Eclectic theater festival comes to Valdivia during Chilean winter
Valdivia, one of Chile’s rainiest cities, announced Tuesday its dates for their 15th annual International Rain of Theater Festival. The festival will be held from July 1 to 10, hosted by the city of Valdivia’s cultural center.
The festival selection committee is seeking 2013 productions for the winter festival and will be accepting applications until April 30. Edwin Vidal, the manager of Valdivia’s City Cultural Cooperation, said the festival is seeking both national and international productions and is hoping to bring in an eclectic mix of performances.
"The festival has a lot of variety,” Vidal said, “We always have plays for children, plays for adults, experimental plays, classical plays, Chilean plays.”
Since 1998, the festival has been bringing in about a dozen plays to participate in the festival each year. Vidal said that Valdivia, a city of around 140,000, doesn’t have a large theater following during the year, but the festival consistently draws in thousands of theater lovers.
Vidal also said even the name of the festival, “Rain of Theater”, shows the festival’s connection to the city and it’s culture.
“Rain is a part of the city and its identity,” Vidal said. “Plus the festival is in winter, the rainiest time of the year.”
In previous years the festival featured plays like “Aunt Carol,” a dark comedy that criticizes Chilean power structures; “Lily, I want you,” about the “No” campaign against Chilean dictator Pinochet; and “Secret Heroines,” featuring Spanish colonial women and their unheard voices.
The complete list of productions for July will be released in May.