Changing Horizons - How do you relate to your new environment?
Tom Willems
Academy for Theatre and Dance, Amsterdam, Netherlands
WORKSHOP
At Athens 2025 International Conference "Theatre/Drama & Inclusive Education"
21 March 2025
Hellenic Theatre/Drama & Education Network (TENet-Gr)
Language: English
Limited number of participants
Short description
Aims: a) Reflecting on the issue of migration by sharing experiences from different countries, b) Providing opportunities and examples of inclusive education, c) Acquiring a more open view of the phenomenon of migration.
Background: a) Method of Paulo Freire, educationalist, pedagogue and andragogue, b) Mosaic dramaturgy, c) Changing Horizons documentary: “The many lives of the family Turna”.
Methodology:
a) Working on scenes from the Changing Horizons documentary, b) Enabling a lot of input from participants by means of open questions, working with associations and allusions, a collage-like structure, c) Leaving open, empty “spots” in the sequence so as to allow for unexpected, “out of the box” input.
Expected learning outcomes:
a) A deeper and more open insight into migration, b) A better understanding of how to deal with unexpected artistic input and unexpected situations, after having experienced some attempts with approaches to include the input of participants.
Target group:
People working with groups and wanting to look at the theme of migration through art.
Main assignments:
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After participants have shared their experiences of migration in their own countries, subgroups will be formed, each with 5 to 7 persons from different countries and cultures.
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All subgroups will watch the same scene from the documentary film (e.g. part of a scene, a song or a movement//dance) showing an important aspect of migration.
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Each subgroup will work on the film fragment separately giving a spontaneous reaction, improvising in an art form of their preference (e.g. a poem, a movement, music, a song, a scene, a drawing, a photo).
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Subgroups will present their improvised work-in-progress to the other subgroups.
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All participants together will choose one part out of the presented work - by simple majority.
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The same procedure will be repeated by watching two more film scenes.
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After three times, three “works-in-progress” will have been created.
In the end the final three parts will be performed by the whole group.
Language: Basic English will be sufficient.
Requirements:
Theatre experience is not required. Participants need to have some experience in working with groups and interest in the phenomenon of migration. Need to wear comfortable clothes in which that you can move easily.
Workshop includes exercises with possible physical contact.
Tom Willems (1961) is a creative producer, teacher and coach at the University of Arts in Amsterdam, Department Academy for Theatre and Dance/Theatre in Education. He is specialized in site-specific interdisciplinary theatre. He is also a coach for young theatre professionals. Next to that, he works with various groups, training them and making performances with amateurs and semi-professional actors. In 2007 he got involved in IDEA and has a lot of international experience. Since July 2017 he is the Project and Concept Director of IDEA. Next to his theatre work he is a fashion designer and owner of a travel agency that organises Art/Culture-travels to Egypt.
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