Naked Stage 2020 is cancelled. It will not happen as planned from November 4 till 8 in Stara mestna elektrarna - Elektro Ljubljana and in Layerjeva hiša in Kranj. It will not happen in the form of a live festival with people physically gathering, performing, discussing, exchanging, cocreating, meeting. And also it will not happen as an online event, since we think this shift would take away the biggest power and the juiciest field of research the Naked Stage has to offer.
Therefor we plan the 15th Naked Stage for fall 2021.
But still we find it important to write down and share what all was planned for the Naked Stage 2020. Not to tease us more or to make the sadness because of the cancellation bigger. Also not to emphasize how these plans will never be carried out. But for two other reasons.
First to give thanks and credit to all the artists and cultural workers, who have given their work, thoughts, preparations, ideas, rehearsals, energy and time to the festival. And secondly, to state that the fact the Naked Stage is not happening is not totally true. Yes, we are deeply sad that it will not meet wider audiences on the exact dates in the physical spaces mentioned. But the process is alive and happening. Every step of conceptualizing, discussing, planning, preparing for, dreaming about, nurturing connections between people and between projects, is existing. Every step is valid and important and just might be the thing.
Here's what we were dreaming about and at the same time already living it within our work and our bodies:
Special Edition, a series of improvisations, conceived by Andreja Podrzavnik and performed and cocreated by exceptional artists from different performative backgrounds Alenka Marinič, Andreja Rauch Podrzavnik, Blaž Celarec, Dejan Srhoj, Jaka Berger, Jošt Drašler, Maša Kagao Knez, Milan Tomášik and Tomaž Lapajne Dekleva
Zavod Federacija, DUM – Društvo umetnikov
Game of Death, a super daring narrative solo show performed and conceived by Jacob Banigan and musically cocreated by Goran Završnik
Theater im Bahnhof
Voices, an exquisite performance on internal voices, developed by a non-hierarchical group of artists devoted to explore the topic of gender and overcoming stereotypical representations within performative improvisaton, conceived and performed by Mistral Majer, Olivija Grafenauer, Sara Šoukal, Urša Strehar Benčina and musically joined by Luka Seliškar
Improške, Društvo Impro
Two Ladies of Society, an obscure, hilarious and sharp rendezvous of two ladies belonging to a specific class within society, cahtting about the news from the local page of a daily newspaper, conceived and performed by Beatrix Brunschko and Pia Hierzegger
Theater im Bahnhof
Backstage Pieces, an improvisational clown performance, the intriguing and crazy vivid Za crknt team hits the impro stage and opens itself up for the purest in-the-moment flops, conceived and performed by Alla Abramova, Eva Š. Maurer, Gergely Dozsa, Jošt Jesenovec, Luka Piletić, Petra Markovič, Simeon Huzun, Tina Janežič and Tomaž Lapajne Dekleva
Društvo za sodobno klovnsko umetnost
500 Seconds, an extremely playful impro show which takes the inspiration from the time the light needs to arrive from the Sun to the Earth, basically realizing that everything has already happened, conceived by Juš Milčinski and performed and cocreated by Anne Rabb, Jim Libby, Peter Frankl, Rok Zalokar and Vid Sodnik
IGLU – Improvizacijsko gledališče Ljubljana
Work in Progress, which is a delightful work in progress by Sara Šoukal and Luka Piletić, persistently and playfully exploring the contact between each other and the contact with the audience
The Rorschach Show by The Messengers, who are Anne Rab and Jim Libby, being inspired by the conversation between abstraction and realism, between fantasy and reality, between the dreamed and the lived
Marathon, a nearly endless thread of stories, games and songs, enlived by the cooperation between Jacob Banigan and KUD Kiks in the shape of Rok Bohinc, Dino Kapetanović, Nejc Šmit and Goran Završnik
Improvocation S2E4, a performative conference with an aim to explore the term improvisation and to document that exploration, conceived by Andreja Kopač, Gorazd Pakozdi and Žigan Krajnčan, with Gorazd Pakozdi as the MC and four passionate masters of artistic improvisation Radharani Pernarčič, Beatrix Brunschko, Sonja Pregrad and Jacob Banigan as enactors
International Dance Terrorist Organization
Storyplaying, a workshop for high school students of ŠILA – Šolska impro liga, led by Jacob Banigan, exploring the fusion of storytelling and play
Antpower, a lecture and a q&a session for ŠILA teachers by Beatrix Brunschko on the topic of emergent improvisation
Characters, a workshop looking into strategies for creating improvisational theatrical characters led by Anne Rab
Improvising from the body - Finding magic in movement, a workshop by Sonja Pregrad, playing with the tools of intention, attention and intensity
Go In, Stay Out, or Kill It, a workshop by Jim Libby, exploring ways to support the scene
A big shout out also to the whole festival team!
