Teatrul Național “Marin Sorescu” din Craiova – parte a proiectului ACuTe: un demers multidisciplinar inovator ce își propune să revoluționeze teatrul digital din întreaga Europă
ACuTe – cultural testbeds for performing arts and new technology
An innovative new digital theater project has just been given the green light to 'revolutionise' the way theater and performing arts are produced and performed across Europe.
The launch of AcuTe, a large-scale digital theater project, will take place on Thursday, September 8, 2022, at one of the most important digital art festivals in the world: Ars Electronica, which takes place in Linz, Austria.
TheDigital Theater – Democratization of a Mediumpanel will bring together artists and creators involved in ACuTe who will discuss how digital transformation will shape theater for years to come. The launch of the project will take place on an immersive 3D stage, in the setting of the mixed-reality show SH4D0W.
What is the truly transformative element in the transition from theater to digital theater? How does the medium become a space where the line between performers and receivers blurs?
This panel discussion will look at how a new approach to audiences will shape the (digital) theater scene in Europe and beyond for years to come. A new understanding of the concepts and relationships between theatre, audience, performance and space is what constitutes the digital transformation of theater as a medium. The audience is invited to exchange ideas with the participants about possible future applications of digital concepts in theater and how they want to be involved in its development.
On behalf of the "Marin Sorescu" National Theater in Craiova, Alexandru Boureanu, the manager of the theater, and George Albert Costea, actor of the Craiova National Theater and project coordinator in Romania, are participating in the event. The Romanian team also includes Ciprian Făcăeru, architect in virtual and mixed reality, designer of digitally augmented and interactive experiences, new media researcher.
The ACuTe project, which is co-funded by the European Union, brings together 14 leading European theater and research organizations that aim to develop experimental theater productions using pioneering technologies. New technologies include robots, artificial intelligence and "immersive exploratory space", each being tested by different organizations to try new ways of producing performances, telling stories on stage and getting audiences to interact and relate with art.
The experimentation will be guided by the innovative 'testbed' concept, never seen before in the performing arts, and will lead to the dissemination of knowledge to improve the skills of the wider theater and performing arts sectors.
Following the model of other sectors, ACuTe will create a "TESTBED for the cultural area". This process, an interdisciplinary integration of digital technology and co-creation, will lead to the testing and prototyping of new technologies within the three key themes of the project: new dramaturgies, stage design and audience engagement. These will be innovations in how we tell stories on stage, how they are produced and how audiences interact with them.
Partner organizations will split into three groups, matching the three test elements, to facilitate regional knowledge sharing. The work process will be supported by a series of expert residencies, training workshops and support for the development of professional capacity in the deep integration of technology in the long-term theater production process.
The key element of the project will be finding co-creation ways to reach disadvantaged audience groups and help the sector become more resilient and viable post-Covid. Similarly, ACuTe aims to provide a structured approach to digital development in this sector, which has been sporadic to date.
Cele 14 organizații implicate în proiectul ACuTe sunt teatre de top, universități și organizații de arte creative din Europa: • Universitatea de Științe Aplicate OULU (Finland) • Ars Electronica (Austria) • European Theatre Convention (Germania) • Azkuna Zentroa-Alhóndiga Bilbao (Spain) • Academia Estonă de Arte (Estonia) • Universitatea de Științe Aplicate Saxion (Olanda) • Théâtre de Liège (Belgia) • Landestheater Linz (Austria) • De Toneelmakerij (Olanda) • Teatrul Național Sloven Nova Gorica (Slovenia) • Det Norske Teatret (Norvegia) • Academy for Theatre and Digitality (Germania) • Schauspielhaus Graz (Austria) • Teatrul Național “Marin Sorescu” din Craiova (România)
The 7 partner theaters were selected from the ETC network - European Theater Convention (ETC), the largest network of publicly funded theaters in Europe. 5 of the partners also participated in a previous digital theater project carried out by ETC, European Theater Lab, including the "Marin Sorescu" National Theater from Craiova, which co-produced the show Idiomatic (2018).
“The ACuTe project could not come at a more crucial time for theaters and the performing arts sector. There is widespread uncertainty about the future of the industry, which has been hit hard by the COVID pandemic and is looking for new ways to re-engage and build connections with the public. The emerging technologies and innovative testing process developed from other sectors are exactly the kind of experimental tool needed at this time – to ensure the resilience, creativity and also the playfulness of the sector.”
Blair Stevenson, Senior Project Partner
“I am very happy that Teatrul Național Craiova is turning its digital theater projects almost into a strategy of the entire organization. After the European Theater Lab and the Idiomatic show in 2018, after the pandemic period in which we had the super-project The Hektomeron specially created for the online environment, in Craiova we will start a new adventure related to ACuTe. I hope that this project brings a new perspective on how a show can be thought, approached, configured, created. The artistic and technical teams of the theater, together with representatives of the Craiova National audience, assisted by top experts in interactive media technologies, will be tasked with defining and creating the show that represents them and that speaks about them. I hope we can give them all the support and support they need to do the best they can.
George Albert Costea, actor of the Craiova National Theatre, coordinator of the project in Romania
The ACuTE project runs from 2022 to 2025 and is co-financed by the European Union.
