SEAAA Alliance for Cultural Mobility for South Europe, Arab World, Asia & Australia.
 
The Roberto Cimetta Fund has existed since 1999 as a possible funding solution to the ever-increasing internationalisation of artistic practice. Facilitating and providing equal access to this mobility, through allocation of individual travel grants, is a way of ensuring that arts and culture flourish in the four corners of the globe, increasing the autonomy and emergence of artists and cultural operators, and allowing for international artistic exchanges to develop.
Mobility is a global policy issue as well as a cultural policy issue. It must be understood as a round trip concept, directly linked to local cultural development at the starting point.
A launching seminar of the alliance of mobility funders, potential funders and regranting organisations from Southern Europe, the Arab world, Asia and Australia will be held from 30^th to 31^st March 2015 at Theatre 104 in Athens, Greece with the help of our local partner Marilli Mastrantoni, Artistic Director of Theatre Entropia. This project is supported by the programme ASEF Creative Networks Programme of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). It was selected for support from 39 proposals submitted through a competitive open call in 2014. The meeting will allow discussion on mobility needs and funding schemes existing in each of our regions and will enable participants to define the SEAAA mobility fund more precisely through agreement on common ethics and rules of implementation that could pave the way for possible reciprocal funding of mobility.
 
The project partners are Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), Australia Council for the Arts, Korea Arts Management Service, Valletta 2018 Foundation, Regione Puglia (tbc) (as funding bodies), Arts Network Asia, The Russian Theatre Union (as regranting organisations), and Theatre Entropia (host of the launching seminar in Athens on 30^th & 31^st March 2015).
Potential final beneficiaries of the SEAAA mobility platform would be artists and cultural operators from these regions who have their own projects (that concern at least two of the four regions mentioned) and need to travel but cannot find the funds for their round-trip ticket and visa costs.
For more information please contact Angie Cotte, Secretary General, Roberto Cimetta Fund angie.cotte@cimettafund.org
 

Permission to Narrate: Three Nights of Palestinian Plays
Permission to Narrate
Three Nights of Palestinian Plays
March 25, 26, and 27, 2015, 7:30PM Earl Hall Theater, 2980 Broadway, Columbia University The Center for Palestine Studies invites you to staged readings of three plays that embody the contemporary Palestinian playwright’s use of art to resist historical, political and geographic erasures.
Wednesday March 25, 7:30 PM I am Yusuf and This is My Brother By Amir Nizar Zuabi
Thursday March 26, 7:30PM Land/Fill By Dalia Taha
Friday March 27, 7:30PM (with Reception to follow) 603 By Imad Farajin
This festival is curated by playwright  Ismail Khalidi, co-editor of an upcoming anthology of plays entitled of  Inside/Outside: Six Plays from Palestine and the Diaspora (due out in June 2015, from TCG). A landmark collection in the field of Palestinian theater, Inside/Outside features an introduction by noted writer, poet and adjunct Columbia University faculty member,  Nathalie Handal, and is co-edited by award-winning playwright  Naomi Wallace.Free and open to the public.
Please RSVP to palestine@columbia.edu  Sponsored by the Center for Palestine Studies, Office of the University Chaplain, Columbia School of the Arts, Columbia Department of English, Heyman Center for the Humanities, Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, the Middle East Institute, and Noor Theatre.​

