Proposals from 11 Ibero-American countries, where you can enjoy everything from classics to the latest trends

He International University Theater Festival (FITU) celebrates 30 years of holding important meetings between theater arts students, artists, teachers and researchers from various backgrounds, and promoting exhibitions of their work.

To celebrate it in a big way, they will present an extensive program with the slogan “FITU is joy”, with proposals from 11 Ibero-American countries, where the public will be able to enjoy everything from classical theater to classical theater. current trend. There will be activities for 10 days with free admission.

For most FITU participants, this is their first foray into the professional field, says Juan Meliá, director of Teatro UNAM, the organizing body. The meeting, he said, enabled the institution’s calling: setting the table for creators to begin their journey.

“It is a great pleasure to present such a beloved, tender and emotional festival like FITU. Usually I don’t say it, but at my first award ceremony I couldn’t help it: I cried,” she admitted while presenting the thirtieth edition.

“Feeling the emotions of young stage creators when receiving an award or an honorable mention in one category, I’ve never felt it at other festivals.”

FITU, which will take place from September 1 to 10 at the University Cultural Center (CCU), opens up a rare opportunity, namely having access to university theater proposals from many countries in one place, said the Cultural Diffusion coordinator. Rosa Beltran. “It’s not a small thing, it’s difficult.”

On this occasion, he explained, FITU would display 16 works on display and the Grand Final of the works being contested: 23 proposals out of 120 that were followed. Representatives will come from Uruguay, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Spain, the United States, United Kingdom, Jordan, Brazil and Canada; while from within the country there will be proposals from Mexico City and six states. “This experience is unique, incomparable to going to the theatre,” says Beltrán. In addition, there will be workshops and round tables.

As every year, the Luisa Josefina Hernández award for Theater Teaching will be presented. He detailed, the winners were: Rafael Pimentel, from the College of Drama and Theater, Faculty of Philosophy and Letters; Francisco Álvarez, of the University Theater Center; and Laura Moss, from Universidad Veracruzana, and the winner of the Call for Playwriting, Mental Health and Human Rights will be awarded.

At the Festival there will be two guests of honor: “We are very happy to receive historical groups such as the Uruguayan National Comedy, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, and the Compañía Titular Teatral de la Universidad Veracruzana, a pillar that has accompanied us throughout the years of experience deformation. I am happy that its 70th anniversary is celebrated with its closure,” Beltrán announced.

Uruguayan National Comedy inaugurates FITU performance with Constant, an adaptation of El príncipe Constante, by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, which, despite being set in an ecclesiastical conflict far from the wars of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, nevertheless feels full of validity of one of its themes: the test of faith through torture, explains the company’s director, Gabriel Calderón.

The University of Veracruzana’s Titular Theater Company will present a piece created by Argentine actress and playwright Andrea Garrote, based on the monastic life of Sor Juana, explains its director, Luis Mario Moncada.

Also noteworthy is the participation of the Catalan actress, playwright, stage director, poet and video artist Juana Dolores, and the projected on-screen production of the Theatertreffen der Jugend (Youth Theater Meeting) in Berlin.

Academically, two roundtables stand out: Safeguarding artistic freedom, Report of the Ninth World Summit on Arts and Culture, presented by the Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Bodies (IFACCA) and the Swedish Arts Council; and Defending creative voices: artists in emergencies, learning from journalists’ safety, by UNESCO. Both activities are in collaboration with Inés Amor Chair of Cultural Management and the Cultural Center of Tlatelolco University. This year there are two new efforts being added: The first-ever National Summit of Theater Schools, where more than 16 schools in the country will be able to discuss pressing issues and possible collaborations, Meliá said. In addition, FITU will implement a public survey to reflect on the work itself, he highlights: the #FituDeseado action will allow opinions to be envisioned and built collectively, with a view to the next edition. The full Festival program can be found on the page https://teatronam.com.mx