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Music Theatre NOW - Call for Entries to be announced soon

In early 2012 the Music Theatre Committee of International Theatre Institute will publish the call for entries for Music Theatre NOW. The call will close on July 20th, 2012. Until the new call is published, please take a look at our 2008 edition of the meeting to get an idea of the structure of the competition and the entry requirements. Please understand that we will make some small changes, including the elimination of the different categories - but if you read the text below, you will get a good idea about what Music Theatre NOW is about. Music Theatre NOW 2012 will culminate in a meeting in 2013. There will be a larger jury from five continents.

The German Centre of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) in cooperation with the International Music Theatre Committee invites artists to participate in a worldwide competition for the creators of new opera and music theatre.
Productions, which were professionally produced any where in the world over the last three years may be submitted. Works which fall into the genre "musical" or reworkings or reinterpretations of existing music, opera or music theatre MAY NOT be submitted, with the exception of original musical compositions which include samples. Entries may be submitted by the producer, director, composer or publisher. The leading team involved in the project MUST agree to the submission.


The works will be selected by a jury consisting of three persons: two members of the International Music Theatre Committee: Laura Berman, artistic director "Art of Our Times" Bregenz Festival, Austria, and Roland Quitt, chief dramaturge at the National Theatre Mannheim, Germany. Internationally recognized director and curator Ong Keng Sen, Singapore, does Music Theatre Now the compliment of being a jury member.
The prize winners will be invited to present their work at the international meeting Music Theater Now in Berlin, November 2008.

Works will be selected in five separate categories based on the number of forces (musicians and performers) involved in the production:

1) Productions (with over 50 performers), which in terms of musical forces and scenic structure could become part of the classical opera repertory.

2) Productions (with over 50 performers), which in terms of their formal nature or scenic requirements may be categorized as "projects"

3) Mid-sized productions (15 to 60 performers) encompassing both of the categories "classical opera repertory" or "project"

4) Small scale productions including solo works from both of the above named categories

5) Productions whose artistic approach have their roots outside of the Western European musical tradition - this is not a reference to the artistic personalities, but to the work itself, in terms of both musical and textual content.


Works will be chosen that are exemplary in terms of the development of contemporary music theatre respective of their countries or regions of origin.

By "contemporary music theatre" we mean pieces, which demonstrate a new development in the art form, be it in score, libretto and/or staging. It has become apparent in recent years that very interesting and innovative productions are created outside the established opera house structure. The jury is open to experimental productions expanding the frontiers of the genre, as long as they can be seen as music theatre. This includes productions in which the instruments play more than a secondary role in relation to the human voice, e.g. works performed by an instrumental ensemble for new music. We expect that works by so-called non-academic composers will also be considered. Special attention will be given to works, whose musical and theatrical vocabulary originates outside the western European tradition. As a guideline for those regions in which categories such as "music theatre" or "opera" are not defined: all interdisciplinary performing arts works will be considered, in which music, especially that produced by the human voice, plays a dominate role.

The winning artists will be invited to present their work in the form of a lecture/demonstration with sound and video excerpts at the 9th triennial meeting Music Theatre Now (Formerly Music Theatre Workshop), November 20-23, 2008 in Berlin, Germany. Travel, accommodation and meals will be provided by the International Theatre Institute for one artist (usually the composer) to attend the meeting, which has served as a forum for professionals from around the world for many years. The artist should give the lecture in English or German.
The meeting is for professionals and the general public. In addition to the presentation of the prize-winning productions, the event features lectures and discussions and the performance of new experimental music theatre work produced in Germany. The meeting will be held at Radialsystem V - New Space for the Arts in Berlin.
The application form, more information about the meeting and its history can be found at
this site soon, information on the venue under www.radialsystem.de

Deadline for submissions is May 31th 2008 (Date as postmark)

ITI Germany
Mariannenplatz 2
D-10997 Berlin
Germany

For questions or enquiries pls. contact Annette Doffin o a.doffin@iti-germany.de


The ITI Music Theatre Committee


Mission Statement

The Music Theatre Committee of ITI is committed to the artistic development of music theatre worldwide. From experimental projects to productions in opera houses, the committee embraces all forms of music theatre including hybrid theatrical forms where music is a crucial and indispensable aspect in the performance. The committee takes a special interest in music theatre outside of the Western European tradition and in contemporary work which reflects these other traditions.

