Segunda Edición Festival de Teatro Escolar de Lanzarote se clausura en la web

The second edition of the  Lanzarote School Theater Festival , an initiative promoted by the Cabildo de Lanzarote Culture area and the Cuerpo Teatro company, has sought a solution to the closure of the scenic spaces to be able to celebrate the closing ceremony: the digital alternative . 

Faced with the impossibility of carrying out the theatrical performances, students and teachers have produced videos from home in which they explain the arguments and stories they had developed, interpret fragments of the work, describe the work and creative process that they have followed or even They create homemade scenes. And all this can be enjoyed from this Monday, May 25,  and until June 25,  on the Lanzarote School Theater Festival website  .

219 people have participated in the videos, between teachers and students, belonging to the 10 educational centers that this year signed up for this 2nd edition of the Festival, including students from single schools, 1st, 3rd and 6th grade Primary, 1st, 2nd and 4th of ESO and 1st of Baccalaureate.

The School Theater Festival of Lanzarote is offered to all educational centers on the island, at the beginning of the academic year, through the Table of Vice Principals of Primary and the Table of Vice Principals of Secondary that coordinates the Education area of ​​the Cabildo de Lanzarote. 

The peculiarity of this situation, and the fact that teachers and students were locked up at home, has caused their families to also get involved in the making of the videos, something that has been highly valued by Cultura Lanzarote. and by Cuerpo Teatro.

“ The students and their tutors have adapted to the situation. They have not been able to perform the plays that all of them had planned, but they have made a titanic effort and have given the best of themselves to offer us another product in return. They should feel proud”, declared the Councilor for Culture of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Alberto Aguiar. 

For his part, Siscu Ruz, director of Cuerpo Teatro and coordinator of the Festival, has also had words of praise for the more than 200 people involved in the project. «From their homes, they have all put their best effort into continuing to work and offer, even if it was in a different, different format, a product that was entertaining and interesting,» Ruz declared. «Furthermore, the fact that it had necessarily been carried out inside the house has caused families to join the creative process, so the number of people involved has been much higher than the 219 initially planned between teachers and students», has added the coordinator of the Festival. 

Material  from 10 educational centers

The videos  that can be viewed on the website of the  School Theater Festival of Lanzarote  from Monday 25 correspond to the assembly processes of: 

“ DeSas3 y Arreglos”, from 1º Eso of the IES San Bartolomé; “Four days”, from the 2nd year of ESO from the IES Blas Cabrera Felipe; “Vírux”, from 4th ESO of the IES of Tías; «Animals take the floor», from 4th year of ESO and 1st year of Baccalaureate from IES Tinajo; “Create and travel with the emotions of Don Pepito”, from 1st grade of Primary School at CEIP Guiguan; «Let’s imagine», from the CEIP de Tao Unitary School; «Can you imagine?», from 3rd grade of Primary School from CEIP Titerroy; «I am jungle», from the CEIP Las Mercedes Unitary School; «La máquina del tiempo», from 6th grade of Primary School of CEIP Antonio Zerolo, and «Por Igual» 6th grade of Primary School of CEIP Argana Alta. 

What is the Lanzarote School Theater Festival

It is  a non-competitive cultural, artistic and educational meeting, where students from all educational centers are protagonists, leaders and agitators of culture and performing arts on the island for several days. A festival made by and for schoolchildren, «where the theatrical act becomes a cry and a live exhibition of their concerns, fears, illusions, dreams… and ultimately, a latent action of their reality», in the words of the Cuerpo Teatro company, coordinator together with Cultura Lanzarote of the meeting. 

Courses and previous training for teachers

In November, the theatrical advisory course for teachers was carried out, where some twenty people from the field of education received 20-hour training, including content for collective creation to more technical aspects such as lighting or stage space.

The course covered the necessary tools to carry out a theatrical production with the students from the search for what they are going to tell to the staging. Working from spontaneous creation, body expression, moving images and voice. Well, the main objective of the Festival is to create stage productions listening to the reality, concern and motivation of the students themselves. 

Said training that was complemented with a visit to the Víctor Fernández Gopar Theater to put into practice everything learned and also as an audience to enjoy the show «Arturo y Clementina», by the Titiritrán Teatro company, which was performed on November 14, 2019. organized by Culture Lanzarote. 

From the end of the course until the opening day, the teachers of the ten selected centers receive personal and individualized advice where they can solve the doubts that arise during the creative process.

Later, between February 10 and 13, 2020,  there were guided tours of the Víctor Fernández Gopar Theater, on this occasion it was the students involved in the Festival themselves who were able to enjoy the exclusivity of the facilities to discover all the ins and outs that it hides. a theatrical building: the stalls, the stage area, the dressing rooms, the lighting, etc.

More information on the Lanzarote School Theater Festival website  and on the Lanzarote Culture website  .