Educational workshops
This year, Vojdan Chernodrinski Macedonian Theater Festival, in cooperation with the Association for theatre education and production THEATRE FOR EVERYONE Skopje, launched an Educational Program within the festival’s framework. The program lasts for eight months and is intended for teachers and pupils of Prilep schools that lead drama sections and/or teach the subject of Drama Art.
The goal of the educational program is to provide support, guidance, and skills to the teachers and pupils of Prilep schools in the field of theater education, to create drama cores able to act independently and create theater art, as well as to generate a new wave of future theater artists and audiences.
The current group following the educational program has 20 participants: two teachers and eight pupils from two Prilep primary schools (Kliment Ohridski Elementary School and Kocho Racin Elementary School), as well as two teachers and eight pupils from two Prilep secondary schools (Gjorche Petrov Secondary School and Mirche Acev Secondary School). Next year, new schools that will show interest, will follow the Educational Program. The goal is to include all Prilep local schools, and then the program to expand outside the city itself. More information about the schools interested is to be available during the festival itself.
The participants meet three times a month, at a main workshop with a duration of three hours, and two supporting workshops with a duration of one and a half hours. The main workshops are mentored by Milosh B. Andonovski, a director, educator, and founder of THEATRE FOR EVERYONE, and the rest of the workshops are mentored by Prilep theater ensemble actors.
At the beginning of the program, in November, the participants got acquainted with the basics of acting; in December, they got acquainted with the basics of dramatic writing and dramaturgy; January was the month dedicated to theater directing; in February, the month of scenography, the participants worked with the guest lecturer Martin Manev, a scenographer; in March, they worked on costume design with the guest lecturer Irina Tosheva, a costume designer and a fashion designer; and the month of April was dedicated to theater criticism and behind-the-scenes professions. We were honored our workshops to be mentored by the guest lecturers Ana Stojanoska, lecturer at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts – Skopje and artistic director of the Vojdan Chernodrinski MTF, and Stojan Damcheski, the long-time manager of the Prilep theater. The final workshop in May is to be dedicated to the preparation of the final presentations. The festival offers the opportunity for the teachers and pupils to show what they have learned during the eight-month Chernodrinsky for Kids festival program. The presentations are to be open to the public, and additional information is to follow shortly.
We are especially glad that this program has been approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of RNM with its expert opinion No. 408/3, issued by the Education Development Bureau. The time teachers spend at the workshops is to be valued as time dedicated to professional development, and of course, certificates are to be awarded to the students, as well.
