NAKED STAGE, 14th International Improvisational Theatre Festival

November 21−25

Over the course of the last fourteen years, Naked Stage Festival has established itself as one of the most prominent festivals of improvisational theatre in Europe. A small but propulsive festival, Naked Stage is committed to supporting and developing a specific marginal genre of performing arts – theatre improvisation, through which it simultaneously explores models of collective creativity and community action. (more…)

International festival ensemble: COMMUNITY

Photo: Gregor Gobec

Sunday, November 27 at 8pm

The performance is in English.

On the last festival evening we will engage in something very rare in Slovene and international improvisational production – a big stage ensemble. The group dynamics of 26 actors will drive the play around the theme of community. A spectacle, clumsy stage happening, inspiring live event, or complete chaos? In any case, this will be an intensive shared experience for both the audience and the performers (if such a distinction would still make sense at all).

Concept: Maja Dekleva Lapajne
Performance: Beatrix Brunschko, Dino Kapetanovič, Eva Jus, Gregor Moder, Jacob Banigan, Jan Hrušovar, Juš Milčinski, Katarina Veselko, Koray Bülent Tarhan, Mistral Majer, Nejc Šmit, Olivija Grafenauer, Peter Frankl, Rok Bohinc, Sara Šoukal, Sašo Stare, Teja Bitenc, Tomaž Lapajne Dekleva, Urša Strehar Benčina, Vid Sodnik, Zeynep Özyurt Tarhan
Music: Evren Gülseven, Goran Završnik, Hannu Risku
Lights: Borut Cajnko

Public discussion on artistic improvisation: Why Theatre Improvisation Exactly?

Photo: Gregor Gobec

Sunday, November 27 at 5pm

Public discussion panel

The discussion is in English.

What is it that creators and spectators recognise as intrinsic and specific to theatre improvisation and what makes us keep on coming back to its cuisine because we can’t get it anywhere else? What are the main potentials of this art form and what does improvisational theatre offer to other artistic fields and wider social context? During the discussion of the affirmation of theatre improvisation and its values the following people will cross their individual approaches to theatre improvisation: Beatrix Brunschko from Theater im Bahnhof (Graz) where they nurture improvisation as well as scripted theatre; Andreja Rauch Pozdravnik coming from the field of choreography and movement improvisation; Gregor Moder, improvisational artist and a philosopher, and Samo Oleami, professional spectator of broad horizons and moderator of the talk.

Host: Samo Oleami
Guests: Andreja Rauch Podrzavnik, Beatrix Brunschko, Gregor Moder

Istanbulimpro (Turkey): ONCE UPON A TIME…

Photo: Istanbulimpro archive

Friday, November 25 at 9pm

The performance is in English.

Istanbulimpro theatre, founded in 2007, combines traditional theatre approaches with elements of music and physical theatre and contemporary improvisation principles. They create regular theatre programme on their stage Istanbulimpro Sahne where they also organize an international improvisational theatre festival and an international storytelling festival every year. They also explore applied improvisation, that is use of principles and tools of theatre improvisation on non-artistic, wider areas of society, and are also members of the Applied Improv Network. In 2009 they were awarded The Best Progressive Theatre Group of Turkey.

Performance Once Upon A Time… plays with the idea of collective unconscious with with the universal story structure, which stimulates the performer’s as well as the spectator’s imagination. The event, interlaced with musicality of an excellent Turkish musician Evren Gülseven and movement and singing images of participating artists, will first and foremost follow the the audience’s wishes at every step.

Concept: Koray Tarhan and Tolga Erdoğan
Performance: Alenka Marinič, Jacob Banigan, Koray Bülent Tarhan, Peter Frankl, Zeynep Özyurt Tarhan
Music: Evren Gülseven
Lights: Borut Cajnko

Improške (Slovenia) Crossing Over: INSPIRATION AT FIRST SIGH(T)

Photo: Ana Šircelj

Friday, November 25 at 7pm

The performance is in English.

Improške is an open, non-hierarchically organised group of female performers who has come together because they like playing together. But also because they are interested in what role gender plays on stage and how we can play with gender stereotypes and surpass them. Improške are a safe community where its members can explore, develop, test their boundaries and look for different forms of expression through improvised performance.

Before there is a word, there is a look. A look is an invitation to create a relationship, first contact with another person, first exchange between the two. A child, who covers her eyes, believes she has dissapeared; what I can’t see, doesn’t exist. In the performance Inspiration at First Sigh(t) Improške and guests will play with all these functions of sight – sight as initiation of communication, sight as the mirror of inner experience, sight as condition of existence. Each scene will begin with a sigh(t) – between two improvisers or between an improviser and someone from the audience – and spontaneously ramifies into a story of a momentary meeting.

