Pro Rodopi at The Substation

In phase 1 of the cultural exchange between Pro Rodopi (Bulgaria) and The Substation (Singapore), Petar Todorov and Desislava Mincheva visited Singapore from 23 August - 2 September 2009. They did a three days' work-sharing on physical theatre and actors' preparation with the Performance Research & Training Group based at The Substation, presented a new performance, Hair, and led a two-day workshop for young practitioners.

Work-sharing

From 26 - 28 August, Pro Rodopi and the Performance Training & Research Group which trains regularly at The Substation, worked together over three evenings, sharing their respective actors' preparation techniques and approach to theatre-making. On the first evening, Elizabeth de Roza led a group physical training which is based on kalaripayattu, the ancient South Indian martial arts. Desislava Mincheva joined in the group training. On the second evening, Desislava led the training for the group, and this was followed by an improvisation/ jamming session based on a stimulus given by Petar Todorov. On the final evening, both groups gave a joint work-demonstration to an invited audience of theatre practitioners and students, which began with physical training (actors' preparation) led first by Elizabeth and then by Desislava, followed by an improvisation in which Desislava and Performance Training & Research Group members Ian Loy and Sharda Harrison participated, where they created movement based on the emotion of 'lust'. The evening ended with a question-and-answer session with all the performers.

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About Pro-Rodopi

Pro Rodopi Art Centre is a revolutionary project for Bulgarian cultural infrastructure. It is an independent cultural centre, first of that kind in a rural area in the country. It is a crossroad of ideas from South-East, Central, North and West Europe. It is a result of experience, needs and visions of artists and cultural facilitators from Bulgaria, Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands that are already forming an informal network. Located in the village of Bostina in the Central Rhodope mountains, it is a completely independent and private initiative of a group of young active artists with good connections to the local and national authorities, and with well established international network. It is a member of Trans Europe Halles and is a new and more effective model for running a cultural institution in Bulgaria.

About The Substation

The Substation is Singapore's first independent contemporary arts centre, founded by the late dramatist Kuo Pao Kun in 1990. Our mission is to nurture and challenge Singapore artists; provide an open space for artistic experimentation; promote interaction between diverse artists and audiences; facilitate critical dialogue in the arts; foster regional and international arts networks. We present a diverse range of artists, programmes and events: from traditionally trained dancers to local rock bands; established visual artists to young poets; publications to international short film festivals; experimental theatre to seminal conferences on Singapore arts and culture. As an arts space we want to be approachable, versatile and open to all kinds of arts and cultural practices, yet at the same time we want to challenge artists, and have a preference for work that takes risks and explores. We aim to support research and innovation in the arts, and to bring different artistic perspectives together in critical dialogue.