Bond Street on the Road

Moving Forward, the Role of the Artist: Myanmar Update 5

2012-02-08T14:53:00.000-05:00

A semi-final update from Michael and Joanna in Yangon.

We're in the final days here in Yangon, and it's been pretty packed with excitement -- if you consider immersing yourself in Myanmar performing arts culture to be exciting (which I do). This will likely be my last missive from these parts, as we’ll be swamped with preparing a "work-in-progress" performance of the work on Sunday before heading Stateside on Monday.

The work with Thukhuma Khayeethe has good days and great days; there is still much work to be done if this show is to hit the stage, but we are off to a good start and look forward to continuing over the next year or so.

Last Friday Feb 3 was the opening of the 3rd International Festival of Contemporary Theatre and Performance at the French Institute. When we made our plans to be here we actually didn't know until later that the festival was taking place, but we attended the Friday and Saturday panels, lectures and videos, and Joanna was invited to talk about our work along with Thila Min, the director of Thukhuma Khayeethe. We've been making new friends and contacts, and joining in some spirited discussions.

Of the many topics (not just at the festival but also with our collaborators):

¨ Now that there may be a new openness and permissiveness for contemporary productions, what will become of the traditional performing arts? (Since the military has been in charge there have been no new plays written and many of the old were banned, even burned.)

¨ What will be preserved, or should be preserved, or not?

¨ Should the public be given what it wants, or what the artist thinks it needs?

¨ How much effort should be put into contemporary arts: what if the current "freedom” doesn't last-- not only might censorship fall into place again, but might artists be exposing themselves to new harassment and imprisonment?

¨ And who will support new work? Many of the young people attending stated that the biggest obstacle to a life in the theater is the family: parents want their kids to get "real jobs"; an old story most keenly felt in struggling economies.

One of the local artists who asked many traditional vs. modern questions is Moore Minn, the impresario, director, and star of one of the few remaining large Zat Pwe performance troupes. The Zat Pwe is a traditional form of performing arts that manifests at the larger festivals around the country. It's a nine-hour marathon, beginning at around 9 pm and ending at 6 am. Depending on the company, the production may (or may not) start with dances and rituals to Buddha as well as the local deities called "Nat.” This is generally followed with the singers in the troupe coming out individually and covering local pop songs. Next, a stylized dance-theatre piece from the life of Buddha; a pop concert covering western hits; traditional high energy dancing by the male Minthar(s) and/or female Minthamee(s) possibly combined with the antics of the Lu-Byet comedians ("Mr. Not-at-all Serious"). There may also be short dramatic or comic scenes, depending on the aesthetics of the company director.

Joanna and I were invited to see Moore Minn's show that Saturday evening. A strikingly handsome and serious looking man of about 40, he was introduced as one of Myanmar's preeminent traditional singers and dancers. Thus, we had a certain expectation of a "traditional" performance, and indeed much of the standard menu as outlined above was there. What we did NOT expect was his intense, spot-on, full hour Michael Jackson impersonation, complete with Thriller production value (break-dancing zombies), moonwalks, mime and crazy limbs akimbo. Especially fantastic from a you-gotta-be-kidding-me perspective was Michael Jackson singing The Macarena.

You could have lit the city of Yangon with Moore Minn's energy, which was most remarkable because he attended the conference all day Friday and Saturday, AND did all night shows Friday night and Saturday night (which he also drove to and from, about an hour outside of Yangon). When and where he got sleep I don't know.

Another big surprise was the total lack of applause from the 1000 or so spectators. Not that they didn't like it, they know this guy and his work and they paid their not inconsiderable admission of $3 or so, they just don't express it. And many stayed, as we did, for all 9 hours; though many of the younger set left after the pop stuff and the older crowd arrived for the comediennes and the dancing Minthars.

Okay, that's it for now. Thanks for listening. We'll post the pix and videos as soon as possible and send you the links when available. Until then, stay warm, healthy and safe wherever you are.

Much love from Yangon,

Michael and Joanna

Volpone Rehearsals: Myanmar Update 4

2012-01-31T15:35:00.000-05:00

After six rehearsals the show is really taking shape. Well, I think so by watching the actors, though I don't understand a word they are saying (as they are improvising in Burmese). Still, they are beginning to "embody" the characters and come up with some funny “bits".

Volpone is a Shakespeare era comedy, written by Ben Johnson in that same "Shakespearian language" which takes some getting used to. It's beyond even the best of our English speakers here (heck, it's beyond me a lot of the time), so Joanna and I have been 'translating" the Elizabethan into modern-ish English, while also cutting and editing so this three hour play runs more like 60 minutes. Since these translations are not set into Burmese yet, the actors have been improvising to get the feel of the characters and the plot, which has a lot of twists and turns and intrigue.

Traditional Myanmar theatre has a lot in common with "traditional" western theatre (ie, Shakespeare and Commedia del'Arte). Since the military junta has been in charge, traditional/classical Burmese theatre is all you could study, as contemporary theatre techniques and modern plays have been viewed with suspicion and heavily censored. Thukhuma Khayeethe (the local theatre ensemble) wanted to do a Commedia era piece that could lend itself to modern interpretations, and Volpone is a great bridge between the classical and modern.

The actors have a lot of clown and comedy experience from performing social theatre productions for children and communities around Yangon. Joanna, Anna Zastrow and I did a 10 performance tour in 2010 with the newly formed Thukhuma Khayeethe to local monastery schools with the Hand Washing Show in 2010. They have several new actors and actresses added in the last year, and this will be their first "serious comedy".

So we'll see how it goes...

Foreign Policy: Myanmar Update 3

2012-01-30T16:54:00.000-05:00

Another update from Michael in Yangon, where all is still well.

IT IS BETTER TO BE INVITED THAN TO OCCUPY

We had an interesting chat with one of the young (21) receptionists at our hotel, a very nice, friendly, good English speaker. On the subject of food I mentioned that Joanna and I were both fond of Japanese food, and she kind of frowned and said that, well, they had a lot of trouble with Japanese people. I asked, "you mean Japanese tourists who stay at the hotel". "No," she said, "the Japanese people who invaded my country and did very bad things!" She then went on to list a variety of hideous tortures, hardly exclusive to the Japanese but certainly used by their thugs when they ran amok in China and SouthEast Asia in the 1940's. I did let her know that we've had some wonderful experiences touring in Japan and have some very lovely friends who are Japanese, and, well, after all that was several generations ago. She was not swayed in her opinion. Just one of those reality checks concerning foreign policy: some people just don't forgive and forget. BUT... we did a check with a number of other locals, and it seems that this kind of thinking not so prevalent. Most everybody else either likes the Japanese or is indifferent.

MAYBE IT’S BETTER TO WALK

Actually, most of the public buses here are Japanese made, with the steering wheel on the right side, like in England/Japan, but they drive on the right side, like in the US. Which means they have to modify the doors, sealing the ones on the left and cutting new ones in on the right (the sidewalk side). The buses look like hell, not just from that but being driven hard and fast. Why? Because the buses are rented by the driver and the ticket taker, much like a taxi is rented from a cab company. The passengers they pick up that day is their take (after the rental fee) which means the buses race each other to get to bus stops first. It's pretty crazy. It's not the kind of free market economy conducive to safety, but it's what they have at the moment.

Follow up Tid-Bit:

I mentioned in a previous email that the locals are happy that internet restrictions have lifted somewhat and they can now get You Tube. I should add, however, that mostly all they can get is the opening page, not the actual videos which take far to long to download due to the slow connections. But still, it's a start.

Visiting the Neighbors: Myanmar Update 2

2012-01-23T12:09:00.000-05:00

Michael's Yangon update from January 22, 2012.

All's well that starts well here in Yangon. We're working with 10 members of the group Thukhuma Khayeethe ("Arts Travelers"), four of whom we toured with on our last trip in 2010. We've had three rehearsals so far. Here's a little tid-bit from a recent rehearsal:

Our rehearsal studio is a rented, empty house in a suburban area in north Yangon called Inseine. It IS pronounced "insane" but doesn't carry the same meaning-- though it might when we are through with it. It is local to the famous prison of the same name where at least two of the actors were incarcerated several years for "political activities", in their pre-theatre days.

Anyway, we were doing one of those group circle exercises called Visiting the Neighbors, useful for ensemble building and character exploration. It allows the actor freedom of physical and vocal expression. Apparently, however, this neighborhood is not used to such freedom, because after about 10 minutes of what must have sounded like bedlam WE were visited by the neighbors, who demanded to know what the hell we were doing. The offending character might have been yours' truly, who at the time was grabbing one of the actors by the lapels and shouting "Whaaaaat?!!! He gave my money to WHOOOOOOO??!!!" (Part of the exercise, of course.)

Clearly our theatre pals hadn't introduced themselves to the community and given them a "heads up" about what might go on. We promised to be more "respectful".

More to come,

Watch this space.

