Greek Participations in BtS’2013, New York

Cultures and colors of the Mediterranean met in New York, in the framework of the festival Between the Seas 2013, an initiative of the Greek director and actor Aktina Stathaki.

The festival was established in 2010 on an annual basis and was a remarkable cultural event for the American metropolis, where hundreds of new events and performances were  presented every day.

This year’s festival opened on July 22 and ran until the 28th in the Wild Project Theater of Manhattan and aimed at  familiarizing New Yorkers with artists from the Mediterranean countries or with people living in New York, showcasing elements of their cultural origins.

The Greek participation attracted great interest, earning positive reviews with two projects. The actor and playwright Yiannis Mavritsakis presented in English and in a world premiere his play Redshift, which is translated by Christina Polychroniou, directed by Katerina Alexaki, with the participation of the following actors: Theodora Louka, Dimitris Bonaros, Sybil Johnson, Alex Ristov and Nock Smerkanich. The performance is a production of the Between the Seas Theater Productions. The play’s apt and timeless messages and questions about power, submission and reaction touched the audience.

The second project is the famous play City-State by the Kanigunda Theater Company, which was presented also in Athens, directed by Yiannis Leondaris, with the participation of Maria Kechagioglou, Rebecca Tsiligaridou, Efthimis Theou, M. Tzanni, Yiorgos Fritzilas and Anthi Efstratiadou. The production was made with the financial support of the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation.

The festival included a wide range of events, with contemporary performing arts, such as the music and multimedia performance, Suite Camus,  created by the cooperation of artists from France, Germany and Algeria, the play Eyes of the Arab-Hebrew Theater Center, which is based in Israel, as well as the new work of the Portuguese choreographer, Pedro Goucha Gomes, Amongst Millions, which deals with the European crisis.

“The festival’s principal objective is to create a stable bridge of exchange of ideas and artistic works, between America and the the Mediterranean,” stated Aktina Stathaki to AMNA, highlighting that, “The approach of the Mediterranean as a geographical place with a long history of exchanges which is able to influence its inhabitants today as well, is still limited in America. This year, there are 15 performances from nine countries.”