Concept: Katarina Veselko, Mistral Majer, Olivija Grafenauer, Sara Šoukal, Teja Bitenc, Urša Strehar Benčina
Performance: Beatrix Brunschko, Eva Jus, Katarina Veselko, Mistral Majer, Olivija Grafenauer, Sara Šoukal, Teja Bitenc, Urša Strehar Benčina, Zeynep Özyurt Tarhan
Music: Hannu Risku
Lights: Borut Cajnko

Theater im Bahnhof (Austria): SERIES JUNKIES

Photo: Theater im Bahnhof’s archive

Thursday, November 24 at 9pm

The performance is in English and has an intermission.

Theater im Bahnhof is the largest independent theatre in Austria that has been awarded several times. The team of twenty artists has been creating brave, often radical performing arts productions and has successfully combined elements of improvisation and scripted theatre for over 20 years. They define themselves as contemporary folk theatre, which is located at the crossroads of tradition and pop culture.

Beatrix Brunschko and Jacob Banigan are fairly familiar with the addiction to various and numerous TV series. Performance Serial Junkies is their theatre reply to enjoyment provided by immersion into the fictional worlds, tension and escapism. In the performance they transform into producers who are peaching an idea for a new series with elements from true stories, local folklore, audacious twists and appealing secrets. The audience has the role of a co-creators and consumers at the same time. Warning! This performance can cause addiction.

Concept and performance: Beatrix Brunschko, Jacob Banigan
Music: Goran Završnik
Lights: Borut Cajnko

IGLU (Slovenia) Crossing Over: CHAIRS

Photo: IGLU’s archive

Thursday, November 24 at 7pm

The performance is in English.

IGLU – Improvisational Theatre of Ljubljana is Peter Frankl, Vid Sodnik and Juš Milčinski, who have joined their forces to create a versatile performing ensemble wishing to work professionally in the area of theatre improvisation. Despite their youth these are experienced improvisers who regularly perform in Ljubljana and around Slovenia and closely work with theatres in Germany, Switzerland and Canada, they have also introduced themselves to the audiences in the Netherlands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, France, Belgium, Italy, Austria and the USA. In this festival’s version of the performance Chairs they will join forces with the Turkish ensemble Istanbulimpro.

The performance Chairs, which has been designed by members of the international collective Ohana – Vid Sodnik and Gerald Weber, looks for inspiration in the positional layout of the performing space. The rhythm and the content of scenes are dictated by the layout of stage furniture. Let’s imagine that stage props are not merely there as a requisite to help the content, but are its main creators. Let’s imagine that everyday objects are not only tools of our lives but their main determiners.

Concept: Gerald Weber, Vid Sodnik
Performance: Juš Milčinski, Koray Bülent Tarhan, Peter Frankl, Vid Sodnik, Zeynep Özyurt Tarhan
Music: Evren Gülseven
Lights: Borut Cajnko

International festival ensemble: TANDEM

Photo: Kristjan Kolar

Wednesday, November 23 at 8pm

The performance is in English and Slovene.

First festival evening is the evening of glancing over. Guest artists meet on stage and open the festival processes of creation, curious insights into the works of the other and deepening the relationships. We will witness six duets – some of them are already well versed ensembles, the others are completeley new combinations. They will play with the moment when two people gaze into each other’s eyes and explore what can develop from that. Sweet flirting and crossing over on all levels – between artists, between the audience and artists, between space, time and people.

Basic concept: Matthieu Loos
Hosts: Juš Milčinski, Maja Dekleva Lapajne
Performance: Beatrix Brunschko, Gregor Moder, Jacob Banigan, Katarina Veselko, Koray Bülent Tarhan, Rok Bohinc, Sara Šoukal, Tomaž Lapajne Dekleva, Vid Sodnik, Zeynep Özyurt Tarhan
Music: Evren Gülseven, Hannu Risku
Lights: Borut Cajnko

13th international festival of improvisational theatre – NAKED STAGE

Photo: Gregor Gobec

Naked Stage is a small and yet propulsive festival. Because of persistently following the goals – exploration and development of artistic improvisation, showcasing international happening in the area of improvisational theatre, connecting local and international artists, professionalization of improvisational production – it is a powerful player on the field of co-creating European and Northern American impro scene. (more…)

12th International Festival of Improvisational Theatre – NAKED STAGE

In its 12 years of functioning, Naked Stage has become one of the most important festivals for improvisational theatre in Europe and North America. It’s a small, but nevertheless a propulsive festival, especially because it has remained loyal to its goals. (more…)