The International Theatre School Festival Amsterdam is the biggest European theatre and dance festival where you can scout over 200 theatre talents in more than 70 unique productions. It is a wonderful opportunity to catch a glimpse of how the performing arts will look in the coming years. Alongside the productions, the festival programme is filled with inspiring debates, workshops and talk shows, ending every day with the famous ITs afterparty. The participants in the festival are graduate students from accredited theatre and dance academies in the Netherlands and Belgium, and from similar academies abroad. More than ten professional theatres in the centre of Amsterdam provide a platform for the actors, dancers, directors, choreographers and mime artists of the future.
Student Visitors’ Programme
Photography: Deen van Meer
(supported by your theatre school) ITs Festival Amsterdam has a special Student Visitors’ Programme for international students. These students will follow the international route, see all the international performances, a couple of Dutch performances and follow a comprehensive programme of extra events. They will meet young directors, take part in all the discussion and debate programmes and participate in workshops given by internationally renowned professionals. Being immersed in theatre and dance for nine days will not only inspire students, but also give them new ways to reflect on their own work. This educational programme is highly recommended for second and third-year students.
ITs Festival Amsterdam has an extensive international programme. Around a third of the performances are international, and all the performances are either unspoken, English-spoken or subtitled. Special attention is paid to reflecting on artistic development, intercultural exchange, education and artistic background, which creates fertile ground for the students’ further international development. ITs Festival Amsterdam offers a wide variety of programmes and opportunities to students and professionals from abroad. Read more about the: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Student Visitors’ Programme International selection Other theatre-lovers from abroad How to apply INSTED@ITs for young directors Programme for professionals
“During the ITs festival we watched two or three performances a day and after that we talked to directors about their ideas. We were impressed, shocked, happy or upset by their work, and sometimes we criticised them. I hope I can invite the people I met there to Kosovo sometime, so we can work together and I can show how participating in the ITs Festival was important to my inspiration and future career”. Hana Qena, third-year directing student from Kosovo
It is only possible to participate in this programme in groups of at least 8 people (from the same school) and it must be supported by the school itself. ITs provides food and accommodation, and a wide variety of workshops, round table discussions and other events throughout the festival. The school of the participants covers transport and buys a combination ticket for the performances for each participant. Check out our website www.itsfestivalamsterdam.com and send in the application form before the 1st of May 2010.
“The interesting thing about performing at international festivals is the possibility of presenting your work in a different context. Performing for another kind of audience and having colleagues with a different cultural background reflecting on my work provided me with great feedback.” Menno Vroon, director from The Netherlands
International
selection The ITs Festival programmes theatre and dance performances by graduate students in the following five categories:
Group/class graduate performances – Theatre/Mime These productions include all graduating students. They are initiated by the schools and created by or in cooperation with established theatre directors.
Group/class graduate performances - Dance A group graduate performance usually consists of several dance works. The performances are initiated by the school and are created by or in cooperation with established choreographers. The maximum length of a performance in this category is 30 to 40 minutes.
Graduate performances - Directing The student has worked on this performance with (semi)professional actors. He or she is not one of the actors and is graduating with the specific aim of becoming a director. Students can submit their performance by contacting the ITs Festival through the artistic director of their school.
Students’ work - Theatre Work created by third and fourth-year students from acting and theatre-making schools. Students can submit their performance by contacting the ITs Festival through the artistic director of their school.
Students’ work - Dance Work created by third and fourth-year students on choreography courses. Students can submit their performance by contacting the ITs Festival through the artistic director of their school. The maximum length of a performance is 12 minutes.
other theatre-lovers
from abroad If you are a theatre-lover but the programmes and possibilities in this leaflet don’t suit you, you are still very welcome to attend the festival. ITs can help you find accommodation (campsite, youth hostel or hotel) where other ITs guests and visitors are staying, and can bring you into contact with them. However, travel, accommodation and ticket costs are at your own expense. For more information, please check out our website.
Go to www.itsfestivalamsterdam.com and click on the ‘participate’ button for additional information and the application forms. Note that applications of performances for the ITs Festival 2010 are already closed. For 2011, please send in your completed and signed application form before 15 November 2010. The artistic directors of the ITs Festival, Theu Boermans (theatre) and Tim Persent (dance), will assess the applications. Please read carefully all the information and the FAQ list on our website before sending in your application. Also note that only complete applications accompanied by a DVD of the performance are taken into consideration. Contact: Janneke Robers, international coordinator e-mail: jrobers@itsfestivalamsterdam.com phone: +31 (0)20 530 55 60 www.itsfestivalamsterdam.com
Photography: Deen van Meer
If you can’t come to ITs this year, make a note of these dates and visit the festival next year or the year after! 2011: 23 - 30 June 2012: 21 - 28 June
International Theatre School Festival Amsterdam is also on
How to apply
Insted@ITs INSTED is an organisation that connects young theatre directors from across the world, and organises gatherings or programmes for its members during international theatre festivals. During the INSTED@ITs programme, foreign and Dutch students of theatre directing are given the opportunity to broaden their views on theatre. INSTED invites fifteen Dutch and fifteen international student directors to watch performances by graduate directors and to participate in an active and intensive visitors’ programme. The programme gives these young directors the opportunity to meet, mingle, party and work with other young directors from different countries.
Photography: Deen van Meer
The INSTED programme revolves around the performances on the Directors’ Route; a special route in the ITs Festival that includes graduate performances by Dutch student directors and three international student directors. There is a discussion of the performances the following day, which the directors of the performances also attend. During the week, there will be at least one lecture by a
for young directors prominent international director, and at the end of the week there is a closing debate about the performances on the Directors’ Route and the state of theatre in general. For more information on the INSTED@ITs programme and for reports on previous editions, take a look at www.insted.eu. If you are interested in participating in the INSTED@ITs programme, please send an e-mail, before the 20th of April 2010, to info@insted.eu and tell us why we should pick you to join us for this incredible week!
“The INSTED@ITs programme has been very important for my development as a director. Meeting directors from different countries and also seeing performances from different countries has really opened my eyes and made me think about my own way of directing and why I make theatre”. Dana Etgar, fourth-year graduate director from Tel Aviv, Israel
programme for
Professionals For international programmers, scouts, festival organisers and theatre and school directors, ITs Festival Amsterdam has two guest programmes: the theatre route and the dance route. Each route consists of a variety of performances, meetings, workshops and afterparties. Guests have the opportunity to scout new talent and meet other professionals. In the past we have had, for example, directors from the ACT festival (Spain), SKENA-UP (Kosovo), Festival da Fabricá de Movimentos (Portugal) and Spectaculaire (France) select work for their own festival from the ITs Festival Amsterdam. The ITs Festival provides accommodation and tickets. Travel costs are at the guest’s own expense. If you would like to attend, please fill in the application form on our website. Photography: Deen van Meer, Sigrid C. Degener, Eva Kasbergen and others. Grafisch ontwerp: www.tirza-teule.nl
www.itsfestivalamsterdam.com
Young theatre talents from all over the world: don’t miss out on 22–30 June 2010