Maja Dekleva Lapajne for the artistic directing, Juš Milčinski for the managing directing, Borut Cajnko for the technical directing, Mistral Majer and Tamara Bračič Vidmar for the public relations, Tanja Matijašević for the coordination of the Naked Response and for social media, Gašper Uršič and Studio Kruh for design, Mistral Majer, Mojca Jug, Rok Bohinc, Rok Štemberger, Olivija Grafenauer and Jošt Jesenovec for the organizational support, Samo Oleami for writing and discussing.
The Naked Stage is produced by Zavod Federacija, coproduced by Družina umetnosti Narobov, KUD Kiks, Zavod Bunker and Društvo za kulturo in izobraževanje Impro, coorganized by Hiša Layer and IGLU – Improvizacijsko gledališče Ljubljana , supported by MOL – Oddelek za kulturo, Radio Študent, Hotel Park Ljubljana and ŠOU v Ljubljani.
A big number of people and even a much bigger number of relations between them. This is here. It is not cancelled or postponed or shut down or on pause or just a necessary step before or after the »main« event. Every step of the process is the thing. It is alive and just as improvisation, it can take on many shapes and it is rediscovering itself all the time.
Therefor we plan the 15th Naked Stage for fall 2021.
But still we find it important to write down and share what all was planned for the Naked Stage 2020. Not to tease us more or to make the sadness because of the cancellation bigger. Also not to emphasize how these plans will never be carried out. But for two other reasons.
First to give thanks and credit to all the artists and cultural workers, who have given their work, thoughts, preparations, ideas, rehearsals, energy and time to the festival. And secondly, to state that the fact the Naked Stage is not happening is not totally true. Yes, we are deeply sad that it will not meet wider audiences on the exact dates in the physical spaces mentioned. But the process is alive and happening. Every step of conceptualizing, discussing, planning, preparing for, dreaming about, nurturing connections between people and between projects, is existing. Every step is valid and important and just might be the thing.
