CIU makes a statement for World Theater Day

Cyprus International University (CIU) Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean, Prof. Dr. Metin Karadağ, speaking within the scope of 27th March, World Theater Day, expressed that due to the Covid-19 epidemic experienced across the world, he has been kept away from the theater, and that he expected to be reunited with the presentation of art and aesthetics in the theater in the closest healthier days to come.

Emphasizing that World Theater Day was initiated by the International Theater Institute (ITI) in 1961, Karadağ went on to advise: "It is celebrated each year on 27th March by the ITI Centers and the international theater community".

Stating that due to the occasion, various national and international theater events have been organized, Karadağ noted that one of the most important of these was, upon the invitation of the ITI, the circulation of a World Theater Day Message, in which a world-renowned competent person shared their thoughts on the Theater and Peace Culture.

Reminding that the first World Theater Day message was written by the famous theatrician Jean Cocteau in 1962, Karadağ continued, “Every year since then, on the 27th March (the opening date of the 1962 "Theater of Nations" season in Paris), World Theater Day has been celebrated in a number of different and various ways by ITI Centers, and is also celebrated by theaters, theater professionals, theater lovers, theater universities, academies and schools”.

Reminding of the epidemic process that we find ourselves in, Dean Karadağ stated that it is a common possibility that this year's celebrations and events will be held in the digital environments.

Stating that each year, a distinguished individual in the world of theater, or an individual who has contributed to the theater from another field, is invited to share their thoughts on the theater and the international theater universe, Karadağ concluded, “The text, which is renowned as an international message, is translated to more than 50 languages, and is read to tens of thousands of spectators prior to theatre shows, and published in hundreds of daily newspapers. Individuals from the audio-visual theater, share the message via more than a hundred radio and television stations, delivering the message to listeners in every corner of the five continents".