As an American, the Fourth of July holds special meaning to our country as it marks the day back in 1776 that we declared our independence from Great Britain. It is usually commemorated with parades, lots of fireworks and, my personal favorite, backyard barbecues. Since moving to Bulgaria almost seven years ago, I’ve been introduced to different kind of early July celebration. July Morning.

In the early ‘80’s, according to tales I have heard, movies I’ve watched and stories I‘ve read, after the conclusion of the school year young people began to gather on the beaches in Varna as a discreet form of protest. They, of course, brought music with them. Prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall there was an underground scene in the countries behind the Iron Curtain that traded in western music, especially rock ‘n roll. Uriah Heep’s 1971 track “July Morning” became the symbolic convergence point for these gatherings. For those that are not familiar,  Varna is located in the east of the country and on the Black Sea. During the communist years, and still today, many Bulgarians make an annual pilgrimage to the Black Sea when the school year ends. Since Bulgaria’s ascension into the EU in 2007, many Bulgarians have headed south to Greece because of the turquoise Aegean waters and their inability, for most, to travel abroad during the prior regime. 

As Bulgaria spent half of the twentieth century under communism things take a bit longer to arrive here or manifest. Think back (for some of us) to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 (I was in high school). As the countries from the Soviet block stumbled into democracy the reverberations were also felt in Bulgaria, who seized upon the momentum happening in Eastern Europe and ousted their communist leader and tumbled into a multi-party democracy. This backdrop is important to understand how things began and why they caught on. 

The “hippie culture” that planted seeds and took root along the Black Sea coast showed rapid growth after the fall, which led to concerts and festivals springing up in many cities. The spirit of this still lives on today and although it is not a day off from work, it does appear in many Bulgarian calendars. 

So in unrelated news, but with coincidental timing, Theater Visions  has just wrapped up our first set of learning programs for the summer. Our Elevate English workshops began in March and our Act Casual classes were launched in May. The Elevate English series was developed to give opportunities to those learning English a fun way to practice. We use theater games and acting exercises  to build the participants confidence and fluency. In Act Casual students learn the fundamentals of acting and script analysis. Students participate in scenes and acting exercises  while also learning how to find clues in a script and unlock their creativity. This term Elevate English was offered to ages 8-12 and Act Casual was aimed at teenages. 

We had developed  plans for summer projects, but given how many of our current students were going to be traveling we decided instead to spend the summer in preparation for the fall. We hope that this will enable us to offer a wider range of learning programs and reach a greater number of students. As this theater company is still in its infancy, I would like to ask for your help in spreading the word about us. Follow us on social media, tell your friends about us, sign up for our Visions Blog and if you are happy with a class or workshop, write us a review on Google or Facebook. If you have input about what we could do better or something that you would like to see us offer, send us an email with your suggestions. 

In the fall we are aiming to expand Elevate English for teens and also offer Act Casual to adults. We have numerous other series in the works such as General American accent training and Public Speaking as well as developing educational school tours and of course, performances. However, our time and resources are limited. We’d love to hear from you and find out what you want to see offered. If you are based in Sofia, invite us to plan a training for you or a workshop for your students. We will announce new programs through our website and social media platforms so give us a follow. And if you follow our blog, stay tuned for special offers! Happy July Morning and a wonderful Fourth of July!