Baltic drama forum - open call
Naubertas Jasinskas
Kęstučio Žilionio nuotr
Baltic Drama Forum is an event each year taking place in one of the Baltic countries, based on a triennial principle. In 2025, Baltic Drama Forum will be organised in Vilnius by MMLAB Theatre, Theatre Information Centre Lithuania, Vilnius University, and the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. The Forum will be followed by the Vilnius International Theatre Festival SIRENOS. The participants will have the opportunity to stay for the Lithuanian Showcase programme.
In 2025, Baltic Drama Forum will be organised as a scientific conference that brings together theatre theoreticians, critics, and practitioners. The organisers are inviting participants to discuss the issues of artistic activism, representation of resistance, and political and social issues in artworks. Also, there will be a special session organised on the issues of cultural economics and cultural management.
Researchers and practitioners are invited to present papers on the theme of resistance, analysing what kind of creativity prevailed during the Soviet occupation, and what kind of resistance can be observed today. Participants will also be invited to discuss the forms of resistance-themed works, and to talk about different formats of works: moving away from the stage towards artistic actions, performative lectures, etc. The topic of the conference is connected to the main topic of the SIRENOS festival – Theatre as a Weapon.
The conference will be held in two academic venues: Vilnius University and the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.
Organisers invite original research and practical contributions across a broad spectrum of performing arts studies, including but not limited to:
Artistic activism
Copyright in Performing Arts
Resistance in arts
Social theatre
Political theatre
Baltic theatre
Manifestos
Contemporary performing arts
Case analysis
Artists’ creative conditions
Memory
Audiences
Cultural economics
Cultural management
Broader perspectives on arts and cultural dynamics
All other topics
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit abstracts for the conference.
Deadline for submissions: 30 May, 2025
Notification of acceptance: 10 June, 2025
Dates of the conference: 23–25 September, 2025
Dates of SIRENOS Lithuanian Showcase: 25–28 September, 2025
Each paper will get 15 minutes for presentation + 5 minutes for discussion.
Participation in the conference is free of charge.
The abstracts of the papers will be published in the conference proceedings.
Publishing opportunities: Authors are encouraged to submit publications to the journals of Vilnius University and the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.
Submission Guidelines:
Abstract length: 300 words (max.)
Submission deadline: 30 May, 2025
Registration form: https://forms.office.com/e/TmyzvfZk0K
Scientific committee:
Dr. Rusnė Kregždaitė (MMLAB Theatre, Vilnius University),
Dr. Ramunė Balevičiūtė (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre),
Dr. Goda Dapšytė (Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre),
Dr. Martynas Petrikas (Vilnius University),
Naubertas Jasinskas (independent theatre director),
Kristė Agota Savė (Theatre Information Centre Lithuania)
For inquiries, contact Dr. Rusnė Kregždaitė: rusne@mmlaboratorija.lt
ORGANISERS:
MMLAB Theatre is a professional theatre based in Vilnius, Lithuania. It was launched with creative projects where artists and scientists experimented together with new forms and subjects for theatre works. The key MMLAB strategy is experimentation with artistic forms and subjects. In 2019, MMLAB gained professional theatre status from the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture. In 2019, by decision of Vilnius Municipality, MMLAB became Vilnius City Theatre.
Now MMLAB is presenting emerging and established young artists, collaborating with national and state institutions, and has strong international relations with European countries and partners around the world – from Japan to Pakistan.
The Forum is curated by MMLAB producer Rusnė Kregždaitė, who holds a PhD in cultural economics, and theatre director Naubertas Jasinskas.
Theatre Information Centre Lithuania (TIC) is a non-governmental organisation founded in 2020, working in the field of performing arts and aiming to create a dialogue between different organisations, generations, and ideas. With the help of its wide network of contacts abroad and international partners, it helps theatre makers and organisations discover new opportunities that arise.
TIC believes that Lithuanian theatre has a lot of potential to grow in terms of quality, diversity, and accessibility, to be more visible on the world stage, and to have a greater impact on the processes of Lithuanian society. In many cases, the only thing needed for this growth is the right environment. That is why TIC defines its mission as: to nurture for growth.
TIC organises the longest-standing international theatre festival in Lithuania, SIRENOS, and the Lithuanian Theatre Showcase each year. It works with educational projects for theatre professionals and the wider audience, forums, conferences, residencies, etc. It is a member of IETM and GLEN networks.
Vilnius University, Faculty of Communication
Vilnius University Faculty of Communication is the most cohesive school of communication sciences not only in Lithuania but also throughout Eastern Europe. In most European countries, the scientific domain of communication and information is dispersed among many university faculties, such as those of arts and humanities, social sciences, computer science, or information technology. In this respect, the Faculty is proud to have a collective organisational entity that suits the development of communication and information most appropriately and differs from common practice seen in other countries.
Such cohesion has been heralded as one of the foremost strengths of the Faculty – it entails opportunities for further development of interdisciplinary research and studies in communication and information sciences.
Research and studies in communication and information form the integrated core of the Faculty of Communication, where the primary focus is on the processes of information search, preparation, transmission, and use within society.
Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Department of History and Theory of Art
The LMTA Department of History and Theory of Art was established in 1991. The department employs well-known theatre and film researchers and critics. Some of the faculty also work as researchers at other institutions (the Lithuanian Culture Research Institute, the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore), and their scientific qualification and productivity are a significant contribution to the academic potential of the LMTA.
The professors of the department are actively involved in critical, scientific, expert, and educational activities in Lithuania and abroad; they participate in international conferences and publish scientific and critical articles.
PARTNERS:
FUNDED BY:
Vilnius City municipality
Go Vilnius
British Council