NEATA 1999-2001
By former President Villy Dall
Following the 1st Regional Assembly of NEATA which was held at El Jadida, Morocco, on July 17, 1999, the Steering Committee met to decide on the work of the alliance for the period of 1999-2001. The decisions were based on a number of discussions during the session of the Assembly which unanimously adopted the Steering Committee's Report on Activities during 1998-99.
Mr. Villy Dall, Denmark, was unanimously re-elected as President for the period of 1999-2001 while Dr. Danute Vaigauskaite, Lithuania, was unanimously elected as the new Vice-President following the decision by Mr. Jaan Urvet, Estonia, not to stand for re-election.
Following the decision of the NEATA member of the Board of Representatives of the International Amateur Theatre Association (aita/iata), Mrs. Merja Laaksovirta, Finland, not to stand for re-election, Mr. Jens Halvdan Mosli, Norway, was unanimously elected as the new NEATA representative. Mr. Villy Dall will continue to represent NEATA in the Steering Committee of the European Continental Service Centre.(ECE) at Lingen (Ems), Germany.
As suggested by the Danish National Centre (DATS), the Steering Committee decided to move the Secretariat of NEATA from the home of the President to the Office of DATS which is situated at Gråsten, and consequently, to appoint the Secretary General of DATS, Mr. Thomas Hauger, as Secretary General of NEATA.
The Steering Committee reiterated the Working Programme for 1998-2001 which was adopted at its first meeting at Harstad, Norway, on August 8, 1998, saying that NEATA will:
- put a first priority to the facilitation of the exchange of amateur theatre groups and to the establishment of networks between amateur theatre groups
- plan and implement common educational projects such as common courses, workshops, and/or conferences
- take the necessary steps in preparing and planning the first official NEATA Regional Amateur Theatre Festival in 2000
A major step in the facilitation of exchange of amateur theatre groups will be taken during the conference 'Amateur Theatre Co-operation on the Grass Root Level' which is organised by the Danish National Centre at Slagelse during September 10-12, 1999, in co-operation with NEATA and The Nordic Amateur Theatre Council.
A working committee on education was established at the first Steering Committee meeting at Harstad, Norway, on August 8, 1999. It was composed of Steering Committee members Dr. Danute Vaigauskaite, Lithuania, and Ms. Nilla Ekström, Sweden, who presented their report to the Regional Assembly.
The report offered the following proposals for actions during the period of 1999-2001 which were enthusiastically adopted by the Steering Committee:
- An Amateur Actors Course to be integrated with the Danish international amateur theatre festival 'The Meeting Place 2000' to be held at Slagelse, Denmark, during June 30-July 9, 2000. Participants of the course will meet three days before the festival and leave two days after the closing of the festival. During the festival, participants of the course will take part in Open Forum Discussions based on the performances shown. The course will be led by Mr. Jakob Oschlag, a professional theatre director who is employed as an adviser to the Danish National Centre and who is a member of the Artistic Standing Committee of aita/iata.
- Three or four international workshops for amateur theatre directors to be organised at the University of Klaipeda, Lithuania, in co-operation with the Theatre Department of same, presumably in the autumn of 2000.
The fact that the new Vice-President of NEATA, the President of the Lithuanian National Centre, Dr. Danute Vaigauskaite, is also the Head of the Theatre Department of the University of Klaipeda gives NEATA a unique possibility to establish its own International Amateur Theatre Directors Diploma Course of nine months, presumably to start in 2001. The Theatre Department of the University of Klaipeda has for more than 25 years educated professional theatre directors especially for the amateur theatre.
The 1st NEATA Regional Amateur Theatre Festival is scheduled to be held at Trakai, Lithuania, during July 24-30, 2000, organised by the Lithuanian National Centre.
The festival programme will contain 13 performances from NEATA countries - to be selected by National Centres - three guest performances from Russia, Belarus, and Poland, as well as two guest performances to be selected by the two other European regions of aita/iata, i.e. CEC and CIFTA. Also the programme will offer colloquies, workshops, seminars, and symposiums. Deadline for the submission of information on selected groups was set to be March 1, 2000.
NEATA wholeheartedly supports the idea of organising 'The World's Greatest Amateur Theatre Festival' as a series of mini-festivals during the Ascension Holidays of 2000. Guidelines for organising such a mini-festival may be downloaded from the NEATA Home Page on the Internet.
The Secretariat of NEATA will continue the development of the electronic distribution of information which began when a NEATA Home Page entered the Internet in October, 1998. Instead of printing and posting a newsletter a few times a year, information is circulated currently by means of e-mail and fax. In February, 1999, NEATA instituted a Notice Board which is a the disposal of amateur theatre groups, individuals, and institutions.
