Following the roundtable, the Ukrainian Drama Network project held a professional discussion on the promotion of contemporary drama on the stages of Ukrainian theatres.
The roundtable was attended by well-known playwrights, theatre critics, directors, and actors, and the discussion resulted in recommendations addressed to playwrights, directors, theatres, and the state.
As reported, the project was initiated by the Theatre na Zhukah in partnership with the Ukrdramahab platform and the Theatre of Playwrights. The Ukrainian Institute became a partner in the international components of the project. The project was funded by the Stabilisation Fund for Culture and Education 2022 of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany and the Goethe-Institut.
Here are the recommendations in full.
For playwrights
– To develop management skills along with creative skills. To formulate proactively and submit grant applications for productions of their plays in collaboration with theatres, and directors, both Ukrainian and foreign ones. To monitor opportunities for grant programmes that support theatre and drama.
– To apply to publishing houses, and institutions (Ukrainian Institute, Ukrainian Book Institute, etc.) for the publication of drama, seek grant opportunities to publish their own collections of plays or in collaboration with other playwrights.
– Through personal involvement, to promote the formation of an attitude towards playwriting as part of the general literary process and promote playwriting in every way possible on the book market, including presenting published collections at literary forums, festivals, etc.
– To monitor support programmes from Ukrainian Institute, Ukrainian Book Institute, and other institutions at the municipal and state levels, and to take a proactive position in forming partnerships and projects.
– To publish their works in online libraries of contemporary drama. To be active in promoting their own works, send texts to directors, theatre managers, critics, and other industry stakeholders.
– To participate in playwriting competitions: those plays that have been shortlisted and longlisted are of the greatest interest to directors.
– Continuously attend workshops, and laboratories on playwriting and gain knowledge that will allow a better understanding of the work of directors, and the laws of the stage.
– To expand the circle of contacts during various events: forums, presentations, readings of contemporary drama, etc.
– To team up with colleagues to solve common professional problems. To establish a professional union (association, etc.) to effectively formulate requests for legislative changes and advocate for them at the legislative level.
For directors
– To get acquainted with contemporary drama, in particular, in online libraries, and attend drama readings, festivals, and other drama forums.
– To use the unique opportunity to collaborate with contemporary authors in the process of staging a play/reading to stage the text better and reveal its inherent meanings.
– To search for and develop, together with playwrights, new forms, content, and features of the national Ukrainian theatre that make it unique on the European theatre map.
For state theatres
– To include at least 20-30% of productions based on contemporary Ukrainian drama in their repertoire, thus creating performances on topics relevant to society and attracting new audiences, especially young people.
– To look for new forms of working with the audience, in particular, to organise discussions after performances/readings of contemporary drama, creating additional public space and giving impetus to changes in society.
– To study the experience of cooperation with playwrights from European theatres and implement best practices in Ukraine, in particular, engage playwrights to work in the theatre on a regular basis.
– To create special events (festivals, readings, creative meetings, roundtables, etc.) aimed at introducing contemporary drama to the audience.
For the state.
– To introduce playwriting education in Ukrainian theatre universities.
– To develop and implement financial incentives for theatres that include plays by contemporary Ukrainian playwrights in their repertoire.
– To establish an annual prestigious state award to the best playwright and publish an almanac of shortlisted plays.
– To create special programmes with the involvement of the Ukrainian Institute and Ukrainian Book Institute aimed at translating and promoting contemporary Ukrainian drama abroad.
– To establish the Ukrainian Institute of Theatre to develop a clear state policy in the theatre sector.