next generation

For its 2016 edition, WESTWIND has once again awarded ten festival scholarships to young theatre artists, new professionals and students from the areas of dramaturgy, directing, acting, design and theatre education. Together, these scholarship holders constitute their very own forum of the next generation, which is headed by the director and theatre educator Günter Kömmet.

This forum is dedicated to the examination of the festival as well as of children ´s and youth theatre as a whole, in addition to prompting its participants to reflect on their own understanding of art, their career aspirations and what they need to do in order to realise those goals. The participants will attend all of the performances, take part in the programme of additional events and get involved in the production discussions. How can what we ´ve seen inspire us? What can it inspire us to do? Are we able to view things through the eyes of a child or a teen? What ´s it like to go from simply hearing about theatre to "doing it" ourselves? How can we leave something of ourselves behind and who might want to follow the trails we leave? How much input is it even possible to take in?

The "next generation troop" will set out to discover new theatrical dimensions and take creative liberties so as to be able to share their impressions and leave new ones behind. And ideally, they will succeed in establishing networks to theatre ensembles as well as amongst themselves that will enable them to pursue their own passion for children ´s and youth theatre in the future. Forum participants will reside at Naturfreundehaus Gelsenkirchen and will have their own workspace at Consol Theater.

Come, watch, discuss and make theatre!

Direction: Günter Kömmet
Assistance: Behlül Taskingül
Participants: Sophie Blomen, Yannik Böhmer, Yvonne Dicketmüller, Anaela Lucia Dörre, Rebekka Gebert, Manuel Knoll, Dorothea Mines, Larissa Probst, Jasmin Schaitl, Till Wiebel