Interview with the artistic director of provincial theater festivals about the festivals - Part One

The provincial theater festivals of Iran, which began in the Markazi province, are near the ends in Kerman and Hamadan provinces. The holding of provincial festivals is undoubtedly the most important theatrical event in each province, and artists, with their passions  are trying to bring their best to the stage so that they can reserve  a place in the Fadjr International Festival and compete in the international section. Iran Theater have sat down with a number of artistic director of provincial festivals who have spoken about their experience of holding festival.

Improving the quality of judging at the 36th Markazi Province Festival

                                                                                                    

 The artistic director  of the Markazi Province Theater Festival,Shahram Soltani said: “For the first time in the history of the Markazi Province Theater Festival, we had 8 jury members in two sections, 5 juries  in the stage section and 3 jury members in the street section. This number of judges, all of them were well-known artists, improved the quality of judging.”

 

He went on to say: “Another important feature was holding educational workshops with the presence of professors such as Dr. Khaki and Behzad Agha Jamali. Also various specialized sessions were held and Radio Dramatic also performed live.”

 

New Section in the 32nd Ardabil Province Festival

 

The artistic director of the Ardabil Province Theater Festival, Gharib Manouchehrisaid: “This year, we added a new section called In Addition to the Festival; which was performed over five days and included 4 guest works from within the province and 2 works from outside the province (Tabriz and Mianeh). Also, 10 performances of works by trainees from conservatories, universities, and schools were performed in this section, which participated in the festival for the first time.”

 

He added: “With the presence of Dr. Khaki and Behzad Agha Jamali, we held two useful educational workshops .”

Special section to be held at the 34th Khorasan Razavi Province Festival

 

The artistic director of Khorasan Razavi Theater Festival Reza Erfani explained: “Previously, the provincial festival had only two sections: stage and street, and it was held in a limited time frame. But this year, we were able to hold the festival for 22 days, which is an innovation. The special section performances began on November 1 in 14 cultural centers in Mashhad and 7 counties, and the jury members judged the works during the performances.”

 

Erfani continued: “We also had a special section for the first time, which included playwriting, play reading, children and adolescents, and a theater photo competition, and the closing ceremony of this section was held separately.”

 

Bandar Lengeh to Host 36th Hormozgan Provincial Festival

 

Hossein Karimi, the artistic director, said  that the festival was always held centrally in the provincial center but this year they decided to move the festival to one of the cities, and Bandar Lengeh became the host.

 

He added: “This action encouraged Bandar Lengeh officials to bring a half-finished theater that had been abandoned for years to the stage, and the officials got to work to make this theater ready for performance.”

 

Photo Exhibition at the 36th Fars Province Theater Festival

 

Zahra Saeedi is the artistic director of the Fars Province Theater Festival. She  said: “One of the features of this year’s festival was the holding of workshops and sharing of experience by Milad Akbarpour and Sajad Afsharian. We also held an exhibition of photos of plays from the 50s and 60s, which was well received.”

 

She added: “In the stage competition section, the number of plays presented was greater than in previous years, and the quality of the works and the presence of the younger generation were also better than in previous years. In the street section, the groups were less prepared, but fortunately this section was not closed either and we were able to hold it.”

 

Promising groups to participate in the 36th Gilan Provincial Festival

 

Bahman Sadegh Hassani, secretary of the Gilan Provincial Theater Festival, said about the special features of this year's festival: "Provincial festivals have unfortunately lost some of their quality over the years due to financial problems and lack of funds, but this year we witnessed significant growth in terms of quality. This year's works were much better than the previous two or three years, and this is due to the support of the respected Director General of Gilan Province, Mr. Taheri, who, despite economic difficulties, supported the provincial theater well."

 

He added: "In this year's festival, novice and more professional groups were encouraged to have a more prominent presence.”

 

Remarkable presence of the young generation in the 25th Qom Theater Festival

 

Sedigha Mashayekhi, who served as the artistic director of the Qom Provincial Theater Festival for the second time and has been selected for this responsibility again next year, said about the experience of holding this year's festival: "One of the important features of this year's festival was the remarkable presence of the young generation. This approach led to a change in the Qom theater community . Many young people who had the conditions to attend, but for some reason were left out of the opportunities, were able to present themselves at the festival this year."

 

Inviting veterans to the 36th Mazandaran Province Festival

 

Hadi Asghari said about the special features of the 36^th Mazandaran Theater Festival: "An important event that happened in this year's festival was the presence of juries from the country's top artists, such as Dr. Qotb al-Din Sadeghi and Kourosh Narimani. It was the first time that such artists had attended the Mazandaran Theater Festival, and this presence raised the quality level of the festival."