By Victoria “NIKE” De Dios
We often hear that Europe is dubbed as the center of civilization where beautiful arts, architecture, films, music, and a lot more. One of the greatest forms of art that is very close to their heart is a theatre being a dynamic reflection of their rich culture and heritage across the European Union.
And to make others understand and appreciate their culture, the EU Delegation to the Philippines in partnership with the EU member states’ embassies and cultural institutes and Philippine universities will stage a series of theatre performances “Teatro Europa” from August to September 2020. This is the first time that a variety of films will be shown here in the Philippines.
In the official communiqué sent by the Delegation of the European Union to Philippines to THEPHILBIZNEWS, Mr Thomas Wiersing, Chargé d’ Affaires of the EU Delegation to the Philippines said, “I am proud to present our first Teatro Europa which brings alive European playwrights who nurtured and shaped the foundations of European culture.”
Screengrab of Mr Thomas Wiersing, Chargé d’ Affaires of the EU Delegation to the Philippines
during the send-off message for Erasmus Mundos Pinoy Scholars last month from THEPHILBIZNEWS
This theater festival will feature famous pieces from Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain, with genres of drama, comedy, and tragedy. Alongside the performances of the European masterpieces, Teatro Europa will also conduct its educational component, wherein several university theatre directors will engage in dialogues with audiences from August to September 2020.
The partner universities and their featured European classics include Rizal Technological University – “The Green Room” by Arnošt Goldflam (Czech Republic); MINT College – “Tango” by Sławomir Mrożek (Poland); MAPUA University – “Robbers” Friedrich Schiller (Germany); The University of Makati – “School for Wives” by Molière (France); University of the East – “Servant of Two Masters” by Carlo Goldoni (Italy); Colegio de San Juan de Letran – “The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest” by Tirso de Molina (Spain); and Adamson University – “Everyman” by Hugo von Hofmannsthal (Austria).
Teatro Europa is a novelty to our cultural activities but also novel as this will be a completely virtual festival. Hopefully, these plays will be made available live in Philippine universities when COVID19 is over. In the meantime, we hope to reach larger audiences through the performances in the Teatro Europa Facebook page.
Teatro Europa promises two months of excitement as it will bring forth the talents of these university theater organizations. Be prepared with table reads, cast reveals, and trivia games.
Full Performances will be streamed on Teatro Europa FB every Friday-Saturday for the month of September 2020. Before these performances, Teatro Europa will introduce to its virtual audience the theater pieces, the participating Universities, the theater organization, and the cast.
“It is inspiring to see how our partner university theater organizations enthusiastically selected from the roster of European plays to interpret and perform online. It is admirable to witness that due to the pandemic they had to become more creative in their performances utilizing online streaming and meeting platforms,” Mr Wiersing said.
“I commend the Philippine theatre organizations as they make the most of these platforms and enhance what they can offer with costumes, props, and make-up,” Mr Wiersing concluded.