META, KSF present 'Home Grown'

Under the auspices Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, Middle East Theatre Academy (META) announced today the launch of ‘Home Grown’, an intensive theatre training programme in partnership with The Kevin Spacey Foundation designed to discover young talent across the region interested in film and theatre.
Home Grown, which will be opened in Sharjah Institute for Theatrical Arts, is an unparalleled opportunity offered on a philanthropic basis to youth across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to develop their performance skills.
The programme will train youth representing up to seventeen different countries from the MENA region, exploring those who have potential and passion for the performing arts.
It will also encourage self-belief and expand horizons, developing the capacity of youth, providing them with everyday life skills to help their development and personal growth.
Kevin Spacey will be present at times throughout the project and will lead expert classes for participants in addition to observing rehearsals. The opening performance will take place in Sharjah in the UAE on the 25th of January 2015 at the Sharjah Institute for Theatrical Arts.
Participants in the programme will have an opportunity to gain insight in the areas of physicality, movement, voice, characterisation, staging and stage craft.
Commenting on the launch of the project, Kevin Spacey, said: "Over the last four years The Kevin Spacey Foundation, KSF, has been working to nurture, train, and support emerging artists in the performing arts and film. We offer financial assistance and mentoring to get new work off the ground, unique theatre in education projects to inspire learning and fully funded university places to those young artists. We do this because I believe that if you have been lucky enough to do well in the business you want to do well in, then it is your obligation to send the elevator back down. That's why we are working with the Middle East Theatre Academy, which we launched in partnership with Badr Jafar a few years ago, and are excited about presenting Home Grown, the first venture between the Academy and my Foundation.'’ From his part, Badr Jafar, co-Founder of the Middle East Theatre Academy, commented, "The arts have always been an essential pillar of world civilisations, and the aim of this philanthropic initiative is to cultivate artistic spirit from the myriad of talented young men and women across the region. I’m confident that a programme of this nature will give the opportunity to nurture the home-grown talents and develop them to be the ambassadors of the Arab region around the world." The intensive theatre training programme will run at the Sharjah Institute for Theatrical Arts and will take place between 10th and 27th of January 2015 to be offered completely free of charge for 35 youths from across the region.
The programme will culminate in the production of a new play in Arabic and English with a regional theme which will be publicly performed in the UAE and elsewhere.
Applicants, aged 18-25, should apply online through the Middle East Theatre Academy website www.middleeasttheatre.org. There will be online auditions, followed by in person auditions to select the first group of participants.