2005 programs and events

American Director, Belarusian Actors State U.S. Play in Minsk

A three-week U.S. Speaker Program in Minsk resulted in an unprecedented joint U.S.-Belarusian theater production carried out by American director Daniel Banks and actors of the Theater of Belarusian Drama. Banks, theater director and instructor of theater studies at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, led the Belarusian cast in staging Nilo Cruz's Anna in the Tropics, winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Addressing the audience prior to the premiere, U.S. Ambassador George Krol noted that the cast led by Banks "accomplished what could be described as a miracle. In a period of less than three weeks, they have been able to succeed in staging a very complex production." He praised the production as "a masterpiece of artistic cooperation" between the U.S. and Belarus. The play was performed in the Belarusian language, and Banks, who does not speak Belarusian, directed all rehearsals with the assistance of an interpreter.