- Drift International is an intensive residency programme for people with careers in theatre and performance, who will spend their time sharing work and styles with each other as well as benefiting from discussions with mentors and other artists and performers. The residency will be led by HOTEL MEDEA directors Persis-Jade Maravala, Jorge Lopes Ramos as well as guests from Brazil and UK. The working languages will be English and Portuguese.
- Uninterrupted by the normal constraints of lack of space, time or lack of other artists with whom to work, the richness of this residency lies in the fact that it is truly an exploration of group and individual practice. Each DRIFT Residency is designed with and for the individuals in that specific group.
- Participants are encouraged to collaborate with each other, without the goal or pressure of a performance product. It is a model of process and community building that will provoke and inspire different ways of thinking about your practice and different contexts through which ideas are exchanged – that will include training, performing, nightly sharings of process, feedback, one-one-one sessions and insight into your own practice.
- This residency will take place in the beautiful mountains of Rio De Janeiro between 3 locations: in Aldeia de Arcozelo, Vera Cruz Natural Reserve and C.P.C Gargarullo (Ponto de Cultura), which is located 120min coach trip away from the city centre and Rio beaches.
- As there are a strictly limited amount of spaces there will be a selection process. Please write a statement of interest that describes your practice and what you would like to achieve through this residency. Your are welcome to apply as long as you consider your practice in relation to theatre and performance in the broadest sense.
The DRIFT Directors
JORGE LOPES RAMOS & PERSIS-JADE MARAVALA are the co-creators of the DRIFT Residency International, where artists worldwide are mentored through creative and collaborative processes in site-specific, time-specific and audience-specific practice. They have jointly directed HOTEL MEDEA – an overnight trilogy, developed over six years between Brazil and UK and winner of numerous international awards. More recently, Jorge and Persis-Jade Maravala curated Route BR-116 Festival, which brought together artists, curators, funders and researchers from the Rio-Sao Paulo and London-Edinburgh axis to discuss and experience artistic disruptions in mega-cities.
PERSIS JADE MARAVALA is founder member and artistic director of Para Active, artistic associate of The British Grotowski project and of Guillermo Gomez-Pena’s La Pocha Nostra. Originally from Yemen, with an Iranian and Indian heritage, her work revolves around issues of identity and the self. For the last 15 years she has been an independent artist working in performance and live art making work where her biographical paradigm intersects with larger social and cultural issues. She develops artistic projects that focus on using culturally diverse performance styles where the focus is on re-imagining the space for theatre. PJM has a passionate belief in art as an ideal medium for articulating a time of permanent crisis that we find ourselves in, therefore travelling from myth to social reality where an intrinsic part of this artistic process is in encounters with those on the so-called margins, the hybrids and the outsiders.
JORGE LOPES RAMOS is artistic director of Zecora Ura Theatre Network, which is based both in Rio de Janeiro and East London since 2001. Jorge creates playful theatrical structures that allow for a participatory, immersive and interactive perspective of the theatrical event. He focuses his professional practice and research on the unspoken contract between the audience and the actor. His latest production HOTEL MEDEA, which runs from midnight to dawn in real time, has been touring to critical acclaim and has won a number of international awards. Jorge was a member of the Cultural Leadership Programme’s initiative The Independents, run by Battersea Arts Centre in 2011, and is currently a Lecturer in Theatre Studies BA and Acting/Directing MA at the University of East London.
The structure of the day
Every morning the participants have the opportunity to experience the work of the project directors.
In the afternoons, participants will be provided with an environment in which to develop their own practice independently or with other participants.
The evening sessions will include the opportunity to work with an audience.
We will actively be encouraging participants to find their own unique voice through their work and to
bring any material that is relevant to their process enquiry.
In the last days of the residency participants will have an opportunity to share the residency’s outcome with a public audience.
What is included in the fee?
The fee for the residency will cover all teaching, food and accommodation.
What about flights and travel to where we are staying?
Each participant will be responsible for buying their own flights, and for travelling from the airport to Miguel Periera. We can provide a list of flight companies and recommendations upon request – thedriftproject@gmail.com. We recommend you fly to Galeão International Airport in Rio.
Once you make the transfer from the airport to the main coach station in Rio, there are coaches that run from the airport to directly outside of the venue we will be working. We are also happy to suggest private car pickup with trusted companies should you want to contract their services privately.
There is the possibility to arrive earlier and stay later than the DRIFT and the details and cost can be arranged with CPC Gargarullo directly.
How do I apply to be a part of the DRIFT project?
Please write a statement of interest that describes your practice and what you would like to achieve through this residency and send this to: thedriftproject@gmail.com including your name and contact details. You may also include any other documents – photos, CV should you wish, but this is not a requirement.
Is there a deadline for submissions?
If your application is accepted you will be offered a place but once the course is full no more applications will be taken.
When will I hear if I have a place, and how do I confirm that place?
We will respond to proposals asap. Once you are offered a place please make the full fee payment to secure your place. We are unable to guarantee a place unless payment is made.
How can I pay?
You can make a BACS payment to:
Name: Zecora Ura Theatre
Bank: Bank of Scotland
Ac. Number: 06293832
Sort Code: 12-24-82
If you prefer to pay by cash then please contact Lisa on 07870854723.
