Open Call: CommonLAB 2025

We are looking for 7 theatre directors, playwrights, choreographers or performance makers to take part in Common LAB 2025. This itinerant, eight-week laboratory will provide opportunities to experiment with collective and individual devices for knowledge sharing and the development of artistic research, with the goal of broadening European narratives.

Applications closed


CommonLAB — A programme of Common Stories

CommonLAB 2025 is part of Common Stories, a project that brings together performing arts organisations, artists and audiences to address the dynamic notions of identity and cultural diversity in a changing European society.

Identity constructions are based on and strengthened by stories and experiences. Stories tell us who we are and who we strive to become. They question and challenge the way we see ourselves and others. We believe that a diversity of stories and a multiplicity of perspectives will allow for a more accurate and fair understanding of the political, cultural and social challenges we face in creating common grounds in European societies, which are characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity, and the struggle for social justice. European societies are historically built upon inequalities that, we believe, need to be addressed. Cultural sectors, both concretely and symbolically, are riddled with colonial tensions and rationales, as well as logics of domination and power relations. In the performing arts sector, resources, decision-making and programming positions are still mostly in the hands of a white, male, middle-and-upper-class majority, while artists and art professionals from different cultural, social, gender and ability backgrounds are largely underrepresented on and off stage, especially in decision-making and leadership positions.

In Common Stories, we will promote new artistic practices and contents through different actions, while contributing to the development of a wider framework that welcomes and listens to multiple voices and perspectives.


Where and when CommonLAB 2025 will take place:

- Lisboa, Portugal | 5-18 May (Alkantara)
- Cologne, Alemanha | 2-15 June (africologne)
- Cairo, Egito | 12-24 October | (Orient Productions, in partnership with Les Récréâtrales)
- Bobigny, França | 24 October - 7 November (MC93)


Who can apply?

Artists who:
- address the dynamic notions of multiculturality or interculturality in a changing European society, both at a professional and personal level
- have a professional practice in the performing arts - dance, theatre, performance
- are interested in researching and pitching a project (regardless of the number of people needed to execute the project - could be solo works, group pieces or other formats)
- live and work in Europe
- have a good command of English
- are available to fully participate in the four scheduled modules

How to apply?

Complete this application form by 3:00 PM (Portugal time) on 15 October 2024.
All the information can be found in the Open Call dossier.
If you need any assistance, please contact Nouria Tirou in English or French.

Common Stories is developed by Maison de la Culture de Seine-Saint-Denis, MC93, Bobigny (FR), Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, Brussels (BEL), Alkantara and Culturgest, Lisbon (PT), africologneFestival, Cologne (GER), Riksteatern, Stockholm (SWE), in association with TR Warszawa, Warsaw (PL), Orient Productions – DCAF Festival, Cairo (EG), CulturArte, Maputo (MOZ), Les Récréâtrales, Ouagadougou (BF), co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.