Performers Without Borders: El Encuentro/ The Encounter with Universidad Mayor of Chile

Over the past year, BFA Acting students, led by faculty members Heather Benton and Debbie Saivetz, have been creating an original movement based performance in collaboration with students and faculty from the Universidad Mayor in Santiago, Chile. Called El Encuentro/ The Encounter, this exciting new work will be presented on September 20^th at 8 pm in the Life Hall Studio Theatre performed by both Montclair State students and those visiting from Chile. The performance is the culmination of a year-long cross-cultural exchange sponsored in part by the US State Department.

This September, six students and Professors Leonor Lopehandia and Gabriel Diaz will travel from Santiago, Chile to Montclair to rehearse for the final phase of a three-semester program with BFA Acting students and faculty in the Department of Theatre and Dance. Called the Devised Theatre Project of the Americas (DTPA), this exchange program was made possible by a generous grant from the U.S. State Department and Partners of the Americas, the Office of International Engagement and the Department of Theatre and Dance. The DTPA promotes cultural understanding through a commitment to collaboration and audience-friendly bi-lingual performances.