Culture Ministry to Launch First Doha Festival for Professional Dramatists

Doha, February 23 (QNA) - The Ministry of Culture, Arts, and Heritage will launch the first Doha Festival for Professional Dramatists at the beginning of next March. The festival is aimed at developing and activating the theatrical scene through unique shows featuring a myriad of intellectual ideologies and methods of stage direction. The "Karak" play, which will be staged at the festival, consists of a simple comedic improvisation with the goal of shedding the light on the most important issues in society closely following human social interactions, said scriptwriter Abdel Rahman al-Mannai in an exclusive statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on Thursday. He indicated the novelty of such an experience for him as a scriptwriter, especially since the script is open to a wide range of creative possibilities amid implementation during training. For his part, Qatar Theatre Band Head Ibrahim Al-Emmadi pointed out the one-of-a-kind nature of the Karak play, which he believes serves a valuable opportunity for the band by reviving the theatrical movement in Qatar. The band's administration is trying to ensure a continuous and consistent presence during the upcoming seasons, he added. Al-Emmadi explained that the band works diligently in support of the festival in search of a satisfactory result accounting for both positives and negatives. These advancements place the festival as a competitor among its Arab counterparts, boosting top-notch production in terms of topics and number of shows. He noted that there were six theatrical shows running over the course of 10 days, which foster the foundation of the theatrical movement exposing everyone to new techniques, a vivid reminiscence which could bring back the distinguished 80s theatrical movement. The play's participants are Ali Sultan, Ahmed Afif, Jassim al-Saadi, Abdul Wahed Mohammed, Nafeth al-Sayed, Mohammed Hassan, Lara Mar'i, Hussein al-Obeidli, Abdullah Yasser, and Samah al-Sayed. During the festival, several awards will be presented for the best script, direction, actors/actresses in lead and supporting roles, costume design, decoration, lighting, sound effects, and new artist. The festival higher committee will also select on or more personalities with outstanding contributions to the theatrical arena in varying theatrical fields and disciplines to honor during a ceremony. In addition to the Qatar Theatre Band, official bands and some private sector firms are preparing for the first round of the festival for professional dramatists with notable and distinguished proceedings in light of the fiery competition. The purpose of the festival is to develop awareness about the theatre among talented youth through holding seminars that support and encourage local talents in this field, as well as to uncover talents and technical capabilities of young dramatists in Qatar. It runs until the 27th of the same month, when World Theatre Day will be marked and is due to be held at the same time each year. (QNA)