The four finalist works will be staged in the Sala Goya from October 19 to November 23, along with three other non-competitive proposals that will complete the program of the 2024 edition.
With the submission period for the 5th Mequinenza Amateur Theatre Competition (CTAM) now closed, the pre-selection jury will choose the four finalists from the 16 entries. Comedy and drama are the predominant genres, and the submissions come from five autonomous communities: Valencia, Catalonia, Castile and León, Aragon, and Murcia. The selected plays will be performed at the Sala Goya every Saturday from October 19th to November 23rd.
In this year's edition, in addition to the finalist works, three non-competitive performances will be staged. The first, scheduled for November 3rd, is a children's puppet show by the Xip Xap company, "Hamelin," part of the Bajo Cinca region's "Culture on the Road" program. The second, "Stories of Abandoned Memory," is scheduled for November 12th and is aimed primarily at secondary school students, adult education students, and reading groups. It is a production by the Teatro Che y Moche company, supported by the Zaragoza Provincial Council (DPZ), and based on texts by the Chalamera-born writer Ramón J. Sender.
The third non-competitive work, yet to be determined, will be staged after the CTAM closing ceremony on November 23. The 2024 edition of the competition, organized by the Mequinenza Town Council and the Grup de Teatre Garbinada of the Mequinenza Women's Association "La Dona," has a budget of €2.600 in cash for the finalist companies, distributed as follows: €1.000 for first prize, €700 for second, €500 for third, and €400 for fourth. In addition to these awards, there will be a special prize awarded by audience vote, as well as prizes for best stage production, best actor/actress, and best director, each of which will receive a statuette.
