WHAT IS THE BULGARIAN THEATRE ASSOCIATION
The Bulgarian Theatre Association /BAT/ was founded in 1992 as a non-governmental, non-profit organization. It was registered in 1993 as an Association of almost all theatres in the country /state, municipal and private/, the Municipality of the city of Varna, the National Theatre center at the Ministry of Culture, the Union of Bulgarian Actors, the Association of the Theatre Managers in Bulgaria, as well as other theatre organizations.
BAT's main aim and activity is the annual carrying out of an international theatre festival in the frames of the Festival of the Arts "Varna Summer".
Besides being directly engaged with the festival, BAT is trying to turn into a centre for harmonization of the interests of the governmental and non-governmåntal theatre organizations, into a structure which secures/provides a non formal debate between the Ministry of Culture, the Union of Bulgarian Actors, the Association of the Theatre managers in Bulgaria and the newly emerging theatre associations. Owing to this activity, BAT has turned into an important part of the new theatre landscape, which was formed after the changes in Bulgaria.
Striving to include more sectors of the originating civic society in the country, BAT is looking for ways of interdisciplinary partnership with the media, the educational sector, the tourist industry, etc.
