SELECTION FOR THE 29TH FESTIVAL OF ECOLOGICAL THEATRE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH

The call for applications that was open from 10th January to 5th February 2023 resulted in 90 applications from all around the world (29 different countries), and the Artistic Committee of the Festival has made the following selection of plays for the 29th FEP.

COMPETITIVE SELECTION:

• 1. “Nedostajanje” (Missing), Puppet Theatre of Niš / Niš, Serbia

  
  “Nedostajanje” is a humorous, gentle, sensitive story about friendship, connection, a romantic view on life and the world around us, and it takes place in a lively and colourful realm of various animals. The performance is dedicated to the youngest of audiences and represents one of the more beautiful ways for a child to be introduced to the world of theatre and fall in love with it.
  
  Age: 5+
  Puppet show
  
  
  Based on stories of Toon Tellegen
  
  Directing, dramatization and lighting design: Nikola Zavišić
  Music and songs: Teodora Stojković, Mirjana Đorđević, Stanislava Staša Joković, Jovan Živković, Toma Bibić, Nikola Zavišić
  Accompaniment, arrangement: Jovan Živković
  Stage and puppets design and production: Dragana Đurić and Dušan Stanković
  Coauthors of stage language: the performance ensemble
  
  Cast:
  Teodora Stojković
  Mirjana Đorđević
  Stanislava Staša Joković
  Jovan Živković
  Toma Bibić
  
  
  Selected by the Regional platform for development and affirmation of theatre for children and youth “OD MALIH NOGU” within the project supported by Kultura Nova Foundation.
  





• 2. “Error 404”, Ángeles de trapo / Málaga, Spain

  
  In a subtle and emotional way this play encourages children and youth to ask themselves about the meaning of life, to think about the wonders life offers us yet often we go by without noticing them. With awareness of how much children and youth today are surrounded by the world of video games and social networks, the play “Error 404” wants to remind them that virtual world cannot and should not replace the real world, and that life and nature do not have an alternative.
  
  Age: 8+
  Puppet, non-verbal performance
  
  
  Author: Wagner Gallo
  Directed by: Wagner Gallo & Julio Gallo
  Costume design: Iolanda Atalla
  Sound design: Wagner Gallo
  Scenography: Wagner Gallo
  Music: Kevin Macleod
  
  Cast: Wagner Gallo
  
  Realized with the assistance of the Embassy of Spain in Serbia.
  
  
  
  



• 3. “Bebidron”, Independent production “Praktikabl” – Dance ensemble “Pokretnica” / Novi Sad, Serbia

  
  Participatory and interactive dance performance “Bebidron” deals with the relationship between parents and children in their everyday lives, basic physical activities and challenges in child development, as well as issues of trust, playing and support in family life. This performance takes place in a common area where children and adults have an opportunity to spend time together in a different way and establish direct contact with the performers.
  
  Age: 0-18 months
  Dance performance for babies and parents
  
  
  Concept and directing: Željka Jakovljević
  Costume design: Boris Čakširan
  Dramaturgy: Dunja Crnjanski
  
  Cast:
  Frosina Dimovska
  Jelena Alempijević
  Ina Madžar
  
  



• 4. “Zašto ih nije briga” (Why don’t they care), Youth Theatre (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina) and КА Productions (Montenegro)

  
  The play follows the escape of animals from the North Pole that began to melt. A polar fox, a polar bear, a seal, a reindeer and penguins have been banished from their land and move together toward south in search of a garden where they heard there was a paradise for animals. Throughout their journey this unusual refugee company comes upon various monsters and catastrophes: a garbage island, a sea of oil, acid rain, a greenhouse, smog, hunting parties, fires, nuclear explosions, shopping malls and a zoo. Naïve, wounded, brave and wacky animals go through a true Odyssey on their Noah’s Iceberg that turns into the Ship of Fools in search of Neverland.
  
  Age: 7+
  Dramatic performance
  
  
  Based on D. M. Larson’s “Why Don’t They Care What Happens to the Earth?”
  
  Directed by: Petar Pejaković
  Dramaturgy: Milana Matejić
  Stage design: Narda Nikšić
  Costume design: Olivera Gajić
  Music: Mirza Gološ
  
  Cast:
  Belma Lidze-Kurt
  Lidija Kordić
  Hana Zrno
  Mirza Dervišić
  Sanin Milavić





• 5. “the Boy & the Ball”, Stephen Noonan in partnership with The PaperBoats / Alberton, Australia

  
  Through this play, which deals with reassurance, joy and connection, the youngest of audiences will get to know a very shy boy who, during the performance, learns that he can make friends with the help of his ball. “the Boy & the Ball” is an interactive monodrama full of nonverbal images that create visual magic through carefully devised theatrical illusion that consists of simple cylindrical elements in various sizes. This play is designed for 4-year-old children and creates a world that corresponds to their cognitive and emotional needs for wonder, abstraction, connection, play and imagination, with particular focus on developing conceptual thinking. The performance is created with natural, sustainable materials that can be recycled, whereby they also took care to ensure that the entire play can be packed in one bag for easier transport, which would, therefore, leave a smaller footprint on the planet Earth.
  
