Theater, an Urban Activity

Theater in this land and all traditional, ritual and national pieces support Iran’s contemporary theater. It should be regarded that theater in its modern and European form has not have a long history in Iran, dating back to less than 150 years. It should not be forgotten that the world theater has witnessed major changes and Iran should be informed of these significant evolution to be able to have its share in the world theater. Therefore, research on theater is not an academic curiosity per se rather a sine qua non of theater development.

It should be stressed that not only we have to have access to world modern experiences but also we have to give an insight of our national stage pieces to our theater artists and colleagues in the world.  So it is necessary that research conferences to be organized besides any festival or important theater event in the country to collect valuable academic articles. Fortunately, this important target is attained in the Fadjr International Theater Festival. The theme of this year’s conference in the Fadjr International Theater Festival is City, Citizenship and Theater.

This conference is exclusively devoted to the connection between city and the art of theater. Since the beginning of theater in ancient Greek, its most important theater festival called by “City Dionysia” was held. Theater in its modern shape is an urban activity, especially in our country. Therefore, the theme of conference is compatible with the real needs of theater artists. In fact, it is a field, bridging theater and society.   

It should be mentioned that the jury felt no restrictions by secretary of the festival on choosing a certain number of submitted articles and researches. So the final articles and researches have had the required qualifications for taking part in this academic movement. On one hand it included novelty and manifestation of academic knowledge and on the other hand their scientific and research contents.

I am so happy that I have assisted the 35th Fadjr International Theater Festival to take a small step in this respect.