Local Arts Leader to Speak at Theatre Conference in Azerbaijan

Media Contact


Melissa Hill Grande

mgrande@picttheatre.org

412.561.6000 x203

For Immediate Release

Local arts leader to speak at international conference in Baku, Azerbaijan

Pittsburgh, PA – November 1, 2010. PICT Artistic Director Andrew S. Paul has been invited to speak at the 1st Baku International Theatre Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The conference, entitled ““THE WORLD THEATRE PROCESS IN XXI CENTURY”, will be held from November 8th through 10th. It is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Azerbaijan Republic in the framework of the State Program of Theatre Arts Development.

The conference is intended to provide a forum for well-known theatre performers and experts from all over the world to discuss the common challenges and opportunities facing the contemporary theatre.

The American delegation includes noted Actor/Director Peter Goldfarb (Vice President of the UNESCO International Theatre Institute), Director and Educator Daniel Banks, Director Roberta Levitow (founder of Theatre Without Borders), Costumer Irina Kruzhilina, Scenic Designer Joseph Yusupov, Performance Artist Ruth Margraff, and Director and Educator Roberto Gutierrez Varea.

Paul directed the first non-English language production of David Hare’s Stuff Happens at Slaski Teatr in Katowice, Poland in 2007 and a hugely successful 13 city tour of Brian Friel’s play Faith Healer in Ireland and Northern Ireland in 2002. PICT produced the complete plays of Nobel Prize-winning Playwright Samuel Beckett in 2006 and just completed a six-play celebration of the work of the recently deceased Nobel Prize-winning Playwright Harold Pinter. Both Festivals featured significant contributions from international artists. Paul’s speech “Collaborating across Borders in the new Global World” details PICT’s many collaborations with international actors, directors, designers and scholars and describes how these experiences have enhanced the artistry and world view of PICT artists and audiences here in Pittsburgh and across the United States.

Azerbaijan is located in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia, straddling Western Asia and Eastern Europe. The country borders Armenia, Iran, Georgia, Russia and Turkey. The capital city, Baku, sits on the Caspian Sea.
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The Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre was founded in 1996 to diversify the region’s theatrical offerings by providing Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania audiences with high-quality, text-driven, affordable productions of classical theatre and the works of classical and contemporary Irish playwrights and to significantly improve employment opportunities for local talent in all facets of theatrical presentation and production. PICT is a Small Professional Theatre (SPT) affiliated with Actors’ Equity Association, and a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. PICT is the Professional Theatre in Residence at the University of Pittsburgh and PICT productions at the Charity Randall and Henry Heymann Theatres are presented in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh – Department of Theatre Arts.