What a Difference an Election Makes: Myanmar Update 1

2012-01-19T15:57:00.000-05:00

Michael and Joanna left for Myanmar last Sunday to continue BST's collaboration with Thukhuma Khayethe (Arts Travelers). Here is Michael's first update from January18.

Greetings from Yangon, Myanmar.

What a difference an election makes. Today we met with our local collaborator, Thila Min of Art Travelers Theatre, and he was fairly giddy about how much has changed in the last few months. The election was 4 or 5 months ago -- that is, the military regime handed over the government to "the people", though it was indeed one of the military favored parties that won most of the parliamentary seats. Since then, they have freed many political prisoners, Obama sent Hilary for chats with the government and the USA opened diplomatic relationships (we had an embassy here, but not an ambassador). As Thila Min reports, people can now shout "freedom" in the streets, and say Aung San Suu Kyi's name without fear of imprisonment (until recently they had to refer to her as "the lady"; she being the opposition party leader lately free of her house arrest). Heck, I just realized I can GOOGLE Aung San Suu Kyi's name and get results -- couldn't do that before!

They can now visit the websites You Tube and the BBC and Voice of America, previously all off limits. They notice there are WAY more tourists in town than ever before. In fact that was a problem for us on our first night-- our two usual hotels were all booked, and all have raised their prices $5 per night. We will be checking in to our favorite, Kung Lay Inn, tomorrow night. We stopped by there and they still had our brochure on the desk from our stay in 2009!

Our task here is to do some serious work on a play we've suggested to our collaborators in Arts Travelers: Ben Johnson's Volpone, a Shakespeare-era comedy about greed and con games (kinda resonated with us re: our collapsing US and world economy). We're using the basic plot-line, but we'll update the language and situations.

We've been working with Arts Travelers in two projects, the last one being our tour around Yangon and the Mon and Katrin States with the Hand-Washing Show for kids. Our hope is our version of Volpone will interest the sponsors of international collaborations to underwrite a tour of the show in Myanmar and the USA next year. Their company has grown from the four members we worked with in 2010 to the 10 members they have now. We'll meet the new actors for the first time tomorrow morning.

That’s the news at present. We're pretty excited about being here and working with this energetic group.

More to come,

Michael

Conclusions: Qatar Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations

2011-12-19T15:21:00.001-05:00

Olivia attended the UN Alliance of Civilizations Forum on Development and Cultural Exchange in Doha, Qatar last week.

Now that my bags are unpacked and my internal clock is on New York time, I can take a moment to reflect on the UNAOC Forum in Doha. Those four days sparked amazing conversations and insights with young leaders and more established leaders working to make the world a “better” place, but what specifically am I taking away from it?

New connections, to be sure. I met activists from all over the world (and I mean all over) who are working at the grassroots level to make their cultures more equitable. Simply being in a room that has that energy is exciting: I am reminded why I like going to work every day. These are young people who are not satisfied but who seek to make lasting changes. What could possibly be more important?

I attended a panel in which five Arab Spring activists talked about their experiences on the ground in Libya, in Tahrir Square, and in Syria. Their stories were violent, yes, but also filled with camaraderie and laughter and more than a little hope. I miss that true idealism: not Pollyanna rose-colored glasses, but honest belief.

I cannot read the news about Egypt today and not think of the blogger I was speaking to just days ago. Despite being so saturated with the events of the region, I never felt I understood clearly until she told me that folks all over the Arab world and the MENA region were listening to one song of freedom on the radio, and it kept them working towards democratic peace. That I understand perfectly: revolution needs art and music to breathe life into it.

I also got to talk to Israeli and Palestinian people about how to actually initiate dialogue in a region so stifled geographically and politically. There is no room (literally and metaphorically) for a new opinion or idea. Yet logically, it is not the same logic that has been used for decades that will solve anything. We have had years of hatred, stereotyping, fear and violence: what can we do now that will change the landscape even a little? My biased answer is theatre. I know that it works, and I know that it makes me confront my own demons. As we work towards peace, what could be more vital than self-reflection?

That is what I am struck by most: the questions that go unasked in my own society. We assume we have answers without ever bothering to ask about other people’s experiences and realities. Want to know how to make a dent in the housing crisis? Awesome, me too. How can we do that without knowing the experience of a homeless person,or a person who cannot make rent, or a shelter worker who does not have enough beds?

My solution to this is theatre: theatre to see a glimpse of someone else’s day-to-day reality, theatre to communication with populations who speak a different language, and theatre to remove the conversations from the intellect and relocate them in the heart.

Cross-cultural dialogue is a massive and necessary goal if we are going to work together in a global world, but it is impossible to mandate. Dialogue is not debate, nor is it academic. It must be relatable, real, and honest. The arts create that interaction because they seek to ask questions and to open up new perspectives.

I know this to be true: now my task is to continue to convince others. I got to change a few minds in Doha. Who is next?

Youth Gather in Doha

2011-12-11T01:07:00.000-05:00

Olivia is in Doha, Qatar to attend the UN Alliance of Civilizations Forum on Development and Cultural Exchange. On December 10, she moderated the Pre-Forum Discussion for Youth Leaders.

Today, myself and 25 other UN Alliance Of Civilizations moderators (folks who had been moderating the online pre-forum discussion, members of the Youth Committee, and students from Penn State’s World in Conversation program) moderated four hours of discussion in order to come up with 7 concrete messages we want to send to world leaders. These messages will be presented tomorrow at the opening session of the 4^th UNAOC Forum in Doha.

I have spent the last three weeks moderating the pre-Forum discussion on how the arts speak to a shared human experience and what kinds of programs work. Reading so many other young voices form across the world share their stories of singing in a choir, of performing in a show, and of creating a mural together reinforced for me that I am in precisely the right business. Creativity and collaboration are the most effective way to reach across borders and truly see another being for who he or she is.

Today, the prospect of crafting a youth message that will be heard on a global stage is exciting in and of itself, but to do so with thirteen other youth leaders from all over the world is an opportunity I rarely get. So often when youth connect, it is through the internet. We do not sit together in the same room to engage in dialogue around issues of development and cultural diversity: that only occurs in my nerdy fantasies.

Of course, through Bond Street young people do get to experience collaboration in the same room, but one or two countries at a time. Today there were leaders from over one hundred countries sitting face-to-face.

Not that dialogue is enough: we must commit to setting goals together that propel us toward sustainable change. Dialogue is a tool to reach a collaborative construction of methodology, ideology, programming, and more. Even though this is the UN and there is a lot of talking, just talking is not enough. Youth work quickly, we organize, and we spring to action. There is certainly space for reflection and planning so we do not end up flying by the seat of our pants, but the focus must be on moving towards a goal. I get frustrated when dialogue is the end and not the means because I and the other 400 folks here are not used to talk. We are used to turning words into action.

I, in particular, am used to working with very few words. The arts create a space to engage in dialogue nonverbally by sharing cultures and the human experience of living in them. As one of the only self-identified artists here (and certainly the only one who works at an arts organization), I am consistently finding myself on the verge of yelling, “Just CREATE together!” My pre-forum discussion proved that working together to create theatre, song, visual art, murals, or any sort of creative project breaks down the barriers that exist.

My goal for the next three days is to make as many people as possible-from Ban-Ki Moon on down- understand this fundamental value. I know the arts work not just in Afghanistan, in Haiti, in Myanmar, in the Balkans, in Israel, but I have also seen them work firsthand in Nepal and in prisons in the US.

I am reinforced in my mission every time I tell a delegate what I do and they immediately exclaim, “Wonderful! That sounds so interesting/effective/useful/creative!” Everyone has that positive reaction because using art to reach across borders makes some sort of innate sense to us. It’s about more than providing a voice to the voiceless: it is about empowering voices to speak us and be heard in whatever way they want to communicate.

Creating the Shows in Kabul

2011-12-06T14:17:00.000-05:00

Here are more of Kayhan’s thoughts about the creation process with White Star Company in Kabul, excerpted from her Artivism blog October 8, and 14. For the full stories, check out her blog here: http://kayhanirani.wordpress.com/.

I’m tired. Tired, tired, tired. I work 6 days a week with the actors, then spend many more hours at the apartment revising agendas, planning, and trying to connect with local and international NGOs who would be interested in supporting this fledgling theater company when we leave. We go to meetings in the mornings and then go to the university in the afternoons until evening working hard and pushing the students harder. The sky is dark when we leave and Kabul is getting chilly, “sard-e-st” … “it is cold” in Dari.

Kianaz works in the mornings then goes to our rehearsal, then school, then home where she is the sole supporter of her mother, father and younger brother. Her father is too ill to work and her mother cares for her brother and the home. We found out that she is still in high school but has persisted in knocking on doors and pushing her way into the Kabul theater department’s activities. If Kianaz can fight for her theater dreams amidst great responsibility and burden, I’m not too tired to give her my best.

