Mission

The Internationalists is a collective of directors from around the world whose mission is to create a more open, sustainable and interactive global theatrical community. We foster creative diplomacy in order to build bridges between artists and audiences of all nations. By developing a global network of artists, we promote the creation of contemporary performance with an emphasis on cross-cultural exchange and collaboration.

History

June 2007	The Internationalists is founded after meeting and taking part in the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab – “a developmental program for nurturing stage directors from around the country and around the world.”
November 2007	*The Complete Truth about the Life and Death of Kurt Cobain* by Peca Stefan (Romania) A reading directed by Pia Furtado (London) at The Actors Company Theater Studio in New York
December 2007	*The Complete Truth about the Life and Death of Kurt Cobain* by Peca Stefan (Romania) A reading directed by Jeremy Lydic (USA) at Tete-a-Tete Café in London *Callconnectcollect* – a simultaneous performance in Brooklyn and Munich Directed by Esther Neff (USA) and Dina Keller (Germany) The Internationalists hosts ‘New Year’s Eve: Embrace Your Sins’ at The Spoon Theatre.
January 2008	The Internationalists presents a workshop performance of The Seven Deadly Sins at the Public Theater in New York. Marymount Manhattan College hosts a symposium of The Internationalists in a conversation about the nature of cross-cultural theatre and the development of work beyond borders.
March 2008	The Internationalists hosts the New York celebration of World Theatre Day at the Zipper Theatre.
May 2008	Pia Furtado (UK) hosts two training workshops, ‘Shaking Up Shakespeare: The Actor and The Audience’ and ‘Creating Character: A Short in One Night’, in New York.
July-October 2008	American members of The Internationalists travel to Ecuador, Germany, India, Romania and the Ukraine to attend conferences, collaborate with other artists, make documentaries, and bolster our mission of fostering creative diplomacy.
November 2008	The Internationalists hosts ‘Around the World in 24 Hours’ – a festival of new plays and projects from across the globe include scripts from Mexico, Iceland, Finland, the Czech Republic, Lebanon, Iraq, Tanzania and Argentina. The live-streamed global event featured broadcasts from Berlin, Bucharest, London, Munich, Osaka and Rio.
December 2008	The Internationalists hosts ‘New Year’s Eve(ry) Hour’ at The Spoon Theatre.
February 2009	The Internationalists hosts ‘Around the World in 24 Minutes’ as part of the NoPassport Conference at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York. Dina Keller hosts her ‘eXPLORATORIUM’ workshop at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange in New York.
March 2009	The Internationalists hosts the second annual New York celebration of World Theatre Day at The Irish Rogue.
March-July 2009	Doug Howe travels to Paris to conduct workshops at ipan Pia Furtado travels to NYC to participate in a SITI company workshop Tamilla Woodard meets up with Dina Keller in Zurich to exchange ideas on Dina's production Jeremy Lydic travels to Greece for research on The Odyssey project Jake Witlen travels to India to participate in a Kathakali workshop and make a documentary with Theater Mitu. Watch the film here. Esther Neff travels to Spain on a research trip
July 2009	The Internationalists begin their year long residency at Laguardia Performing Arts Center
August 2009	Teatro Punto from Amsterdam visits for a three day workshop on Commedia dell'arte. See the pictures here
September 2009	NOwhere NOWhere performances at LPAC. The Butoh performers are Asian Cultural Council (ACC) grantees, and create a vivid and memorable evening of modern Butoh.
November 2009	The Internationalists present the second Around the World in 24 Hours festival. The event is held LIVE in New York, Berlin, Zurich, London, Jerusalem, Palestine, Istanbul, Cyprus, and Paris. The event was broadcast live on the Internet and had viewers in 61 countries!