Tehran-Iranian theatre director and playwright Amir Reza Kuhestani has been invited to oversee the 34th Ecole de Mais (school), an advanced theatre training project held in various European cities from August 26 to October 3.
Koohestani’s workshop is entitled “Daily Life as a Performance: Creating a Story from Everyday Experiences.”
In the workshop, Koohestani invites artists to explore the possibilities of performance in everyday life. By turning normal events into compelling and dramatic narratives, the workshop emphasizes the power of personal experience as a source of theatrical creation. Participants look back at everyday routines, environments, and interactions to uncover dramatic possibilities.
An important part of the workshop focuses on journal entries written by participants, capturing details of the day. These journals are written in the first person and simple past tense and serve as the foundation for creating stories. To enrich storytelling, participants are encouraged to bring physical objects related to the dates listed in the journal, from household items to meaningful artifacts.
The workshop offers a unique approach to theatrical production, encouraging participants to view their daily lives as an artistic canvas and experiment with innovative forms of storytelling.
The 34th edition of the Masters School begins on August 26th in Liège, Belgium, and continues its working phases and public presentations at various European venues.
It will take place from August 31st to September 5th in Lisbon, Portugal, from September 6th to 11th, September 12th to November 12th, September 12th to 16th, Woodin, Italy, September 17th to 26th, and Angers, France, September 27th to October 3rd.
This year, 16 participants were selected, with four from each Ecole des Maîtres partner country. This group is as diverse as possible in terms of gender, origin and culture.
Ecole de Martres is an advanced theatre training project conceived by Franco Quadri in 1990. The training goal of the project was to commence a relationship between young actress and actor, trained at European drama academies and drama schools, and already worked as professionals. Artistic language during the tour atelier.
Born in Shiraz, Fars, 46 years old, Amir Reza Kuhestani is considered one of the most important Iranian theatre makers of his generation.
At age 16, he began publishing short stories in local newspapers. Attracted by film, he took a course in director and filming. Koohestani studied cinemas at the University of Tehran. He then continued his studies at the University of Manchester, which is in the theatre field.
After creating two unfinished films and a brief experience as a performer, he spent time writing his first plays, “And the Day Didn’t Come” (1999) and “The Dirmuring Tales” (2000).
He founded the Mehr Theater Group in Tehran in 2001, and in his third play, “Dance on Glasses” (2001), Koohestani gained international fame and found support for the European theatre artistic director and festival. This was followed by the play “Recent Experiences” (from the original texts by Canadian writers Nadia Ross and Jacob Wren). “In the Clouds” (2005); “Dry Blood and Fresh Vegetables” (2007); “Quartet: A Journey North” (2008); “Where were you on January 8?” (2009); “Ivanov” (2011); “The Fourth Wall” (from Tim Crouch’s original play “England” in 2012)
In 2012, the film “Modest Receps,” co-written by Koohestani and actor and film director Mani Haghighi, won the NetPac Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. In 2013, the festival actor in Marseille (France) asked Koohestani to write and perform a new play, “Timeloss” (based on the previous play, “Dance of Glasses”). From October 2014 to March 2015, during a residency at the Academy Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, Germany, Kugestani wrote the play “Hearing.”
Since 2006, Koohestani has been working frequently in Germany, creating over 15 productions.
In September 2018, he was invited to the opening of Lacomedy des Genève in Switzerland along with other directors to create a short play in French at Strindbergh in August, based on “Miss Julie.”
“Summerless,” premiered at Kunsten Festivaldesarts in Brussels, Belgium in May 2018 and presented at the festival D’Avignon in 2018, is the third part of a trilogy on time and memory, following “Timeloss” and “Hearing.”
In May 2023, Koohestani created the “Blind Runner.” It premiered in Brussels as part of the Kunsten Festivaldesarts. A new collaboration with Mani Haghighi released the film “Subtraction” in July 2023.
SS/SAB