Tired, annoyed, bored; these all seem like luxurious states of mind. These students are rising above great personal odds, societal oppression and national instability to make their dreams a reality at any cost – dreams of being theater artists. Their hopes are so much bigger than me. They give me energy when I am drained, spirit when I am down, and sweetness when I get sour.

Right now, the actors have chosen the themes of their plays and their stories. We started off speaking about sexual harassment on the streets, the challenge of getting married when you have no money, the problem of corruption, illiteracy, ethnic discrimination, unemployment and violence against women.

The men and women are working as one group but as two teams so that the women can bring their work out to women’s groups and spaces where they are safe. The women have chosen to work on two themes: 1. illiteracy and the oppression of women not to get educated; 2. the challenges of sexual harassment in the workplace.

The men have chosen to work on the theme of personal responsibility to the society. In a country torn apart by decades of war, strife and instability the family unit was the only type of real cohesion, support, and trust. People are still bound to their family unit and the idea of common good, public support, etc. is still being figured out. But this means on every level (from the average Mohammed to the highest Minister) people are likely to pass the buck, not be the leader, and only think in terms of family and known community. So the guys are showing a story about that.

They are a beautiful, fun loving, open hearted bunch capable of changing the world. Inshallah, this will be one of many big steps they take in leading their country women and men towards creative options for change.

Updates From Kayhan in Kabul

2011-12-01T16:33:00.000-05:00

Kayhan blogged from Kabul during the most recent Theatre for Development Project. Here is some of what she had to say about the 2011 National Theatre Festival in Kabul on September 29 and about being an American in Kabul on October 2. For the full stories, check out her blog here: http://kayhanirani.wordpress.com/

The last four days at the Kabul Theater Festival has been heady, thrilling, hopeful, and heartful. I was overjoyed to meet most of the theater artists that I worked with last year. They were presenting their work at the festival (one of them won best scenery and costumes!) and they all looked radiant and full of life. Moreover, I met so many new, creative people working in MANY different provinces of Afghanistan and in different forms of theater.

We met groups who have faced great danger making their art, people new to theater, others who are well established, some on the cutting edge, and folks who are just joining in for the sake of it – maybe hearing about it for the first time. This is exactly the type of vitality and diversity you want to see in any field.

In general (and not just with theater folks) there is so much love, energy, brilliance, and hope I feel when talking to Afghanis. Just the opposite of what the mainstream media shows us. I suppose that outside forces need people to believe things are drab and hopeless to get support for unending war. Imagine if we heard about theater festivals, language schools, women judges, youth voices, inter-ethnic solidarity projects, music and dance forms, etc.?

The truth is, Afghanis are creating their futures with vision and dedication. I hope that reading this blog will allow you to reignite your hope for the people of Afghanistan and believe in their brilliance and power. Hope springs eternal – through theater!

There is such diversity in the look and feel and styles of the various performances.

A brilliant young university student from Herat did a fantastic clown show and had us all laughing and crying. Her amazing mother and father joined her onstage for the curtain call. You could see how much they loved their daughter and supported her dreams. All artists should have parents like hers!

"Stupid American"
Being raised in a South/West Asian home, in NYC, I have the privilege to be able to see things from different cultural perspectives and to carry with me the knowledges of many people. (I use the plural to reflect that there is no one “knowledge”.) I am blessed to have an extended family of second mothers, sisters and brothers who have shared with me some of Puerto Rican culture, African American culture, LGBTQ culture, Jewish culture and so on. I am grateful to have that information and perspective as a part of my being.

But, I too get to be a “stupid American” sometimes – seeing things as funny or odd because of where I come from. It can be people, situations, or everyday things. I realize the ethnic boxes and categories we have are measly and hollow. Just look and see. I am sure you’ll recognize a cousin, a sister, a neighbor, a friend. No matter where you go in the world, human beings are more alike than we are different.

Film and Stage: An Update from Michael in Kabul

2011-10-18T16:06:00.000-05:00

Another greeting from Afghanistan where the beer is cold and the nightlife wild. Hold it, wait... that was Belgium at the stilt festival. Funny how I confuse the two. We've been here in Afghanistan just over two weeks-- a week of the National Theatre Festival and a week training the actors (and actresses) of White Star Company. It's productive, and actually fun, though there's no beer and our nightlife is pretty much spent having dinner, downloading the day's video, writing emails, and planning the next day's events.

In the last couple of days the French Cultural Institute (among others) sponsored the first Human Rights Film Festival here in Kabul, with many entries from Afghanistan (and others from around the world). We caught a couple of films from Afghanistan, and I have certainly seen many over the years, and something occurred to me in comparing the level of Afghan film acting vs. stage acting.

Generally the film acting was pretty good -- better than most of what we saw at the recent theatre festival. To be clear, there was some real talent among the stage actors, both "old" (those who studied under the Soviets) and young. The "Best Actor" and "Best Actress" were in their early 20's and definitely the best, but there was a pretty big gap between these few and the others. I was trying to figure out why (aside, that is, from 30 years of horrible civil war and a shaky reconstruction). Here's a conjecture:

For most actors here, film and TV is the only role model, since actual theatrical performances are few and far between. (There was one complaint from a prominent western NGO sponsor of the Kabul University Fine Arts Department that the Theatre Department rarely stages student productions.) In film and TV (prepare for a sweeping generalization on my part) a lot of the work of an actor is taken care of by the location. Film an actor walking down a bleak alley in the dead of winter, and he doesn't have to act cold - he IS cold. Want an actor to look crazy? Have him slowly twirl around holding an apple standing in the middle of Kabul city traffic -- that really IS crazy. But on stage where you don't have the cold or the cars, the actor has to work that much harder to convey not just emotion but location. It's a whole different set of chops and techniques between stage and screen.

Similarly, an actor can spend an entire film at ground level, which could be monotonous; but different camera angles provide the welcome variety: filming from above, below, long-shot, close-up, etc. In the theatre, there's no camera to move, and you can't move the audience. You can move the actors... put one on a ladder, another under a table, but that assumes you have a budget to buy a ladder or a table for your production. Yes, the economy is that bleak for most of the artists here. But in my career I've seen some pretty amazing staging for little or no money. It usually requires a very creative theatre director, which may be another issue here.

Many of the Afghan directors, even of the theatre companies, are working in film and TV (and by film, we are really talking about digital video). They can certainly set up creative shots in a camera frame, but not necessarily a proscenium arch (for non-theatre types, that's the "frame" around the front of the stage). In my humble, subjective opinion, the best directed shows at the Theatre Festival were (in this order): a production from Tajikistan, a production of The Little Prince by an Afghan group with an Iranian director, and an actor/puppet production co-directed by a German puppeteer. Actually, the latter two productions were by the same group of Afghan actor/puppeteers whom we've been watching in the last couple of years. If the rest of the country improved at the same rate as this ensemble, Afghanistan would be a lot further along.

I also must mention an very impressive solo-woman's performance by a young Afghan actress that opened the festival. It was a pretty bold, funny, character driven piece (almost clown theatre) that I, and the audience, was NOT expecting. I shall venture to elaborate more on that in the future.

Gotta plan tomorrow's rehearsal. Watch this space.

Kayhan in Kabul: Kabul Goes to My Head

2011-10-04T10:55:00.000-05:00

The last four days at the Kabul Theater Festival has been heady, thrilling, hopeful, and heartful. I was overjoyed to meet most of the theater artists that I worked with last year. They were presenting their work at the festival (one of them won best scenery and costumes!) and they all looked radiant and full of life. Moreover, I met so many new, creative people working in MANY different provinces of Afghanistan and in different forms of theater.

I was so happy to see all the forms that these shows took. People are really getting creative, getting inventive, and are taking the initiative to make art however they can.

We met groups who have faced great danger making their art, people new to theater, others who are well established, some on the cutting edge, and folks who are just joining in for the sake of it – maybe hearing about it for the first time. This is exactly the type of vitality and diversity you want to see in any field.

In general (and not just with theater folks) there is so much love, energy, brilliance, and hope I feel when talking to Afghans. Just the opposite of what the mainstream media shows us. I suppose that outside forces need people to believe things are drab and hopeless to get support for unending war. Imagine if we heard about theater festivals, language schools, women judges, youth voices, inter-ethnic solidarity projects, music and dance forms, etc.?

Hopelessness, despair, and cynicism are some of the most powerful weapons of the oppressor. If we feel there is no point and that we can never win; then there will be weak efforts.The truth is, Afghanis are creating their futures with vision and dedication. I hope that reading this blog will allow you to reignite your hope for the people of Afghanistan and believe in their brilliance and power.

Without further ado … proof that hope springs eternal – through theater!

The first one woman show ever!

Photos by Kayhan Irani

A brilliant young university student from Herat did a fantastic clown show and had us all laughing and crying. Her amazing mother and father joined her onstage for the curtain call. You could see how much they loved their daughter and supported her dreams. All artists should have parents like hers!

Love K

Read Kayhan's personal blog here.

