Estonian, Latvian, and Finnish theatre directors, playwrights, and dramaturges gathered in Tartu

Last week, from June 6th to 8th, the Estonian Theatre Agency together with the Estonian Directors and Dramaturges Union had the great honor of meeting colleagues from Estonia, Latvia, and Finland in Tartu, the Cultural Capital of Europe 2024, as we hosted an intense three-day Think Tank.

The aim of the Think Tank vol 2* for playwrights, dramaturges, and directors in Tartu was to bring together dramaturges, playwrights, and directors from neighboring countries for three intensive days of seminars to discuss how to stand up for their creative work, how to present it better on the international stage and how to co-operate more coherently across borders.

The highlights of Think Tank vol 2 included a pitching workshop led by film producer and former Executive Producer of the Estonian Film Institute Piret Tibbo-Hudgins and a teamwork exercise led by Mehis Pihla on burning "it" topics to mimic the real-life work situation to generate several draft ideas for future productions. On the first day, June 6th, all the Think Tank participants had an opportunity to see the world premiere of the Estonian Drama Theatre's grand production Business As Usual (Rahamaa – author Mehis Pihla, director Hendrik Toompere jr).

The Think Tank vol 2 was attended by Paavo Piik, Siret Campbell, Karl Laumets, Marta Aliide Jakovski, Birgit Landberg, Mehis Pihla and Liisi Aibel from Estonia; Nina-Maria Häggblom, Laura Mattila and Kirsi Porkka from Finland; and Justīne Kļava, Aiva Birbele, Toms Treinis, Matīss Kaža, Artūrs Čukurs, Anna Sīle and Roberts Dauburs from Latvia.

The Think Tank vol 2 was organized by the Estonian Theatre Agency, the Estonian Directors and Dramaturges Union, the Latvian Theatre Workers Union & TINFO, and supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the Cultural Endowment of Latvia, and The Finnish Institute in Estonia.

*The Think Tank vol 1 called "Baltic In/dependence" was organized by the Baltic Drama Forum and took place from October 31st until November 2nd, 2023 in Riga, Latvia.