The Egyptian Theater Festival held a press conference for its seventeenth session, the session of the distinguished artist Samiha Ayoub, in the presence of the festival’s president, the artist Mohamed Riad, the festival’s director, the artist Yasser Sadiq, the general coordinator of the festival, Magda Abdel Alim, a number of members of the Supreme Committee, and the heads of the festival’s executive committees.
The conference was presented by journalist Gamal Abdel Nasser, head of the media committee, and at the beginning he welcomed the media attendees, emphasizing that this session is considered one of the most important sessions of the festival because it bears the name of a great artist from the Egyptian theater, the distinguished artist Samiha Ayoub. Before the festival administration’s speeches, an introductory film about the festival was shown. View the details of the new course.
In his speech, the star Muhammad Riad said: Work on the festival began three months ago, where (6) workshops were implemented (a writing workshop, two acting workshops, a recitation workshop, a directing workshop, and a scenography workshop), and he revealed the reasons for postponing the festival. He also talked about the selection mechanism. The honorable ones.
As for the artist Yasser Sadiq, the director of the festival, he thanked all the attendees, pointing out that the most deserving of thanks is the star Mohamed Riad because he made a great effort and devoted himself to making the seventeenth session a success. He explained that he wished there would be an item for advertising the festival, pointing out that there is austerity and rationalization in the festival. Publicity from the Ministry of Culture, adding that publicity is essential for the theatre, pointing out that the credit for publicity goes to the star Mohamed Riad, who exploited all his relationships to make the festival a success, as he was able to appoint critic Ola Al-Shafi’i, a member of a higher committee, to be a link between the festival and the United Channels, and this is an effort. Great by the artist Mohamed Riad, who always dreams of the festival reaching the streets, and we always work to make the festival a success, and we take all the recommendations that are presented to us to advance the festival, as evidenced by the fact that we took the recommendations put forward by the late star, the artist Ashraf Abdel Ghafour, and we set the maximum limit for the shows to be two hours long. Our goal is to support the Egyptian festival and theatre.
Magda Abdel-Aleem, the general coordinator of the festival, said that there was a high demand for joining the workshops held by the festival, as 3,000 trainees presented, and (150) theatrical performances were presented, compared to (75) performances in the previous season. There is a large turnout for the festival. For the theatrical writing competition, (197) theatrical texts were submitted, compared to (107) in the previous session. (29) articles were submitted for the critical essay competition, and (10) papers were submitted for the theoretical research competition. Writer Anwar Abdel Mugheeth, head of the theatrical writing competition committee, said: I am happy to participate in The festival, and I thank all those in charge of the festival, led by the artist Mohamed Riyad and the artist Yasser Sadiq, because they work with the Egyptian proverb, (The fair woman spins with a donkey’s leg), and I was honored to present something as best I could, which is my presidency of the theatrical composition competition.
Director Hassan Al-Wazir, head of the viewing and selection committee, said that he is happy to participate in the festival and its management, which works with the conscience of the profession and the enthusiasm of youth, adding that he is happy with amateur theater, which he considers to be the future of Egyptian theatre. Dr. Ayman Abdel Rahman, trainer of the theatrical writing workshop at the festival, said that the workshop was the result of a meeting. With the artist Mohamed Riad, in the previous session, adding that the playwriting workshop gives the youth a sense of belonging to their homeland, so they understand the future of art and writing in the coming period.
Artist Khaled Abdel Salam, trainer of the festival’s recitation workshop, said that he hopes that the 17th session of the festival will become a more successful session than the previous sessions, adding that it is a great honor for him to participate in the previous session and the current session, and we know that building the human being is a duty for every artist, saying that Plato heard the music in Egypt, then he went to his country, and told them to listen to the music of the Egyptians and its great meanings, for the artist is a mirror of civilization and Egypt is a great country.
The National Festival of Egyptian Theater will be held in the name of the lady of Arab theater, the artist Samiha Ayoub, and at its opening ceremony, 10 multidisciplinary theatrical figures will be honored: the artist Ahmed Badir, the artist Osama Abbas, the artist Ahmed Adam, the artist Hassan Al-Adl, the artist Ezzat Zein, the artist Salwa Muhammad Ali, the producer. Ahmed Al-Abyari, director Dr. Abdullah Saad, show designer Dr. Atef Awad, and theater professor Dr. Najwa Anous.
The Egyptian Theater Festival is an important artistic event to showcase the features of Egyptian theater over the course of an entire year. Participation in the festival is available to performances produced by the state theatre, the private sector, companies, civil society, amateur groups, university theatre, artistic unions, and various production bodies in accordance with the controls adopted by the festival. The festival aims To encourage creative theater artists to compete, as well as develop performances in order to participate in creating works worthy of the heritage of Egyptian theatre.
The Egyptian Theater Festival is organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture under the leadership of Dr. Ahmed Fouad Hanno. Its next session bears the name of the great artist “Samiha Ayoub,” and will run from July 30 to August 17, 2024, in Cairo’s theaters. The Supreme Committee consists of the artist Mohamed Riad (chairman). The artist Yasser Sadiq (director of the festival) and the members of the committee are: critics Ola Al-Shafi’i and Abla Al-Ruwaini, writer Medhat Al-Adl, writer Walid Youssef, artist Nidal Al-Shafi’i, director Islam Imam, in addition to 6 other members in their positions, namely: the great director Khaled Galal, head of the production sector. Cultural, Dr. Walid Qanoush, Head of the Cultural Development Fund Sector, Dr. Ahmed Bahi El-Din, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian General Book Authority, the writer Mohamed Abdel Hafez Nassef, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Cultural Palaces, and the distinguished artist Ihab Fahmy, Head of the Central Administration of the National Theater Center, and General Coordinator of the Festival. Magda Abdel Aleem.
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