FIRST DRAFT gives eight emerging artists from across the region six weeks of mentorship and six days of rehearsal in Sarajevo to develop a new performance idea.

It is for young aspiring artists who make their own work. You do not need a degree, a company, or a producer behind you.

Magični Teatar, together with Realstage, Reflektor Theatre, Prazan Prostor and Atrium, invites young performing artists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia to apply.

Each selected artist will take part in a series of online mentorship sessions with established performing arts practitioners from the partner countries. Through this international exchange, participants will receive continuous guidance and professional feedback as they develop their artistic ideas, while building meaningful connections across the regional performing arts scene.

The programme will culminate in a six-day laboratory in Sarajevo, where participants will finalise their works through collaborative rehearsals, exchange of artistic methodologies and a masterclass. The laboratory will serve as a space for artistic development, international networking and professional exchange, concluding with a public presentation 

Thematic focus: A connection to place

We invite proposals that begin with a relationship to place.

This may be a village, city, neighbourhood, home, landscape, border, institution, community or imagined space. We are interested in how places shape bodies, identities, memories, relationships and ways of belonging.

The proposal does not need to represent a place literally, but the connection between the artistic idea and its context should be clear.

Who can apply?

The call is open to emerging performing artists aged 18-30 who live in:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Serbia

• Montenegro

• North Macedonia

Applicants may be interested in theatre, dance, performance, physical or visual theatre, puppetry, or interdisciplinary and experimental practices.

Formal artistic education and institutional affiliation are not required.

You may apply as an individual artist or an artistic duo. 

As an individual artist – You are applying alone and will develop the proposed work as a solo performance.

As an artistic duo – Two artists are applying together with one shared proposal and will develop the proposed work jointly as a duo. Both members must meet the eligibility requirements and be available for the full programme.

We especially encourage applications from artists working outside established institutions, artists from smaller cities and rural areas, and those with limited access to regional opportunities.

What kind of work are we looking for?

The proposed work should:

• be a new idea or a work in an early stage of development;

• have the potential to become a 15–25 minute performance;

• be developed in a solo or duo format;

• require minimal technical equipment;

• be adaptable to different performance spaces;

• be realistic to develop within the programme period.

A completed performance is not required.

What does the programme provide?

Selected artists will receive:

• artist fee;

• online mentorship sessions;

• participation in the six-day Sarajevo laboratory;

• rehearsal space and basic technical support;

• meals during the laboratory;

• public presentation;

• presentation in the FIRST DRAFT digital catalogue.

Return travel and seven nights of accommodation are covered for all participants.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted through the ONLINE FORM.

Applications should be submitted in English language.

Selection

Applications will be reviewed by a five-member regional committee.

The committee will select two artists from each participating country, either as individual applicants or as an artistic duo:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina;

• Serbia;

• Montenegro;

• North Macedonia.

The selection will be based on the artistic potential of the idea, clarity of the proposal, connection to the thematic focus, feasibility and motivation to participate in the full programme.

Timeline

Open call launch: 3 August 2026.
Application deadline: 17 August 2026, 23:59 CET

Key programme dates:

Online orientation meeting:
24 August 2026

Cross-border online mentorship:
25 August to 30 September 2026

Six-day laboratory in Sarajevo:
Second half of October 2026
Exact dates will be confirmed later.

Contact

Questions may be sent to: magicniteatar@gmail.com

FIRST DRAFT is implemented by Magični teatar in partnership with Realstage, Reflektor Theatre, Prazan Prostor and Atrium.

The Grant for Grassroot Initiatives is co-funded by the Western Balkans Fund and European Union, as part of the WBF-EU Joint Action. 

 APPLICATION SUBMISSION FORM