Directors in Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) – An International Exchange, known globally also as the “International Directors’ Seminar”, occurs biennially, with the next one taking place June 18-25^th 2023 at Hessisches Landestheater Marburg (HLTM) in Germany.

TNA as the Australian national centre for ASSITEJ will be selecting one director to attend, to be decided through an EOI process. The program is open to independent or organisation-based directors in the field of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) and it is open to all genres and forms of performing arts for young audiences.

Around 25 directors from all over the world will travel to Marburg for the exchange, which encourages all participants to bring their ideas and experience. Small group work will provide enough space and time to work practically and from different perspectives. Theatre performances by the host theatre and other companies in Marburg as well as leisure activities will complete the week’s schedule.

You can see a list of all previous participants, including Australians who have attended since 1984 here.

The working language of the seminar is English.

ASSITEJ Germany and Hessisches Landestheater Marburg (HLTM) will cover the costs for accommodation, catering, theatre tickets and leisure activities for all participants. Participants are expected to cover the costs for their travel, and TNA can provide assistance and letters of support for you to secure funding for this opportunity.

Expressions of interest for this opportunity can be submitted using the online form here. If you would prefer to complete the form as a word document, please download it here and email it to josh@tna.org.au. 

EOIs close on Sunday July 10th, 2022.

Applicants will be informed of the outcome by Friday July 22nd, 2022.

If you have any questions or need more information, please contact TNA General Manager Joshua Lowe at josh@tna.org.au or (03) 9947 1015.

The 2023 Theme

In 2023 the idea of hope and the way we actively construct our approach to the world around us will be the starting point of our work. It is inspired by the motto the host theatre has chosen for their season 2022/2023:

CONSTRUCTION HOPE – KONSTRUKTION HOFFEN

We use hope as a strategy to give us the courage we need to encounter the present and the potential futures we see. We decide to hope. We construct an idea of hope as a possibility, as an experiment, as an acknowledgment of not-knowing. We use hope as a basis for optimism, as an impetus for a better future. We need hope to deal with disappointments, doubts and failures on the way. While we construct a world around us we see a multitude of possibilities. The process is also an attempt of creating order. We wish, design and calculate and – again – we hope for the things we dream of to be or become real.

Children are true enthusiasts when it comes to constructing and building things. They concentrate hard and they compete with others in their ambitions to build higher, better or differently. They also accept failure and the necessity for a new start. In TYA, our perspectives and the children’s perspective meet in art.

We invite directors to reflect on the way we construct different worlds on stage and how the idea of hope moves us and our audiences forward.