A theater festival as wide as a country

It is a big event that change the mood of the whole country for several months during the holding and bring together all fans of this folk art. This is a great opportunity for artists to be seen and tested and prepare to enter a bigger event called Fadjr International Theater Festival.

 

These days, PTF are in their final days. 31 provinces have introduced their winners to participate in the Fadjr regional theater festival, one province is holding the festival and the last province's festival will end on December 12 with the closing ceremony.

According to the statistics, 244 theater groups and 3563 artists participated in these events and 36020 spectators watched the performances in theaters across the country. We have a brief look at the history of these events.

 

The history of PTF

Provincial Theatre Festival (PTF) started working in more than 15 provinces since 1989. Next in the coming years it developed its scope of activity through engaging all the remaining provinces in this national event. This festival has been established in every province as a result of winning the provincial credits as well as the material and spiritual supports of the Directorate-General of the performing arts. Every year some 15 works of art will be selected for the competition in various fields at the Fadjr International Theatre Festival.

 

Objectives of  PTF

Every year, the headquarter of performing arts centers revises its activity guidelines in so far as the present-day cultural and geographical situations are concerned. Having objectives within the last few years, PTF continues its fruitful life despite all the rigors of the time.

1.      Preparing the suitable working grounds for theatre in the far-off provinces and cities.

2.      Affording equal opportunities for the theatre family members of the provinces throughout the country.

3.      Paying special attention to the various ethnic cultures and sub-cultures.

4.      Growing the theatre art as a means of communication in the country.

 

The method of judgment

 

To satisfy the interests of the managing directors and reducing the possibility of damages against increasing its fruitfulness, they decided three types of judgment by the jury each having its own friends and foes.

Nominating and dispatching to the province of three judges from Tehran by the Directorate-General of the performing arts.

          Nominating and dispatching one of the judges as the observer to the festival by the Directorate.

          Nominating all three judges by the Directorate-General of Islamic Culture and Guidance of the province.

 

But this year, two judges were selected by the provincial authorities, and one of the judges was selected by the General Department of Performing Arts and sent as a judge and supervisor of the festival.

 

The Competition shows

 

The competition order will also be in accordance with the guideline being sent for the province in one of the following ways:

A competition of all components and elements such as the best directing , playwriting , acting male and female, stage designing, costume designing, brochure designing, music, etc. Finally, two or three groups would be candidate for the Regional Theatre Festival or Fadjr Festival.

A general competition without any detailed account for selecting two or three works for the Regional Theatre Festival.

                                                                   

 

The Methods of holding  PTF

The methods of holding Fajr theater festivals in the provinces are centralized and decentralized.

The concentrated order in which one city of the province would host the other nominated groups so as to perform there.

The scattered order in which the jury would be dispatched to every city of the province as to evaluate the works there. This order provides almost no chance of interaction among the groups.

 

The 34^th PTF

 

The 34^th PTF was held in 32 provinces and two free-zone islands of Qeshm and Arvand in the present year on the basis of the activity guideline sent at the end of 2021. At first the Secretary of the PTF was established as to send invitations of participation as per the activity guideline and made available to the artists through the social networks. Next was the evaluation of the works which ended in selecting 5 to 14 works for taking part at the Festival. The event was largely welcomed during its activity in November and December, and the 75 to 78 selected works will be sent to the Directorate-General of the performing arts to be hosted by the regional festivals of Kermanshah, Bushehr, Fars and Mazandaran from Dec. 28, 2022 to Jan. 10, 2023. Based on the evaluation there, some 15 to 20 works would lead to the 41^st Fadjr International Theatre Festival.