presented by the organizer Theater o.N. are:
Alfredo Zinola
THINGS at the End of the World
A dance performance about materials and nature | from 2 years
Theater o.N. & Nir de Volff
LUFT
Dance performance for all ages | from 3 years
The jury chose originally one more performance:
Hong Kong Five Senses Education Experimental Theatre (HK5Senses)
Lines on Planet
All starts from a line - Performance for children from 2 years
Sadly, we had to learn that Gemini Wong Yuk Tak, the artistic director of Hong Kong Five Senses, passed away last November. For the group, which is currently struggling with questions of how to go on, it is currently not possible to realize a trip to Germany and show their production “Lines on planet” at the festival.
We would like to create an exchange with the artists of HK5 Senses as part of the festival to honor the great work Gemini created for young children in Hong Kong and the passion with which she followed her goal of inspiring families to nourish their relationships through the performing arts. This continues a conversation we started digitally with Gemini at FRATZ symposium 2022.
The jury consisted of six members:
* Tessa Hart - culture and change maker in the performing arts, film and sociocultural field
* Susanne Tod - theater educator with a focus on diversity and access consulting
* Marie Yan - author and dramaturg with a focus on postcolonial and queer-feminist perspectives
* Vera Strobel/Dagmar Domrös/Doreen Markert - artistic directors of Theater o.N. & FRATZ International.
A more detailed statement of the jury regarding the selected productions will be published shortly. Detailed information on the productions and groups, the symposium events and a performance schedule and will be published by June 15th at www.fratz-festival.de
We congratulate all invited groups and artists! We look forward to seeing the productions together and entering in a lively exchange in Berlin in the fall.
The FRATZ team
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ThinkArts Kolkata is an organization, that creates, curates and facilitates quality arts engagements and experiences for children and young audiences in various cities in India. Theater o.N./FRATZ International have been in contact with ThinkArts for many years and have asked the organization to curate a guest performance from India and design a laboratory for the local scene. https://www.thinkarts.co.in/
FRATZ International was created in 2013 by Theater o.N. in Berlin and has since invited the international children's theater scene to Berlin six times. Every two years, FRATZ presents remarkable guest performances in Berlin. It also hosts a symposium to discuss and explore the latest developments in dance and theater for very young audiences. Colleagues from all over the world meet in Berlin for this international exchange. We are currently working on the program and will publish more information as we move along. In the meantime, we invite you to peruse the FRATZ Reflections from previous editions to get an impression: https://www.fratz-festival.de/en/fratz-reflections/
The festival is aimed at children from 0-6 years and follows a decentralized approach. It is important to us, that art and culture should be accessible to all people, regardless of age or social or cultural background. Therefore it is a core element of the festival that the guest performances are shown all across Berlin — sometimes at (temporary) venues in districts where, otherwise, theater rarely occurs. We are also working on better accessibility for children with disabilities and special needs. For certain performances at FRATZ Festival we explicitly invite all people who feel more comfortable in an inclusive atmosphere. These showings will be marked as "relaxed performances".
Before, during and after the FRATZ Festival a workshop program for preschool children between the ages of two and four is taking place, the FRATZ Encounters.
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FRATZ International Encounters – Symposium – Festival for the Very Young from 10/11 -10/17 2024 produced and presented by Theater o.N.
In cooperation with Kulturprojekte Berlin, with the kind support of GRIPS Theater, TANZKOMPLIZEN, FELD Theater für junges Publikum, Tanzhalle Wiesenburg, DOCKART, blu:boks Lichtenberg and others.
Funded by the Berlin Senate for Culture and Social Cohesion (Senat für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt).
