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Cross-cultural Exchange and Cultural Mobility

Content in this section focuses on theatremakers having conversations and creating work across geographical and cultural borders. There are many examples of powerful work here, but for those interested in learning more, consider starting with “Ten Transformative Ideas for Community-Building and Cross-Cultural Exchange.”

The Latest

Ontroerend Goed’s Participatory Metaphors
Podcast
Ontroerend Goed’s Participatory Metaphors
by Jeffrey Mosser, Alexander Devriendt
24 May 2023
IETM Aarhus Plenary Meeting 2023
Video
IETM Aarhus Plenary Meeting 2023
Living on the Edge
Monday 12 June and Wednesday 14 June 2023
Aarhus, Denmark
Claim Your Culture, Find Your Power
Essay
Claim Your Culture, Find Your Power
by Jacqueline Flores, Abel López
5 May 2023
event poster for IETM Aarhus Plenary Meeting 2023.
IETM Aarhus Plenary Meeting 2023
Video

IETM Aarhus Plenary Meeting 2023

Living on the Edge

Monday 12 June and Wednesday 14 June 2023
Aarhus, Denmark

The IETM Aarhus Plenary Meeting 2023 invites its participants to discuss and digest the ethical and practical role of the performing arts—and of the artist—in the face of climate emergency. It will present a program that aims to provoke new thoughts and inspire action, awareness, and positive impact.

From the Ground Up Podcast Teaser image featuring guest profile image.
Ontroerend Goed’s Participatory Metaphors
Podcast

Ontroerend Goed’s Participatory Metaphors

24 May 2023

Artistic director of Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed, Alexander Devriendt talks through their process for imagining and developing participatory content. Alexander and Jeffrey Mosser also dig into financing art in Europe, the cost of touring internationally and how COVID has affected it, and sustaining family and art simultaneously.

Cultural Mobility Forum event poster.
Cultural Mobility Forum 2023 in Tunis, Tunisia
Video

Cultural Mobility Forum 2023 in Tunis, Tunisia

Artistic Mobility and Environmental Sustainability

Tuesday 9 May to Wednesday 10 May 2023
Tunis, Tunisia

The Cultural Mobility Forum 2023 is an attempt to recontextualize the conversation on cross-border artistic mobility and environmental sustainability, unfolding the interdependencies between privileged (Western) Europe and other territories, investigating local practical sustainable solutions, and listening to a variety of voices from the Global South. This event will provide live captioning in English.

portrait of Sasha Denisova sitting in theater seats.
Segal Talk with Sasha Denisova (Ukraine), Igor Golyak (US/Ukraine), Sara Stackhouse (US), and Irina Kruzhilina (US)
Video

Segal Talk with Sasha Denisova (Ukraine), Igor Golyak (US/Ukraine), Sara Stackhouse (US), and Irina Kruzhilina (US)

Discussing Their Production of Sasha Denisova’s The Gaaga (The Hague)

Monday 8 May 2023
New York City

Join us for a talk with award-winning Ukrainian playwright and director Sasha Denisova (Ukraine) and artistic director Igor Golyak (US/Ukraine) of Arlekin Players Theatre to discuss their production of Sasha’s The Gaaga (The Hague). Sasha has been living in Poland, where she has collected stories from refugees who have fled their homes due to the war, and traveled to interview many officials and everyday people in her quest to create a futuristic trail of Putin in the form of this new play.

Two people standing on a barely lit stage with large photos of faces behind them.
Claim Your Culture, Find Your Power
Essay

Claim Your Culture, Find Your Power

5 May 2023

Jacqueline Flores and Abel López, co-curators of the Latinx Leaders at the Forefront series, discuss their careers, their sense of cultural identity as Latinx theatremakers, and importance of intergenerational dialogue.

Segal theatre center logo.
New Plays from the Caribbean
Video

New Plays from the Caribbean

With Stéphanie Bérard (France), Daniely Francisque (Martinique), Elvia Gutiérrez (Mexico, China), Gaël Octavia, and Others

Tuesday 2 May 2023
New York City

Join us for a conversation celebrating the unique anthology and latest Segal Center Publication, New Plays from the Caribbean, a most significant and lasting part of the 2019 Caribbean Theater Project ACT (Actions Caribéennes Théâtrales)—initiated and co-organized by the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York City, the theatre company SIYAJ from Guadeloupe, and Stéphanie Bérard.

On the left, a headshot of Nidia Medina; on the right, a headshot of Jose Luis Valenzuela.
Reflecting the United States Latinx Experience on Stage
Essay

Reflecting the United States Latinx Experience on Stage

2 May 2023

Nidia Medina, associate artistic director of INTAR Theatre, interviews José Luis Valenzuela, artistic director of the Latino Theater Company, about his path into artistic direction, his mentors, and the legacy he has cultivated.

