03.07.2014 - 10:37
In the last week of August, over 600 amateur actors from across the world will be descending on Girona for one of the liveliest dramatic art summer festivals, the International Festival of Amateur Theatre (FITAG). In the 14th edition of the festival, which takes place August 26-30, 33 performances will be staged over just five days, at various venues in the Girona capital and surrounding towns such as Figueres, Lloret de Mar, Palamós, Palafrugell Maçanet Selva and La Jonquera. Fifteen of the participating theater groups are local companies from Girona; a further five are from the rest of Spain and eleven are international. The aim of this year’s festival is to bring together the culture and theater from different immigrant communities and strengthen international exchanges.
Originally known as “El Pati” when it began in 1998, FITAG has developed a reputation as one of the best showcases of amateur artistic creations, celebrating both local talent and cultural and linguistic diversity.
The regional capital will host 33 performances across some eight stages; the Museum of Cinema, the Planet Hall, the new Barri Vell-Mercadal Civic Centre, the Municipal Theatre of Girona, the new La Mercè Cultural Centre, the House of Culture courtyard, the Magnolia courtyard and the stage of FITAG Nights. In total, more than 8,000 tickets will be on sale, half of which will be free and the rest just €5. There are also several performances scheduled outside of Girona, in towns that comprise the FITAG network such as Figueres, Lloret de Mar, Palamos, Palafrugell Maçanet Selva and La Junquera.
The official presentation of the upcoming edition of the festival was held on Wednesday. During the presentation, the organizers stressed that one of the most important objectives of this year’s festival is to boost international exchange. The idea is to get to the celebration of the 15th edition of FITAG embracing a new era based on the culture of ‘glocalization’, in which local and international knowledge and resources are exchanged.
This edition of the festival is envisioned as an instrument for the promotion of community culture. Therefore, the theme chosen for this year has been working in the area of integration, cooperation and multiculturalism. “The FITAG approach to immigration and disadvantaged groups is to send the message that our country’s theater and culture is for everyone,” declared the festival’s Director, Martí Peraferrer.
Thus, the opening show will feature the Afrogironins theater collective, which, with the special collaboration of Cor Àkan, will debut ‘The Caress of Stones and Water.’ It is a work created specially for the occasion and is intended to foster greater cultural integration.
Other aspects of the festival
FITAG also incorporates towns and productions performed outside the dates of the festival, which come under the banner of Off-FITAG. Specifically, there are two coproductions from Girona-based companies, in collaboration with two theater groups from farther afield, one Russian and one from Madrid. There is a third coproduction (with Argentina), but this can only be seen in the official program of FITAG 2014.
The festival also consolidates municipal theater spaces of Girona, which are known as Microtheater. Groups of amateur actors in Girona will spend their mornings presenting short works (lasting 10 minutes) written by renowned authors, at the Cinema Museum, under the stage direction of Ramon Perera and musical director Rafael Vega, both from Seville.
Last year the festival debuted the ‘Petit FITAG’, earmarked for development. For three mornings, from August 28 to 30, Girona’s House of Culture offered children’s theater created by amateur actors. In addition, in the Auditorium, pupils of the El Galliner theater school also displayed their work. In the evenings, the same Josep Viader Auditorium will continue to host the already popular FITAG Nights, a small, festive and fun cabaret, which is also open to all.
