From the change of managerial view in the performing arts to the permanent fringes of the last year of the century

Theater News Base: The last year of the fourteenth century was not as tumultuous for the theater as for many years; With the change of government in June, all the management departments of the theater, like other government agencies, were waiting for changes and developments that lasted until the end of the 40th Fajr Theater Festival.

March of this year «Kazem Nazari” Instead “Able to know»In the General Directorate of Performing Arts to look forward to other policies in the management of the country’s theater for next year.

The first remarks of the new Director General of Performing Arts on one of the most controversial topics of the last weeks of the year, namely “Prohibition of motion designer and choreography in the theater” Was. In March of the year 1400, some theater teachers and actors issued announcements announcing a ban on movement. In a radio interview with Ayub Aga Khani, Nazari explicitly stated that “during this period, I have not seen any section about the ban on rhythmic movements in the theater … I have read articles in this field in cyberspace, the accuracy of which must be clarified.” “Naturally, no cultural policymaker will stop rhythmic movements rooted in our religions and ethnicities unless it is contrary to our sharia.” He stressed, of course, that he would pursue the issue of banning movement design in the theater.

This conversation, of course, had other aspects that outlined his goals; Topics such as “Reconciling artists who have been away from the theater with the stage during this period”, “Paying attention to children’s theater” and “Paying attention to the creation of plays based on Iranian culture”.

In the second year of the corona epidemic, general vaccination accelerated and the incidence and mortality of the virus declined, and many were able to adapt more to life; All of this went hand in hand until the theaters reopened and with Fifty percent capacity Seats sell tickets. The General Directorate of Performing Arts also promised to make up 50 percent of the theater’s empty space for theatrical groups for the sale price of each theater. But since the late fall, this restriction has been lifted so that the halls can use the full capacity of the hall to sell tickets. However, this freedom of action did not last long, and with the rise of the new Corona in the country, restrictions returned to the theater a few weeks later, overshadowing the 40th Fajr International Theater Festival.

Festival organizers have announced that they have made arrangements to deal with the unpredictable conditions of Corona, from holding the festival in person to selling half of the tickets and even holding it completely online. Although until a week before the opening, many thought that the festival would be held in semi-presence / semi-online, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance announced a new resolution of the National Corona Headquarters, according to which the festival works only with a large audience. Thirty percent of the hall’s capacity can go on stage. A decision that put the image of dim festivals in front of the theater family.

Opening Fortieth Fajr Theater Festival Contrary to the previous routine, it was held outside the capital and in Neyriz, Yazd, and its closing ceremony was held at Vahdat Hall. The 40th festival, like its predecessors, was involved in the selection of entries for the competition. The number of members of the selection committee was numerous, and the members at the final list did not talk or interact with each other; As a result, many people, including several members of the selection committee, did not like the names and did not consider the final list as representative for a year of Iranian stage theater.

At the end of the festival, the Minister of Guidance, in addition to promising to develop the country’s theatrical infrastructure, announced the Launching the Arts Advisory Council In the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution; A place to solve legal and structural problems in the field of art, which, according to “Mohammad Mehdi Ismaili”, art veterans and academic figures will also be members.

However, a few weeks before the Minister’s remarks, the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution announced that Approval of “Transformation” plan This council had given; A document for rearrangement in the council with the focus on creating executive guarantees for its approvals. What emerges from the general objectives of this plan is that from now on, the budgets of the scientific and cultural sectors in the annual budget bills and 5-year plans of the country will necessarily be formulated and determined based on the macro policies approved by the council. The budget, which was published this year in a general and vague manner, without mentioning details, did not mention the share of various institutions and devices or the level of support for the new century theatrical productions. However, a number of members of the parliament’s cultural commission have promised transparency in the budget for each section of the performing arts.

But this was not the only budget challenge for the theater family this year; Elimination of artists’ tax exemption in the 1401 budget It was a loud bomb that made many people cry. The Government Economic Commission and the Parliamentary Integration Commission, during the review of the bill amending the law on direct taxes, eliminated the tax exemption for artists and cultural and artistic activities and set a ceiling equal to the annual income of 200 million Tomans. The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance also sided with the artists and joined the opposition to the bill. The protests eventually paid off, prompting the parliament to back down and approve the maintenance of the artists’ tax exemption in 1401 on March 25, during a review of the budget revenue sections.

In the year that passed, “Determining the privacy of the city theaterIt continued to be a concern for theatergoers. A few years after the issue was raised, and numerous anomalies ranging from beatings and street fights and mobs to drug sales and theft from this artistic and historical complex, the privacy of the city theater has been and is in a state of ambiguity. However, in a conversation with ILNA in February of this year, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance announced the special mission of his assistant and advisor “Mahmoud Shaloui” to implement this project, and “Mahmoud Salari” also emphasized the efforts of the artistic deputy in this field. It turns out that determining the privacy of this valuable collection will become an open case for next year.

Resignation of two theater directors It was also one of the most fringe news in the year 144; It was August that «Amir Mashhadi AbbasFor more than two years, he was the director general of cinema and theater at the Center for the Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents, and resigned by posting a text on his Instagram page. In this text, he complained about the financial problems that had tied his hand and implicitly reported interventions in his managerial field that had limited his “authority”.

Another resignation related to “Shahram GilabadiHe was the managing director of the theater house, which published a detailed letter from him in early January. In this letter, he explicitly criticized the government’s wrong policies towards the performing arts, the lack of a coherent structure for the theater, the government’s lack of confidence in artists, the numerous pressures on the theater family, and so on. Although this long letter did not go into generalities and did not address the main reasons for his resignation, Gilabadi later told Mehr News Agency: “He also blamed the personal interests of some people for preventing the theater house from becoming an all-inclusive trade union.”

in this year, The theater family also lost loved ones; From the mythological “Jalal Sattari” who left valuable writings for Iranian theater to “Hamid Labkhandeh” which is a familiar name for theaters and reminiscent of the memories of “Hamid Samandarian”.

“Ali Soleimani” died at the age of 40 due to coronary heart disease. The family of the late artist, but to keep his memory alive, staged the play “Silent”, which was previously directed by him, at the 40th Fajr International Theater Festival.

But Soleimani was not the only artist whose work was staged after his death. “Sasha Keshvadi” died two days before the start of his play “Room” at the age of thirty-six. An impressive event that, of course, did not prevent the performance of this play; His performance team, in honor of the late director of their play, took the stage after a few days break to perpetuate his name with his latest work.

Corona took the lives of other artists one after another this year: From veteran and experienced artists such as “Bijan Afshar” and “Saeed Tashkari” to young artists such as “Siamak Afsaei”. The names of other artists were also included in the sad list of the dead in 1400: “Siamak Atlasi”, “Ezatullah Mehravaran”, “Aydin Ulfat”, “Afshin Soleimanpour”, “Hassan Azimi” and many other letters.