Event poster for International Screenings from the Artistic Freedom Conference ("Fri Kunst").
Documentaries Highlighting Artistic Encounters Across the World
Video

Documentaries Highlighting Artistic Encounters Across the World

A Safe Havens Freedom Talk

Wednesday 26 April 2023
Oslo, Norway

Encounters between artists from different corners of the world are captured in a series of mini documentaries. Safe Havens Freedom Talks (SH|FT) presents Safe edition #2, launched during the Artistic Freedom Conference ("Fri Kunst").

Two people speaking on stage with one person standing behind them.
Surviving in the States: Audience Rejection on the Road with Oklahoma!
Essay

Surviving in the States: Audience Rejection on the Road with Oklahoma!

3 April 2023

The 2022 national tour of Oklahoma! brought Daniel Fish’s critically acclaimed revival to commercial theatre audiences nationwide. Those audiences met the production with overwhelming disapproval and animosity rooted in its departures from decades-old conventions. Actor Christopher Bannow, who played Jud in the touring production, details his experience of enduring audience rejection while remaining committed to engaging audiences in challenging conversations through risky theatrical choices.

János Szász and Philip Arnoult.
Coigney-Arnoult Global Theatre Awards
Video

Coigney-Arnoult Global Theatre Awards

Honoring Lifetime Achievements in Global Collaboration: James C. Nicola, Robert J. Orchard, and Molly Smith

Wednesday 29 March 2023
Washington, D.C.

Join the Center for International Theatre Development (CITD) and the Trust for Mutual Understanding at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. for a celebration of global theatre prior to the evening’s preview performance of Angels in America, Part One: Millenium Approaches, directed by János Szász. CITD founder and director Philip Arnoult will present the inaugural Coigney-Arnoult Global Theatre Awards to James C. Nicola, Robert J. Orchard, and Molly Smith in honor of their lifetime achievements in global collaboration. This virtual celebration will unite friends and supporters, along with Will Wadsworth, nephew of the late Martha Coigney.

book cover of A Permanent Parliament: Notes on Social Choreography.
Book Talk with Michael Kliën and Cory Tamler
Video

Book Talk with Michael Kliën and Cory Tamler

A Permanent Parliament: Notes on Social Choreography

Monday 20 March 2023
New York City

Artist and writer Cory Tamler holds the container, editing together her memories of her own experiences as a participant in parliament, excerpts from conversations with Kliën and from his personal archive, theoretical propositions for the way parliament could go to work in the world, and reflections from other participants in parliament over the years.

A still from Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World.
How Javaad Alipoor’s Fourth World Trilogy Disrupts What We Think We Understand About History, Politics, and the Internet
Essay

How Javaad Alipoor’s Fourth World Trilogy Disrupts What We Think We Understand About History, Politics, and the Internet

14 March 2023

Joseph Dunne-Howrie examines the way that three of Javaad Alipoor’s plays infuse the internet into theatrical performance, creating intersecting narratives that interrogate identity formation in the age of global interconnectivity.

event poster for Mobility Webinar: “Parenting, Care and Cultural Mobility” with speaker headshots.
Parenting, Care, and Cultural Mobility
Video

Parenting, Care, and Cultural Mobility

Webinar Exploring the Tensions Between Cultural Mobility and Parental Responsibility in the EU and Internationally

Tuesday 7 March 2023
European Union

For this third Mobility Webinar, On the Move will explore the tensions between cultural mobility and parental responsibility in the EU and internationally. Discussing how our ecosystem considers and manages parenthood, particularly for women, at the different stages of the creative value chain.

One performer stands next to four seated performers who hold sunflowers in their laps.
How Kyiv-Based Documentary Theatre Amplifies Ukrainian Resilience
Essay

How Kyiv-Based Documentary Theatre Amplifies Ukrainian Resilience

28 February 2023

Lisa Rafferty sits down with Ukrainian documentary storyteller Alem Kent to discuss Kent’s Our Response Ability and upcoming work with ProEnglish Theatre. Through documentary and verbatim theatre practices, these productions detail experiences of Ukrainians living under siege and working as war persists around them.

Four people stand side by side for a photo.
The International Presenting Commons Convenes at Last
Essay

The International Presenting Commons Convenes at Last

6 February 2023

The International Presenting Now convening brought a collective of US-based presenters of international work together in physical space in January 2023, following almost three years of virtual conversations and events. Janice Paran details the conversations that arose around the convening’s key question: how might international presenters want to work differently?

International Presenting Now: Collaborative Models, Practices, and Pathways Toward a Sustainable Future
International Presenting Now: Collaborative Models, Practices, and Pathways Toward a Sustainable Future
Video

International Presenting Now: Collaborative Models, Practices, and Pathways Toward a Sustainable Future

Monday 9 January 2023
New York City, New York

This roundtable conversation explores pathways for sustaining and furthering global exchange and international touring in the United States. This event livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Monday 9 January 2023 from St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York. The archival video has American Sign Language interpretation and closed captions.

