Be Spectactive! 2 : still moving, still acting!


1. Spring creation… how we bounced back

47 teams applied for the « Creating with Europe” call for projects. From March to June, a series of virtual committee meetings in small groups were organised, to pre-select the project for which Occitanie en Scène and partners, would act as executive producers. The spectators gave evaluation criteria, while taking into consideration types of participation potential. Each application was thus studied in depth. Common tools, such as selection matrix or exchange platforms, were used to facilitate communication and analysis of each application. Atelline’s public relations officers, TheArtistic Season of Melando the Periscope Theatre and Grand Rond Theatre moderated the groups and provided support to spectators throughout the pre-selection process. The spectators used the lockdown period to create a benevolent forum for exchange and brainstorming. The three participating committees, Le Petit Cercle (Grand Rond Theatre), Les Loupiotes (The Artistic Season of Melando) and Scop’toujours (Periscope Theatre), were part of the selection groups. Social distancing meant that we relied on remote, video conferencing communication, fuelling the desire to come together to work again.

 

2. The purpose of this collaborative action

Three artistic teams were selected:
Primesautier Theatre Company, for Manifesto!
Toiles Cirées Company, for Avant, la forêt
Le Cri Dévot Company, for #Generation(s)

In order to prepare the three teams for presentation of their projects to the European partners, they were accompanied by Occitanie en Scène and coached by Simon Hanukai, via four training sessions.

Finally, the European partners unanimously chose #Generation(s) project.

Created in 2011 in Montpellier, the company Le Cri Dévot develops its artistic approach around the writing of true stories and collaborative projects. Latest creations address the theme of transmission and collective memory from a family and teenage angle, memories and community, and the relationship to great, 20th century History.

The creation is planned for May 2022, in Occitanie. The residences in Sweden, Italy and Slovakia will take place between November 2021 and February 2022.

Résidence Cie Le Cri Dévot dans une classe de première à Uzès - janvier 2020 @Le Cri Dévot

Compagnie Le Cri Dévot with students, Uzès (Gard) – january 2020 @Le Cri Dévot

3. How the issue of teams with commitments for residencies or dissemination was handled

We were to welcome Croatian artists, Koraljka Begović and Nastasja Štefanić, for their project Playing Reality, in April at the Albarède Theatre (Ganges) The health crisis meant that the residency finally took place at our partner’s headquarters in Croatia, in order to maintain the premiere on October 6th, 2020, during Zagreb Festival. The idea would therefore be to host Playing Reality in 2022, in collaboration with associated partners in Occitanie.

In October 2020, the Periscope Theatre (Nîmes) was to host a residency for Serbian artists Vojvodjanski Tamburaški Orkestar, for Assimilate project (they were forced to postpone the residence until May 2021, for the same reasons). To enable artists to make progress in their research, we send them digitised documents from the Gard Departmental Archives and organise interviews with people from immigrant backgrounds, or with links to traditional music and/or dance, such as flamenco or occitan music.

 

4. How spectator committees continue to be active.

In September, we organised a street performance festival weekend at the Sorties de Rue de Ramonville. We had sixteen spectators, from three committees: Le Petite Cercle (Grand Rond Theatre), Scop’toujours (Periscope) and Les Loupiotes (The artistic season of Melando).

They were able to attend five performances throughout the weekend; meet Claire Mateau, coordinator of Arto association; and spend the night at Le Tracteur, a place of residence and creation, located in Cintegabelle. A sight visit was made by Marie Brien. It was an opportunity for spectators to identify performances that they would potentially programme.

For the second consecutive year, our spectator committees will participate in the European Spectator Day, a festival dedicated to their experience as spectators and to European artistic exchange.

Portuguese artist Raquel André has imagined a project to bring together and share various spectator experiences through the creation of a website collectionofspectators.com.

This festival is open to all and we invite you to participate by visiting the site weekly.

This year’s European Spectator Day will also be an opportunity for our committees to meet and share with the Cafe de las Artes (Santander), with whom we will stage a long-distance discussion.

 

Comités spectateurs — visite au Tracteur (Cintegabelle), lieu de création et de résidence - septembre 2020

Tracteur (Cintegabelle) – septembre 2020

Occitanie en scène:
Angèle Picgirard
+33 (0)7 67 84 50 86
a.picgirard[@]occitanie-en-scene.fr

Inès Vauthier
+33 (0)6 70 85 48 21
i.vauthier[@]occitanie-en-scene.fr

The BE SpectACTive! project is co-funded by
the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.