Foundations and Charities: Young Directors Project Powered by Montblanc Announces Winner
[Performance of “Welcome to Nowhere,” directed by American Kenneth Collins, as part of this year’s Young Director’s Project]
Dries Verhoeven’s “YOU ARE HERE” takes home honors at the Salzburg Festival
Out of the field of four participating productions at this year’s Young Directors Project Powered by Montblanc at the Salzburg Music Festival, Dries Verhoeven’s and his innovative “YOU ARE HERE” stood out from the rest, winning the competition, its €10,000 prize money, and a Montblanc “Hommage à Max Reinhardt” Salzburg Special Edition fountain pen.
Participation in the Young Directors Project offers young directors from all over the world the unique opportunity to present themselves for the first time to the international press in the German-speaking area of Salzburg. Some past participants have since started outstanding careers.
[From left to right: Director of Montblanc Cultural Foundation Ingrid Roosen-Trinks, Artistic Director Jürgen Flimm, and Salzburg Festival President Helga Rabl-Stadler pose in front of a vitrine displaying the limited edition “Hommage à Max Reinhardt” writing instrument developed by Montblanc in honor of the Young Directors Project]
One example is Alvis Hermanis, theater director from Lithuania and winner of the Montblanc Young Directors Award in 2003, who returned this year with a production in the main theater program of the Salzburg Festival. Currently, he is directing the next season at the Burg Theatre in Vienna, together with David Bösch (winner in 2006) and the Nature Theatre of Oklahoma.
Nature Theatre of Oklahoma’s members, Kelly Copper and Pavol Liska, were last year’s winners of the Young Directors Award. “Winning the Montblanc Young Directors Award was an amazing experience for us and for our company,” they say. “There are not many awards out there for experimental theater-makers and very few moments of accomplishment and recognition — it was something we were not anticipating. It certainly increased our visibility in the world of theater and has opened up new opportunities to perform internationally. The financial award gave us some stability at this early stage in our careers, and for all these things we are extremely grateful to Montblanc and the Salzburg Festival.”
As is the case every year, this year’s project was made possible by Montblanc which, in addition to its sponsorship contribution, donates part of its sales revenue from the “Hommage à Max Reinhardt” Salzburg Special Edition pen each year.
Montblanc has been supporting the Salzburg Festival’s Young Directors Project since 2002.
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