The Ministry of Culture and Youth, the Melico Salazar Popular Theater and its National Theater Company program, reactivated the annual public competition for professional theater stage directors; a state stimulus to promote the development of theatrical stage direction in Costa Rica.
The contest seeks to motivate innovation, raise the level of excellence, artistic rigor and the economic reactivation of the union through institutional financing for the creation and production of works.
Historically, the contest had had an approximate fund of ₡45 million colones, through the surplus, for a winning project; In 2019, through the Public Expenditure Control Law, the figure of the surplus was repealed and in 2021 Decree No. 43208-Cob- had a reform, through which this project is allowed to be financed with the institution’s own resources.
₡30 million colones for a single winner
Under this panorama, in 2024 the institution made a significant effort in order to be able to allocate financing of ₡30 million colones for a single winner, this being a progressive beginning of recovery of relevant spaces for the sector.
Helping the reactivation of the Costa Rican theater union
Brigitte VallejosCerdas, temporary artistic director of the CNT, stated that “recovering the decree of the staging competition is very good news for us and for the union, since, as an institution, we stimulate the development of stage direction and therefore “On the other hand, we have the possibility of helping the reactivation of the Costa Rican theater union.”
The call opened on February 15 and will be valid until April 15, 2024. The participation rules can be consulted at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/33wxjyem Over the years, through this contest, theatrical productions have been made such as “Paso”, “Tesla, Delirios de un genio”, “The imaginary sick man”, “Caligula”, “Elevator Snub”, among others
