OPEN CALL: RADIX

Application open for DANCERS, ACTORS, MIMES & CIRCUS PERFORMERS
including last-year students of any of the above disciplines

Iraqi Bodies are continuously searching for a radical theatre made up of the entirety of scenic expression. Radical must in this context be seen as an origin, or root–from the Latin radix. Considering that the origin of theatre in Ancient Greece incorporated text, movement, music and acrobatics it seems, to us, the only viable option if true appreciation for ‘theatre’ is to be upheld. For us a radical theatre is one in which all aspects of the body are considered and used: musicality, agility, voice and gesture.

The studium RADIX will run throughout the entire year (2022) with 3-4 monthly meetings including physical as well as theoretical sessions. In June an intensive session of 1-2 weeks will be organized. 

We are looking for performers who seek to develop their area of expertise and who are willing to participate in a highly demanding physical and theoretical environment. We encourage all who are interested to visit/look at the work of Iraqi Bodies to get acquainted with our work before applying. The studium will be a unique opportunity to deepen your skills and experiences as a performer and is one-of-a-kind in terms of the various territories that will be explored while simultaneously being free of charge for the performers selected.

Territories:
Nogushi Technique/Metamorphosis techniques/Aspects of the “holy actor”/Mimodynamics/Corporeal Mime/Expression and Impression as tools for movement and characterisation/ The actor as “witness”/Acrobatics/Movement analysis/Aerial/Juggling/Chorus–Protagonist/Mask work/Vocal and (dramatic) text work

Few examples of lecture topics:
The predecessors of Ancient Greek Drama: satyrs and komastai
Aristotle’s Poetics
Ritual theatre and its impact on the western theatre canon
The use and evolution of mask in its various periods
The modern problem of the body onstage as a result of the “failure” of mime
The grotesque (comic and tragic) in Shakespeare and its echo in 20th century dramatists
Nietzsche’s impact on theatre in The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music
Catastrophe in the 20th century: physical expression at its limit
Catastrophe in the 21st century: why theatrical movements have been unable to negotiate the atrocities committed and its relation to the problematic use of the term “the third world”

We will invite 3-4 participants from each discipline (theatre, dance, mime and circus) that will form the studium from January to December at several working sessions in Gothenburg and the region of Västra Götaland. We encourage applications from all the Scandinavian countries and abroad! The working language of the studium will be English.

The studium is directed by Josephine Gray and will be led together with Anmar Taha along with international artists who will inform the working sessions with their expertise. The invited artists will be announced shortly.

The preliminary dates are:

29-30 January • 5-6 February • 13 February • 5-6 March • 26-27 March
2-3 April • 10 April • 7-8 May • 21-22 May • 13-26 June (intensive)

No activities July-August

September-December dates TBC

NB: DATES MAY BE ADDED AND/OR ALTERED. THIS WILL BE COMMUNICATED TO THE SELECTED PERFORMERS IN DUE TIME.

To apply, please send us your CV and a personal letter (min. 1 A4, max. 2 A4) on why you would like to participate and what interests you in the above suggestions of a radical theatre. Please take care in writing your letter as this will be the basis for the selection rather than your CV.

The application should be sent to iraqibodieslaboratory@gmail.com by December 15th 2021.
Selected participants will be informed by January 7th 2022 the latest. We are very much looking forward to receiving your application and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Free for participants.

More information here