APB Directors’ Conference held in Shanghai 2017

Time: June 4, 2017
Place: Shanghai Theatre Academy
Participants:
 
Tobias Biancone Director General UNESCO International Theatre Institute

Lou Wei, Chairman, Shanghai Theatre Academy,

Waman Kendre, President, National School of Drama, India

Prof. Gong Baorong, Vice President, Shanghai Theatre Academy, APB Secretary-General presid-ing

Member Participants: Ran Changjian, Vice President, National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, Christopher Ryan, Professor, University of Wollongong, Australia, Piyawat Thamkulangkool, Pro-fessor, Chulalongkorn University, Ahn Chi Woo, Professor, Hoseo University, Korea, Yu Shan-Lu, Professor, Taipei National University of the Arts, Ceri Sherlock, Director, School of Drama, Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Ricardo Abad, Professor, Ateneo de Manila University, De-partment of Fine Arts, Steven Fernandez, IPAG, MSU-lligan Institiute of Technology, Budi Millor, Professor, VCA, University of Melbourne, Australia, Dolgorsuren Jamiyan, Director, Mongolian State University of Arts and Culture, Samantha Chester, Professor, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Takahashi Hiroyuki, Professor, Toho Gakuen College of Drama & Music, Japan, Farindokht Zahedi, Professor, Islamic Azad University, Bushehr, Junho Choe, Professor, Korea National School of Arts, Heecheol Kwon, Professor, Korea National School of Arts, Aubrey Mellor, Senior Consultant, Lasalle College of the Arts, Sun Huizhu, Professor, Shanghai Theatre Academy, Prima Dona Hapsari, Professor, Head of International Office, Indonesia Institute of the Arts, Dr Yudiaryani, Dean performing arts,  Indonesia Institute of the Arts, Prof I Wayan Dana, Pro-fessor, Vice Rector of Indonesia Institute of the Arts, Catur Wibono Professor, Vice Dean for Student Affairs, Indonesia Institute of the Arts.

Prof. Gong Baorong opens the meeting by welcoming everyone to the 10th APB event.

Lou Wei, Chairman, Shanghai Theatre Academy gives an opening address. Lou Wei notes that there are many old and also many new friends participating, the number of participants in this years Directors’ meeting is 21. Mr. Lou announces that Shanghai Theatre Academy is honored to welcome the APB member schools to Shanghai. APB is an alliance of theatre schools that despite difficulties have been gathering for ten years. We want to benefit our students and our people. For the past ten years we have learned many things from each other, we will continue to help each other grow. Leadership by STA will proudly continue.

Waman Kendre, President of APB welcomes everyone and gives a speech about the importance of art and theatre in our current times. Mr. Kendre also reminds that APB has changed the word ’Bureau’ in the name into the word ’Bond’, he reminds of the importance of the word ’Bond”.

Mr. Kendre expresses the uniqueness of APB and of each APB member, and also points out how much all members have in common, how each member is willing to share their unique identities with each other.  
Mr. Kendre speaks about the responsibility that APB carries as an arts community, a theatre community, to turn bad elements that are happening in this part of the world into something good. No matter what happens around us, APB members share a Bond of emotions and, of shared inheritance, which ask us to do something for humanity. Performing arts is not an art for the art it-self, it’s a healing platform, asking us to live a good life. Students should be the centre, they are the future of this group and of our society. If we can give them a good sprit then maybe they can make the world a better place. APB should initiate and support a student forum, one student from each school should be brought together, they can make a production. In 2018 the theatre Olympics will be hosted in India. It is the the biggest international theatre festival in India with around 800 shows. The schools from APB region is invited to participate.

Founding members Sun Huizhu, Aubrey Mellor and Ricardo Abad were asked to reflect on the APB origins, aims and achievements. Gratitude was expressed regarding the increased consciousness among teachers and students that has been achieved through watching each others productions, learning from each other, and through the opportunities to visit member schools and do projects together. Wishes were expressed to also include exploration of film in the cooperation between the APB schools and to increase the flow of information regarding the curricula of each member school. 

Apologies were delivered from member schools in Vietnam, Malaysia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, and NIDA Australia, for not being able to participate in this event.

