READ: World Theatre Day Messages

Global Messengers: Ram Gopal Bajaj (India), Maya Zbib (Lebanon),
Simon McBurney (United Kingdom), Sabina Berman (Mexico)
and Wêrê Wèrê Liking (Ivory Coast)

In celebration of World Theatre Day, March 27, and in recognition of the International Theatre Institute's (ITI) seventy years of building greater understanding through cross-cultural and international programs in theatre, the Executive Council of ITI has selected five authors to offer messages for theatre lovers everywhere. There is one representative from each of the five UNESCO Regions: Africa, the Americas, Arab Countries, Asia Pacific and Europe. 

The messages have been translated into a variety of international languages ranging from Amharic to Romanian. According to the ITI website:

World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI). It is celebrated annually on 27 March by ITI Centers and the international theatre community. Various national and international theatre events are organized to mark this occasion. One of the most important of these is the circulation of the World Theatre Day Message through which at the invitation of ITI, a figure of world stature shares his or her reflections on the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace. The first World Theatre Day Message was written by Jean Cocteau in 1962.

Ever since, each year on 27 March (date of the opening of the 1962 "Theatre of Nations" season in Paris), World Theatre Day has been celebrated in many and varied ways by ITI Centers - of which there are now more than 90 throughout the world. Moreover theatres, theatre professionals, theatre lovers, theatre universities, academies and schools celebrate it as well.

Each year an outstanding figure in theatre or a person outstanding in heart and spirit from another field is invited to share his or her reflections on theatre and international harmony. What is known as the "International Message" is translated into more than 50 languages, read for tens of thousands of spectators before performances in theatres throughout the world, and printed in hundreds of daily newspapers. Colleagues in the audio-visual field lend a fraternal hand, with more than a hundred radio and television stations transmitting the message to listeners in all corners of the five continents.

The link above will take you to the main message page, where you may access the messages in a variety of translations. Happy World Theatre Day! 

CALL: Young Critics' Workshops in June

Workshop for Young Critics in Limoges

The International Association of Theatre Critics (AICT–IATC) is organizing a workshop for young theatre critics scheduled to be held June 11–17, 2018, in Limoges, France. The program will be undertaken during the Festival International des Écoles de Théâtre, with support from the Théâtre de l'Union, Centre Dramatique National du Limousin. Potential participants are invited to apply, as soon as possible, to join one of two working groups of six participants maximum per group (one French-speaking group and one in English). 

Candidates must be professional critics between the ages of 18 and 35. All candidates are invited to send an application form completed (see below) with a brief resume (one page), 2 or 3 samples of published articles in media and a letter of recommendation from the person in charge of the AICT–IATC section in their country, if the country has an IATC section.

All documents must be sent in a single PDF file, if possible. Please note the following:

1) Only candidates may apply, not the national representative of AICT–IATC sections. 

2) Candidates must have a good knowledge of one of the two working languages. Please describe your fluency level in English and French.

Participants will be hosted in a shared double room. Noon and evening meals will be provided. You will receive a free entry pass for all the shows and encounters during the Festival. You will also be picked up at the train station.

Working-group monitors will include theatre critic Jean-Pierre Han, assisted by Mariko Anazawa (French-speaking group). The name of the English-speaking monitor will be announced later.

Applications will be accepted until May 8, 2018, and they must be sent to the Director of Seminars, Jean-Pierre Han: jp.han@free.fr. A final list of all accepted applications will be announced as soon as possible, in order to allow time for participants to prepare for their trip, and get visas for France as necessary.

Application Information for the Young Critics’ Workshop

Name:

Gender:

Nationality:

Age:

E-mail:

Other contacts (telephone, mobile):

Language:

IATC-affiliated national\regional section recommending the young critic:

Other documents:

Short CV and main professional experience (newspapers, journals, radio/TV, web, blog, etc.)

Attached samples from articles published or otherwise (2-3)

Other recommendations (should home country be without national association of theatre critics).