Fundraiser Held in Washington to Support Georgia

By Irakly Areshidze, in Washington, D.C.

American Friends of Georgia and American-Georgia Business Councilorganized a fundraiser on June 12 in Washington, DC, at a special performance of Stanislavsky Theater Studio’s “Hamlet: Performed Through Art of Silence.”  The funds raised at the event will be used to support victims of the Tbilisi Earthquake and Mother Mariam’s Center for Mercy. 

Stanislavsky Studio is the home to Synetic Theater, which describes itself as being “born from tradition and a reverence from classical and universal themes but combines with the drive to bring the most dynamic and salient images to the stage.”  Georgian artists, including Artistic Director Paata Tsikurishvili and his wife Irina, who is the Resident Choreographer, founded the Synetic Theatre. 

The Washington Post has written that “Synetic’s production of the greatest verse tragedy in Western literature utters not a single word-not even in explanatory titles-but like a beautifully choreographed nightmare, it fuses music, movement and light into a hunting series of images that summon the very heartbeat of the story.”

Paata Tsikurishvili, who directed Hamlet, also played the leading role, Irina Tsikurishvili played Ophelia, and another Georgian, Irakli Kvsadze, played Claudious.  The music for the play was drawn from a selection works by the world-renowned composer Giya Kancheli.  The Stanislavsky Studio, located in the heart of Washington’s Du Pont Circle, is extremely popular with the audience and its shows are sold out almost every night.  Later this year Stanislavsky will present Vazha Pshavela’s “Host and Guest,” the first time that this great Georgian poets work will be produced in the United States. 

The fundraising event, which in addition to the performance included a reception of GWS Wines, is part of a growing trend by Georgians living in the U.S. to support their native country through a variety of activities.  American Friends of Georgia has been supporting a variety of initiatives in Georgia for a number of years, including Mother Miriam’s renowned Dzegvi Orphanage. 

This is a second fundraising event in support of Georgia that has taken place in Washington in the last three months.  Last April, the youth division of the Rotary Club of Washington held a fundraiser for Dzegvi Orphanage, which was attended by the benefactors of the orphanage from the Georgian political party.