Issues discussed after the break:

”Promote and Implement the schemes of APB Faculty and Students exchange”

”Implement the proposal of the student councils establishment raised during 2016 Director’s meet-ing in India”

Proposals and ideas:

1. Student Involvement

-APB should help the students forum get started and then the students should make their own rules and resolutions.
-The Student forum could be held in connection to the APB Directors’ conference
-APB should support students and teachers exchange and collaboration.
-A list with one student representative from each member school should be made during this meeting

2. Archives, Website, Publications

-APB should collect papers from teachers and students that can be translated and published in the APB journal and in the journals of each member school.
-All member schools should contribute with information for a publication of the APB activities during the past ten years. 
-APB can create a performance studies research centre, to translate plays and write papers with a particular Asian focus
-Efforts should be made to make it possible for APB member schools to access each others ar-chives and library and publications
-A list with one APB coordinator from each member school should be made during this meeting. The purpose of the coordinator is to increate the communication and flow of information on curricula, events and possibilities of exchange between the member schools.

3. APB 2018.

Chair invited discussion on next year's 11th APB event in 2018.
Aubrey Mellor reported an offer to host from Piyawat, Vietnam, then commended the four-member delegation from Yogyakarta.
Dean of theatre, Dr Yudiardi, introduced the vice rector of Yogyakarta ISI, Dr Wayang Danang ( check name) who offered to host APB in early September 2018. Accompanied by a powerpoint presentation on the university and on the proposal which would focus 10 study programs and in-volve community and artists.

The full title of the festival is to be: Contemporary performing arts in creative theatrical practices; local wisdom within.
The expression ’Local wisdom’ represents the respect for and integration of local tradition and wis-dom as a part of our creativity. The modern mixed with tradition put together in contemporary per-formances.
The festival will welcome performances of 30-45 min. Dance, music and traditional art is welcome to be integrated into the performances. There will also be workshops and panel discussions organized.

Mellor seconded the proposal, as did Abad, and the meeting unanimously resolved to accept Yog-yakarta's offer. The 11th APB festival will be held in early September 2018

4. Other Business
-General agreement that APB encourage and record collaborations between member schools and their staff.
-Agreement that, where possible, visiting artists should be drawn first from other member schools.
-Agreement that we seek and nominate key representatives from nations not yet members and in-vite some to APB 2018 - eg Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar.
-General agreement that APB should work to maximize the educational possibilities in its student gatherings.
-Starting from next year there can be a focus, a subject or a theme for each year or festival, but even if we have a focus the member schools should not be restricted to that, it should not be an obligation to follow the theme.
-The respect for and integration of local tradition and wisdom as a part of our creativity. The mod-ern mixed with tradition put together in contemporary performances. This could be the branding of APB

5. Forthcoming Events
Members alerted others to forthcoming events. Eg International Theatre Design at TNUA in July, UNITWIN Student Festival in Segovia July 14-16, International Voice conference at Lasalle in Au-gust, ALIA at Lasalle in October, Performance Studies Research Conference at STA Nov 3-6, Theatre Olympics in New Delhi in early 2018, puppet festival and others in Iran throughout 2017. Members are advised to contact the schools for more information.

Tobias Biancone, Director General International Theatre Institute gave a report on the upcoming ITI event in Segovia and the UNITWIN student festival  14 - 16 July. APB directors are invited to participate. Mr. Biancone also expressed that he would welcome seeing the UNESCO logo used together with APB at our gatherings.

Prof. Gong Baorong ends the meeting.

List of students responsible for the Student Council and Coordinators for APB

Coordinator Lasalle: Aubrey Mellor
Student: Michelle

Coordinator Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts: Joyce Lam
Student: Near Feng

Coordinator Taipei National University of the Arts: Fong I-Cheng
Student: Chen Chang-Shu

Coordinator Hoseo University, Korea: Chi Woon Ahn
Student: Yoo hyun Kim

Coordinator Chulalongkorn University, Thailand: Pawit Mahasarinand
Student: Monsuntorn Surach

Coordinator Indonesia Institute of the Arts: Yudiaryani, Catur Wibono
Student: Alfath

Coordinator Islamic Azad University, Bushehr, Iran: Farin Zahedi
Student:

Coordinator Toho Gakuen College of Drama & Music, Japan: Hiroyuki Takahashi
Student:

Coordinator Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts: Samantha Chester
Student: Jarryd Dobson

Coordinator Mongolian State University of Arts and Culture: Dolgorsuren Jamiyan
Student: Bud Khun

Coordinator VCA, University of Melbourne, Australia: Budi Millor
Student: Louisa Reid

Coordinator IPAG, MSU-lligan Institiute of Technology: Steven Fernandez
Student: Trixcel Jan Emborote

Coordinator Ateneo de Manila University: Ricardo Abad
Student: Brian Matthew Sy

Coordinator National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts: Wan Yu, Inter-cultural communication dep.
Student:

Coordinator National School of Drama, India: Shantanu Bose
Student: Chaitemya Sonalkar

Coordinator University of Wollongong, Australia: Christopher Ryan
Student: Lily Hayman