The MTC is a democratic body, in which the ideals of UNESCO concerning the acknowledgment of cultural diversity and exchange of ideas end knowledge between people and nations are highly esteemed.

The committee's main task is dissemination of information and audience education with the goal of raising audience awareness of music theatre around the globe. Through its ever-expanding network, the MTC seeks to facilitate the production and presentation of music theatre, and the organization of cooperation and exchange of productions among producers.

Committee members are ITI members whose professional work is directly related to the creation, production or presentation of music theatre. The group includes directors, composers, dramaturges and producers of opera and music theatre from all over the world. New members can be asked to join but local organizations and individuals who work in the field of music theatre can also take the initiative to become a member of the committee.

History
The MTC was founded in 1969 through the initiative of the East German opera director Walter Felsenstein, who also remained the Committee's president until his death in 1975.

In the early years, the work of the committee focused on cultural exchange between the so-called Eastern and Western countries within Europe, reflecting the then current interests of ITI. Meetings were held focusing on the work of major opera houses. But also the American director Harold Prince, known mainly for his work in musicals, was a member of the committee, which at one time had over 300 members.

At the end of the cold war it was then necessary for the MTC to redefine its goals. Since the MTC's initiation, new relations of text, music and stage action have evolved parallel to the traditional operatic form. The separation between a work's autonomous score and its interpretation through the director, singer-actor and the production team is often abandoned by the creators. Since then modern music theatre has gained relevance as a melting pot where music, theatre, text, dance, design, new media and all kind of cross-overs come together.

In 1983 the committee initiated a triennial event, which was called the 'Music Theatre Workshop'. The goal of the workshop was to exchange ideas on new works and developments in member countries. The ITI centres were asked to submit suggestions for works to be presented and like Music Theatre NOW, the artistic teams were invited to give lectures presenting the productions with the use of video. The list of works presented over the years includes the following composers Jonas Forssell, Chaya Czernowin, Liza Lim, Georges Aperghis, Salvatore Sciarrino, Awet Terterjan, Alfred Schnittke, Heiner Goebbels, Detlev Glanert, Jörg Widmann, Wolfgang Rihm, Peter Eötvös, Rodion Shchedrin, Michael Tippett, Helmut Lachenmann, Hans-Jürgen von Bose, Luca Lombardi, Judith Weir, Aribert Reimann, Louis Andriessen, Giacomo Manzoni, Per Nörgaard, Roberto Gerhard, Wolfgang Mitterer, Jin Hi Kim, Jocy de Oliveira, Giorgio Battistelli. The ITI German centre produced and organized this event, which was held in various German cities. In 2008 the meeting was held in Berlin. For the first time it was open to the general public and it was called 'Music Theatre NOW'.

The current MTC membership reflects a conscious attempt to expand outside of Europe and North America and the board sincerely hopes that this will continue and that the committee will grow in the coming years. Recent activities of the committee include participation in the 50th anniversary of the Korean ITI centre with a symposium on the future of music theatre and cultural identity, meetings in The Netherlands, at the Rotterdam Opera Days and in Zwolle at the Chamber Opera Festival. Future meetings are planned for St. Petersburg, Russia and Nanjing, China.

Board members
Nico SCHAAFSMA, Netherlands, President
Laura BERMAN, Germany
Guy COOLEN, Belgium
Roland QUITT, Germany
Axel TANGERDING, Germany
Nick Rangjun YU, PR China
Members
GAO Shan Ren, PR China
JIA Zhaouhui, PR China
Stefan JOHANSSON, Sweden
LU Hou, PR China
Daniel OTT, Switzerland
Peter P. PACHL, Germany
Frank G. RIVERA, Phillipines
Paola SARCINA, Italy
Nora SCHEIDL, Austria
WANG Jian, PR China
WANG Lijuan, PR China
WONG YueWai, Hong Kong
WU Huiying, PR China
Natalia ZYNOVA, Russia
Gino COOMANS, Belgium
CHEN Yanbing, PR China
Ali Lucky LIAQUAT, Bangladesh
Michael SCHEIDL, Austria
TIAN Mansha, PR China
Lili WU, PR China
Honorary member
Danny YUNG, Hong Kong

Further information on ITI and the Music Theatre Committee:
www.iti-worldwide.org

 

Music Theatre NOW 2008 Website

Music Theatre NOW 2008 Prize Winners

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