The Naked Stage, the 16th international festival of improvisational theatre, is getting closer. It already smells like collective creation and venturing into the unknown. We can already sense the presence of international artists from six countries and the breathing and co-creation of events by an international audience. Our curiousity rises when we think about workshops on topics of sincerity, inspiration, magic and chaos. The performances of artistic duos, tackling the themes of loneliness, connection, closeness, neighborhoods, relationships, the voids and the fullness of life, are approaching fast. We can almost see a high school cast staging their piece on friendship. The corners of our lips are twitching when we think of clowns unleashing their alter idiots. And we are already touching the festival production Close to You, exploring the spaces of intimacy, sexuality and relationships.
The red thread of this year's Naked Stage is closeness and connections. It is woven from admitting the obvious, from the recognition of the smallness of the impro theatre scene, from admitting the close relationships between artists at the festival and from perceiving personal ties, even if they extend across oceans.
The small scale of the impro scene and the interweaving of personal ties in the working environment grow out of poor production conditions. In the absence of spaces, infrastructure and financial support, the only thing the artists can rely on, apart from their burning artistic drive, are supportive relationships with coworkers. There is no long-term structural support for the development of artistic work. There is no financial support for production development and selection tours. Truth be told, the Naked Stage would not exist if someone had not already met someone in inspiring work in the past; if someone wasn't already travelling around Europe with their husband; if someone didn’t have a big wish to spend more time with a certain person; if someone did not follow artistic curiosity and desire for open exploration; if someone wasn't enthusiastically explaining to his friend via online chat about working with a certain artist; if someone did not experience an exquisite artistically processed socializing in the backstage; if someone wasn't willing to sleep with someone in the same room; if quite a few people weren't yearning for co-exploration, co-creation and coexistence, yearning for finding ways of how not only to survive but also to live in this world. The Naked Stage is no exception. A similar thing goes for the impro scene in other countries. A similar thing is happening in Slovenia in other independent artistic fields, which are devoted to live arts. And everywhere, insisting on the artistic and the explorative and not agreeing to the commercial, is rare and precious.
Closeness also arises from the working method itself. Improvisation is emerging everywhere. It is tightly intertwined with life. It does not ignore what is between us, it is rather fueled by it. Stepping into the unknown and opening up to vulnerability requires strong trust and support. Inspiring improvisational artists have grown out of years of research and practice, exploring and sharing vulnerability, building trust, falling into risky situations, making bold decisions, not knowing, still not knowing and being gentle with it all. It's no wonder that this type of practice creates close interpersonal relationships. The closeness between performers and audience is another key landscape of artistic improvisation. Contact and collective creation are the essence of the festival. At this year's Naked Stage, we want to take another step forward in recognizing and giving value to the art that arises from and creates close relationships. The art that transforms life and closeness in such a way that it vibrates with the wider society, that it resonates far. The art where we can all explore our own distances and proximities.
Come closer,
let’s get together,
let the closeness echo far!
Maja Dekleva Lapajne
The Artistic Director of the Naked Stage
The red thread of this year's Naked Stage is closeness and connections. It is woven from admitting the obvious, from the recognition of the smallness of the impro theatre scene, from admitting the close relationships between artists at the festival and from perceiving personal ties, even if they extend across oceans.
The small scale of the impro scene and the interweaving of personal ties in the working environment grow out of poor production conditions. In the absence of spaces, infrastructure and financial support, the only thing the artists can rely on, apart from their burning artistic drive, are supportive relationships with coworkers. There is no long-term structural support for the development of artistic work. There is no financial support for production development and selection tours. Truth be told, the Naked Stage would not exist if someone had not already met someone in inspiring work in the past; if someone wasn't already travelling around Europe with their husband; if someone didn’t have a big wish to spend more time with a certain person; if someone did not follow artistic curiosity and desire for open exploration; if someone wasn't enthusiastically explaining to his friend via online chat about working with a certain artist; if someone did not experience an exquisite artistically processed socializing in the backstage; if someone wasn't willing to sleep with someone in the same room; if quite a few people weren't yearning for co-exploration, co-creation and coexistence, yearning for finding ways of how not only to survive but also to live in this world. The Naked Stage is no exception. A similar thing goes for the impro scene in other countries. A similar thing is happening in Slovenia in other independent artistic fields, which are devoted to live arts. And everywhere, insisting on the artistic and the explorative and not agreeing to the commercial, is rare and precious.
Closeness also arises from the working method itself. Improvisation is emerging everywhere. It is tightly intertwined with life. It does not ignore what is between us, it is rather fueled by it. Stepping into the unknown and opening up to vulnerability requires strong trust and support. Inspiring improvisational artists have grown out of years of research and practice, exploring and sharing vulnerability, building trust, falling into risky situations, making bold decisions, not knowing, still not knowing and being gentle with it all. It's no wonder that this type of practice creates close interpersonal relationships. The closeness between performers and audience is another key landscape of artistic improvisation. Contact and collective creation are the essence of the festival. At this year's Naked Stage, we want to take another step forward in recognizing and giving value to the art that arises from and creates close relationships. The art that transforms life and closeness in such a way that it vibrates with the wider society, that it resonates far. The art where we can all explore our own distances and proximities.
Come closer,
let’s get together,
let the closeness echo far!
Maja Dekleva Lapajne
The Artistic Director of the Naked Stage