From the Mouths of Youths: Quotes from the Final Evaluations

2011-07-18T15:20:00.000-05:00

This is what the wonderful actors and students from Simorgh Film & Theatre in Herat had to say about the Theatre for Social Development Project during our final oral evaluations.

Regarding the Workshops:
"When I came to the workshop, I was really shy to even move, but now I really feel free to speak aloud and talk to audiences." – Zainab

"Playing different characters and learning body language helps me understand people around me and in the society." – Mohammad

"The families make a difference between the boys and girls so most of the time the boys have more freedom but, in the workshop, we just felt that we are equal with the boys and they are on the same level and I really enjoyed that." - Zahra M.

"The best thing for me was the stilts because its something very new in Afghanistan and it somehow just raised up our self-confidence." - Hussain

"We had many other workshops, but in this workshop everything was completely new and unique with lots of energy." – Zahra K.

"Violence against women in the family: this is something very useful to show in my society. What I learned in this workshop is that we can raise our ability and our imagination, and we could go to different villages and cities to show this educational theatre to the people who have never seen theatre and give them this message." - Hassan

Regarding the Performances:
"In the prison, we asked them what was their crime. They said they killed their husband… then they said ‘we say this because this is our sentence against us,’ but maybe the brothers of the husband said they did it. We thought they would be depressed, but they were clapping so much, even more than other places." – Sakina “Hasti”

"One of the women pulled me in and hugged me and kissed me so much and said she was really happy and the show was really great." – Marzia

"We do not expect that all of the police will benefit or change by one show, but we can just think that if at least 10 of them from 100 watch carefully and learn something, we are doing our job". – Mohammad

"What I learned by performing in so many different places was that most of the women have no good relationship with others and with society. They are fighting with each other! If we stand up together, we can solve this problem. This is the most important and useful thing for myself." - Rahela

"Theatre is a good way to transform all kinds of information – we can show different kinds of conflict in the families and in society. The most important thing is that we could just make them laugh and happy while giving them a message – they get the message while they are laughing." - Sakina

PHOTOS!

2011-07-12T18:13:00.008-05:00

To view photos from our project in Herat, please click below:

Performances

Workshops

Country & People

The girls perform at the Women's Shelter

2011-07-12T18:08:00.002-05:00

Report by Anna:
The very first performance that our girls' troupe undertakes (outside of the try-out for family and friends) is a show at a women’s shelter in Herat. The shelter is run by Voice of Women, an organization based in Herat led by Soraya Pakzad who has worked tirelessly since Taliban time to fight for women’s rights, and who started Afghanistan's first shelter in 2003.

There are about 40 women and girls at the shelter ranging in age from 15 to 25, and mostly under 20. They are escaping abusive marriages, and in most cases forced marriages. Some were about to be married off and ran away beforehand. They are lucky to have ended up here in the shelter, and not in jail or worse. If they are caught by the police they risk getting raped and put in prison, and if sent back home they may be killed.

Parwana, who works at VOW and is coordinating our visit, talks to me about the situation the women are in and decries the inhumanity of it all. She exclaims, “they feel…!,” and searching for the words she utters something about “not human!” I think she is saying the girls feel they are not treated as humans, but then I realize she is talking about the husbands, that they are not human the way they act. And she tells me about one girl who came to the center. The husband had cut off her fingers and slashed her face across the cheek from mouth to ear. What kind of man would do such a thing? And why? (Beyond its senseless cruelty, it even seems senseless out of practicality -- now the husband has to look at her disfigured face, and how is she going to be able to do his cooking and laundry with her fingers cut off? How does that serve him? But he doesn't think about this, he doesn't think at all.) Both are true – the girls are not treated as human beings and the men are not acting as humans. What we think of as human – humane – humanity… separating us from the beasts.

Unfortunately, this girl’s situation is all too common. Beatings and barrages of mental abuse are an everyday occurrence for young wives in Afghanistan, perpetrated by the husband and any or all of his relatives. Across Afghanistan, girls are forced into marriage and essentially condemned to life as a household slave. Often the girl is young and the man much older. It is not uncommon for a 12-year old to be married off to a 60-year old man! Many of these girls are driven to such despair that they set themselves on fire and burn themselves to death. It is difficult to fathom. In the Herat area there have been 100 such self-immolations in the past year. That’s two girls every week setting themselves on fire.

I look at the women, at the younger girls, and wonder about each one’s circumstances. But I don’t want to ask as it’s such a sensitive matter and I respect their privacy. And it's time to start the show.

The women laugh a lot, and they applaud at the end of each scene! The play is not necessarily meant to be that funny (although we have definitely incorporated some comic bits)... After all, we’re dealing with a serious subject matter that we want to earnestly bring awareness to: the abuse that mothers-in-law so often perpetuate, and how it destroys families. If women treat each other horribly, how can they make men treat them any better? We want to make sure people take it to heart and are moved to make a change. In this case, however, the laughter is good and it doesn’t mean they aren’t taking the play seriously or its message. Presented and received as a comedy, it is easier to take in the play and what it addresses. These women have lived through this, they don’t need to see it presented to them in a heavy and serious way. This is how comedy can be cathartic, getting to laugh about something that is painful. The women gain some vindication in seeing their reality acknowledged.

But this is not enough. In the Q&A afterward, one woman speaks up to tell us that we must show this play to the men, to the families, out in the community -- "they are the ones who need to see it, not us in here, we already know!" She is adamant and angry – and we assure her that this is indeed our intent. As we leave, the woman thanks us for our visit and asks us when we will come again. They rarely have any visitors, and hardly ever leave the shelter. But this confinement is a blessing compared to the hell they were living before.

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The play's the thing!

2011-07-12T18:03:00.003-05:00

Report by Anna -- finally adding some further posts about our performances, end of April and beginning May in Afghanistan!

* * *

The girls’ show is about a mother-in-law who abuses her daughter-in-law with constant put-downs and beatings. This is actually a big problem in Afghanistan. It is a pattern that gets repeated time and again. Often a young girl is married off to an older man who abuses her along with his grown sons and all other relatives around. Or a girl gets married to a boy -- both of them too young – with the boy trying to establish his manhood and beating his wife at the behest of his mother. A man might get a young wife just to be a slave to his mother. The mother was herself a young bride once who was mistreated by her mother-in-law. And so she perpetuates a behavior that has become ingrained. It is difficult to understand why women would stand against other women rather than stand together in this patriarchally oppressive society, or why a mother would discard her daughter, but it has to do with economics for one thing. A daughter brings no economic benefit, since women do not work, so she has no value (but to be a household slave).

In our story, the mother in law suffers from the bad memories of her own life as a young bride terribly abused, all the while lashing out at her young daughter-in-law, purposely getting her in trouble with her son, the husband, and beating her. One day, a friend comes to visit, catching her in the act of mistreating her daughter-in-law, and the friend berates her for it, telling the mother-in-law of her own misery having done the same. The friend’s daughter-in-law set herself on fire and killed herself as a result of all the abuse (this is a common occurrence in Afghanistan, I’m aghast to say!), now her son left her and she is all alone. The friend reminds the mother-in-law that she once was a young bride too. Slowly the mother-in-law realizes she is doing the very same that was done to her, and after some struggle, she decides she must and can make a change. In the end there is a reconciliation with the daughter-in-law. They realize standing strong together and supporting each other is a better way of living, and as a result, the son/husband also has a transformation.

To develop the show, we start our young actors off with a simple scenario and let them improvise around it, playing with character and action. They make our job easy as directors, because they are so creative! Of course, they have a lot to learn yet about theatrical presentation and how to make strong, physical choices on stage, but they are impressively adept already. Such clever dialogue, improvised on the spot! And funny little character quirks. In less than two weeks, we have a half-hour play fully developed and ready to go – and it’s amazing how much our work and our actors have grown. Madiya and Hasti who play the two narrators have become a knock-out clown duo. They bring the audience along the journey and provide some comic relief. And they’re really funny! Marzia has really found solid strength in her portrayal of a man. And Rohela is truly an amazing actor – intensely expressive as the mother-in-law, showing both nasty cruelty and vulnerability. Her transformation in the moment of reconciliation with the daughter-in-law is full of so many emotions. It is a very touching scene. (I just can’t believe this young actor is only thirteen years old!)

I am amazed at the talent, skill and dedication of these young performers, most of whom are only 12, 13, 14 years old! There are two girls who are 17 and 19, and then the boys are 16-21. During the course of our work, I forget how young they are, because they are so good, so dedicated and so professional! And they are tackling serious subject matters of family conflict and domestic violence, acting out beatings and abuse. But they are wise beyond their years and fully aware of the problems of their society. And, sad to say, many of the wives for whom this is a reality are only 14 years old (or younger)! Innocence of childhood is shattered early in this country.

I hope Rohela can continue doing theater, and the other girls, too. But the risk is that in a few years they will be married (off) and that will be the end of it. To encourage their families and the community to accept theater as something good, indeed, to show that it is something that can bring income to the family, we are paying the girls (and boys, too) a fee for participating in the workshops and for their work as performers. See, theater brings economic as well as social benefit to the community!

