Culture Announces the Celebration of the VIII Santo Domingo International Theatre Festival (FITESD) 2014

Culture Announces the Celebration of the VIII Santo Domingo International Theatre Festival (FITESD) 2014
Santo Domingo, July 16th, 2014

The Ministry of Culture (MINC) announced that a total of 35 theater companies will participate in the VIII Santo Domingo International Theatre Festival (FITESD2014). 20 foreign and 15 Dominican theatre companies will stage 85 presentations in various theaters of the Great Santo Domingo and the provinces of Santiago de los Caballeros and San Juan de la Maguana.

The FITESD 2014 will open on Thursday, July 17th, and will end on July 27th in the Carlos Piantini Hall of the National Theater, at 6:00 pm …

The FITESD 2014 will open on Thursday, July 17th, and will end on July 27th in the Carlos Piantini Hall of the National Theater, at 6:00 pm. There will be special dedications to legendary actor and Dominican theater Director Salvador Pérez Martínez (El Pera), and Colombian creator Fabio Rubiano.

The event, considered the most important celebration of Dominican theatre, is dedicated to the Republic of Colombia as the Country Guest of Honor.

The festival will feature theater companies from Colombia, Brazil, Cuba, Argentina, Ecuador, Spain, United States, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Venezuela, Guatemala, and Honduras. The event promises to be an intense 10-day activity in which artistic and cultural expressions that identify each country will combine with one intention, to delight the public. The FITE 2014 program may be downloaded at: www.festivaldeteatrosd.com.do

Details were provided during a press conference that was held in the Hall of the Mirrors at the Palace of Fine Arts. It was chaired by the Minister and Culture, José Antonio Rodríguez, who was accompanied by actress Karina Noble, Director of Theatre Festivals and Coordinator of the FITESD2014; Félix Germán, Director General of the Palace of Fine Arts; Juan TomásGarcía, Deputy Minister of Creativity and Popular Participation; IrasemaJiminián, General Director of Communications; Brunildo Soto, Managing Director; Pedro Núñez del Risco, Director of Events; and Claudio Cohén, Coordinator of the Vice Ministry of Territorial Decentralization.

Félix Germánoffered the welcoming remarks to the representatives of the actors of the participating national and international companies, as well as the attending guests. He thanked the Minister of Culture for his support and interest shown in the organization of the event.

Similarly, actress Karina Noble, provided details on the content of the program, which also includes the participation of TeatroOrquestalDominicano, while thanking those present and asking for a round of applause for the Minister of Culture’s support.

FITESD agenda also includes a list of awards, among which theater celebrities and institutions, such as MoninaSolá, Freddy Nanita, Octavio Arbeláez and Casa de Teatro, stand out.

After the opening ceremony concludes at 8:00 pm, the theater show wilI start with the play “El vientre de la ballena”, by the Petra Theatre Company, of Colombia.

This eighth edition of the festival will take place under the slogan “En teatrotúparticipas”(You participate in theater). It includes an extensive program of presentations in the Ravelo Hall of the National Theater;the MáximoAvilésBlonda Hall, of the Palace of Fine Arts; the MoninaSolá Hall of the Narciso González Cultural Center; the Otto Caro Hall of the Guloya theater; the Cristóbal de Llerena Hall, at Casa de Teatro; The Masks (Las Máscaras) Theater Hall; the HaffeSerulle Experimental Hall; and in the interior of the country, the Restoration Hall of the Grand Cibao Theatre, and the DaniloTaveras Hall, of the MoninaCámpora Cultural Center, in San Juan de La Maguana.

As part of the program, on July 26ththe Dominican Cinematheque will screen the film “A Streetcar Named Desire”, based on the play of the same nameby American playwright Tennessee Williams.

Karina Noble reported that, following the Ministry of Culture’s policies, to ensure that the people will have access to culture in its various manifestations, affordable admission ticket prices have been set, which will not be over RD$ 50 per person.

HONORED CELEBRITIES

In regard to the celebrities that will be honored, Noble said that Salvador Pérez Martínez, considered National Glory of the Dominican Theatre, and Colombian Fabio Rubiano, are theatre symbols of perseverance, talent and discipline at the national and international level, and deserve to be recognized.

She explained that for the Dominican theater, Colombia represents a magical region that connects two countries in the same path containing dreams and realities.

“Since the first edition of the International Theatre Festival, Colombians have come to Santo Domingo to strengthen ties and similar points of view, to the admiration of critics and thousands of spectators, lovers of the social reality transmitted by the theater in its various manifestations”, highlighted Noble.

Noble concluded by reporting that FITESD includes photo exhibits, 11 workshops, 31 discussions involvingthe participating theatergroups, conferences, symposia, 5 face-to-face meetings with renowned celebrities, and book presentations.