The Dominican Republic will be the epicenter of the performing arts in the region from October 20 to 30 as the curtain rises on the XI International Theater Festival DR 2023 (FITE DR 2023), an event that will offer around 60 theatrical performances and will have Santiago de los Caballeros as its main venue.
The FITE DR 2023 program, which this year is dedicated to Dominican actress Karina Noble and Cuban playwright and theater director Mario Ernesto Sánchez, will open on the 20th with “Al pie del Támesis”, a play directed and produced by Mario Ernesto Sánchez of Teatro Avante (Miami, USA).
Twelve Dominican theater groups will participate in the festival, as well as companies from Colombia (guest of honor), the United States, Spain, Cuba, Argentina, Mexico and Peru, which will present their plays in 10 venues in Santiago, San José de las Matas, Bonao and Santo Domingo.
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In Santiago, the Héctor Incháustegui Hall of the Ercilia Pepín Cultural Center will host the opening ceremony and will present the play “Al pie del Támesis” on October 20 and 21. This scenic space will host other theatrical performances during FITE 2023, including “Makandal”, “Tiempo de vivir” and “Me mato el 24”.
A series of improvisational theater presentations will take place at the Gran Teatro del Cibao’s Restauración hall from October 21 to 25, with the participation of casts from Spain, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and the Dominican Republic.
Also in this hall, the special guest company at FITE 2023, Colectivo Teatral Matacandelas, from Colombia, will bring to the stage “Snow White. El embrujo de la manzana”.
Meanwhile, the Julio Alberto Hernández hall of the Gran Teatro del Cibao will host several productions, such as “Viaje sonoro”, “Pinocchio” and “El último personaje de Cecilia B.”, among others.
At the Moisés Zouain bar of the Gran Teatro del Cibao, “Las cosas extraordinarias” and “Cambumbo” will be presented between 26 and 29 October.
Outside Santiago, the auditorium of the Escuela de Bellas Artes de Bonao will be the stage for the tragicomedy “La Cocodrila” and the comedy “Pasquín”, a play which will also be presented at the Patio Cultural de San José de las Matas.
The Ravelo Hall of the Eduardo Brito National Theater will present “Andrea Evangelina”, “El médico a palos”, “La breve y maravillosa vida de Oscar Wao” and “La abuela del escorpión”.
The Manuel Rueda Hall, in the Conservatory Plaza, will host dance-theater, dramas and family productions, including “ro.TO”, “Intruso”, “Para subir al cielo se necesita…” and “Esperando a Odiseo”. In addition, the play “Clownti” by the Colombian puppet company Jabrú will be presented.
Casa de Teatro in Santo Domingo will present the tragicomedy “Mar nuestro”, while Teatro Guloya will stage the play “Ajonjolí” by Teatro PiedePuente. The performances will take place on different dates and times during the festival.
Training cycle
Prior to the official inauguration of FITE DR 2023, the organizers scheduled a training cycle in various aspects of theater, which began on September 11 and concluded on October 13.
During the course, five international theater masters: Colombians Tania Cárdenas and Jorge Zabaraín, Argentine Marcelo Jaureguiberry, Ecuador’s Eduardo Martín Peña and Cuba’s Laura de la Uz gave workshops on dramaturgy, scenography, expression and body language, theater direction and puppetry.
This training program benefited 125 theater professionals and was held in Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo.
This is the first time that FITE DR has left the Dominican capital to be held jointly in other parts of the country.
Source: presidencia.gov.do