Culture Ministry Celebrates World Theater Day

Culture Ministry Celebrates World Theater Day
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 3/29/2012

In honor of the 50-year anniversary of “World Theater Day,” the Ministry of Culture sponsored an event in La Carabela Salon of the V Centenario Hotel.

“May your work be compelling and original. May it be profound, touching, contemplative, and unique. May it help us to reflect on the question of what it means to be human, and may that reflection be blessed with heart, sincerity, candor and grace ….

The event was presided over by Bernarda Jorge, Deputy Minister of Creativity and Popular Participation; Karina Noble, Director of Festivals: Franklin Domínguez, Director General of Fine Arts; Radhamés Polanco, Actor and Director of the School of Art and Drama and Basilio Nova, Director General of the Narciso González Cultural Center.

This year’s UNESCO International Declaration was written by the actor John Malkovich. Here is an excerpt:  “May your work be compelling and original. May it be profound, touching, contemplative, and unique. May it help us to reflect on the question of what it means to be human, and may that reflection be blessed with heart, sincerity, candor and grace. May you over­come adversity, cen­sor­ship, poverty and nihil­ism, as many of you will most certainly be obliged to do.

“May you be blessed with the tal­ent and rigor to teach us about the beat­ing of the human heart in all its com­plex­ity, and the humil­ity and curi­os­ity to make it your life’s work. And may the best of you — for it will only be the best of you, and even then only in the rarest and briefest moments — suc­ceed in fram­ing that most basic of ques­tions, ‘how do we live?’ Godspeed.”

Following that, the National Proclamation, written by Rhadamés Polanco, was read. “As part of World Theater Day, we as Dominican theater actors are redoubling our faith, consciousness and effort in search of quality, competitiveness and the strengthening of the theatrical arts that correspond to this moment in our history and our identity in a multicultural and globalized context.”

Bernarda Jorge gave the main speech in which she stressed that the work undertaken for this event was done to benefit the development of Dominican Theater. She pointed to its participation in National and International Festivals; the acting curriculum of the School of Dramatic Arts; the promotion of our actors living abroad with their participation in Theater Festivals and Events; the consolidation of the National Theater Company and the Sembrando Theater Program, among others.

To conclude to formal part of the event, recognition was paid to some of the outstanding figures of the Dominican theater: Germana Quintana, Carlota Carretero, María Ligia Grullón, Amaurys Sánchez and William Mejía.

Every year on March 27th, an outstanding theater figure or a person of exceptional heart and spirit in another field, is invited to share their reflections on the theater and international harmony.  What is known as the International Message is translated into 20 languages, read by tens of thousands of spectators prior to the presentations in theaters around the world and printed in hundreds of newspapers. Colleagues in the audiovisual world lend a fraternal hand to spread the word as the message is broadcast on more than a hundred radio and television stations to listeners and viewers in all corners of the five continents.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Bernarda Jorge, gives a recognition plaque to Amaurys Sánchez.

Public attending the activity.