3rd edition of the “Danail Chirpansky” International Student Theater Festival in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, will be held in September 2020 and that we will soon be announcing the open call for submissions.
We invite you to take part in it!
“Danail Chirpansky” International Student Theater Festival is a five-day event during which students from theatre academies across Europe and the world will showcase their graduate projects and participate in thematic workshops and discussions with experts in the broad field of Performing Arts. Exhibitions and concerts are also included in the festival program.
“Danail Chirpansky” ISTF is an initiative run by young professionals in the fields of theatre and media. It is focused on developing the talents of students in the field of Performing Arts and helping them reach their full potential. Our mission is to provide the students with a platform where they can share knowledge and experience which will help to improve their own creative work. Teachers and tutors from different countries and backgrounds will also receive the opportunity to exchange ideas and discuss educational techniques and practices to create future professionals and develop networking.
The festival was initiated in memory of our colleague and friend Danail Chirpansky, a student at the “Krastyo Sarafov” National Academy for Theater and Film Arts in Sofia, who died after a car accident in 2016. His infinite dedication and love for theater made him our inspiration. We decided to begin a tradition inspired by him and his dreams and turn it into an annual event that will help other talented young students to become accomplished in their field.
The second edition was held between 5 – 9th April 2019. There were over 100 participants from GITIS ( Russia), The Polish University for Cinema, Television and Theater in Lodz, The Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the University “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” (Macedonia), the Theatre Department of Tel Aviv University (Israel), NATFA (Bulgaria). In this edition we had special guests from the London College of Music. The American-Russian drama specialist and translator John Friedman, the French director Thierry Harcourt and the Bulgarian director Yavor Gardev were the members of the jury of the 2019 edition.
In the first edition, there were over 120 participants from GITIS (Moscow), VGIK (Moscow), RESAD (Madrid), Royal CSSD (London), TAFU (Tbilisi), NT Drama School (Athens), NATFA (Sofia). The jury consisted of the proclaimed Kama Ginkas, Maya Pramatarova and Dejan Dukovski.
In 2017 the Festival was one of the eight projects approved for co-funding by the Administrative Council of the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture of UNESCO.
In 2019 the Festival was awarded with the EFFE Label 2019-2020, after being evaluated by international experts in the festival world. EFFE Label is the European Certificate of Quality, awarded at remarkable arts festivals.
Soon we will contact you with all further details about the application process for ISTF 2020.
The nature of the event is academic – 5 days long platform which provides mutual collaboration between the future professionals and contact with important representatives of the global theater community. The main goal is for the students to witness the artistic achievements of their colleagues & exchange ideas and experience; therefore, we strongly recommend the participants to stay for the whole duration of the festival.
You may also visit the Official site of the Festival here