Irans childrens theater festival announces sections calls for entries
Iran’s children’s theater festival announces sections, calls for entries
TEHRAN- The call for entries for the 31st edition of Iran's International Theater Festival for Children and Young Adults, scheduled to take place from November 29 December 4 in Hamedan under the direction of Iranian theater artist Marzieh Boroumand, has been published.
Organized with the slogan “Today’s Children’s Well-being, Tomorrow’s Iran’s Well-being,” the festival will feature eight sections, including competitions for theater for toddlers, children and young adults, outdoor and alternative performances, playwriting, productions from other countries, international theater, as well as academic and research workshops and experience-sharing sessions.
The festival will accept productions that have already been staged or are ready for performance.
In the toddler theater competition, particular attention will be paid to active participation of young audiences in the play-performance process, age-appropriate concepts and language, comprehensible imagery and suitable performance duration. Up to seven productions will be selected, with preference given to works that can be staged in kindergartens, play centers, educational institutions and similar venues.
The children’s and young adults’ theater competitions will each accept up to seven productions. The competition for outdoor and alternative forms of performance will cover theatrical works presented in venues other than conventional theater halls. Up to seven productions will be admitted in this section.
The playwriting competition will focus exclusively on the theme of “water and its importance to sustainable development, the resilience of Iran’s land, and the need to safeguard water resources.” Applicants must submit a one-page synopsis along with their plays. Previously staged or published plays will not be eligible.
A non-competitive guest section will also feature productions selected by the festival director. Specialized children’s and young adults’ theater festivals may nominate their winning productions for consideration in this section.
The international theater section is designated for productions by non-Iranian theater groups.
Applications for all sections must be submitted online through the festival’s website, icy.theater.ir, along with the required documents. Applications will only be accepted within the specified registration period. Performance videos may be submitted through Google Drive links.
Performance videos must be of sufficient quality to allow the selection council to clearly assess the production and its artistic details. No specific filming method has been imposed by the festival secretariat.
Written authorization from the playwright, translator or publisher is mandatory for registration in all sections. Any production found at any stage to lack the required authorization will be disqualified.
The festival secretariat will recognize only the director of a production as its artistic owner and head of the participating group. For performance sections, only complete video recordings of productions will be accepted. Each applicant may submit a maximum of two productions, but may participate in the final festival with only one work and in only one section.
Productions that have appeared in previous editions of the festival will not be eligible unless they have undergone substantial and clearly observable changes in their performance structure, staging, set design or other artistic elements and an updated version is submitted.
Registration will begin on September 6 and close on October 17. The deadline for submitting plays to the playwriting competition is November 1, while the results of the productions advancing to the next stage are scheduled to be announced on November 1.
Iran’s International Theater Festival for Children and Young Adults is one of the country’s major cultural events dedicated to theater for younger audiences. Held annually, the festival brings together Iranian and international theater groups and provides a platform for productions created for toddlers, children and young adults.
Alongside competitive sections, it features international and guest performances, outdoor and alternative theater, playwriting, and educational and research programs, seeking to promote creativity, cultural exchange and new approaches to theater for younger generations.
SAB/
source: tehrantimes.com