International University Theatre Forum in Vilnius

International University Theatre Forum in Vilnius
Date(s)	Beginning of May
Frequency	Annual
Location(s)	Vilnius, Lithuania
Years active	2000 - present
Organised by	Vilnius Gediminas Technical University; Vilnius University; University Theatre Association; Association “Koturnos”;
Website	forumas.vgtu.lt/en

International University Theatre Forum in Vilnius is an annual international event in Lithuania. It is organised by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Vilnius University, University Theatre Association and Association “Koturnos”. The event is under the guardianship of the AITU-IUTA (de l’Association internationale de théâtre à l’université - the International University Theatre Association).

International University Theatre Forum invites young performers from university theatre groups for interactive theatrical performances and aims to bring social problems and heritage questions to the public's attention. It also gives the possibility for performers to get to know each other, to interact and exchange experience. It is a unique event for young people in the Baltic countries.

The main audience of the Forum are the residents and visitors in Vilnius and from other Lithuanian cities. Since theatre troupes from other countries are performing in their own languages, tourists are also encouraged to come and watch performances.

History[edit]

International Universities Theatre Forum in Vilnius was founded by University Theatre Association in 2000.

By choosing the word "Forum", instead of "Festival", organizers wanted to show that this event has evolved, and now hosts more than performances. It holds creative laboratories, encourages discussions, national evenings, and, since fourth Forum - theatrical actions.

Each Forum has its individual theme. In the first three Forums themes were unfolded directly by performances. Since finding guests, whom performances would meet special criteria is quite a challenging task, instead doing so organizers decided to reveal the Forum‘s theme by theatrical actions.

Theatrical actions[edit]

Theatrical actions - short (lasting from 15 to half-an-hour) thematic (intended to reveal a certain idea) performances which are happening in different places of Vilnius during the Forum. They usually do not require a long-term preparation, a lot of rehearsals, nor significant funds. Most of them are performed outdoors.

It has become a distinctive mark of the Forum, a great opportunity for students interested in theatre to try their hand at creating it, and for Forum participants - possibility to express student theatre society, focus on relevant topics, explain and present their position, their ideas to public.

Year	Forum’s theme	Main focus of theatrical actions/Forum	Participants from
2000	“Shakespeare of youth 2000”	There were no actions. All the performances were connected to the works of William Shakespeare	Kaunas, Klaipėda, Vilnius (Lithuania), Leicester (United Kingdom), Liege (Belgium), Riga (Latvia), Stuttgart (Germany)
2001	“Looking for author and hero“	There were no actions. All the plays were written by young authors	Kaunas, Klaipėda, Vilnius (Lithuania), Padua (Italy), Reykjavík (Iceland), Tampere (Finland), Gera (Germany)
2002	“Different but similar”	There were no actions. Forum tried to search for similarities between people from different cultures	Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Vilnius (Lithuania), Limbaži, Valka (Latvia), Dublin (Ireland), Pécs (Hungary), Zagreb (Croatia), Madrid (Spain)
2003	“Vilnius – the crossroad of nation’s cultures”	Multicultural heritage of Vilnius	Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Vilnius (Lithuania), Moscow (Russia), Łódź (Poland), Riga (Latvia)
2004	“We are together”	Commemoration of Lithuania’s accession to the European Union	Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Vilnius (Lithuania), Cluj (Romania), Liege (Belgium), Espoo (Finland), Oslo (Norway)
2005	“My space”	Forgotten sites of cultural heritage - closed churches and monasteries in Vilnius	Klaipėda, Vilnius (Lithuania), Cluj (Romania), Chelyabinsk, Moscow (Russia), Minsk (Belarus), Valka (Latvia)
2006	“Perpetuum mobile”	Protection of technical heritage	Kaunas, Klaipėda, Vilnius (Lithuania), Liege (Belgium), Berlin (Germany), Minsk (Belarus), Cracow (Poland), Granada (Spain), St. Petersburg (Russia), Quebec (Canada), Lyon (France)
2007	“Creating a world and one’s self”	Development of a young personality in student theatre	Kaunas, Klaipėda, Vilnius (Lithuania), Lyon (France), Maribor (Slovenia), Florence (Italy)
2008	“Traces of generation”	The traces left by the generation of freedom	Kaunas, Vilnius (Lithuania), Bucharest (Romania), Moscow (Russia), Minsk (Belarus), Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Blagoevgrad (Bulgaria)
2009	“De profundis”	Movement of Philaretos and Philomathes	Vilnius (Lithuania), Liege (Belgium), Warsaw (Poland), St. Petersburg (Russia), Belgrade (Serbia), Minsk (Belarus)
2010	“My yard”	Immediate surroundings of people, in which they find themselves after closing the door of their home	Vilnius (Lithuania), Minsk (Belarus), Szczecin (Poland), Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Malmö (Sweden), Bergen (Norway)
2011	"Ladies And Gentleman, The Carriage Awaits ...!"	Preservation of former Lithuania’s noblemen estates	Kaunas, Vilnius (Lithuania), Lyon (France), Liege (Belgium), Moscow (Russia), Czestochowa (Poland), Tehran (Iran)
2012	“Meetings”	Meeting locations of the Youth	Vilnius (Lithuania), Norfolk (United States), Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Benevento, Rome (Italy), Aarhus N (Denmark)
2013	“Suspended moments”	Museums	Vilnius (Lithuania), Verscio (Switzerland), Moscow, Oryol (Russia), Kharkiv (Ukraine), Cantabria (Spain), Norfolk (United States), Timisoara (Romania)
2014	"Theatrical reminiscences"	Closed theaters in Vilnius	Kaunas, Vilnius (Lithuania), Liege (Belgium), Minsk (Belarus), Valleyfield^{[disambiguation needed]} (Canada), Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Moscow (Russia), Rome (Italy)

The tradition of the Forum is still alive today and it has become an event, where viewers can witness newest performances of student theatres, meet and familiarize with different cultures, hear, discuss and share opinions about important social matters.

Awards[edit]

Forum is non-competitive event. Since there are no official categories, jury feels free to award participants or troupes for most memorable characters and performances.

Written sources[edit]

Forum is mentioned in a number of written sources, including articles and books. Most (but not all) of the articles are in Lithuanian journals and websites that are connected to art, theatre and culture. Moreover, there is one section dedicated to International University Theatre Forum in Vilnius in a book called „The University Theatre. Practice and Experience“ published by Robert Germay and Philippe Poirrier in 2013. The importance of university theatre and International University Theatre Forum in Vilnius is also mentioned in the book „Creativity and education. The role of director in University Theatre“ written by Rimantas Venckus, which was published in 2013.

Next Forum[edit]

The 16th International University Theatre Forum will be held on 5-9 of May, 2015. There will be participating several Lithuanian student theaters and guests groups from foreign countries.

External links[edit]

References[edit]

Germay, Robert; Poirrier, Philippe (2013). Le théâtre universitaire. Pratiques et expériences [The University Theatre. Practice and Experience] (in French) (1st ed.).CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on

Venckus, Rimantas (2013). Kūryba ir edukacija. Režisierius universiteto teatre [Creativity and education. The role of director in University Theatre] (in Lithuanian) (1st ed.).CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on

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