Kooshk Artist Residency
Deadline: April 15 2015
Winners’ Declaration: April 30 2015
Residency Period: July 1-31 2015
Kooshk Residency
Kooshk residency is a non-political cultural and artistic space in Tehran. Kooshk, with sponsorship of private section tries to provide a convenient space for artists, curators, researchers, writers and filmmakers to encourage inter-cultural dialogues and art creation.
Award Goals
The Kooshk Artist Residency Award has been implemented to support artists, creativity and the development of new ideas in the unique space of Tehran. This Residency program is a chance for attendants to do research and experiment, develop professionally maintain direct dialogues and the exchange of ideas in order to grow and nurture their creativity, and try new methods of working and thinking. The Residency will be an annual event lasting one month and will be offered to four active artists of the visual arts, dramatic arts, music and cinema.
During the residency, Kooshk will provide a dynamic and distinctive situation for international artists to work and exchange ideas with local artists, critics and researchers. The program emphasizes a balance between working in a personal space and working in collaboration with other artists and interacting with viewers and the environment. In line with its goals, Kooshk will make any effort to have a contribution in the growth of cultural and social views, by gathering local, national and international artists with a diverse spectrum of artistic disciplines in the cultural and artistic space of Tehran and by creating the possibility for exchanging ideas.
Requirements
All expenses including flight tickets, accommodation, living expenses as well as a modest contribution toward materials will be paid by Kooshk. 
Selection Process
Applications will be received through an online application procedure.
Applications will be processed in compliance with declared criteria by a jury of the award
Registration conditions
All international artists, active in the visual arts, dramatic arts, music and cinema under the age of 40 are eligible to applyfor the Kooshk Award. All applicants must fill in the application form providing the following:
Personal information; CV; Two references; Artist statement; Motivation letter; Proposal; Samples
Please take into consideration that artists with interdisciplinary interests are prioritized.
The First Kooshk Artist Residency Award application is now online at www.kooshkresidency.com/award-application-form. Hardcopy and email submissions are no longer accepted. Inquire here with any questions: info@kooshkresidency.com

READ MORE about DARA, adapted from the play by Shahid Nadeem, Ajoka Theatre, Lahore, Pakistan
http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jan/29/dara-play-debut-national-theatre
 
 
Art for Advocacy?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/11459315/Why-every-child-in-Britain-should-see-the-Nationals-latest-play.html
Why every child in Britain should see the National’s latest play
London play Dara dramatises historic Muslim struggle against fundamentalism
By Peter Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation
In the wake of the Sydney, Paris and Copenhagen terror attacks – and the repeated foiling of Islamist terror plots in the UK – the government is proposing a draconian clamp-down on hate speech and non-violent extremism. It argues that exposure to such views can be a gateway to Islamist terrorism.
Apart from being an inadvertent menace to legitimate freedom of expression, repressing opinions is unlikely to be effective. Already existing anti-extremist sanctions have failed to undermine the Islamist ideology that is recruiting young people to the jihadist cause. What makes ministers think that their new proposals will fare any better?
The truth is that Islamist terrorism will only be defeated when we defeat the ideas that nurture it. That’s why an ideological offensive against Islamism is crucial. We need to rebut fundamentalist ideas with enlightenment ones.
Politically countering the Islamist agenda is important but sometimes an even more effective method is via art and culture. Being more subtle – and entertaining – it can often reach people that politics and debate cannot.
Based on the true story of the two sons of the Mughal emperor who built the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan, the production is history with a searing contemporary relevance.
Prince Dara is the heir to the empire. He’s a pluralistic, humanitarian Sufi Muslim who loves music and poetry. Open-minded, he respects other faiths. His younger brother, Prince Aurangzeb, is a totalitarian warlord and fundamentalist with an ideology akin to Salafist extremism. He uses war and religion to usurp the more liberal and popular Dara in a power grab for control of the lands we now call India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Dara and his father are imprisoned by the power-hungry Aurangzeb. To justify his coup and destroy public support for Dara, Aurangzeb colludes with corrupt clerics and judges to have Dara charged with apostasy under Sharia law; culminating with his trial and execution.
Specifics aside, this play is a snapshot of the age-old battle for the heart and soul of Islam; between competing interpretations and understandings of the faith. It is a story that speaks to us in a world where modern-day Aurangzeb’s are raining down murder and mayhem in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan and elsewhere.
Bought to London by the British-Pakistani cultural and human rights association,The Samosa, and its director Anwar Akhtar, Dara is performed by the courageous Lahore-based theatre company, Ajoka, which has suffered victimisation by the Pakistani Establishment for its liberal, dissenting productions.
When it comes to countering extreme Islamism, Dara has more potential than the government’s often half-baked and repressive proposals to curb free speech.
To defeat Islamist propaganda and win the battle of ideas, education and awareness are the key. To this end, Dara should be on the national curriculum alongside Shakespeare. Every school kid in Britain should see it. But will the Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, fund its filming and ensure that a DVD goes to all schools?
Dara is a hugely important, relevant production with regard to contemporary human rights and the battle against Islamist extremism. Why aren’t those who berate fundamentalism doing more to promote and sustain it to a wider audience?

