The LPTW Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award Program

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Calendar of Events for the 2020 Gilder/Coigney Award Program

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The LPTW International Committee is pleased to announce that

HANANE HAJJ ALI of Lebanon

has been chosen to receive the

2020 Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award

CLICK HERE to read Hunger for Dignity. Hanane Hajj Ali of Lebanon’s Acceptance Speech upon receiving the LPTW 2020 Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award, February 16, 2021. 

Fluent in English, French and Arabic, Hanane Hajj Ali is a woman who defies conventions, stereotypes and expectations and is a singularly-capable ambassador to represent the breadth and depth of both the evolving identities and realities for Arab women and Arab world theatre. Throughout her 40-year career, she has written, performed and directed acclaimed Arabic-language productions and also facilitated and supported hundreds of colleagues, students and communities in Lebanon and throughout the entire Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region. Ali’s artistic career started as a founding member of Hakawati/Storytellers Theater in 1978, the Arab world’s pioneering experiment in socially engaged community led theater, where she was an actor and writer until 1992. In 1999, she co-founded Shams Association which bridges the sectarian divides of Lebanese society and brings together young artists from different backgrounds. Jogging, her most recent solo piece, is a “partly autobiographical and taboo-breaking performance that tackles the Bermuda triangle of Religion, Sex, and Politics” which she has toured throughout the MENA region and Europe, including the 2017 Edinburgh International Festival, where she received the Vertebrae Prize for Best Actor. In collaboration with the Sundance Institute she performed Jogging in 2019 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC., and in February 2020 she performed the piece at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. As a teacher and trainer, Ali has worked with hundreds of young people from Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, and The UAE, and leads sessions on theatre practice, leadership, cultural management and cultural policy Committed to the welfare of the MENA region, Ali remains an activist, cooperating with numerous NGO’s and co-founding three of the Arab region’s most important cultural organizations: Al Mawred’s Culture Resource, Ettijahat and Action for Hope.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the 26 other Nominees from 18 countries for the 2020 Gilder/Coigney Award.

At a time when international diplomacy is challenged, we are proud of the role that artists play as cultural diplomats and the creative, educational, non-political dialogue that is engendered through programs such as The International Award, produced by The League of Professional Theatre Women. ~ Joan D. Firestone, Chair, 2020 G/C International Theatre Award Program

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This Program is only possible through the generous support of LPTW members, friends and others interested in promoting the mission and activities associated with the LPTW Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award. As a 501(c)3 organization, all gifts and donations to LPTW are fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Thank you for your support!

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