What is BABEL?
BABEL – or The Art of Listening in TYA is a European large scale cooperation project that pursues the rights of children and youth to full cultural citizenship. It aims to investigate the communication process, intercultural dialogue, and mutual understanding in TYA and more extensively the Performing Arts for Young Audiences.
Call for Performers
We are seeking performers to participate in ‘BABEL Creation Work Groups’ - training workshops on the theme “The Art of Listening, the sensitive relationship between performer and child/adolescent spectator”. These are artistic work encounters where performing artists from different language communities, directed by artistic facilitators, will interact on stage with other artists and the audience through creative and experimental workshops.
Small size, as well as the other ASSITEJ performing Networks, can present one artist for each workshop path (see below).
The Workshops
The workshops are led by four highly experienced directors in TYA: Brigitte Dethier and Ives Thuwis, who focus their workshops more on physical theatre, dance, gesture, movement; and Alex Byrne and Gregory Hall, whose workshop is more music and storytelling oriented.
All the workshops take place during Babel festivals.
Each applicant selected will participate in a path composed of two workshops. The applicants will furthermore have the opportunity to participate in other festival activities taking place around the workshops in coordination with the organising partner.
A path involves 12 performers, working together in two workshops during 5 days sessions.
Each workshop lasts 5 full days: arrival is scheduled for the day before the workshop begins and departure for the day after it ends.
BABEL will provide participation in the workshops along with: travel expenses up to 350€ + meals and accommodation for 6 days and nights.
The paths taking place in 2025 are:​
Where and When?
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*(Each applicant selected will participate in a path composed of two workshops)
Path 7
Led by Alex Byrne assisted by Gregory Hall
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Bologna, Italy, Festival Visioni di futuro, visioni di teatro: 13-17 March 2025
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Galway, Ireland, Baborò Festival: 11-15 October 2025 (these dates might slightly change, so allow a bigger period for availability)
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Path 8
Led by Brigitte Dethier and Ives Thuwis
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Denmark (city to be defined later), KLAP (AprilFest) Festival: Dates of the festival: 30 March - 6 April 2025 (specific dates of the workshop tbd)
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Brussels, Belgium, Export/Import Festival: 6 - 10 November 2025
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