  Age: 4-year-olds
  Nonverbal performance
  
  
  Author: Stephen Noonan
  Dramaturgy: Dave Brown
  Design: Greg Cousins
  Music: James Brown
  Early childhood advisors: Anne-Marie Shin & Sally Chance
  
  Cast: Stephen Noonan
  Realized with the assistance of the Government of South Australia.
  
  
  
  



• 6. “Ne idi daleko” (Don’t go far), Subotica Children’s Theatre / Subotica, Serbia

  
  The play “Ne idi daleko” subtly and inconspicuously talks about a war’s effect on a family. The play vividly tries to depict how war affects humans – man, woman, child, daughter, son, sister, brother, father, mother. Under the strain of war every soul breaks, bends, deforms, rots, closes, becomes hard, cold and rough. It is difficult for such a cold and broken soul to keep tenderness, love, happiness and everything else that makes family a unit. With such souls, families alienate themselves, fall apart and irrevocably disappear. This is a story about a family that could be any family a war has somehow affected regardless of their nationality, religion, race and country they live in.
  
  Age: 12+
  Dramatic performance
  
  
  Author: Tamara Kučinović
  Directing and lighting design: Tamara Kučinović
  Dramaturgy: Matea Bublić
  Stage design and projections: Davor Molnar
  Music: Petar Eldan
  
  Cast:
  Marko Vujević
  Uroš Mladenović
  Viktorija Palfi
  Danka Balać
  Stefan Orovec
  Staša Blečić





• 7. “Mr&Mrs KRAFT – una storia di maschere di carta”(Mr&Mrs KRAFT – a story of paper masks), Neamera Teatro / Cádiz - Andalucia, Spain / Lecce, Italy

  
  Mr and Mrs KRAFT invite you to enter the laboratory where they experiment with paper. Masks, gestures and movements become elements to this poetic and sensory story.
  
  Age: 5+
  Mask theatre
  
  
  Authors’ project: Diane Costa and Pablo Duran Rojas
  
  Realized with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute of Belgrade and Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) through the “Programme for the Internationalization of Spanish Culture (PICE)”.
  
  
  
  



• 8. “Hišica iz kock” (House of Blocks), House of Children and Arts /Ljubljana, Slovenia

  
  Two sisters are in a room. The older one is doing violin practice, while the younger one – Jelka constantly disturbs her, wanting them to play together. However, when Jelka builds her house of blocks the older sister accepts her game and together they sail off into the wondrous world of fairytales.
  
  Age: 3+
  Puppet show
  
  
  Based on the story of Ela Peroci
  
  Directed by: Irena Rajh
  Dramaturgy: Anže Virant
  Visual identity and stage design: Špela Trobec
  Music: Samo Vovk, Barbara Grahor Vovk
  Costume design: Iztog Hrga
  Video animation: Miha Šubic
  
  Cast:
  Tamara Pepelnik
  Barbara Kanc




GUEST PERFORMANCE IN HONOUR OF THE AWARDEES:

• 9. “Pradevojčica” (Prehistoric Girl), National Theatre “Toša Jovanović” / Zrenjanin, Serbia

  
  In “Pradevojčica” the nature is the event, character, moment, beauty, friend, killer, parent, landlord… Nature is not something that “should be just saved”, it is a part of us, sometimes so much that our beings are really reflections of its state. This play will remind us how estranged we have become from the Sun, the Moon, earth, water, fire, plants, animals, and how much we have distanced ourselves from real touches and encounters with nature. Besides this, it is a story about a brave and talented Gava and her fight to find her place in the community.
  
  While creating the play, the team behind this performance had the goal to try to leave as small of a footprint on planet Earth as possible, as well as for the elements of the performance to be reused, recycled or returned to nature after their service. “Pradevojčica” is an example of good practice from the standpoint of ecology in theatre because ecological theatre is not only the one that deals with ecological topics but also the one that tries to use natural materials (wood, egg cartons, natural hand-squeezed pigments from the earth, pinecones, jute, straw, ropes, water) as much as possible.
  
  Age: 6+
  Puppet show
  
  
  Based on the novel of the same name by Desanka Maksimović
  
  Directed by: Sonja Petrović
  Dramatization: Mina Petrić
  Total design: Irina Somborac
  Music: Nenad Kojić
  Materials/eathen architecture advisor: Dragana Kojičić
  
  Cast:
  Una Beić
  Predrag Grujić
  Nataša Milišić
  Danilo Mihnjević
  Snežana Popov
  Olgica Trbojević Kostić
  Miroslav Maćoš
  




Plays in the competitive selection will compete for the “GOOD TREE” award for the following categories:




Professional jury

Award for the best play in its entirety
Individual awards by decision of the professional jury (special award, acting awards, visual identity award, etc.)





Children’s jury

Award for the play closest to children





Youth jury

Award for the best play for youth





Audience jury

Award for the best play according to the audience’s votes





29th edition of FEP will be held from 24th to 27th August 2023 in Bačka Palanka (Serbia) under the slogan “On the cliff”

29th Festival of Ecological Theatre for Children and Youth is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia and Municipality of Bačka Palanka, and it is realized in cooperation with the Cultural Centre of Bačka Palanka.







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