Here's what we were dreaming about and at the same time already living it within our work and our bodies:
Special Edition, a series of improvisations, conceived by Andreja Podrzavnik and performed and cocreated by exceptional artists from different performative backgrounds Alenka Marinič, Andreja Rauch Podrzavnik, Blaž Celarec, Dejan Srhoj, Jaka Berger, Jošt Drašler, Maša Kagao Knez, Milan Tomášik and Tomaž Lapajne Dekleva
Zavod Federacija, DUM – Društvo umetnikov
Game of Death, a super daring narrative solo show performed and conceived by Jacob Banigan and musically cocreated by Goran Završnik
Theater im Bahnhof
Voices, an exquisite performance on internal voices, developed by a non-hierarchical group of artists devoted to explore the topic of gender and overcoming stereotypical representations within performative improvisaton, conceived and performed by Mistral Majer, Olivija Grafenauer, Sara Šoukal, Urša Strehar Benčina and musically joined by Luka Seliškar
Improške, Društvo Impro
Two Ladies of Society, an obscure, hilarious and sharp rendezvous of two ladies belonging to a specific class within society, cahtting about the news from the local page of a daily newspaper, conceived and performed by Beatrix Brunschko and Pia Hierzegger
Theater im Bahnhof
Backstage Pieces, an improvisational clown performance, the intriguing and crazy vivid Za crknt team hits the impro stage and opens itself up for the purest in-the-moment flops, conceived and performed by Alla Abramova, Eva Š. Maurer, Gergely Dozsa, Jošt Jesenovec, Luka Piletić, Petra Markovič, Simeon Huzun, Tina Janežič and Tomaž Lapajne Dekleva
Društvo za sodobno klovnsko umetnost
500 Seconds, an extremely playful impro show which takes the inspiration from the time the light needs to arrive from the Sun to the Earth, basically realizing that everything has already happened, conceived by Juš Milčinski and performed and cocreated by Anne Rabb, Jim Libby, Peter Frankl, Rok Zalokar and Vid Sodnik
IGLU – Improvizacijsko gledališče Ljubljana
Work in Progress, which is a delightful work in progress by Sara Šoukal and Luka Piletić, persistently and playfully exploring the contact between each other and the contact with the audience
The Rorschach Show by The Messengers, who are Anne Rab and Jim Libby, being inspired by the conversation between abstraction and realism, between fantasy and reality, between the dreamed and the lived
Marathon, a nearly endless thread of stories, games and songs, enlived by the cooperation between Jacob Banigan and KUD Kiks in the shape of Rok Bohinc, Dino Kapetanović, Nejc Šmit and Goran Završnik
Improvocation S2E4, a performative conference with an aim to explore the term improvisation and to document that exploration, conceived by Andreja Kopač, Gorazd Pakozdi and Žigan Krajnčan, with Gorazd Pakozdi as the MC and four passionate masters of artistic improvisation Radharani Pernarčič, Beatrix Brunschko, Sonja Pregrad and Jacob Banigan as enactors
International Dance Terrorist Organization
Storyplaying, a workshop for high school students of ŠILA – Šolska impro liga, led by Jacob Banigan, exploring the fusion of storytelling and play
Antpower, a lecture and a q&a session for ŠILA teachers by Beatrix Brunschko on the topic of emergent improvisation
Characters, a workshop looking into strategies for creating improvisational theatrical characters led by Anne Rab
Improvising from the body - Finding magic in movement, a workshop by Sonja Pregrad, playing with the tools of intention, attention and intensity
Go In, Stay Out, or Kill It, a workshop by Jim Libby, exploring ways to support the scene
A big shout out also to the whole festival team!
Maja Dekleva Lapajne for the artistic directing, Juš Milčinski for the managing directing, Borut Cajnko for the technical directing, Mistral Majer and Tamara Bračič Vidmar for the public relations, Tanja Matijašević for the coordination of the Naked Response and for social media, Gašper Uršič and Studio Kruh for design, Mistral Majer, Mojca Jug, Rok Bohinc, Rok Štemberger, Olivija Grafenauer and Jošt Jesenovec for the organizational support, Samo Oleami for writing and discussing.
The Naked Stage is produced by Zavod Federacija, coproduced by Družina umetnosti Narobov, KUD Kiks, Zavod Bunker and Društvo za kulturo in izobraževanje Impro, coorganized by Hiša Layer and IGLU – Improvizacijsko gledališče Ljubljana , supported by MOL – Oddelek za kulturo, Radio Študent, Hotel Park Ljubljana and ŠOU v Ljubljani.
A big number of people and even a much bigger number of relations between them. This is here. It is not cancelled or postponed or shut down or on pause or just a necessary step before or after the »main« event. Every step of the process is the thing. It is alive and just as improvisation, it can take on many shapes and it is rediscovering itself all the time.
photo: Gregor Gobec