Theater is a way to think inappropriately, it’s a creative, protected space where you can think freely.

The 21st Century Theater is a theater of interaction and active intervention in the realities of life, comprehension of facts and the formation of perspectives, a theater that is in harmony with the rhythm of modern society. The very paradigm of the theater as a pure form has changed significantly under the influence of contemporary visual art, philosophical discourses, digital technologies and media.

The Interdisciplinary approach has given an impetus to the development of drama of mixed theatrical forms, in particular, it is difficult to overestimate the influence of performing arts on the development of postmodern or so-called post-drama theater, as well as the active interaction of the theater with anthropology, psychology, sociology, and philosophy as adjacent disciplines.

Theatrical Laboratory creates a new performative space, unlimited with traditional theatrical stage and form. But it builds a platform for the 21st century theater.

Unlike repertory theaters, the multi-dimensional space of the Mystetskyi Arsenal makes it possible to implement innovative creative projects that have no analogues in the cultural space of Ukraine.

The Theater Laboratory is an interdisciplinary space, which combines the theory and practice of contemporary theater. In the society of new technologies and rapid changes, the actual theater, as a living artistic form, tirelessly looks for new forms of expression for interaction with the surrounding world. Leading theatrical practices confidently experiment with hybrid forms, representing a collage of arts, technologies, and media elements. Aesthetics of modern theatrical forms is mostly shaped by a digital culture that has changed our perception of the world. The new drama also evolves beyond the theatrical scene and the traditional theater space and departs from the dogma of the text, taking into account the physics of theatrical form and the importance of all elements of the stage language.

Relying on world experience, the Theater Laboratory is called to operate in the context of contemporary theater discourses and to stimulate active creative search in the creation of new forms.

First and foremost, these are non-traditional techniques for creating theatrical productions and scripts, a more open, experimental creative process, a collaborative approach (devised) to the development of the material. For example, the idea of ​​a performance can be based on a theme, a problem, an image, a musical composition, deliveries do not necessarily require dramatic text, the script can be created in the process of rehearsals and in common with all project participants. These techniques require the possession of all elements of the acting game, the introduction and study of various practices of the acting school. An important element is work with a space other than the traditional scene, scenography, visual elements of the performance, work with a mise encyclopedia. To date, there is interest in literary texts, their interpretation and research through drama theater. Finding new forms and interactive interaction with the viewer, combining various artistic forms, modern technology, scientific and humanitarian disciplines with performative practice is the priority direction of the Theater Laboratory.

Combining these topical areas, the Theatrical Laboratory will also collaborate with other Mystetsky Arsenal laboratories by building a theatrical interaction with other disciplines, an important aspect of the philosophy of the theater today.

In the future, it is planned to create a functional performative space with mobile scene elements and media labs for experimental work with new technologies and theater festivals.

Lab Purpose:

1. change the paradigm of the theater and the concept of theater as an exclusively dramatic form,
2. output the theater from the media environment
3. stimulate creative development of discipline in a new direction,
4. develop the creative potential of the Ukrainian theater,
5. familiarize the viewer with wider cultural space and interesting works by foreign and Ukrainian colleagues
6. uncover a familiar subject at an unusual angle
7. synthesize in the theater such disciplines as philosophy, psychology, culturology, history on other sciences.

Activities:

1. A theatrical version of the following formats:
   • immersive theater
   • action in a site-specific format;
   • play drama;
   • Promenade performances
   • documentaries, festivals
   • immersive theater

2. Educational – The major projects that form the lab program will be accompanied by training programs, master classes and lectures.

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