For the first performance, we invite the performer's families and friends as well as all the workshop students. We present the girls' and boys' shows and then we have a certificate ceremony for everyone involved in the workshops. It is great to see the smiles on the parents' faces!

-

Casting 'Round Gender Issues

2011-04-28T09:02:00.000-05:00

Michael Reporting:

When we last left our intrepid artists (Bond Street Theatre and Simorgh Theatre and Film here in Herat, Afghanistan), the question was: in a culture where a sizable part of the population has reservations about men and women appearing on stage side by side, how do you get characters of one gender portrayed in performances by the other gender? To clarify, it isn’t so much an issue of men and women performing together, since Afghans do produce films and TV shows with male and female actors. It’s a question of who is in the audience.

Here in Afghanistan there is no “theatre audience” per se; no middle class with leisure time and an expendable income, nor any local theaters to go to. Actually, each of the four largest cities have an official National Theatre, but they mainly video their work in-studio and supply the tape to the local TV stations for broadcast. Only on special occasions do they perform live to an invited audience.

Performances are generally welcomed in schools and community centers, but these institutions tend to be segregated by gender. With all the social, political and religious codes to navigate, we decided to create separate productions with male and female casts to offer these venues.

We divided our US team accordingly, with Joanna and Anna working with the girls and I with the boys. It should be noted that “girls” and “boys” is being used to reflect the youthful age of our actors, ranging from 12 to 21 (with an average of 15). Despite their youth, we were greatly impressed by their enthusiasm, commitment and creativity.

For daily rehearsals we rented a local sports facility: a 50’ x 50’ room with matted flooring used by the local martial arts club. In the evenings we met in two small rooms at the offices of Simorgh Theatre. In the first days the US and Afghan directors wrote the scenarios; the girls would tell the story of the relationship between an abusive mother-in-law and her target: the daughter-in-law, and the boys would handle the abusive father and his target: the wife and kids. With the basic storylines and characters set, Monireh and Hakim (Simorgh Theatre directors) cast the parts. We went to our separate rooms (or corners) and started putting meat on the bones.

It was pretty remarkable how both sets of directors, working separately, employed many of the same “tricks of the trade”. Both shows start with a pair of clown-narrators: for the girls it was two trash-pickers, and for the guys two street laborers. Both sets of narrators discover they have control over the action, starting and stopping scenes with the clap of their hands or the blowing of a whistle. A healthy dose of mime is employed to represent teacups and automobiles. (As I write these words I’m thinking, “this sounds vaguely familiar…” Oh yeah, Bond Street Theatre’s Powerplay, circa 1984. Joanna and I playing the Hosanna Brothers. Exact same techniques. Steal from the best, I guess!).

An opening bit of comic repartee leads to “hey, that reminds me of a story…” and this sets the stage for our narrators to “play characters” rather than “be characters”. Thus, the female narrators can play at being husbands and brothers, and the males play at being the wife and children, with a nod-and-a-wink to the audience.

Slightly trickier in the men’s show was the little 4 year old daughter. Her character is pivotal, being a catalyst for change in the father, and thus too significant to be played by a 16 year old male. To work around this, we have the father discover a piece of paper in his pocket, a self-portrait draw by the daughter (well, a crude child-like drawing make by me). This drawing became the avatar of the daughter, from which her story could emerge.

As we come up to our first performances, we New Yorkers feel pretty good about the choices that have been made. Still, only the audience can say if the choices are good, and considering that most people even in the big cities have never seen a live performance, we’re not entirely sure our choices are comprehensible.

Next: Final rehearsals, and strange translations.
Soon: The audiences weigh in (including two high schools, a woman’s prison, a drug rehab center, and the para-military police).

Creating the Productions in Herat

2011-04-27T12:53:00.001-05:00

From Michael:

All is still well as we are finishing up on week three here in Herat. Our adopted parents are still providing us with excellent meals and room to sleep, and our health and morale are good. There has been a slight yet tolerable increase in the fly population, although there is a lovely breeze that has kept them at bay. Unfortunately, it has also brought the dust, much to the chagrin of our laptops.

We have been working on two new productions, which actually start performances next week. Yikes! Well, no, not really “yikes”; it’s all going well with the art, too.

The task has been is to create a show promoting peaceful solutions to violence and oppression – after all, one of our sponsors is the United States Institute for Peace. We have a choice of topics, from the heavy (domestic violence; racial / tribal discrimination) to the light-yet-also-significant: support of democracy, literacy, health and hygiene. There is no easy choice; even a seemingly “no brainer” can be more than it seems.

Take for example: in our last project, in Myanmar, we (along with our local partners) decided to do a show about hand washing—always an important message, especially in tropical climates where germs multiply and spread fast. Okay, so we create this fun show telling kids to wash their hands and head into the schools and monasteries. Well, at one school, post-show, one of the older kids commented: “Thanks for the show; it was good, but we all KNOW we are supposed to wash our hands. They’ve been telling us that for years. The problem is the water doesn’t come out of the pipes and nobody gives us soap!” Oh. So our message should have been directed to the authorities: “Hey! Fix the pipes and give them soap!”

Aside from trying to troubleshoot show topics, there is also the troubleshooting that goes into the staging. Here in Afghanistan, you have probably heard that the gender issues are complex. It is a pretty conservative society, and even though there are many progressive and liberal Afghans, the line of tradition has been drawn deeply in the dry, rocky soil.

In general, the actors and actresses we are working with have no problem working together (without physical contact, that is); sharing dialogue on stage is fine with them. But they know it won’t fly with most religious or government authorities who give or withhold permission to perform. In fact, Simorgh Theatre (our partners here in Herat) face constant opposition from the local conservative forces. But there is one high ranking and respected Mullah firmly on their side. Actually, he was originally a naysayer, until he witnessed one of their performances at a girl’s high school, and he saw the social benefits of issue-related theatre. He even told us in conversation that he would like to see theatre performances brought into the Mosque! Religious stories, of course; think early church morality plays. But for here that’s pretty damn progressive.

Still, in order to maximize our performance possibilities we decided to create two separate shows: one for men by the actors, and one for women by the actresses. Both shows deal with types of domestic violence that are statistically all too prevalent: husbands and fathers abusing wives and children, and mothers-in-law abusing daughters-in-law. (Married women traditionally live with the husband’s family).

The hand-washing show presented a topic fairly easy to communicate physically, without much dialogue. But domestic violence is complex, and we are relying on the playwriting expertise of the Simorgh directors Monireh and Hakim to create the dialogue with input from the performers. Since we Americans are not appearing in the show (taking co-directorship roles) the local language can flow freely.

But here’s a hitch: how can you present family issues when you can’t have male and female actors working together on the same stage?* Hmmmm. To an extent, women can get away with impersonating men, but on the flip side we’ve seen the male actors at the Kabul University theatre department try to impersonate women, and it was a painful, absurd mockery. They couldn’t get away with it even when they were supposed to be funny, and there is nothing funny about our topic. How do we do it?

TO BE CONTINUED!

*Well, in fact we could probably get away with having male actors in performances for women, but we don’t want to condone the double standard.

From Anna: The Workshops and Our Amazing Students

2011-04-26T16:00:00.002-05:00

For the first nine days here in Herat, we have been doing workshops with Simorgh’s young company members and students, mostly girls age 12-20 and also some boys. They are so amazing! I am really impressed with their level of imagination and creativity and expressiveness. These are kids who have not had much exposure to theater as a medium in their culture (indeed such activity is generally frowned upon, and theater really doesn’t even exist). As children they are taught to be quiet, unnoticeable and have no opinions, especially the girls – and yet they are so spirited and jumping right in to play, game to try out whatever we throw at them. Some of the newer girls are very shy, but as the workshops progressed we could see that they got more comfortable and felt more free to express themselves, in action and in words.

On the final day, we had a conversation with the youngsters and asked them about their experience: what did you enjoy about the workshop, what did you discover, and how can it be useful to you in your lives? How do you think theater can be of value to the community? I was blown away by their responses! They are so young but already so wise.

Theater, they tell us, serves to reflect our society and its problems in order for us to better see ourselves… Zainab points out that after working on different characters, she now feels she can better understand people, and this is how theater can be useful: to help us understand each other. Mahbouba said that she discovered how she can connect with people, beyond her small circle of friends – through theater she can make a connection with the audience and thereby with people in the community.

Zahra describes how men traditionally have more power than women in the society, but in this workshop she felt equal to the men, everybody on the same level, free and comfortable. Marzia points out that she even forgot the boys were there!

The fact that both boys and girls are working and playing together in the workshop is not without controversy. One girl, unfortunately, was not allowed to continue because her brothers discovered there were boys in the workshops, and even though her mother had agreed to her participating, the brothers as men had the veto power to decide what their sister may or may not do. On the final day, she nonetheless snuck out of the house and joined us for a last chance to play.

