The Black Box
The Black Box, a platform for collaboration and circulation of young artists, is understood as the primary classical theatre matrix with clear boundaries and rules that can serve as a space for a variety of performing arts – theatre performances, interactive projects, installations and art performances – and is open to experimentation and artistic risk. The definition of Black Box gives young artists the freedom to transform the space through the creative process. Together with the internationally renowned theatres TR Warszawa and Volksbühne Berlin, as well as partners in the Baltic States, the New Theatre Institute of Latvia and the Estonian Vaba Lava theatre, this platform is developing a joint Baltic Transfer project which seeks, through creative workshops and/or co-productions, to increase visibility of talented Lithuanian artist in the international arena and their active participation in the international theatre community, exploring current topics.
Upcoming projects
Currently, young creators are actively participating in international projects co-funded by the Baltic Culture Fund. On February 8-10, director Adomas Juška will visit a young creator showcase organized in Tallinn by Vaba Lava Theater. The showcase will feature a discussion about the past and the future of Baltic theater. Collaboration strategies between performing artists from the Baltic countries will be discussed from their vantage point. In Tallinn, the director will have the opportunity to meet producers and theater makers from other Baltic states, to get acquainted with the Estonian theater scene and non-traditional theater venues.
On March 26-28, young theater directors Kamilė Gudmonaitė and Eglė Švedkauskaitė will take part in the Baltic Transfer to Warsaw event, which is an introduction to the Baltic Transfer festival organized in November 2020, at Warsaw’s TR Warszava Theater. During the March event, six theater makers from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will attend meetings with Polish theater artists, curators and theater institution managers. This will give the creators the opportunity to expand their social networks, discuss art practices and get acquainted with the latest projects of their Polish counterparts in the Generation After: Risky Project showcase, a joint initiative of the Warsaw theaters organized by Nowy Teatr. The two young Lithuanian directors are expected to present sketches of their work at the festival that will take place in November.
On May 27 – 31 Berlin’s Volksbühne Theater will host the POSTWEST festival. The festival is organized in collaboration with partners from Eastern Europe, including the State Youth Theater. Our theater will be represented at the festival by one of its latest productions, Man from Fish (dir. Eglė Švedkauskaitė), a performance based on a play penned by one of the most interesting and progressive young Russian playwrights, Asya Voloshina.
In the fall of 2020, the young artists residing at the Youth Theater are expected to attend workshops organized by the New Theater Institute in Riga.
The Black Box Showcase
On 5-9 November 2019, the State Youth Theatre invited public to a showcase of performances and draft readings by young theatre artists. The Black Box showcase featured two recent performances by young directors – a documentary audio performance by director Kamilė Gudmonaitė, I Dreamt, I Dreamt, and the most recent work by Eimuntas Nekrošius’ former student Adomas Juška, Fiction. Draft readings of four new productions by this season’s residents also were presented: Man from Fish by Eglė Švedkauskaitė, Ieva Kaniušaitė’s Mama, a reading based on plays by Russian playwright Asia Vološina, a reading of Adomas Juška’s Brother of Sleep and the experimental audio show Kalkwerk. Reading Group by audio artist Arturas Bumšteinas. Guests of the showcase had the opportunity to see theatre performances Tales from the Vienna Woods (directed by Yana Ross), The Balcony (directed by Eric Lacascade) and About Fears (directed by Olga Lapina).
The author of the illustration Medilė Šiaulytytė