Five performers, with one of them holding a baby, stand in a line on stage and hold a Ukrainian flag together.
How Slovo. Theater Group Fights for Ukraine on the Cultural Front
Essay

How Slovo. Theater Group Fights for Ukraine on the Cultural Front

6 December 2022

Slovo. Theater Group uses theatre as a tool to fight against cultural oppression by promoting Ukrainian culture abroad. Audrey Rose, the group’s producer, discusses the process of making theatre during active war as a way of resisting oppression and violence.

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre teaser image with the title at the top and a picture of the guest in the middle.
Theatre as a Tool for Menstrual Hygiene Education
Podcast

Theatre as a Tool for Menstrual Hygiene Education

30 November 2022

Lydia Deborah Banda infuses theatre into community initiatives that work toward gender equality, educate girls about menstruation, and provide leadership and support opportunities in schools and prisons. In this interview, she shares her experiences conducting these initiatives in Malawi and touring internationally to Germany.

event poster for the freedom talk at archives and resistance.
Freedom Talk at Archives and Resistance
Video

Freedom Talk at Archives and Resistance

How Archives and Archival Interventions Can Challenge Power

Friday 18 November 2022
Belarus

Safe Havens Freedom Talks (SH|FT) presented a Freedom Talk at Archives and Resistance livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Friday 18 November 2022 at 8:30 a.m. EST (New York, UTC -5) / 13:30 GMT (London, UTC +0) / 2:30 p.m. CET (Stockholm, UTC +1).

Eight actors in a space with hardwood floors dancing together.
Worldmaking 101: Imagination and Reparation at Double Edge Theatre and Ohketeau Cultural Center
Essay

Worldmaking 101: Imagination and Reparation at Double Edge Theatre and Ohketeau Cultural Center

14 November 2022

Writer and educator Jonathan P. Eburne details how he first came to know of Double Edge Theatre and the Ohketeau Cultural Center and discusses their unique approach to worldmaking, land sharing, and theatremaking.

Critical Stages in Malawian Contemporary Theatre teaser image with the title at the top and a picture of the guest in the middle.
Dance for Change
Podcast

Dance for Change

A Conversation with Robert Magasa

26 October 2022

Robert Magasa is an experienced dancer, choreographer, and actor who trained in Zimbabwe and now runs UjeNi Dance Ensemble Theatre in Malawi. In this interview, Magasa discusses his career, the economics of producing theatre in Malawi, and his current work to bring a combination of traditional and Afro contemporary dance to schoolchildren in Malawi.

event poster for united kingdom and european union mobility forum.
Mobility Webinar
Video

Mobility Webinar

UK-EU Mobility Flows in the Visual Arts

Tuesday 25 October 2022
UK and EU

On the Move and Wales Arts International presented a Mobility Webinar: UK-EU Mobility Flows in the Visual Arts, livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network on Tuesday 25 October 2022 at 9 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 13:00 UTC / 15:00 CEST (Brussels, UTC +2).

event poster for Open Channels & The Caribbean Roots of Theater for Social Change.
Open Channels and the Caribbean Roots of Theatre for Social Change
Video

Open Channels and the Caribbean Roots of Theatre for Social Change

Exploring the Dialectical Possibilities for "Re-Ritualizing" Theatre and “Re-Theatricalizing” Everyday Life in the Twenty-First Century

Saturday 15 October 2022
New Orleans, Louisiana

Imagining America and Open Channels presented Open Channels and the Caribbean Roots of Theatre for Social Change livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 15 October 2022 at 11:30 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 1:30 p.m. CDT (New Orleans, CDMX, UTC -5) / 2:30 p.m. EDT (New York, Havana, UTC -4).

event poster for The Novelist as Knowledge Keeper Safe Havens Freedom Talk.
Freedom Talk: The Importance of Storytelling
Video

Freedom Talk: The Importance of Storytelling

The Novelist as Knowledge Keeper

Friday 14 October 2022
South Africa

Safe Havens Freedom Talks (SH|FT) presented an Freedom Talk: The Novelist as Knowledge Keeper livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 14 October 2022 at 8:30 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 12:30 UTC / 2:30 p.m. SAST (Capetown, UTC +2).

A woman dancing on stage.
Shakespeare in Gdansk: A Vessel for Past, Present, and Future
Essay

Shakespeare in Gdansk: A Vessel for Past, Present, and Future

29 September 2022

Monica Payne recaps the 26th international Gdansk Shakespeare Festival, where artists from around the globe adapted, deconstructed, and celebrated Shakespeare’s plays through boldly contemporary productions.