A BRIEF HISTORY (version anglaise seulement)

On 29th and 30th May, 1991, at the 24th Congress of the International Theatre Institute in Istanbul, Turkey, the Dramatic Theatre Committee was officially welcomed as a new committee and constituted according to ITI rules.
It was to be a way of enriching our knowledge of Theatre in the framework of ITI, by looking at three main axes of theatrical activity: Creation, Economy, Society.
To this end the DTC seeks to:

1)    Gather information on the situation, evolution, and progress of the Art of Drama throughout the World.
2)    Study the relationship between theatrical production and different sources of finance
3)    Examine the state of theatrical life in different types of social, economic and political situations
4)    Establish contacts with other permanent ITI committees that have similar areas of concern.
5)    Look at the relationship between the recorded media (audiovisual) and the theatre.

The DTC from the outset was determined to be ‘a committee with a difference’. All of its meetings were to be allied in some way to the making of theatre, and the members of the committee should be active in theatre. Thus a tradition of meeting in the framework of Festivals, Congresses, Biennials etc grew up with the DTC offering an activity to support these invitations.

So the committee has provided keynote speakers, led Symposia, Seminars, Round Tables, Workshops, been on Juries, provided Directors for productions and so on. The DTC has met jointly with other committees and exchanged useful information. After the fall of the Berlin Wall the DTC met in Moscow and were able to provide expertise on the drawing up of theatre contracts and the market economy in relation to theatre.

Places where the DTC has met so far include Bonn, Oslo, Malmo, Moscow, Tampere, Paris, Budapest, Vilnius, Seoul, Ulaan Batar, Minsk, London, Kiev, Munich, Caracas, Braunschweig, Philadelphia, Marseilles, Rejkavik, Istanbul, Teheran.
 
Subjects debated include:

·    Whose Theatre is it anyway?
·    Working in theatre in a foreign language
·    Framing Shakespeare
·    Ibsen’s Nora in the house of obedience
·    What are today’s playwrights writing for today’s theatre?
·    The economic and cultural aspect of Eastern European Theatre
·    Peoples’ Theatre today 
·    Stanislavsky
·    Monodrama
·    How to read new plays and ensure their promotion
·     Arts Administration and Cultural Management
·    Theatre and Radio
·    Asian method of Actors’ training
·    Tradition v Modernity in Theatre
·    The Power of the Arts
     The role of the “Fool” in world theatre
 
 

BOARD MEMBERS / MEMBRES DU BUREAU

President / Présidente  – Faynia Williams – UK / R.U.
Vice President /Vice-président – Lary Zappia -  Croatia / Croatie
Vice President/Vice-président – Jhuna Choudhury - Bangladesh
Secretariat /Secrétariat-  Michael Fields -  USA / E.U.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS / MEMBRES DU COMITE

Kalthoom Amin   Bahrain   
Reinhard Auer    Austria / Autriche
Jhuna Choudhury   Bangladesh
Michael Fields USA / E.U.      
Melissa Foulger   USA / E.U.
Rainer Mennicken   Germany / Allemagne  
Neophytos Neophytou  Cyprus /Chypre
Abhi Subedi   Nepal / Népal
Nelita "Nellie" Valdez   Philippines
Faynia Williams    UK / R.U.
Lary Zappia   Croatia /Croatie
Magdalena Hidalgo  Mexico Mexico / Mexique  
Anna Lakos  Hungary  / Hongrie

*****

PAST DIRECTORS / Anciend dirigeants

1991-1993       
Co-Pres.:  Patrick Guinand, Frieder Weber
Sec. :       Pierre Santini

1993-1997
Pres.  :     Frieder Weber
Sec. :       Patrick Guinand

Sep1997- Feb1998
Programme Committee:
Faynia Williams, Frieder Weber,  Patrick Guinand    

1998-2000
Co-Pres.  Patrick Guinand, Faynia Williams

2000-2002
Co-Pres.    Patrick Guinand, Faynia Williams
Vice Pres.   Namsrai Suvd
Sec.      Ann Mari Engel

2002-2004
Pres.  Faynia Williams
Vice Pres.    Namsrai Suvd, Rainer Mennicken
Sec.     Sara Zaker

The Fool in the World’s Theatre.

The Dramatic Theatre Committee of the ITI has initiated a new project based on a key character both in the history of theatre and in contemporary theatre: the FOOL ON THE WORLD'S STAGES. The project focuses on examples from all cultures, from folk theatre through to high literature. The DTC has collected and documented  traditional and modern forms and functions of the fool’s role.
The project is to be realized in several steps that will lead from the theoretical into the practical. It will include both theatrical and documentary activities.
For the World Congress in Mexico in 2004 the DTC presented a forum on the Fool., including a variety of cultural perspectives. The presention took the form of papers and presentations that involved examplary fool’s figures, scenes, masks, photos, books, videos.
In March 2005 The DTC met in New York City on the Fool Project and made a public presentation at TCG the home of ITI/USA.
In 2006 in Manilla the DTC will present all of its research and investigations on this project.
Whenever possible, other participants of the congress will be invited to contribute.
Each member’s contribution should include an introduction of two or three minutes and a reading, performance or action of five minutes at the most. Afterwards there will be room for discussion and feedback.
The information and materials gathered is to be developed and further studied at the following meetings of the DTC.
Other ITI committees are kindly requested to consider their possibilities of contributing, and to contact the DTC as soon as possible with their ideas.