Island of pedagogy

The Island of Pedagogy (Italian: Isola della Pedagogia) is a three-year professional, experimental theatre lab based in Venice, Italy and headed by acclaimed theatre director Anatoly Vasiliev. Specified time of operation: 2010-2012.
Reasons of formation
The lab was initiated by it's scientific coordinator Maurizio Schmidt, former director of the Paolo Grassi School of Dramatic Art in Milan, Italy, on behalf of Paolo Grassi and Fondazione Venezia, in response to a diagnosed crisis in theatre pedagogy in Italy, and across Europe.
On the motivation for heading this initiative, Vasiliev said "I have dedicated most of my life -- I could even say my entire life - to pedagogy and teaching of theatre. But now, when I see how this training is organized over Europe, I am beginning to really doubt whether it is necessary. I have always worked in Russia and for twenty years in Europe, and with each passing year I realize how increasingly difficult working in this sphere of human activity has become. Governments need to extend “mass consciousness” which is very important for the maintenance of their power. They would never spend money on the training or development of the individual. Maybe somewhere, in some very small island, can we hope to slowly achieve something really necessary for the theatre, to develop and to shape theatre awareness."
Program
The core activity takes place during two intensive months of every year (2010-2012), at the Center of Theatre Research (CTR) in Venice, Italy. The work consists mainly of active practice of acting and teaching methods, under the auspices of renowned teacher Anatoly Vasiliev, who continues to develop the methods handed down to him by his teacher, Maria Knebel who was a student and assistant of Constantin Stanislavski.
Along with the activity of the core group, satellite events take place in and around Venice, such as public screenings of rare footage from acclaimed theatre productions, seminars and conventions.
In the long run, after the core activity of 2010-2012 will end, artistic and pedagogical collaborations between the various participants and the institutions they represent will take place around the world.
Participants
30 active participants were selected from hundreds of applicants. Most participants are from Italy, but there are also representatives of other countries: USA, UK, France, Spain, Romania, Israel, Bulgaria, Germany, Russia. Participants are all active theatre practitioners: actors, directors and teachers. 15 other participants were selected to join as observers for the duration of the project.
* Isola della Pedagogia (Italian)

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