Drawing from her experience with studies focused on the role of theatre in educational practices, Marina Milivojević Mađarev will moderate a collective analysis of the first polyphonic processes that emerged as direct responses to the wars of the 1990s. The focus will be on how theatre practitioners from all parts of the former Yugoslavia and the region approached young people during the crisis moments of dissolution, war conflicts, and displacement. Among the many projects initiated in 1992 under the auspices of the former Cultural Centre “Stari grad” (now “Parobrod”), the role of artists in working with children and youth in times of crisis, conflict, and war was strengthened, with continuous and persistent regional cooperation remaining a vital force in polyphonic actions to this day. Through authors’ reflections and dialogue, we will explore how the concept of Bitef Polyphony was built after the wars and what it can offer today, drawing on a quarter-century of shared experience.
Theatrical examples:
Theatre of Growing Up, Prolegomena performance, 1991-1999; Theatre Laboratory with refugee children from Krajina and war zones, Omen Theatre, 1992-1998; Under the Sky, ErgStatus Dance Theatre, 1999; Kanikula, Youth Creativity Centre in Belgrade and Novi Sad, 1999; Projects Living Together and Art for Social Change - Play Against Violence, Cultural Centre “Stari grad,” initiated in 1992 and 1998; Three-Part Inventions of Bitef Polyphony, Centre for Drama in Education and Art CEDEUM, Centre for Drama Education of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and HCDO Croatian Centre for Drama Education, initiated in 2000.