The School of Performing Arts at the University of Malta is organising its annual international conference and collective performance starting tomorrow at the University of Malta’s Valletta campus.
On this occasion, the newly-refurbished theatre at the campus will also be launched.
Formerly known as the MITP Theatre, the space has undergone extensive restructuring works in the past 18 months that have transformed it into a state-of-the-art performance venue.
The theme of this year’s annual conference is Interweaving Cultures: Theory and Practice. The term ‘interweaving’ implies the meeting of two or more cultural realities that may result in various degrees of confrontation or adaptation.
Adaptation implies a selective process which may lead to a blending of certain cultural traits or expressions. Confrontation implies both encounter and clash; it can either lead to opposition or to the creation of ‘hybrid’ realities.
The interweaving of cultures was a recurrent feature in colonial regimes but it is also a product of modern globalisation.
The conference convener is Vicki Ann Cremona, with keynote lectures by Ian Watson, professor of theatre and chair of the Department of Arts, Culture and Media, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, US; Felicia McCarren, professor at the School of Liberal Arts, Tulane University, New Orleans, US; Fadhel Jaibi, theatre director of the National Theatre of Tunisia; and guest speaker Torsten Jost, research associate, Interweaving Performance Cultures, International Research Centre, Freie Universität, Berlin.
Running parallel to the conference is the devised performance EKHO, led by guest theatre director Denise Mulholland. EKHO is an ensemble piece devised by students of the School of Performing Arts at the University of Malta.
Combining music, theatre and dance in a series of vignettes, EKHO explores the telephone in its many forms – positive, negative, significant, trivial, essential and downright irritating.
■ The conference and performances are taking place at the University’s Valletta campus tomorrow, Thursday and on Friday. For more information and to register for the conference, visit www.um.edu.mt/performingarts/conference2017. EKHO is taking place at 8pm and is suitable for those aged 12 and over. Entrance is from Merchants’ Street and is free of charge. Tickets can be booked through Stefan Sacco by e-mailing stefan.sacco@um.edu.mt. The events are sponsored by the US Embassy in Malta.