League of Professional Theatre Women Announces 2017 International Theatre Award Finalists
By: BWW News Desk Jan. 12, 2017
The League of Professional Theatre Women (LPTW) and its International Committee announce the finalists of the 2017 LPTW Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award.
The Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award was established in 2011 in honor of Rosamond Gilder and Martha Coigney, two legendary theatre women whose work on the international stage proved that theatre knows no boundaries. Presented every three years, this Award acknowledges the exceptional work of theatre women around the world and aims to make a difference in the life and career of an international woman theatre artist. Odile Gakire Katese from Rwanda was the inaugural recipient of the G/C Award in 2011. Patricia Ariza from Colombia received the award in 2014.
The six finalists were selected from among 20 nominees, through a rigorous review process that evaluated each candidate on the following criteria: They must have achieved artistic excellence, particularly in the exploration of new forms of theatrical expression; have received recognition of their work at home and abroad; demonstrate a commitment to the support of women through theatrical practice; have a body of work that inspires and educates US theatre practitioners with new ideas from abroad; and be able to leverage greater recognition and opportunity via receipt of the G/C Award. While all nominees met these criteria to varying degrees, the chosen finalists met all or most to the highest degree, especially pertaining to the ground-breaking nature of the work and ability of the G/C Award to provide meaningful recognition to these women.
The winner will be announced at the LPTW Awards Celebration & Big Mingle in March 2017.
The finalists are:
Lina Attel (Jordan) is a writer, director, educator, and actress running the Theatre in Education program at the Noor Al-Hussein Foundation since 1987 and since 1989 the National Interactive Theatre Troupe. NITT produces issue-based plays and tours extensively on the national and international level, making theatre a creative, informative experience accessible to all communities.
"I have witnessed the power of theater becoming instrumental in changing perceptions in the Arab region, especially for youth who form the majority of the population. That's what has kept me and my team going for 27 years and counting -the belief that theater is a credible and inclusive art form to galvanize communities and open horizons."
Jalila Baccar (Tunisia) is a playwright, actress, and co-founder of the first private theatre company in the country, Le Nouveau Theatre, which has been instrumental in modernizing Tunisian theatre and engaging it in contemporary political concerns. Baccar has performed in over twenty of their plays, including major theatrical productions that have been staged worldwide.
"Baccar has become a guardian of liberty and an icon for enlightened Tunisians. Within hours after the dictator was deposed, the interim government offered the cabinet post of Minister of Culture to Baccar as there were probably no artists in Tunisia better known or more associated with the cause of freedom" -- from The Tunisian Revolution And After In The Work Of Jalila Baccar And Fadhel Jaïbi; Marvin Carlson, 2014.
Mihaela Dragan (Romania) is a Roma theatre artist working in Romania and Hungary. Her company Giuvlipen ("Womanism/Feminism" in Romani language) focuses on stories of women and girls dealing with the challenges of both a traditional Roma patriarchal culture as well as the discrimination they face from the non-Roma majority.
"My projects address women's mobilization through theatre and performance, creating a space for discussions concerning feminism, LGBT, poverty and Roma rights, actions in communities that do not have access to outside critical discourses on issues that affect them. At the same time, I want my performances to go beyond the activist framework, and I am looking for new forms to express and to create a new Roma art by women."
Natalia Kaliada (Belarus) and Belarus Free Theatre tirelessly create theatre that speaks out about political, social and psychological taboos, at great personal risk. The company is currently in exile from Belarus but has achieved international acclaim for their work.
"Belarus Free Theatre is a topical actual theatre, based on a principle of "free" producing, educating, and campaigning for countries that live under dictatorships. We speak on the issues that the audience prefers to keep silent on. Central to our creative method is the artist's own in-depth examination of personal and social taboos, locally and globally."
Jesusa Rodriguez (Mexico) is a director, actor, set designer, playwright and producer. For over 40 years she has also applied art to activism with indigenous, feminist, ecological and left-opposition groups. The most important goal of her theatre is the struggle for intellectual, material, and spiritual decolonization of Mexico by unearthing its cultural roots to improve understanding and access to an education that will allow it to develop freely.
"The art of theatre is essentially the art of communication. This is why I have dedicated my life to it. In Mexico-one of the most important cultures of the world- most people are unaware of their own cultural roots. Theatre -which, at the time of the Conquest, was used as a tortuous weapon of Christian evangelization- can now be the best tool against any form of colonization."
Adelheid Roosen's (The Netherlands) uses a tool she calls "The adoption method", where her actors literally spend several weeks with local residents, to deepen the contact with The Other and to collect their stories. These become the mainstay of the performances? multidimensional social sculptures, which focus on the human condition, regardless of religious experience, financial muscle or color of skin."I am a Dutch theatre maker who shuns no subject in my theatre and film productions: honour killings, domestic violence, sexuality in the Islamic world, the Alzheimer disease from my mother, everything can and must be presented in the public domain."
The G/C Award includes a $1000 cash prize and all travel expenses to New York City for the recipient to be honored. A series of special events surround the award ceremony to showcase the winner's work, to provide artistic and professional networking opportunities, and to celebrate all of the nominees. The next Award will be presented on October 23, 2017 at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center/CUNY.
The League of Professional Theatre Women (LPTW) is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) organization. It presents numerous events each year as part of its mission to promote visibility and increase opportunities for women in the field. None of its work is possible without generous philanthropic support. The League is celebrating its 31st anniversary and boasts a membership of nearly 500 women representing a diversity of theatre professionals in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. League members are actors, administrators, agents, arrangers, casting directors, choreographers, company managers, composers, critics, designers, directors, dramaturgs, dramatists, educators, general managers, historians, journalists, librettists, lyricists, press agents, playwrights, producers, stage managers, and theatre technicians. Visit www.theatrewomen.org for more.
The International Committee of the LPTW was formed in 2003 to broaden members' awareness of other cultures and promote opportunities for theatre exchange and collaboration between women working in the U.S. and abroad. We recruit and cultivate international affiliates and host and support them when they come to the U.S. We also encourage and provide support for the formation of LPTW chapters in affiliates' home countries and facilitate dialogue and advocacy for women in theatre across borders.
The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at The Graduate Center, CUNY occupies a place unlike any other organization in New York City: in the space between public arts presenter, academic publisher, and research institute. For more than fifteen years, The Segal Center has bridged the academic and professional performing arts communities, fostering dialogue between playwrights, directors, designers, choreographers, filmmakers, critics, and academics from New York and around the world. (www.thesegalcenter.org).
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