Marzia loved yelling her name out, throwing it far over the mountain, because, she told us, it was the first time she had ever said her name out loud, and it felt so good to know that “Yes, I am Marzia!”

Little Wahija liked the stilt-walking best. Why?, we ask her. “Because I stand tall and feel in control of everything! It makes me feel more confident.” Wahija is a very small girl, she is twelve years old but really looks eight. Everybody loved the stilt-walking. It’s amazing the power such a simple activity can have. And everyone loved the acrobatics too.

Mahbouba tells us she really saw value in the exercise of passing the mask that transforms. It’s the same in life, she points out, because when one is in an argument with someone, they pass on to you their angry mask which you take on, but you don’t have to keep it, you can change it to one of joy before you get home!

Wow. I have to say I am shocked and awed by their astute insights. And these were just a few examples. It is so affirming to hear how enthusiastic they felt about the work we’ve done together, how much they got out of it, how eager they are to continue, and the insights they gained. It makes me feel like we truly have offered something worthwhile and made a difference. This moment to me was the culmination, the highlight, of the entire project. (And this was less than two weeks into the program. Who knows what amazing things will happen in the next few weeks!?)
--

Then we ask them what the problems are that make it difficult to do theater in Afghanistan, and they all shout out in unison: “Everything!!!”

An Update from "The Pied Piper" in Herat

2011-04-25T11:16:00.000-05:00

Hello,

Today had a day off. Good, cuz I was sick all night. It was probably the home-made yoghurt the father made for me. But didn't last too long.

We went for a walk around the neighborhood and down the street with the market and little shops. I had my camera with me and we were taking pictures. I bet they never had tourists here before! We definitely stirred up some attention. But all in good way. A man in his breadshop called us over to take photos, and we checked out how they made bread – they bake it deep in a hole in the floor and then lift it out, flat and round and hot and fresh – and we got some to eat. Mmm, naan! As we continued on, a man here and there would come up to Michael to engage in conversation and ask where we're from and whenever we would stop to chat, a crowd would gather to check us out. (I noticed they never addressed me or Joanna; and of course they didn’t because that would be very inappropriate, men are not supposed to talk to women they do not know on the street.) School had let out and the street was filling with little school girls in ‘nun’s habits’ eating ice cream, and soon a bunch of them were gathered around us, giggling and whispering, and following us down the street like we were the Pied Piper. But whenever Joanna pulled out the camera they hid their faces in their hijabs. You can't take pictures of women, not even when they're little girls!

As we got home, the neighbors kids were out on the street playing and we yucked it up with them again, as we had before, it's become a game of making faces and playing monster. This adds to the novelty of our presence, I’m sure, because I imagine no adult, and definitely no woman, would play like that with them and make funny movements and faces -- on the street! Crazy foreigners! After we had entered our house (behind a large iron gate, most Afghan houses are hidden behind a wall and gate), there was a loud banging. I opened up, and there were three of the school girls again. Don't know how they found us (we had left them behind further down the street), but I guess it's not that difficult, since we're the only foreigners in town. Come to the market with us! they shouted. Come, let's go! Now? Yes, now! Well, maybe another day, ok? We were actually quite tired at this point, and I really needed a nap. That was funny, though, and so sweet, that they were so excited at meeting us that they came to get us to go to the market with them. Badan mebinim! (See you later!)

Later in afternoon, someone was coming over to fix the refrigerator that wasn't working (although they had just bought it). We were told the man was Taliban so we better stay in our rooms and not show ourselves. Well, the man was Pashtun, and to our hosts (who are Hazara) any Pashtun man who wears a turban is Taliban, which of course isn't true, but I guess it's good to play it safe!

We also spoke with a young man who was here on visit, but works down in the Helmand province (next to Kandahar) as an interpreter for the US Marines. He said it was very dangerous, for him as someone working for the Americans, and for us if we wanted to go there, because [finger across throat], they'll behead us all. And it doesn't help that he's Hazara. They don't like us cuz we're foreigners? Joanna asks. Pashtuns don't like anyone who's not Pashtun, he says.

Another fun day in Afghanistan!

Anna's First Update from Herat

2011-04-19T14:43:00.000-05:00

From ensemble member Anna, April 7:

Salam! Chestor asti? Khob astom! Here I am in Herat, and am picking up some good Dari phrases. After a month of living here, I’ll be speaking like a native. Not quite. But little by little, able to do some simple communication.

We are living with our theater hosts’ family. Monirah, the director of Simorgh, the theater company we're working with here in Herat, is fantastic. She’s 26 years old and has already produced several plays and films, together with her husband Hakim. Well, actually they’re not quite married yet, though they finally got engaged, a bit of a scandal here.

She’s a free-thinking modern young woman, but is having to adhere to local customs (which she gripes about). To that end, she dresses in the chador whenever she is out on the street, like all women here. This is basically a large sheet, black or with white flowers or sometimes grey, swept around the body and held tight with the hands under the chin, so only the face shows. There are still women who wear the blue burqa, too. When inside, all women (and girls over 9) still wear a head scarf if there is a male present who is not close family. So because Michael is in the house, her mother and herself and her younger sister wear head scarves, but otherwise they wouldn’t. Joanna and I don’t bother when in the house. Since her father said to me: “You’re like my daughter!” I figure we’re family now and I don’t have to. And Michael is family to us too (me and Joanna). So there. But the grand father came for a visit the other night, and the father ran up to me quickly and said: “Anna, Anna!” and gestured to put my head scarf on. Because the grand father is very old school, very conservative. He does not, by the way, approve of Monirah’s choice of husband (to be), and has not spoken to the family for a long time.

In any case, the family is very welcoming to us, the father is really great and good-humored, and the mother is sweet. They cook us fabulous Afghan food. We are eating like kings -- yummy vegetable dishes, salad, yoghurt and great bread. We eat on the floor on a plastic table cloth (called the ‘sofra’), that’s the Afghan way. And drink lots of green tea –wherever we go, we’re offered tea, even in a shop.

We are in a new suburb to Herat called Jabraiel (it's being built as we speak, everywhere partial structures in process of construction). It’s where all the Hazara live. The Hazara are an ethnic people in Afghanistan and are very much discriminated against, especially by the Pashtuns (who consider themselves the only true Afghans). The Hazare are supposedly descendants of Djengis Khan, and have Asian features. The day after we arrived was a holiday and Monirah’s family and many many others went to a picnic area near a mountain. There some Tajik guys took a photo of a Hazara girl (and you do not take photos of girls!), so her brothers asked them to stop and to delete the pics; some soldiers came up (who happened to be Tajik too) and suddenly opened fire, and two random Hazaras got killed. This was extremely upsetting to Monirah, who started crying when she heard. It’s distressing because this kind of thing happens a lot. Of course, it didn’t help that we were in the midst of an intense political discussion about the state of Afghanistan and its future, as she got the news.

The day we arrived is when they had protests because of the Koran-burning. However, it was pretty small here in Herat (although later I was told there were up to 3,000 protesters and that is still quite a crowd). We were advised not to hang about town for a couple of days. But everything is fine. Things are peaceful here. It’s down in Kandahar, and in the east, Jalalabad, and now up in the north too, Mazar-i-Sharif, where the Taliban are causing trouble. We walk down the street and nobody bothers us, although we got lots of looks. There aren’t any other foreigners here, so we are quite a sight. And Joanna and I are not wearing the chador-sheets, although we of course wear long tunics and loose pants, or long skirts, with head scarf. People stare at us like we’re aliens, men, women and children alike. Some looks do appear a bit disapproving and hostile, from some men in particular, but mostly it’s just shock and awe. In general, people here are friendly and welcoming.

We have started teaching workshops, and are working with a group of very talented young girls, age 12-20, and some boys, too. It is really fantastic that there’s a theater group here, I must say, and with so many girls, and that their families let them come and be part of it! Considering how conservative and traditional the area is, one might expect any such activity to be entirely suppressed here in Herat and certainly if involving girls. And yet Herat has historically been the cradle of Afghan culture. For sure, engaging in theater here is not without controversy, without its risks and problems. Theater is certainly not considered a respectable activity here, let alone profession (nor did it use to be in the US or Europe, and perhaps still isn't). Really, theater is a foreign concept, and thus suspect. For certain, it is not something respectable young girls should partake in. Women are not supposed to show themselves (off) in public, so to be on a stage and be looked at – unthinkable! And who knows what kind of untoward activities they’ll have to engage in… Moving their bodies – scandalous! Being loud and expressive – outrageous! And, God forbid, intermingling on stage with the opposite sex. At Kabul University where they have an acting department, there is not one single female acting student among about 200 male students. In fact, Monirah's sister Tahira is just now entering the university and she will be the first female acting student ever! Go Tahira!

Michael's First Update from Herat: On Youth

2011-04-13T11:15:00.003-05:00

Greetings friends and family.

