League of Professional Theatre Women to Postpone 2020 Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award

The International Committee of The League of Professional Theatre Women, an organization which has been championing women in the professional theatre for over three decades, announced today that they will postpone the previously announced virtual presentation of the 2020 Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award to the week of February 14, 2021, with respect for and in sympathy with their esteemed colleagues in Lebanon.

"Our 2020 honorees Hanane Hajj Ali and Maya Zbib thankfully survived the earth-shattering disaster in Lebanon, but they are still coping with the overwhelming emotional and physical repercussions", said Award Chair, Joan D. Firestone. "I am optimistic that 2021 holds much promise for new leadership within the United States with a more positive approach to international diplomacy. This is a historic moment and I know we will find creative ways to keep the project alive as we protect and enhance our relationships with our international colleagues."

Hanane Hajj Ali of Lebanon has been chosen to receive the 2020 Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award. Fluent in English, French and Arabic, 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 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.

Maya Zbib (Lebanon) is a theatre director, performer, writer and co-founder and co-artistic director of Zoukak Theatre Company and Zoukak Studio, Beirut. Zoukak's work is created in cycles of collective research, raising questions around themes that challenge the status quo, and it has been presented throughout the world. They also use theatre as a healing force with marginalized communities in Lebanon, and Zbib has taught and lectured on these techniques in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S. Zbib is a Chevening/KRSF Alumna (2007), a Cultural Leadership International Alumna (2010), a fellow of ISPA (2010), protégée of Peter Sellars - Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative (2011), Finalist Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award (2014), message author - World Theatre Day (2018). Zoukak received the Ibsen Scholarship Award (2012), the Anna Lindh Foundation's Euromed Dialogue Award for social resilience and creativity (2014), the Praemium Imperiale Grant for Young Artists - Japan Arts Association (2017), the Chirac Foundation Award of Culture for Peace (2017) and the Ellen Stewart International Award (2018).

The LPTW Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award was established in 2011 in honor of Rosamond Gilder and Martha Coigney, two legendary theatre women whose work on the international stage proved that theatre knows no international boundaries. Presented every three years, this Award acknowledges the exceptional work of theatre women around the world and aims to make a difference in the life and career of an international woman theatre artist as she has made in the lives of her audiences and her culture. Odile Gakire Katese from Rwanda was the inaugural recipient of the G/C Award in 2011. Patricia Ariza from Colombia received the award in 2014 and Adelheid Roosen from the Netherlands was honored in 2017.

This Award 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.

The League of Professional Theatre Women has been leading the gender parity conversation in professional theatre for over 35 years. Since its founding, the League's membership has grown to 500+ members of theatre artists and practitioners of all backgrounds, across multiple disciplines, working in the commercial and nonprofit sectors. To promote visibility and increase opportunities for women in our industry LPTW spearheads: public programming, advocacy projects, media and publications that celebrate industry luminaries, highlight the legacy of historic visionaries, raise awareness of nurturing women+ voices, and continue to shine a spotlight on gender parity along with LPTW's renewed commitment in creating a culture of EDIA: Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access, both in the theatre world and the world at large. To find out more about how you can support its endeavors, please visit www.theatrewomen.org.

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