International flavour to Festival of New Arts

Monday, September 29, 2008
International flavour to Festival of New Arts

Works penned by international writers will be showcased for the first time in this year’s Festival of New Arts, opening in Palmerston North on Saturday.

Senior lecturer Dr Angie Farrow, the festival’s artistic director, says the programme features work entered in the Manawatu International One-Act Playwriting Competition.

“The winners were announced earlier in the year and those plays will be premiered at the festival,” Dr Farrow says. “We have works from America, the UK, and Australia as well as numerous local artists.”

Included in the programme is David Collins’ play The Thought Experiment which won the one-act playwriting competition. It is the story of a man undergoing counselling and working through his past infidelity.

The festival is a Massey event but it involves more than sixty artists, both professional and emerging, from Manawatu’s artistic community.

“Massey staff and students are strongly represented but we’ve also encouraged members of the Palmerston North community to participate,” Dr Farrow says. “Directors and actors from Centrepoint Theatre and Ucol are working with our prize-winning plays and the music group Haunt will be presenting their ethnic music.”

Dr Farrow says the role of the University is to provide leadership in terms of generating artistic practice and opportunity in the community. “The Festival acts as an agent for budding and established musicians, poets, filmmakers, actors, composers, playwrights and directors.”

The programme will be staged at venues across the city including Massey’s Palmerston North campus, Palmerston North City Library, Square Edge, The Globe Theatre, and Centrepoint Theatre.

The festival opens on Saturday 4 October at 7.30pm in the Auditorium of the Old Main Building on the Turitea site.

Following the final matinee performance on Sunday 12 October, the Student City Arts Awards ceremony will be held at the Globe Theatre. These awards are open to artists who have studied at a Manawatu tertiary institution this year. Prizes will be given in a variety of categories including literary, visual, media, theatrical and musical arts and an award will also be made to a technical person for work behind the scenes.

For a festival schedule visit:
http://ems.massey.ac.nz/massey/depart/cohss/schools/school-of-english-and-media-studies/fona/festival-of-new-arts.cfm

ENDS

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