World Theatre Day proclamation from IATC President

World Theatre Day proclamation from IATC President

Tuesday was World Theatre Day, a celebration most likely largely ignored across the United States. But at the International Association of Theatre Critics’ 26th World Congress in Warsaw, it was a day for celebration.

Jay Handelman, ATCA Chair; Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chair of ATCA’s International Committee and a member of the IATC Executive Committee, and ATCA Vice Chair Jonathan Abarbanel are representing ATCA and the United States at the World Congress which continues through March 30.

IATC President Yun-Cheol Kim read the statement during ceremonies acknowledging the day. Click link for that statement.

“I am very glad that we critics are given this opportunity to celebrate Theatre Day together with Polish practitioners and colleagues.

I firmly believe that theatre is the most human, most fundamental art form and that it will never cease to be so until the very end of humanity.

We critics share the same priority with practitioners: theatre is our means of life, theatre is our life’s goal, theatre is our constitution, theatre is our raison d’être. 

Here I would like to remark again that the sound and mature relationship between critics and practitioners is vitally important to improving our theatre. Just as you do with your work, we want to enhance the arts of the theatre with our reading, analysis and evaluation of your work. But let me also remind you that we have common enemies to fight against: threats from political bullies, threats from unrestrained commercialism, threats from homogenizing globalization, and threats from the combined superficiality and cynicism of today’s culture.

I believe that theatre can still be a vehicle for driving our society to better and higher places: we just need to articulate and speak up for our humanistic perspectives on life and the ideal theatre, transcending the value-neutral stance that currently prevails. I believe that theatre can focus microcosmically on dark, factual everydayness, and accommodate macrocosmically the grand, truthful poetry of our existence as well.

Fellow practitioners and critics, let us celebrate our being together and our shared love of the theatre on this lovely day of theatre. Let’s say: ‘Long Live the theatre!’ “

Thank you.

Jay Handelman, ATCA Chair; Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, chair of ATCA’s International Committee and a member of the IATC Executive Committee, and ATCA Vice Chair Jonathan Abarbanel are representing ATCA and the United States at the World Congress which continues through March 30.