2017-2019 - Mixing audiences through art

with the support of a program Creative Europe of the European Commission

Creating an opportunity for equal inclusion of people with disabilities in art as performers or audiences, is a pan-European problem, which deals with numerous organizations, each of which - with specific tasks and discoveries. The problem concerns many people, therefore, the partnership between them is very appropriate and useful for everyone.

Theatre Tsvete provokes the personal development of young people and encourages their positive inclusion in public life, regardless of their origin and givens, applying innovative for Bulgaria interactive theatrical techniques. Participation in an international partnership project "Mixing audiences in art" will enrich our professional arsenal to fulfill our mission, which is why it is especially desirable and exciting for the team. The project envisages cooperation of 8 partner organizations from 6 countries - Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Portugal, Finland and Croatia for the implementation and participation in the dissemination of successful innovative techniques for the inclusion of people with disabilities in art, created by the Finnish actor Eero Engvist.

The main event in the project is the construction of a verbal-verbal spectacle, equally suitable for actors with and without hearing problems and equally accessible to viewers with and without such. Our director is working on the construction of the Bulgarian bilingual gesture and mime show Vasil Spasov and the actors from Mim-Art Theater Rositsa Karadzhova and Nuri Yashirov, from Flower Theater Violina Vasileva-Alexandrova and the guest actor Todor Yankulov. The unusual performances will be distinguished by the free discussion provided after each of them among all present., assisted by sign language interpreters, creating conditions for equal interpersonal communication and successful mixing of audiences. To reach the cultural event to the maximum number of spectators, we envisage interaction with organizations of people with hearing impairments.

The project will include Open Seminars for directors from all over Europe, showing interest in applied theater. The seminars include exchanging experiences on ways to attract and mix audiences with different needs.

Directors gained personal experience from the application of the technique, will combine it into a manual, who will provide their knowledge to all, practicing applied arts in the project web platform and the web page of Theatre Tsvete www.theatretsvete.eu. Again in partnership, the participants will look for the application of the technique for other needs of people with hearing problems., as well as adapting it to solve problems and people with other disabilities.

The project envisages joint work of the participants who have gained experience in the application of the technique of bilingual theater on its adaptation for groups with other special needs.. The results achieved in the project will be made available to colleagues from around the world from the forthcoming creation of a manual and its publication in the web platform of the project and the web page of Flower Theater

Starting meeting in Zagreb

Our project officially started with a meeting in Zagreb on 13 September 2017, Wednesday

Directors in Brussels

The directors from the partner countries met in Brussels,Belgium on 1 December 2017. They discussed their views on the realization of the play Kukunor

Project meeting in Sofia

The consortium meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria was on 7-9 March 2018 r. The project managers and the directors of the performances will hold simultaneous meetings, to discuss relevant aspects of the project. All participants will attend the rehearsals of the Bulgarian version of Kukunor.

15 MA, 2018

The Flower Theater is celebrating 25 his anniversary with the PRIME MINISTER!

"BRANCHES"
an innovative bilingual show
on the play "Kukunor and Uniku" on Eero Enquist,
realized in partnership with MIM-ART Theater

Adaptation and directing: Vasil Spasov
Set designer: Boyana Bachvarova
Consultant: Maria Atanasova
Participate: Rositsa Karadzhova, Violina Vasileva-Alexandrova, Nuri Yasharov and Todor Yankulov

Located on the border of warring states, two soldiers will find The man beyond the fence. Despite all the restrictions imposed - physically, psychological and emotional, the path to the Other is always worth walking…

The innovative bilingual show brings together actors without and with hearing impairments on one stage, as well as a hearing and non-hearing audience in one hall. Each image is represented by a pair of actors, which in a unique way combine two Bulgarian languages ​​- spoken and sign language.

19-20.10.2018

The Crowd in Lisbon - Meetings, Open workshop , premiere

18 OOctober

• Meeting of the project leaders of the partner organizations: collection of materials for distribution and communications from the first year; Interim financial report; Determining the schedule of activities in the second year;
• Meeting of the directors: Judgments and conclusions from the five theatrical performances; Structure and first articles of the manual on Innovative bilingual theater; planning its creation

19 OOctober

Open workshop "Introduction to the method of innovative bilingual theater", led by Eero Enquist (Finnish actor and director) and Ivo Peters (project coordinator “Sign and Sound Тheatre”, are funded by the Program Creative Europe of the European Commission.

The main objective of this project is to promote the theater of the deaf at European level and in particular the pioneering method of IDT (Innovative bilingual theater), which unites deaf and hearing actors on stage and deaf and hearing people in the audience. IDT is an innovative technique, which integrates sign and spoken language.

10:45 – 12:30 h. – FIVE SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES

"Wolverhampton University."

"Tsekeyt and Dalan.", Zagreb

- Voart, Lisbon

- Flower Theater, Sofia

"De Safe.", Brussels

BREAK - Lunch at the National Museum of Art Antiga

14:30 – 17:30 h.> DEBATE

- Exchange of experience and sharing of ideas

- Is the innovative bilingual theater a method of mixing the audience?

- Is it applicable to other groups with other specific needs?

- How to spread this theatrical technique in Europe, in European festivals?

20 OOctober

Free time;

Premiere "3.50 x 2.70" of the Portuguese partners

FINAL CONFERENCE OF ABBA PROJECT - 04.10.2019, Brussels
The team's plane tickets were co-financed by the Sofia Program "Culture", Direction Mobility 2019
Mixing communities from ARTS - New ways to develop the audience for culture and greater inclusion in society

The final conference of the project took place on Friday, 4 October 2019 r. in Brussels, Belgium. They included over 50 participants, as deaf, and hearing. The interpretation of the sign language was available in Flemish, Finnish, Greek, British, Bulgarian and international sign language.

Carmen Arroyo from EASPD welcomed the participants and introduced Ivo Peters from The Zeyp, project coordinator, which speaks to the initial inspiration for the project: play of Eero Enquist. Eero then talks about how he came up with the idea to write his play, poorly adapted from a classic Finnish work by Viita.

The project consortium presented the results, created in the course of project a - Theater for signs and sounds. There followed a debate on arts policy and inclusion with the politicians present:

Eoin Nash, COPE Foundation, Ireland. Chairman of European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities EASPD
Representative of the European Economic and Social Committee (EISK )
MEP Julie Ward from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament. Deputy Chairman Committee on Culture and Education
Barbara Gesler, head of department Creative Europe, Directorate General "Education, youth, sport and culture ", European Commission
Immaculate Placencia-Porrero, senior expert - department "Social issues, Disability and Inclusion ", Directorate General "Employment, social issues and inclusion ", European Commission
Representative of the Art Lovers Group

The afternoon sessions began with the presentation of good practices for the accessibility of art by four European companies outside the project.:

o Nalagaatorg, Israel

o Un-Labelproject, Germany

о Fattoriavitadini, Italy

o The pulse of silence, Spain

The project participants then shared their own experiences of accessing and engaging in cultural situations:

the experience of the pilot theater project “Guardian of Dreams” in the five consortium partner countries; ·
guidelines for replicating the technique "Innovative bilingual theater"; ·
the results of the extended seminars on border crossings with European service providers and organizations for people with disabilities; ·
Two publications: Terms of use of IBT and recommendations for the implementation of IBT.

The conference was built on these results and created a broad dissemination platform.

As a coordinator, The Zeyp hosted a dinner for all participants in the new center of the organization, with which the event ended.