THE POETICS OF AN EMPTY SPACE 2021

A guided tour through a new building of Academy for theatre, radio, film and television (AGRFT) and sensorial experience of poetic empty spaces

New building, empty spaces.

At first glance, not very poetic, devoid of memories, stories and content. So we took a peek into the past, into memories, through the empty spaces. Throughout history, the Academy has created a series of parallel realities still lived by its inhabitants today. In these parallel worlds, there are spaces that offer psychological and emotional refuge, places that are saturated with strong sensory impressions in our inner world. The question and the aim of the project The Poetics of Empty Space is how and in what way to inhabit the empty spaces of the new Academy with a new spirit; how to bring into the space memory, imagination and other parallel realities that fascinate us, open up inner images and memories and provide a kind of psychological and emotional refuge. We invite you into our inner sanctuaries, into the cradles of wisdom where transformations and initiations, quantum leaps, insights, and realizations occur. These are our wombs of cosmic being, our eternal anchorages. Bachelard’s “The Poetics of Space”, one of the fundamental works of the sensorial language methodology, alongside Brook’s “Empty Space” and Meta Hočevar’s “Spaces of the Play”, has become an essential element for our creative understanding and creation of intimate spaces, scenes that open up memories and imagination for the visitor.

The Guide (Saloma, Kitty): Uršula Vratuša

Creators of poetic spaces:

Katarina Majcen: “Without”

Maruša Mali: “Contexts”

Lucija Zuchiatti: “Nest”

Ursula Vratuša: “At Night”

THE POETICS OF AN EMPTY SPACE

Produced, conceived and directed by Barbara Pia Jenič

Music and Sound design: Peter Penko

Dramaturgical collaborator: Tomaž Toporišič UL AGRFT

Advisor for movement: Tanja Zgonc UL AGRFT

Set design advisor: Jasna Vastl UL AGRFT

Costume advisor: Tina Kolenik UL AGRFT

Speech advisor: Tomaž Gubenšek UL AGRFT

Co-production of Senzorium Institute and AGRFT

The project is supported by the Municipality of Ljubljana in 2021

Premiere 23rd of September 2021

Entrances: 4.30 pm, 6.00 pm and 7.30 pm

THE POETICS OF AN EMPTY SPACE ONLINE 2020

At a time of government restrictions and Covid, when we were supposed to have the premiere of the project POETICS OF EMPTY SPACE in the new UL AGRFT venues, we transferred the process of rehearsals and premiere to the online environment. The latter allowed us to shrink from five to two senses of perception and expression – to audiovisual creation. In front of you is the online premiere of memories, images, reflections and snapshots that students will transfer to the new AGRFT empty spaces at its opening at the end of the epidemic. Content will then be transferred to the full sensorial experience; we will be able to experience them in a five-dimensional environment – with all the senses and sensorial theatre language. Until the end of December, we have been creating contents in two dimensions, in our home settings. We discovered the poetics of home corners, drawers, cabinets, windows, doors, views, perspectives. We have found our corners of daydreaming, longing, our safe spaces and refuges. During the ban on socializing, we have translated the poetic of spaces into audio-visual impressions, which are presented as a thoughtfully packed collage of narratives and poetry, filled with memories, emotions and longings.

Conceived and directed by Barbara Pia Jenič

Video editing: Peter Penko, Barbara Pia Jenič

Sound design: Peter Penko, Gal Oblak

Dramaturgical collaborator: Tomaž Toporišič

Student footage and video material

Uršula Vratuša Globočnik

Maruša Mali

Lucia Zucchiati

Nika Korenjak

Gal Oblak

Lenča Malec

Kaja Vidanovski

Anja Möderndorfer

Neža Dali Novak

Peter Alojz Marn

Katarina Majcen

Co-production of Senzorium Institute and University of Ljubljana Academy of theatre, radio, film and television

The project is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the City of Ljubljana

26^th of December 2020 Online premiere

Repetitions 26^th, 27^th, 28^th of December 2020