Open call: Summer Scriptwriting Base 2017, Bozhentsi, Bulgaria

OPEN CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS

Summer Scriptwriting Base
“To Die Laughing”
29 July – 9 August 2017,
Bozhentsi – Gabrovo - Sofia, Bulgaria

"Humanity has unquestionably one really effective weapon—laughter. Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand. "— Mark Twain

This year’s Summer Scriptwriting Base “To Die Laughing” will be held in the village of Bozhentsi (Bulgaria). The forum is destined to students and young professional of all artistic fields and creative industries interested in developing their skills and knowledge in writing scripts for theatre, documentary cinema, physical approach to writing, and other cross-disciplinary and cutting-edge art forms. It will also allow the participants to meet future friends, partners and collaborators from all around Europe. The program will consist of four lectures and three workshops, led by renowned and innovative practitioners from all around Europe who have been carefully chosen for this event.

CONCEPTION
As the famous American comic actor and writer Sid Caesar said “If you have no tragedy, you have no comedy. Crying and laughing are the same emotion. If you laugh too hard, you cry. And vice versa.” In the practical workshops of the program of “To Die Laughing” the participants will explore the meeting point of the comic and the tragic.
As a starting point there will be a visit to the Buzludzha monument (often voted “the most surreal and weirdest abandoned place on the Earth”) and the lecture linked with the exhibition curated by the Serbian philosopher and art historian Marko Stamenkovic in Gabrovo’s House of Humor and Satire.

LOCATION
The village of Bozhentsi is a traditional Bulgarian village and an architectural reserve. The participants will be housed in traditional 19th century houses. For those who want to bring a tent and to stay closer to the nature there will be a campground with all facilities. Other locations in the program will be Sofia, Gabrovo and the world famous abandoned monument of Buzludzha.

PROGRAM
Scriptwriting Summer Base is open to foreign participants and all lectures and workshop will be in English. The inauguration will be on July 29 in Sofia. The first lecture on the program will also take place in Sofia, on July 30. After the lecture all participants will depart for Gabrovo and then Bozhentsi where the rest of the program will take place. On August 9, the last day of the program, there will be a festival with presentation of the results and live music concert with a DJ party afterwards.
Workshops Schedule:
· Scriptwriting for theatre (mentor: Sarah Grochala): 1 – 5 August
· Physical approach to writing (mentor: Katharina Horn): 1 – 9 August
· Scriptwriting for documentary cinema (mentor: Elitza Gueorguieva): 3 – 8 August

The full program can be found at http://www.arteurbanacollectif.com/program.html

LECTURERS
Andrea Brunello (Italy) – actor, director, playwright, holds a PhD in physics. Andrea Brunello links in his work theatre with science. www.jetpropulsiontheatre.org
Marko Stamenkovic (Serbia) - art historian and philosopher. He curated many projects and exhibitions around Europe related to the political rationality of image-making and global visual communication.
Fernando Sánchez-Cabezudo (Spain) – actor and director, founder of Kubik Fabrik a creative space in Madrid (lazonakubik.com). Curator of the Storywalker project (storywalker.es)
Lynda Clark (UK) – writer and videogame producer. Cofounder with Nottingham’s UNESCO City of Literature team of Hello Words - interactive fiction writers’ group (medium.com/hello-words)
Elitza Gueorgieva (France/Bulgaria) – documentary film director, writer and performer. Born in Sofia, she has been living in Paris since 2002.
Katharina Maschenka-Horn (Germany) - Berlin based dancer, choreographer and teacher. www.katharinahorn.com
Sarah Grochala (Poland/UK) - multi-award winning playwright based in London. (www.sarahgrochala.com)

ENROLLMENT & FEES
The participation fee is 120 BGN (60€) for one workshop; 200 BGN (100€) for two workshops and 260 BGN (130€) to participate in all three workshops. 20 candidates will be selected to participate in each workshop, preference will be given to candidates who wish to subscribe for the full program.

This fee includes:
· One, two or three workshops (according to participant’s desire);
· Four lectures;
· Accommodation (in traditional 19th century houses) in Bozhentsi for the duration of the workshops;
· Campground with all facilities for those who want to bring their tent and to be closer to the nature.
· Bus trip to Buzludzha monument;
· Transport Gabrovo - Bozhentsi
· Free entrance for the closing concert & DJ party;
· Beautiful countryside, sunny experience and good mood :).

This fee DOES NOT include:
· Transportation to Sofia (for both international and Bulgarian participants);
· Transportation from Sofia to Gabrovo (round trip by bus is around 40 BGN / 20€);
· Accommodation during the first night in Sofia for the opening and the lecture (there will be a possibility for couchsurfing for the international participants at the Bulgarian participants’ homes);
· Accommodation in Gabrovo on July 30 ( 20 BGN / 10€);
· Food for the duration of the academy (delicious food at reasonable prices will be arranged);

HOW TO APPLY? : Send us your resume, a short motivation why you want to participate (up to 200 words), as well as which workshops you would like to participate in to: [email protected].

Application deadline: May 1, 2017

Organizers: Arte Urbana Collectif – Sofia, Museum of the Architectural Historical Reserve “Bozhentsi” and Municipality of Gabrovo.
Partners: “House of Humor and Satire” – Gabrovo, Institut Français Bulgaria, Famille Mundi theatre company – Paris, BBC Knowledge, Eight, Bulgarka

More information and updates at: www.arteurbanacollectif.com/summer-scriptwriting-base.html