NDATT mourns president Edwin Erminy

THE NATIONAL Drama Association of TT (NDATT) says it is deeply saddened at the sudden death of its president Edwin Erminy.

Erminy, 59, drowned at Grande Riviere Beach on December 31.

NDATT extended its condolences to Erminy’s husband Raymer Diaz, also an association member.

The association noted Erminy joined the NDATT executive in April 2018 as its education officer.

"He was instrumental in the creation of the design exhibition Design for Performance TT (DPTT), which showcased the work of students and professional designers in all technical areas of theatre (set, costume, lighting, sound). He was the driving force for the ongoing NDATT/UTT project DPTT, the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space (PQ) 2019 Initiative. As part of the PQ 2019 Initiative, he did workshops with refugee children for the student component – Refugee Mas."

Erminy resigned the post of education officer to offer himself as NDATT president and was elected to the post in November 2018. He was an assistant professor of scenic design at the Arts University in Venezuela from 1999 to 2013. He taught at the Academy for the Performing Arts of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) "up to the time of his passing and is sorely missed by his students and those who interacted with him there."

NDATT Vice President and UTT colleague Marvin Ishmael said “the arts community in TT has lost a friend, advocate, amazing designer and a man who had a vision for the design fraternity of this country. Humble in his day-to-day life, he demonstrated exquisite skill in his design concepts with the capacity to always see outside the box. At the academy he brought my concepts to life in (my production of) The Odyssey and oversaw his students with gentleness and passion. Words cannot express the void that now has to be filled. I wanted to be his VP at NDATT because I believed and supported his vision. He was a man who led by example, brilliant in his work, humble of heart and forever to be treasured.”

NDATT said Erminy made an impact on theatre in TT since moving to this country in 2014 from Caracas, Venezuela.