Date: 9/9/98 11:53
Received: 9/9/98 13:09
From: Kjell Stjernholm, [log in to unmask]
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Moomstheatre
Kjell Stjernholm
Danska vagen 53
212 29 Malmo
Sweden
email: [log in to unmask]
fax +46-40-947262
To whom it may concern.
The Moomstheatre is an ensemble of thirteen actors, all with an
intellectual disability. It is, by swedish standards, unique. The actors
are full time occupied in the theatre, production teams fully
professional. We attract big audiences, and the critics are overwhelming.
This week, we will be awarded the Thalia-prize. It’s given to the best
production of the year in southern Sweden. We won it in the competition af
all professional theatre and musicalstages, some of them instutional
theatres with budgets we can’t even dream of.
During our eleven years, we’ve made 12 productions. The last one - "The
little human" was a full night epic story about the evolution of the
little man, homo smallis, and his will to do good and support each other.
It was made together with a choir of 43 singers, had a specially composed
music and lyrics, and had one of Swedens most popular TV-celebrities as
it’s narrator from big screen. The main character was performed by Pierre
Bjorkman, a young man with downs syndrome, and with hardly no
understandable dialogue.
There are some fundamentals of the group that we believe to be important
of our success. One of them is to only work in relation to artistic goals.
What ever need of therapy is taken care of outside the rehearsals. The
result has been enourmous personal growth.
Another of these basics is the democratic process of the theatre. Annual
meetings where all the regular members (13 actors, artistic director, 2
community staff) attend take all major decisions. The process have come so
far that our actors even decide on employment issues of guest-directors.
Third of these fundamentals is the identity of the group and it’s members.
All identity is based upon the professional/artistic work that’s being
done. No staff holds priveligies because of non-disability or
employment-status. Workload is determined by what artistic demands that
next show provides.
More about this can be found at: http://www.moomsteatern.com/english.htm
Now to our cause. We need help. For our further development WE NEED TO
FIND THE GROUPS THAT HAVE COME FARTHER IN THEIR DEVELOPMENT, or chosen
different paths, in artistic and organisational issues. We are now
fundraising for an international training/study program. We believe it to
be successfull, even if sums will only cover the most basic of costs. We
know some of them over the world, but in order to make the best use of the
grants for studies we’ll get, we need to get a complete picture before
starting the actual program.
My questions are:
IS THERE, in your region/state/country, a group similar to ours, someone
we could benefit and learn from? (or maybe from each other?) The
combination of intellectual disability and theatre is not a "must", the
disability could be of other nature and the arts form as well, even though
we will focus on the stageperforming arts.
WILL YOU be able to
a. put me in direct contact with this group, preferably by email. For us,
please use [log in to unmask] If no email, we prefer fax
correspondation in front of snail mail.
b. tell us if there is any available documentation on this group.
Videos, articles, reviews, folders.... In that case, is it available by
the internet, or is it possible for you to send something over.
When we go ahead with the study program, it’ll be our artistic director,
Kjell Stjernholm, (that’s me), that will be the pilot to visit some
groups. Eventual thoughts of an exchange between theatres will of course
be exciting as well, even if that takes longer preparatioon and financing.
(So far, we’ve toured Denmark, Poland and Australia.
Questions/interests/proposals from several countries reaching from the
Baltics to Morocco.)
Please, if possible, help us out. Your help of answering or redirecting
this email will be highly appreciated!
Kjell Stjernholm,
artistic director
Moomstheatre, Sweden
PS. This email is sent to all VSA affiliates and theatre associations
throughout the world. If somehow wrongly adressed, please excuse us for
any inconvinience. DS
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