ELLEN STEWART INTERNATIONAL AWARD
International award for theatre that promotes social change, participation and involvement of young people
First edition
A new opportunity has arrived for those who seek, through theatre, to support social change. There is time until 30 November to apply for the Ellen Stewart International Award, the new prestigious recognition promoted by La MaMa Umbria International and La MaMa E.T.C. (New York) in collaboration with the Spoleto Festival Of 2 Worlds and the International Theater Institute (ITI). The winners will be awarded in February in New York during a public ceremony, invited to the international congress of the ITI, in Manaus, Brasil, and will present one of their shows at the Festival Of 2 Worlds, in the special section La MaMa Spoleto Open, after having worked in artistic residence at La MaMa Umbria International.
Dedicated to the memory of Ellen Stewart, and conceived by Rai journalist Moreno Cerquetelli, the award aims to remember the work of the legendary founder of La MaMa Experimental Theater Club in New York and of the artistic residence in Spoleto (La MaMa Umbria International). Known to most for having launched artists of the calibre of Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Diane Lane and Sam Shepard, Stewart has always fought to create a theatre that could act as a bridge between different cultures. Always involved with young people, she has tried to encourage them to promote social change through theatre. And her story speaks for itself: she, a black artist, founded her theatre against every law and racial prejudice in New York in the early 1960s, ending up several times in prison for this, but then managing to transform that first basement into a prestigious theatre, which today has four rooms in the heart of the East Village, in Manhattan.
In his honour, they are now looking for artists or companies that have distinguished themselves in theatre for social change, promoting the active participation of communities and the involvement of new generations. The selection will take place in two stages: in the first, the ten finalist artists or groups will be identified and publicly announced on 13 January 2016, the anniversary of Ellen Stewart’s passing. This will be followed by an online voting campaign, combined with the evaluations of the Award’s Executive Committee. The winner will be announced at a public ceremony in New York on 24 February 2016.
A group of ten experts from different countries will make up the Award’s Executive Committee, including Giorgio Ferrara, Artistic Director of the Festival Of 2 Worlds, Mia Yoo, Director of La MaMa E.T.C. in New York, and Tobias Biancone, Director General of the ITI World Organization. Their work will be supported by the Honorary Committee, which includes prestigious international artists such as Eugenio Barba, Philip Glass, Israel Horovitz, Tina Landau, Mario Martone, Andrei Serban and Oscar winner Estelle Parsons.
Full details and the call for entries are available at: www.ellenstewartaward.net
Info: estewartaward@gmail.com
