Margarita Xirgu Multidisciplinary School of Dramatic Art

Multidisciplinary School of Dramatic Arts
Other name
EMAD
TypePublic drama school
Established1949
Art directorLaura Pouso (2023-2025)
Academic staff
40
Location
Montevideo
,
Uruguay

34°54′02″S 56°10′39″W / 34.9006°S 56.1776°W / -34.9006; -56.1776
CampusUrban
Websitewww.emad.edu.uy

The Escuela Multidisciplinaria de Arte Dramático Margarita Xirgu (EMAD) (Spanish for 'Margarita Xirgu Multidisciplinary School of Dramatic Arts') is a public drama school in Montevideo, Uruguay. The institute offers a degree in acting and theater design, as well as a teaching degree in theater and body expression, and a technical degree in dramaturgy.[1]

Founded in 1949, it is the first drama school in the country and the only public. In 2010, it was named in honor of the Spanish actress Margarita Xirgu who developed part of her career in Uruguay. For its first 50 years, the school operated in the east wing of the Solís Theatre and after operating in different locations, in 2008 it was established in the Cordón neighborhood.

History

One of the oldest drama schools in the Hispanic world, the Municipal School of Dramatic Art was founded on November 14, 1949 by the playwright and politician, Justino Zavala Muñiz and the Spanish actress Margarita Xirgu, who was exiled in Uruguay.[2] As head of the theater commission of the Intendancy of Montevideo, the former had created the Comedia Nacional, an official stable theater cast, and the Municipal School of Music two years earlier.[3] Its first home was the east wing of the Solís Theatre in Montevideo, a place it shared with the Comedia Nacional.[4]

Its first artistic director was Margarita Xirgu, who was in office until 1957.[5] In the 1970s, the theatrical set design course began to be taught, under the supervision of the set designer Osvaldo Reyno.[6]

In 1998, due to the renovations carried out at the Solís Theatre, the EMAD was temporarily housed in the Astral Theatre of the Zhitlovsky Israelite Association, in the Palermo neighborhood.[7] Two years later, it moved to the Alliance Française building in the central business district.[8] Starting in 2001 and in the following years, the school moved several times, until settling in its current home, on Mercedes Street in the Cordón neighborhood.[9]

In July 2013, the school became associated with the National School of Fine Arts Institute of the Faculty of Arts of the University of the Republic, and in 2016 a technical degree in dramaturgy began to be taught in agreement with the Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences of the same university.[10]

In 2010, by resolution of the Intendancy of Montevideo, the school was renamed the Margarita Xirgu Montevidean School of Dramatic Art, retaining the acronym "EMAD".[11] However, a year later, it was renamed the Margarita Xirgu Multidisciplinary School of Dramatic Art, again retaining the acronym.[12]

In late 2023, it was announced that the institute would be moved again.[13] In January 2024, the purchase of the headquarters building of the Central Israelite Committee of Uruguay and the Synagogue of the Jewish Community to house the school facilities was confirmed.[14]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "Escuela Multidisciplinaria de Arte Dramático". Intendencia de Montevideo. (in Spanish). 2009-05-06. Archived from the original on 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  2. ^ "Justino Zavala Muniz". Comedia Nacional (in Spanish). 2013-02-19. Archived from the original on 2022-03-26. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  3. ^ "¿Por qué una Comedia Nacional?". Comedia Nacional (in Spanish). 2013-02-19. Archived from the original on 2022-07-08. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  4. ^ "Teatro Solís". Intendencia de Montevideo. (in Spanish). 2014-06-16. Archived from the original on 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  5. ^ "EMAD - La EMAD cumplió 67 años". www.emad.edu.uy. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  6. ^ "Retos para pensarse: la EMAD cumple 70 años". la diaria (in Spanish). 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  7. ^ Pisabarro, Ramiro. "La EMAD "se quedó chica" y la Intendencia de Montevideo ofertará US$ 3 millones por la sede de la Comunidad Israelita". El Observador. Archived from the original on 2023-01-21. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  8. ^ "EMAD - Sede". www.emad.edu.uy. Archived from the original on 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  9. ^ "Habrá nuevo edificio para la sede de la EMAD". EL PAIS. 2007-04-11. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  10. ^ "Escuela Multidisciplinaria de Arte Dramático". Ministerio de Desarrollo Social (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  11. ^ "EMAD - Historia". www.emad.edu.uy. Archived from the original on 2023-06-02. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  12. ^ "Resolución Nº 4525/11". www.montevideo.gub.uy. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  13. ^ Pisabarro, Ramiro. "La EMAD "se quedó chica" y la Intendencia de Montevideo ofertará US$ 3 millones por la sede de la Comunidad Israelita". El Observador. Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  14. ^ BUSQUEDA, Semanario. "Intendencia adquirió edificio de Comunidad Israelita por US$ 2,5 millones para sede de la EMAD". BUSQUEDA (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-04-28.
  15. ^ "Entrevista a Roxana Blanco: Brillante debut como directora". Carve850 | Escucha todo el País (in Spanish). 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  16. ^ "Diáspora de actores uruguayos". EL PAIS. 2009-03-24. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  17. ^ "Doctor Honoris Causa a Estela Medina". Ministerio de Educación y Cultura (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  18. ^ "María Mendive en su juego preferido". EL PAIS. 2017-04-01. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  19. ^ "Entrevista a Margarita Musto". Carve850 | Escucha todo el País (in Spanish). 2023-11-14. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  20. ^ "Adiós a un grande: falleció el actor uruguayo Walter Reyno". LARED21 (in Spanish). 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  21. ^ "Alfonso Tort: "El cine uruguayo creció, pero no sé si se lo puede llamar una industria"". Montevideo Portal (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  22. ^ "Falleció el actor y director Omar Varela: adiós al genio más querido del teatro uruguayo". EL PAIS. 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  23. ^ Redacción. "Enzo Vogrincic, el egresado del Liceo Jubilar que conquista a todos como Numa Turcatti en La sociedad de la nieve". El Observador. Archived from the original on 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-15.