We are into week three in our six week project in Afghanistan, the last 9 days being here in Jabraiel, near Herat. (Jabraiel is the Afghan name for the angel Gabriel). It’s good work; the members of Simorgh Theatre and Film are completely enthusiastic, soaking up all our exercises, and totally wearing us out. There are 35 members, ages 12 to 24. It’s a young company, but very well organized with a number of international performances, including Germany and India.

Simorgh is the first of four companies around Afghanistan that we will be working with over these two years. The project, sponsored by the US Institute for Peace and the US Embassy in Kabul, is to create with each company a series of issue-related performances that they can market to NGO’s and government ministries. Basically, we are giving the companies the tools to generate earned income. This week we were sharing various theatre techniques with the Simorgh actors and Monireh Heshemi, their Artistic Director. At 26, Monireh is smart, devoted, and well respected by her actors. Her command of English is quite good, so translation has not been a problem.

As it happens, the members of this acting troupe are all Hazara, the ethnic minority of Afghanistan’s four main tribal groups. Actually, almost all the inhabitants in Jabraiel are Hazara (think Chinatown, Spanish Harlem, or other such neighborhood). As this project requires the company to do 10 performances, and ethnicity can be a hot issue, we asked the company if there would be a problem if we booked a performance in another community of, say, Tajiks or Pashtuns. So check out the answer of sixteen year old Rahelah:

“When we choose to do theatre it is our task and duty to reflect on the problems and pains in society. It is not important who is the audience, if we have an opportunity to affect a good change in people and society it is our task and duty to do it."

Right on! That’s a pretty impressive quote, and to hear Rahelah proclaim it makes all the stress of our travels vanish like the fog in a breeze. Her answer is testimony to the very real desire of many Afghans to transcend the conflicts and build a peaceful society.

Rahelah is a young woman enjoying the opportunity to pursue her interest in acting. That she is allowed to do so in her immediate society of family and friends, and that there is a local theatre company here for her is pretty remarkable. Yeah, there is a certain stigma in this conservative society about women appearing on stage, but the real issue is the economic one… theatre is just not considered a viable career. Sounds familiar. Which is why we’re helping with possible solutions, working with NGO’s and schools and government ministries. It’s a start.

We’ve just started working on the specifics of the performances, and that will be the subject of the next entry.

Photos from our Haiti trip

2011-03-27T08:29:00.002-05:00

Check it out: Bond Street Theatre In Haiti

We feel so much stronger now!

2011-03-27T08:17:00.001-05:00

Finally posting some of my thoughts here from our Haiti trip:

Working with the women of FAVILEK has been amazing. On the first day of workshop, Sylvie, an older woman, comes up to me when she arrives and gives me a big kiss on each cheek. Such joy and spirit and love! There is a sense of great enthusiasm and excitement for our work together.

We start the workshops off with warm-up games for fun and play and energy. We do trust exercises such as leading a blind partner, running blindly into another's arms with all your might, and letting yourself fall trusting that the group is there to catch you. Not only are these 15 artist members of FAVILEK learning to strengthen their core ensemble as a theater group, but they have committed to share this training with other women and girls in their support sessions. So we try to include creative exercises that are useful for psychosocial support, to build self-esteem, confidence and empowerment, as well as for theatrical work. We explore physical and emotional expression through mime and movement play and we do simple acrobatics, too.

But mostly, we work a lot on focus and cohesion as an ensemble. We have everyone walk around within a designated space focusing on being aware of themselves, the space and each other. We then work on choreographic movement and on moving together as a chorus. First, the women are scattered and unfocused and all over the place. There is no purpose to their movement or engagement. But then a beautiful transformation takes place as they start to develop a shared sensitivity and explore creating powerful images together. As Christina so aptly described it below: "imagine the transformation of 15 individuals walking around like psych wards patients in nonsensical circles within a square on the floor to 15 empowered, strong women who command the space and move as one." And the women did indeed feel empowered.

At the end of our three and a half days of workshops, we sit down together in a circle to talk about the experience. How do you feel now, what did you gain, what did you enjoy? They exclaim: "We feel so much stronger now!" Individually, and as an ensemble. Merina, who's quite the spitfire, tells us how here in Haiti things can get dangerous, there are demonstrations and violence, and now she feels strong enough to run and to fight! Wow.

Grandma Sylvie, the eldest, walks up to me and puts her arms around my hips to lift me up. As if to demonstrate her newfound strength. And she does lift me! And then she cradles me like a baby and sings to me. She then goes to Josh to lift him (and Josh is a big guy), and she probably would have done it, but Josh preempts her action and swings her up in his arms instead. And after that they dance.

"Voulez-vous danser? Oui, danser!" I discovered last time I was in Haiti how much people like to sing and dance, and Favilek is no different. So I introduce this little dancing game I learned from the gals in Grande Goave. And we had a blast with that. "Alors, fais comme ca!"

Then the women teach me and Christina a song from their last show with accompanying movements, which was really beautiful to do together. It had a sad air about it, but at least it ends on an upbeat note with "la vie est belle" or "life is beautiful."

Christina Shook Hands with the Michael Jackson...

2011-02-24T12:12:00.001-05:00

... of Haiti!

Here is an update from Bond Street Theatre ensemble member Christina Pinnell, who is currently in Haiti.

During our workshop planning session on Monday, we had a chance encounter with Haitian singer, Gracia Delva in our hotel. He was very kind and asked us about our work. He also encouraged us to go outside of Port au Prince and work in the countryside, which we are already planning to do. We aren't entirely sure what he said, but Morlon seems convinced that he will invite us to hang out with him and Wyclef Jean in his "palace" and we will get to do shows with children and then Bond Street will be in a movie. Here's hoping! At least he has our card.

Monday was our first workshop day with the artist members of FAVILEK. We had a late start at first because everyone's clock seems to run at least 30 minutes behind here and then we had to renegotiate the terms of our collaboration. Originally we had agreed to work with 2 groups of 15 women each, one in the morning and one in the afternoon for 5 days. It seems, though, that because of NGO presence in Haiti, most people expect food and transportation to be provided for any sort of workshop or training. We were not prepared for this on our shoestring budget, but with the help of our trusty Haitian partner, Morlon, we were able to make everyone happy. Well, if not happy at least agreed. This cultural misunderstanding brought out a lot of emotions for Anna, Josh and I. Coming from America, where everyone has so much to spare, we of course want to give all that we can. However, when it came down to brass tacks, we could only afford to feed and transport half the original number of women scheduled to attend the workshop. This all came to light in the morning session and we were still expecting the later group. We were prepared to work with the second group just for the day since they were already on their way, however, the FAVILEK members told us it was better that they "didn't get a taste" of the work because they were not going to be able to participate in the whole 4 days. Ultimately, we were there to serve their group, but we were a little shocked by the whole thing. Yet, we have come here to learn and now we know.

In the workshops we have been focusing on strengthening the ensemble and physical expression. We have had some bumps and the women are pretty vocal about what they like and don't like to do. I would say we had a beautiful breakthrough today with a walking in space exercise. We are encouraging them to fill the space and to take turns with focus. I'm not sure how to describe the exercise, but imagine the transformation of 15 individuals walking around like psych wards patients in nonsensical circles within a square on the floor to 15 empowered, strong women who command the space and move as one. Yes, that is a terrible description, but that's what happened today and luckily we have some of it on video. The most important part is the women felt the difference and know they accomplished something through the exercise. I'd say that's pretty cool.

I must say that these women are truly amazing. They each have experienced horrific trauma and tragedy in their lives. Sometimes it is easy to forget that because they are just so open, loving and willing to try what we are presenting. . .until someone asks you if its ok to sit out an exercise because she has bullets lodged in her knee and hip from the coup shootings in '94. That is a pretty sobering reminder. I make a mental note to make sure to ask about injuries at the beginning of our next workshop, but then again that might take up the whole first day. I have to remind myself that though, one commonality the members of FAVILEK share is their traumatic past, namely rape, the more important thing they have in common is the fact that not only have survived, but that they desire to make art and beauty where there is none. Maricia, the first FAVILEK member we met back in January, for lack of a better explanation, lost a chunk of her bicep when her house fell on her in the earthquake. She does have some physical limitations with her arm, but she made some adjustments to the exercises and I'll be damned if she wasn't climbing up on top of the pyramid in the acro section today, These moments are gifts, plain and simple.

Tomorrow is our last day with FAVILEK, but we have a meeting with KOFAVIV and then dinner with Li! Li! Li! in the evening. After the workshop today, we met with Solidarites and will performing for the children in the tent camps in Delmas 60 for the upcoming Carnivale celebrations on March 4th. In between, we will go to Jacmel to perform in the Carnivale there, teach workshops with a Haitian theatre company and hopefully get in a little rest and beach time. Our schedule is packed until we fly home on the 7th, so if you don't here from us, its because we are busy!

Anyway, that's all for now. Bon swa and kiss kiss!

