About Us
Bridges is a 26-month international artistic project, conducted by four European theatres: EUX - Compagnie d'Improvisation (Paris, France), KD IGLU (Ljubljana, Slovenia), Grund Színház (Budapest, Hungary) and Teatro a Molla (Bologna, Italy). It is a project of artistic exploration of language used in artistic improvisation.
Our objective is to explore how different languages and non-verbal communication can be used in a live artform such as improvisation, where the content of the performances is produced on the spot through collective collaboration. Through 3 artistic Labs 10 artists will research, explore and develop tools to use in performances of artistic improvisation, creating Shows that will include movement, mime, uses of made up languages and their own native languages, where the expression of words is more important than their meanings.
The 16 performances will engage audiences in five countries, especially seeking audience members who rarely visit touring shows due to the fear of not understanding English - the language most commonly used among touring improvisers. Through Shows the project aims to draw more than 1.600 spectators, with more than two thirds of them seeing an improvisational performance not in their language for the first time.
The results of the project will be disseminated through an artistic Academy, which will invite 32 young theatre professionals to learn new methods of performance and production in improvisational theatre. They will also study techniques of making their performances more environmentally sustainable, get a platform to form new networks and a licence to produce the project’s Show format within their collaborations.
The results, methods, a series of podcasts and articles about the project will be widely available on the Bridges Knowledge Sharing portal with the idea of spreading and inventing new innovative approaches to the uses of languages other than English in international improvisational collaborations.
IGLU Theatre
Improvisational Theatre of Ljubljana was founded in 2013 in response to the need for a professional approach to the art of spontaneous theatre in Slovenia. IGLU performs weekly in Ljubljana, and its members have over twenty years of experience performing in theatres, street performances and television productions. IGLU members are regular participants in numerous international festivals where they teach, learn, and perform.
Grund Színház
Grund Színház was established in 2011; since its inception, it has been presenting an ever-increasing number and type of performances to the audience. Its founder and director is Andrew Hefler , who introduced the genre of theatre and applied improvisation to Hungary. The artists of the company are committed to presenting moments from real life on stage, which are familiar, but at the same time shed a different light on everyday and social problems, often with the help of sophisticated humor.
EUX Compagnie d'improvisation
Founded in Paris in 2006, EUX is an improvisation company specialising in show production and training. Since its creation, the EUX improvisation company has created more than 25 different productions that have been performed in France and abroad. Throughout its existence, the company has performed in around twenty different countries in Europe and around the world.
Teatro a Molla
Teatro a Molla is a theatre company founded in 2009 in Bologna, Italy. Its work focuses on theatrical improvisation and its members are theatre professionals with over twenty years of experience each. Performances are likely to combine improvisation with other forms of theatre such as clowning, scripted drama or other theatrical genres. Teatro a Molla runs an improvisation school for adults, programs with high schools, corporate workshops for businesses, and often partners with social enterprises to create custom programs.