La MaMa Umbria International Gathering
La MaMa Umbria International announced today its largest gathering of world theatre artists who will teach workshops, lead facilitated retreats, create new works and direct productions in the Spoleto Festival. Programs focusing on Directing, Acting, Playwriting or Theatre-Making will come to life from mid-June to the end of August, 2015.
The 16th La MaMa Umbria International Symposium for Directors features directors Tina Landau (USA), Claudia Castellucci (Italy), Oh Tae Sook (Korea),Sergei Tcherkasski (Russia), Kok Heng Leun (Singapore), Brett Bailey (South Africa), Stephan Koplowitz (USA) and Mohammad Ghaffari (Iran) leading inter-active sessions which include “Site-Specific Theatre Directing,” “Interpretation of Shakespeare with Korean Methodology,” “Viewpoints for a New Generation,” “Directing Intercultural Work,” “Russian School of Directing: Action Analysis,” “Theatre Stripped to Its Elemental Core,” and “Disorienting the Audience.” The Symposium runs from June 27 – July 27, 2015.
The 9th Annual Playwright Retreat features facilitation by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, the author of such provocative plays as the Obie-winning Best New American Play (2014) An Octoroon, currently running at Theatre for A New Audience in New York, Neighbors and Appropriate. He will be sharing his approach to theatricalizing complex ideas that frequently push the bounds of political correctness to inspire other playwrights toward boldness in their writing. The Playwright Retreat will take place from August 9-18, 2015.
The 5th Master Acting Workshops features renowned acting teacher Nicholas Wolcz, who will focus on “Mask and Identity”,  and two members of Tadeusz Kantor’s company, Cricot 2, sharing the performance process of this legendary company:Teresa Wełmińska and Andrzej Wełmiński. The Acting Workshops  begin July 29 and finish on August 7th.
La MaMa Umbria International is a non-profit cultural center and artist residence founded in 1990 by legendary theatre pioneer, Ellen Stewart. Dedicated to artistic experimentation, research, and learning, La MaMa Umbria is a place where artists from around the world meet to create, and to share work and ideas. Housed in a 700 year old monastery just outside Spoleto, Italy, the center is less than two hours from Rome.
In addition to the Symposium, Retreat and Workshops, each summer La MaMa Umbria hosts Residencies and preparation of performances at the La MaMa Spoleto Open Festival, which is the official Fringe Festival of the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds.
For more information: read more here  call (212) 620-0703.

Free Access to Dramanotebook
FREE Access to Drama Notebook for theatre educators using theatre to change the world! Drama Notebook contains the world’s largest collection of drama games, activities, lesson plans and scripts. The author, Janea Dahl, believes that theatre has the power to ignite change in the world by bringing people together, healing those who are suffering, and awakening the imaginations of young people. She would like to offer free yearly memberships ($90 value) to those working in extremely impoverished areas or in third world countries.
Visit the website at www.dramanotebook.com or contact her directly at janea@dramanotebook.com.

CEC ArtsLink Residency Opportunity
CEC ArtsLink is pleased to spread the word about a residency opportunity in Warsaw, Poland in May 2015 for art professionals from 35 eligible countries.
The Center for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle and the City of Warsaw invite curators, organizers, researchers and arts managers to apply for one-month residencies at their Artists-In-Residence Laboratory.
Application deadline: March 31, 2015
Information about the application process
Artists-In-Residence Laboratory provides housing and working space, per diem, air fare, and organizes customized programs and study visits.
Eligible countries: Algeria, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, China, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Morocco, Mongolia, Moldova, Oman, Palestine, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan.
Please note that CEC ArtsLink does not administer this program. All inquiries about Artists-In-Residence Laboratory and application process should be emailed to air@csw.art.pl.