News & Events
Entertainment Technology Chair and Students Part of Theatrical Production Commended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Professor David Smith, second from left, and the cast of MIKA are congratulated by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, center
City Tech’s Department of Entertainment Technology Chair David Smith provided violin accompaniment for the Tiyatro Global production of MIKA in Manhattan recently and department students crewed the performances. The cast, other musicians and Smithwere personally congratulated by United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former foreign minister of the Republic of Korea, on a job well done.
The idea for MIKA, a work by playwright and Brooklyn College faculty member Erin Courtney and husband/collaborator Scott Adkins, originated with the United Nations, which had asked Tiyatro Global to create a theatrical event about the elimination of violence against women that would serve as a model for future efforts by world leaders to stem this violence. The theatre piece was based on actual stories of violence perpetrated against women and how actions were taken to reverse these acts of brutality. The goal of the production was to educate communities about the use of theatre in helping people, young and old, to change repressive behavior and foster respectful relations and interaction.
The play was first performed for world leaders at UN Headquarters in November. The successful premier was organized by the Office of the UN Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women and the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality.
"The creativity and dedication we have seen here this evening,” said UN Secretary-General Ki-moon in praising the work, “are part of a rising chorus of activism around the world to stop violence against women." It was a sentiment echoed by other global diplomats.
In addition to City Tech entertainment technology students and Professor Smith, collaborators in the production included Brooklyn College’s Theater Department and its Program in Performance and Interactive Media Arts; director Jimena Duca; assistant director Leslie Muholland and dramaturge Helen Richardson.
City Tech’s Department of Entertainment Technology has partnered with Tiyatro Global in the past. The most recent collaboration was Iphigenia, in which department students played major roles, from crewing to stage management, in a production that demonstrated that “staging Greek drama without getting snores from the audience” was possible, according to one reviewer. In that production, Professor Smith served as sound designer and played the electric violin in its music ensemble.
Tiyatro Global is an international company of researchers and practitioners engaged in defining the role of theatre in the Age of Globalization. It is involved with various communities, both local and global, seeking a deeper understanding of diverse cultures from around the world through research, dialogue and performance.
12.19.08
