Curve balls required: Talking about theatre + internationalism at ICA

I went along yesterday to ICA's Open Space discussion on how theatre can be more international, facilitated by Improbable as part of London International Festival of Theatre.

In this discussion what was most needed is for these practitioners to start by stepping outside of themselves, and their practice, to first avoid the issue in an attempt to find an answer. Diving straight in to questions of touring, scale, efficiency, identity and nationality both in branding and as artists, relationship building across borders... takes the same questions and the same expertise that created the current situation, economically and socially. New directions and new ideas come from unknown/unpredictable/uncontrolled inputs that aren't found in a blackbox space at ICA filled with theatre practitioners. At the end, a participant from Toronto expressed a desire for everyone to put down their careers and do "something else" as a way forward for international perspective, which I entirely agreed with.

Perhaps LIFT was hoping for larger and more diverse participation at the event - the conversation would have been much different... the mood was inward looking and a bit too comfortable.

In the spirit of Open Space, where all ideas are included, whether half-baked, full manifestos, or unanswered questions, my areas of concern in question format below... Will hopefully be able to return eventually with less questions and more statements, or new questions and different statements:

1. If theatre wants to be more international, particularly from a UK perspective, what is their role in relation to Western secularism vs. international fundamentalist movements? What is the response to art replacing the church? How do theatre practitioners with a secular or atheist bent build relationships to an audience guided by religion or spirituality? If they don't, are we not simply creating isolated houses of western art and thought throughout the world? If theatre practitioners travel simply to perform, their perception of the world around them is guided and goal-oriented. How does that shape the way a community affects an artist?

2. Is virtual exchange enough to prepare an artist for an international audience? If international communications via the web are one-to-many, then information is always filtered through a point of view taken out of context. How much success is there from "jumping in" to an issue internationally? Is this actually a wonderful opportunity and the only practical way to join a global community, or is it only a small part of a much larger recipe necessary for authenticity?

Unfortunately I realised during the afternoon I'm not very good turning discussion towards my topic, and not always such a good listener... leading to fears I may be a "plant" in Belbin's team roles terminology! (The linked description is a bit too complementary... Plants can be troublesome for group progress.)

Work in progress...