KOOLITUS

Name of the project: “Forest Spirits – an Immersive Theatre Experience” Training Course

Date: 23^rd June – 31^st July 2023 

City/Country: Lanvallay, France

 

 

 

 

What was the main topic of the event?

Mariann Lamp – For me, the main topic was the different physical and mental tools of theater, and how to use them to reflect society’s concerns, youth work, oneself, and change. Also practicing immersive, participatory performance techniques through presentations, readings, writing techniques, mindfulness, puppet-making, and theatre workshops.

Marie Pappel – Theater performances, sustainability, nature.

Roland Reinvald – Theatre.

Kerttu Piliste – Applied theatre.

Mark-Emil Luik – Immersive theatre and somatic practices.

 

What were the biggest learning moments of the event for you?

Mariann Lamp – For me, the biggest learning moment was when we played through the expectations of society, family, partners, and friends for you as a person. I learned that you don’t have to live up to these expectations and you have to be yourself with your perfections and imperfections.

Marie Pappel – I think my biggest learning moment didn’t have that much to do with theatre, but with the comfort and privileges we have in daily life.

Roland Reinvald – Learning how to manage limited supplies for a week. Living in the countryside with a dry toilet, wet and dirty clothes. Being confident in my body and not afraid of being judged even when I’m doing the silliest exercises. And… Spending so much time in the countryside can be good for my body – I had more energy and never needed coffee.

Kerttu Piliste – Seeing how simple exercises and games helped facilitate trust and bonding within the group, and noticeably increased our comfort zone through the week. It was also curious how the uncomfortable environment brought people together or, contrarily, allowed new problems or questions to emerge.

Mark-Emil Luik – The biggest learning moment for me was the fact that people’s experiences can differ so much. The same experience can be interpreted in so many different ways depending on the person’s background.

 

Do you have any plans to continue being active in the field? If yes, in which way?

Mariann Lamp – I will certainly continue to work with young people. At the moment, I will continue my work in the Tallinn Youth Council and propose new solutions for changing the lives of young people.

Marie Pappel – I do not have currently plans to continue in theatre field, but most likely I will continue with other performing arts, such as dancing.

Roland Reinvald – In tutoring and teaching. Also, I have always wondered if I could do projects like this.

Kerttu Piliste – I hope to incorporate some tools of applied theatre into my personal life to improve my mental health and my ways of relating to certain situations, as well as to enhance my understanding and approach to conventional theatre. I intend to also share my experiences with our theatre’s youth work department, to help them find ideas for developing new workshops.

Mark-Emil Luik – I plan to use the practices and experiences gained in my professional work.

 

Would you recommend this experience to your friends? If yes, why? If no, why not?

Mariann Lamp – Yes, I would. recommend this project because it is a good opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and practice self-discovery, performance courage, teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving skills through theater. In addition, this project is a good opportunity to experience intercultural learning

Marie Pappel – Yes, and no, I would recommend it as the organizers aswell as participants were very nice and , but I would not recommend it with the same weather and overall conditions.

Roland Reinvald – I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone but if you are up for a challenge then I would recommend it. Also, even though we were in the countryside and we were given vegetarian meals, they tasted soo good and were so diverse. That really impressed me.

Kerttu Piliste – I would recommend it, because for me the environment really worked together with the content of the project to draw out new questions and ways of thinking. It also made me more aware of my own comfort zone and thought patterns, and highlighted important cultural differences. It was also an interesting place/situation for meeting other people connected to the creative field or mental health.

Mark-Emil Luik – I would definitely recommend it to my friends, because it is a unique experience for most people and the different practices are really useful if properly integrated.