In the Pionirski dom the leader of the project »Young theatre ­­– Mlado gledališče«, the aim of which is to forge links between professional and nonprofessional theatre creators, attain new theatre knowledge and arouse the interest of the young people to visit and participate in theatre projects as well as to develop a lasting loving relationship with culture in the audience.

Pionirski dom as a European project leader

For over twenty years Pionirski dom – Centre for Youth Culture has been developing improvisational theatre as a method of theatre education, and since September 1st 2017 we are further broadening and upgrading our knowledge with the cooperation project »Young theatre - Mlado gledališče« sponsored by the European Commission together with partners from Serbia, Poland and Romania. The Young theatre/Mlado gledališče project, headed by Pionirski dom – Centre for Youth Culture, is dedicated to educating professional theatre creators and amateurs in the field of theatre art.

The attainment of goals is supported through practical familiarization of pedagogues, theatre professionals and the youth with the alphabet of improvisational theatre, its use in schools and the professional cultural filed, and their interconnectivity. Namely, improvisational theatre is an accessible and highly useful tool as it promotes cooperation, responsibility, self-initiative, adaptability, use of the body, comprehensive use of different forms of communication and many other skills which are applicable in diverse forms in the educational process, as well.

Over 200 participants took part in improvisation workshops

The project is half way along its planned programme path. As the objective of the project is to do a pilot test of the improvisational theatre method as a widely applicable tool in education and culture we have so far carried out already 20 one-hour weekend workshops for theatre professionals as well as 20 one-hour weekend workshops for primary school pedagogues in all four partner countries. The results of the workshops were outstanding, not only from the viewpoint of the quantity of acquired new practical and instantly applicable knowledge, but also from the point of view of the connecting and creative power of the project. The workshop participants in all partner countries have been intensively taking part in the process of active familiarization with improvisational techniques and acquired fundamental improvisational techniques, improvisational philosophy and attained useful tools for their work environments.

In Slovenia, as project leaders we have additionally carried out a joint workshop for theatre professionals and primary school pedagogues, a workshop for practitioners within the framework of the festival Borštnik Meeting (Borštnikovo srečanje), workshops for pedagogues and practitioners within the framework of the International Conference of Theatre Pedagogy (Mednarodna konferenca gledališke pedagogike), and have established a regular improvisation group of pedagogues which meets once a week in Pionirski dom and keeps upgrading the improvisation knowledge. So far over 200 participants have taken part in improvisation workshops in Slovenia, which are to continue till the end of the project.

Project conclusion in April 2019

Workshop participants are transferring their knowledge to children and the youth in schools who are developing with their experience in improvisational theatre into quality-wise critical and more active users of cultural content. The young people are going to present their improvisational productions at the international Improv Day, the holiday of improvisational theatre, which is going to be held in all partner countries and is the pinnacle of the cooperation project Young Theatre/Mlado gledališče, which is concluding on April 12th 2019 at the Festival Hall (Festivalna dvorana) within the framework of the Improv Day.

The outstanding international results of the Young Theatre project have convinced us to build upon the current project and enrich theatre improv knowledge with a creative movement. We are preparing a new international cooperation project within the framework of the programme Creative Europe »Young theatre on the move«. Again, our partners are going to be from Serbia, Poland and Romania, with French partners joining us, as well.