Artist statement
The theater-activist group binds its activities to Theatre of the Oppressed, the theatre for social change. The Transformator Group was formed in November 2010 after a 17-day intensive training in the techniques of Theatre of the Oppressed (October-November 2010), led by a mentor and coach Birgit Fritz from Vienna. The workshops were conducted as part of Global Sofa project. The goal of the theater-activist group Transformator is not to produce high art but rather to approach people. Its members draw their creative energy from burning social issues which are offered to the audience (spect-actors) in order for them to try, process and reshape it and give constructive criticism. Given the variety of areas that can be covered by the members’ professional or educational background, the techniques of the Theatre of the Oppressed are combined or used primarily through the prism of personal involvement.
A specialty of KUD Transformator is the principle of ‘theatre on call’. Passionate, original, humorous and generous theater spiced with bold interventions – ad hoc and according to needs. When the wind of transformation blows, a spirit of passionate social responsibility and the need for change and transformation bloom. In short, defiance has never yet been so much fun, useful, and justified.
The cultural and artistic association Transformator was officially founded in January 2012 due to the need to expand and upgrade the theater-activist mission, primarily, but not exclusively in the Theatre of the Oppressed techniques, which members of the theater-activist group have been previously trained in (mostly completed training for coaches in the techniques of Theatre of the Oppressed).
The mission of KUD Transformator has been developing the techniques and methods of Theatre of the Oppressed and combining them with other means of artistic expression to achieve new, fresh approaches to performative art and artivism. Artists from other branches started joining the organisation and thus the scope and ambition of our artist work grew. we have enriched our work by including other elements from improv, physical theatre, contemporary circus, commedia dell’arte, buffon, street theatre, musical, puppet theatre, video, etc.
Internationally, we collaborate with several other groups of similar interests and approaches from the region. We are regularly collaborating with the Austrian group TDU Wien. We have had several collaborations and exchanges with this group. We have collaborated with them on the children forum performance My Fairy Rights: Cinderella in 2019.