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Residenzsharing: Living Smile Vidya
After a life of struggles and political dissent in India Smiley fled to Switzerland in 2018. Since then, much has changed but some things have also stayed the same. In order to tell her story, the artist is taking the initiative to officially introduce herself to the Swiss theatre landscape. Her artistic tools are her body, her smartphone and her excellent taste for clothing, all of which she is intending to glamourize for the performance. As an aesthetic outcome, imagine a piece with humor and some goose-bump moments. Imagine a voice speaking from a point of constant transition. Imagine joining a few steps on a journey across physical, geographical and cultural borders. For the public sharing at Südpol, Smiley and her team will try out some scenes or materials. There will be a possibility for the audience to give their feedback.
In the frame of a 2-week residency, actress and trans-activist Living Smile Vidya will develop materials for her solo performance «Introducing Living Smile Vidya» which will be presented later in 2023 in a long and a short version.
Information
About the artist
Living Smile Vidya (Luzern) is an actress, clown and author. After a BSc in Computer Science and an MA in Applied Linguistics, she wrote her autobiography I am Vidya, which was also made into a film and brought her national acclaim. Invitations to theatre festivals across India followed. 2013 awarded Charles Wallace India Trust for her excellence in Theatre, followed by a scholarship to the International School of Performing Arts in. In 2014, she founded the transgender theatre collective Panmai Theatre in Chennai, whose plays toured nationally and performed abroad. 2018 Participation in EF_FEMININITY by Leuenberger / Schwald (invitations to Impulse Festival NRW and Séléction Suisse en Avignon 2019) and flight to Switzerland due to political activity and threats to life and limb.
Credits
Creation/Performance: Living Smile Vidya
Video/Animations: Moritz Flachsmann
Costumes: Julia Stöcklin
Mentoring: Marcel Schwald
Coach: Beatrice Fleischlin
Outside eye: Chris Leunberger
Produktion: Das Theaterkolleg
Production partners
Supported by
Stadt Luzern
Stadt Basel
Stadt Bern Ausschreibung BLICKE
Tankstelle Bühne
Theater Uri
Theater Burgbachkeller
Kleintheater
Theater Roxy
Kaserne Basel
Junges Theater Basel
Chäslager Stans