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Under the patronage of His Excellency, Minister of Education, Dr. Ahmed Al-Issa, King Khalid University is organizing the First Theater Festival for Saudi universities, which will gather innovators and performers hailing from all university theaters in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The five-day event will begin on Sunday the 22nd of Rabi' Al-Awwal in the Lasan Theater and the Mahala Campus Theater.

Ten theater teams, who represents numerous Saudi universities, are going to participate in the festival. Participating acts will be chosen according to the clearly defined standards and technical requirements of theatrical festivals in the Kingdom. By all means, it will have to be suitable for the recipient audience, namely the youth, in addition to the presence of a minimally acceptable level of technical participation.

With regards to the momentous festival, His Excellency, Prof. Dr. Faleh bin Rajaa Allah Al-Solamy, Rector of King Khalid University stressed that the University’s hosting and organization of the festival comes as part of its awareness of the importance of theater and its long history in human cultures and its active role in building the values of truth, goodness, and beauty. He commented, “Undoubtedly, holding the first Theater Festival for Saudi universities would contribute to the exchange of views and a diversification of experiences in our university theater programs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. University Theater has been a way to explore artistic abilities that creates segways to the world of art and creativity."

He pointed out that the spirit of youth is the real the winning horse. Thus, the Saudi government has paid considerable attention to promote this spirit of innovation in theater.

Al-Solamy also thanked HRH Prince Faisal bin Khalid for his steadfast support for all of the activities of the University and his contribution to the growth and development of the region. He thanked His Excellency, the Minister of Education, for his patronage and for his continuous interaction in all aspects that would help accelerate rapid development of Saudi universities in various fields. Rector Al-Solamy also thanked the Association of Culture and Arts in Abha for its positive partnership in the establishment of the festival.

In turn, the Dean of Student Affairs at the University, Dr. Abdullah Al-Aideed, who is also the Chairman of the Festival said that the Deanship is honored to host the first Saudi Theater Festival in its first release under the patronage of the Minister of Education and the attendance and participation of ten Saudi universities. He added that holding the First Theater Festival is based on the directives of the Rector. He clarified that theater has a significant role in improving students’ talents and in raising viewer awareness, in addition to its role in developing students’ knowledge, cultural and artistic experiences. Dr. Abdullah Al-Aideed emphasized the deanship's keenness on activating the role of theater in the life of University students through the establishment of the Theater Club, which has contributed to the cultural and artistic movement inside and outside of the university.

Dr. Al-Aideed related that the performances will include the following in the table below:

It is noteworthy that the festival will honor several influential figures in the University Theater field in particular and in the Saudi theater in general. Furthermore, practical symposiums will be held after each presentation. A number of specialists in the field of theater are going to submit two symposiums about theater, the first will be about the university theater and the other about the Saudi theater, in addition to many other special events.