Meryl Streep, 2023 Princess of Asturias Laureate for the Arts, is to participate in a meeting with the public in which she will talk with Antonio Banderas about the profession and her experience and artistic career. The event, to be hosted by Sandra Rotondo, member of the Jury for the Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, will also include a selection of questions that those attending can ask the artist.
Organized within the framework of “Awards Week”, the event will take place at 7:30pm on Wednesday 18th October at the Exhibition and Conference Centre in Oviedo.
Meryl Streep will also meet with a delegation of the teachers and 3rd and 4th year secondary, baccalaureate and vocational training students who have participated in the “Meryl’s Choices” activity within the “Taking the Floor” cultural programmes for schools in the Principality of Asturias. The event will take place at 12:30pm on Wednesday 18th October in the Warehouse building at La Vega Arms Factory in Oviedo.
The actress will also meet with students from the School of Dramatic Arts of the Principality of Asturias (ESAD), who will perform scenes from Spanish plays in her honour. The meeting will take place at the ESAD centre in Gijón at 12 noon on Thursday 19th October.
Other events focusing on Meryl Streep
The Foundation has also organized other events linked to the figure of Meryl Streep at different locations.
The Donna and the Dynamos live! concert will be held in Porrúa (Llanes) in tribute to the role that Meryl Streep played in Mamma Mia! The event will take place at 7:45pm on Tuesday 10th October at the village skittle alley. That same day at 8:30pm, the film Mamma Mia! will be screened in the main hall of the Llacín de Porrúa Cultural Centre.
La Vega Arms Factory
The La Vega Arms Factory in Oviedo will host a film cycle comprising a selection of the actress’ films. It will also house the “Meryl Streep Spaces”, created as a testimonial to some of her most notable films. The screenings will take place between 12th and 19th October, while the permanent installations can be visited from Thursday 12th October to Friday 20th October.
To pay tribute to the Laureate, master classes will be given that will cover different aspects of the world of acting: You are the Dancing Queen, Outlining the Character and Lights, Camera, Action!
The class entitled You are the Dancing Queen will focus on learning the choreography of the song Dancing Queen and will take place on Thursday 12th October. There will be several sessions of this activity: at 10:00am, 11:00am and 12 noon. Outlining the Character, led by makeup artist Aida Carballo, will focus on the field of characterization and will be held on Saturday 14th October at 10:00am, 11:00am and 12 noon.
Lights, Camera, Action! will consist of an acting class taught by Carmen Sandoval Rodríguez, actress and teacher at the School of Dramatic Arts of Asturias (ESAD) and will take place on Sunday 15th October at 10:00am, 11:00am and 12 noon.
Donna and the Dynamos live! concert at 10:00pm on Friday 13th October and at 1:30pm on Saturday 14th October.
Stories Around the Fire. Spoken storytelling. Karen Blixen, the leading character in Out of Africa was a great storyteller. This activity aspires to recover that simple human rite of telling stories out loud, with the participation of writers Jacobo Bergareche, Laura Fernández Domínguez, Juan Tallón and Silvia Hidalgo Callarga. This event will take place at 7:30pm on Friday 13th and at 9:00pm on Saturday 14th.
Stories Around the Fire. Storytelling of One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. Storyteller Héctor Urién will tell a family audience stories from One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, a reference book for the Danish author, Karen Blixen, the character played so unforgettably by Meryl Streep in Out of Africa. The recommended age is 6 years onwards. There will be several sessions of this storytelling on Thursday 12th October and Saturday 14th: at 11:00am, 12 noon and 1:00pm.
Stories Around the Fire. African storytelling. Storyteller Ana Griott will tell popular stories from the African tradition to a family audience. There will be several sessions of this activity on Sunday 15th: at 11:00am, 12 noon and 1:00pm.
At the foot of the Ngong Hills, an informative talk and tasting of Kenyan coffee, will take place on Thursday 12th and Saturday 14th October. There will be a double session of this activity on both days: at 5:00pm and 5:30pm.
On Sunday 15th October, there will be a concert entitled Kramer in the park, in which the Asturian group Forma Antiqva, conducted by Aarón Zapico, will perform a series of musical pieces that appear in Kramer vs. Kramer, a film for which Meryl Streep won the Academy Award for Best Actress. There will be a double session of this concert: at 12 noon and at 1:30pm.
Awards Week
These activities form part of “Awards Week”, a cultural programme designed by the Foundation that includes the participation of the Princess of Asturias Laureates in a variety of activities during the days leading up to the Awards Ceremony at the Campoamor Theatre. Since 1996, the Foundation has scheduled different activities in diverse locations in Asturias aimed at making the Laureates and their contributions to the world of science, culture or any other field in which they work better known to society at large.
Registration for the activities to be held between 11th and 15th October will open at 10:00am on Saturday 7th. Registration for the remaining events will open at 10:00am on 14th October. To visit the permanent installations at the Tabacalera and the Factory, you will need to fill out the corresponding registration form, which will be made available on the Foundation’s website.