THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF THEATER ACADEMIES OPENED IN BALE, THIS YEAR'S THEME "ROOTS"
With the exhibition "Transformation Code" by Robert Geček at the Ulika Gallery in Bale, the 7th Young Theater Festival was opened.
The Young Theater Festival, an international festival of theater academies now in its seventh year, was inaugurated on Monday evening in Bale, which also serves as a teaching base for the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek. This year’s festival theme is titled "Roots", and the event features participation from students and professors from academies in Freiburg (Germany), East Carolina University (USA), the Faculty of Theater and Film at Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca (Romania), the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design, and Technology (Ireland), J. J. Strossmayer University in Osijek, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Split, the University of the North, and Juraj Dobrila University from Pula. The educational festival, running until September 28, has brought together about a hundred participants in Bale who will take part in a wide variety of interesting workshops within five different modules, covering areas such as theater, design, creative writing, costume design, film, visual arts, psychology and art therapy, health and nutrition, and workshops for children and pedagogy students. The evening program includes lectures, performances, exhibitions, and concerts open to the public.
At the official opening of the Young Theater Festival on Monday night, the exhibition "Transformation Code" by Associate Professor of Art Dr. Robert Geček, a professor and head of the Multimedia Department at the University of the North, was opened at the Ulika Gallery in Bale. The ceremony, held in front of a large audience, was led by the artistic director of the Young Theater Festival, Katica Šubarić, from the Academy of Arts and Culture in Osijek at J. J. Strossmayer University. The exhibition was officially opened by Edi Pastrovicchio, the mayor of the Municipality of Bale-Valle, who welcomed all participants of the Young Theater Festival and congratulated the author.
As part of the festival, the evening program on Tuesday, September 24, at 9 p.m. at Mon Perin Camping (Saltwater Oasis Event Hall) will feature a panel discussion on mental health (Psychology Department – Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Split). On Wednesday, September 25, at 8 p.m. at Tomaso Bembo Square, the play "Strindberg’s Sonata" will be performed by the Freiburger Schauspielschule (Germany). The performers and musicians are Simon Frädrich (bass guitar), Lennart Katz (cajón), Lissy Blume (e-piano), and Marie-Charlotte Bonfiglio (saxophone). Direction, concept, and set design are by Grete Linz.
On Thursday, September 26, at 8 p.m. at Tomaso Bembo Square, the play "Escape from the Loop" by the Faculty of Theater and Film at Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca (Romania) will be performed. The actors are Szűcs Tamás, Balázs Ádám, and Ádám Ferencz, with direction and mentorship by Andras Hathazi.
Following this, on Friday, September 27, at 8 p.m. at Tomaso Bembo Square, the play "…Yet We Grow from the Same Roots" will be performed (a production of Carolina University, USA, the Faculty of Theater and Dance, and the Young Theater Festival in Bale). The cast includes Isaiah Bussey, Emma Laughinghouse, Elana Lapetina, McKenna Lawler, and Gabrijel Perić, directed by Trent Blanton, with Jayme Host as the producer.
At the conclusion of the festival, on Saturday, September 28, at 8 p.m. at Mon Perin Camp (Saltwater Oasis Event Hall), there will be a concert titled "Two Clarinets" performed by the multiple award-winning young musicians Smaranda Ciuf and Tamas Hathazi. The program includes works by István Kohán, Béla Kovács, George Enescu, and others composed for the clarinet.
Alongside Katica Šubarić, the artistic and scientific leaders of the thematic modules of the festival are Jasmina Pacek (AUKOS), Ana Kurtović (FFOS), and Daniela Čačić Kenjerić (PTFOS), with Robert Raponja and Nikola Koceić-Bilan (University of Split) serving as festival mentors. The festival's collaborators include Mon Perin d.d., the Municipality of Bale-Valle, the Academy in Freiburg, the Faculty of Theater and Film at Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, the University of the North, and Juraj Dobrila University from Pula.
