In November 2016, The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) through The Academy for the Performing Arts (APA) mounted its inaugural EXPO. This annual “trade fair”, gave audiences of all ages the opportunity to glimpse behind the scenes of the APA and experience its inner workings. Experimental presentations, discussions, workshops and an introduction to the processes of The Academy were the focus.

From June 8th - 22nd, 2017, the multiple strands of creativity demonstrated in the EXPO are woven into finished products for The Academy's inaugural APAFEST. Performing forces of over 150 students of Music, Music Technology, Dance, Acting, Animation and Design unite to present the following three (3) showcases:

RISE

Venue: UTT Campus @ NAPA, Keate St., Port of Spain.

Performance Dates:
Thursday 8th June - 7:00 p.m.
Friday 9th June- 7:00 p.m.
Saturday 17th June - 2:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. (VIP Gala)

APAFEST 2017 opens with an evening of Music and Dance featuring all the musicians and dancers of the Bachelor of Fine Arts and Diploma programmes, as well as design and production by students and staff of the Animation and Theatre Design and Production departments. Rise promises to be an epic event, featuring seven (7) student ensembles joined by special guest artists from the Caribbean, the US, the UK and South America performing works by Andre Tanker, Len ‘Boogsie' Sharpe, UTT's Master Artist-in-Residence Mungal Patasar, Adam Walters, the late Aldwyn Roberts ‘Lord Kitchener', Ludwig van Beethoven, Lionel Belasco, Janysett McPherson and many others.

MAN BETTER MAN

Venue: Lord Kitchener Auditorium, National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Frederick St., Port of Spain.

Performance Dates:
Thursday 8th June - 7:00 p.m.
Friday 9th June- 10:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m.
Friday 16th June - 10:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m. (UTT Principal Cast)
Saturday 10th June - 7:00 p.m.

The first ever collaboration between The Academy for the Performing Arts and the National Theatre Company (NTAC) brings to the stage Errol Hill's “Man Better Man”, a musical play of the Old Canboulay. First presented in September, 1965 by the Trinidad Theatre Company as this country's contribution to the first Commonwealth Arts Festival in Great Britain, the sheer magnitude of the work, both in size and significance, has served as a catalyst for this groundbreaking institutional collaboration. Co-directors Belinda Barnes and Arthur Lewis have marshalled the combined creative forces of the two entities to produce what promises to be a fitting homage to the theatre tradition of Trinidad and Tobago, complete with Calinda, Calypso, village life, smart-men, Obeah and an underlying love story that is sure to captivate audiences.

REACTION

Venue: UTT Campus @ NAPA, Keate St., Port of Spain.

Performance Dates:
Wednesday 21st June - 7:30 p.m.
Thursday 22nd June - 7:30 p.m.

APAFEST 2017 culminates with the student-powered dance production, Reaction, which will not only close the festival, but also mark the end of The Academy's series of Final Student Presentations. Following the Acting department's One Person Shows in April, and the Music department's Final Recitals in May/June, Reaction will feature choreography mounted by the dance department's graduating class, melding contemporary and folk styles with themes personal to their own life experiences. Preparation has been underway for nine (9) months, charting a path that began in research and conceptual development, progressed then to intensive rehearsals, and is now poised to culminate in the shows themselves. Reaction promises to be expressive, evocative and at times unexpected, and is sure to touch audiences in a meaningful way.