Christina

Haiti Update

2011-02-21T14:06:00.000-05:00

On February 16, BST ensemble members Anna Zastrow, Christina Pinnell, and Joshua Wynter got on a plane to Port-au-Prince. They are kicking off our Haiti project, working with two women's groups KOFAVIV and FAVILEK to use theatre to address the sexual violence in the tent camps. Support this project here.

Here's what Anna has to say!

Here we are in Haiti, all's well so far. Internet connection not so great.

Friday we had a meeting with Favilek main members about workshops, which went really well and everyone's very excited about working with us. We set up a schedule to do workshops next week (Mon-Fri); one group in the morning and one in the afternoon. After that we will see how to proceed for the following week. The plan at this point is to first do general physical theater workshops, and then proceed to work on their show.

Today we presented our show to Favilek, as a first showing with them as our first audience. It went great, they appeared to really enjoy the show. We had great fun together. At the end, they got up and danced with us! One of the older ladies greeted us with kisses when she arrived, and kissed us as we left. This was sweet and lovely.

Morlon has joined us and yesterday we had a full day of rehearsal. He's very expressive and creative. And silly!

Saturday we walked through the neighborhood and further on to find a market where we could buy a bucket. We walked all over. It was no problem. Especially with Morlon with us. We had had (or at least I had) the impression that it wasn't really ok to walk down the street, and we really needed a driver. But this was fine. We walked past several camp communities, and past the presidential building that was in ruins.

Tonight there was pre-carnival festivities. We wanted to go out and find another restaurant down the street as opposed to eating at the hotel restaurant. But all the street lights were out, and it was dark, and it really wasn't a good idea to be walking around out there at that point. Which revealed itself to be true, because when we stepped out for a moment, I was confronted by a very aggressive and hostile man. I didn't understand what he was saying, but politely greeted him with a "bon soir" which apparently aggravated him further.

Morlon then made sure to inform us that this man was not a real Haitian man: he was perhaps born in Haiti, but he was not Haitian, because Haitians are very friendly and generous people.

We are doing the workshops at a space a bit farther away, but we can take a taxi, or walk even (we walked all the way back from the space to the hotel, when we checked it out the other day). So we are not using or paying for a driver and car every day. Some days we will need to, though. (On the other hand, the accommodations are more expensive.)

We are still looking to set up more performances and workshops, and I am in contact with Sinema Anba Zetwal and Solidarite but haven't gotten to meet with them yet. We have not met with Kofaviv yet. We have a full-day workshop planned with Li Li Li on March 2.

That's all for now.

;o]

Anna

Afghan Update: Bamiyan

2010-11-16T13:00:00.002-05:00

Getting ready to go to Bamiyan… it’s a bit dicey because we are driving. There are two routes: the southern way (paved) goes through Wardak which is definitely to be avoided if you are foreign or Hazara since it’s Pashtun and thus potential Taliban territory. The northern route (unpaved) bumps along through mountain passes on roads of rubble and sheer cliffs, but passing only has one danger area, the Pashtun villages in the Ghorban valley. This is not a road really; this is a rugged path carved by hundreds of years of donkeys patiently hoofing their way through the precipices, head down, loaded with every sort of tradable item. These donkeys are relentless, dauntless. We are passing them continuously on the path – they nimbly trot through the rubble as we go bouncing along, rattling teeth and brains. What do donkeys think? Do they think? No matter how huge the load, they just keep walking.

The dangers on this precipitous journey run from robberies to kidnappings, and we aren’t too keen on either. So the entire ride with our non-English speaking driver we are asking if we are approaching, in, or leaving this notorious Ghorban valley. Nothing like a 7 hour scary ride to improve one’s language skills, and my Dari is improving daily. I’ve learned khatar = danger, and checkpoint which has a long name but everyone knows ”checkpoint.”

Passing through one town in the long ride to Bamyan, we pass a sheep being slaughtered, its head severed, still shaking and quivering – still alive. A man stands by casually. Sheep are food; sheep are life. Death is a casual event. Meat hangs in front of every butchery, a gory decoration to me, a vegetarian, but even a bit too vivid for meat-eaters who are used to packaged pieces of animals. A wheelbarrow full of hoofed feet stands by with another row of feet all neatly lined up fill the store window. Without the sheep, people could not live. I hear it’s really tasty, this mutton, so fresh, so tender!

Pulling into Bamyan is a little shock after Kabul. Most small cities (or large towns) are clusters of mud walled lanes shielding homes inside from prying eyes, punctuated by alleyways between them, and a few streets lined with rows of small, open-front shops. Bamiyan has one long street of bazaar that welcomes you into the town. It is the town. There are a few cross streets and a lovely river traversing the town, and then endless farms and mud walled enclaves – all in a flat sprawl between the mountains.

But the most prominent feature in Bamyan is that amazing rocky façade of mountain dotted with caves across its impossibly sheer face, and the two huge empty arches where stone Buddhas once towered until the Taliban blew up these treasured statues. There it stands, the huge wall of caves and niches, right there, visible from anywhere in the city the minute you enter, and right there at the end of my block. It’s not hidden, or a bus ride away, or behind a fence – it’s there – the biggest thing in town. It defines the town in more than reputation but in situation. The wall is omnipresent. Farmers are busy at its base tending to crops just as they’ve done for centuries; herds of sheep or goats traipse along looking for edibles oblivious to this majestic masterpiece of nature and man.

So what did the town do as the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas that stood watching over them for a millennium? Did they all come out to watch? Did they have a protest? Chain themselves to the mountain? No… because before the Taliban blew up the statues, they proceeded to massacre most of the Hazara in the area, going door to door and killing every male, and causing a mass exodus of families over the snowcapped mountains. Babies froze, the elderly faltered, men dressed in burqas, women carried their children until they dropped. Who was left in town to dispute the slaying of statues?

Bamyan is the safest province in Afghanistan (once you get there) and one of the poorest (hence our presence here). The locals feel that, since this is the homeland of the Hazara, the government ignores them and isn’t sending them the money for teachers, schools, training programs, etc. Sounds familiar. So the new idea in Bamyan is eco-tourism. Several key development organizations are assisting in staff training and hotel building, and establishing tour groups and media to bring in tourists. Perhaps in a year or two a kiosk selling souvenirs will open at the mountain base, and then a few more, and then a billboard… but, then again, you can’t keep a valley alive selling ladies fingers (aka okra or bamya in Dari).

I hope that tourism won’t bring those elements that plague Kabul: too many cars, unfettered pollution, pickpockets, beggars, high prices, random dangers for foreigners, etc. Already, we were accosted – or jubilantly surrounded – by a swarm of kids as we passed a makhtab (school). The second they saw us, they ran at us screaming like we were Santa Claus. But there was savvy behind the mania. The children (girls and boys) mimed putting on lipstick – clear message: give me lipstick. And they cling, and pinch, and grab your hat and bags, and yell “qalam” (pen) and “bakhshesh” (gift or tip). Someone has been giving children lipstick and pens. Children are the most needy, the least able to survive… but the mass attack was unnerving. We have experienced this before: after a show in a refugee camp in Macedonia during the Kosovo war, I was literally carried off by the sea of excited kids, as I waved madly at Michael who was similarly being swept away in the other direction. We were suddenly the candy they never tasted.

Speaking of Santa, I see Christmas trees here and there – decorated with shiny balls and all – right here in Afghanistan. “We like Christmas here,” they tell me. Of course, why not? The Christmas event is noted in the Quran along with the virgin birth and angelic visits.

One more word on Bamiyan… the province – the only one with a woman governor – is not as well served by humanitarian organizations as are the areas besieged by war. Many in Bamyan suggest that it would be a better strategy to improve the safest areas, such as Bamyan and Badakhshan, to serve as models for the other provinces. Give Bamyan good schools and hospitals, provide services in the mountain villages, improve agricultural methods and transportation, and let the other provinces get the message that peace attracts aid, not violence. Of course, the counter arguments are many. Every battle-weary village in Ghazni, Qandahar, Helmand or Wardak wants peace. Only the handful of troublemakers that are bought and paid for by another handful of wealthy outsiders who profit from war want its continuance. What family in Uruzgan wants a life of fear and insecurity for their children? None. Some of the most conservative areas may share traditions with their Talib cousins, but no one wants bombs at their son’s wedding or daughter’s school. Families are alike the world over and bemoan their lost children.

from Joanna's Afghan journal

Afghanistan Update: Rameen

2010-11-08T13:56:00.003-05:00

Rameen, our friend from Afghan Communicator who was born in Kabul and raised in the US and now returned to help rebuild the country – one of the few returnees -- says that this is not the Kabul of his youth. It’s full of “hillbillies,” he says. When refugees returned from wherever they went, they all came to Kabul. Add to that the general trend toward urbanization that comes after war, drought and famine, and you have a city full of country bumpkins. They know nothing, Rameen complains, about how to operate in an organized, civil society. They are relentlessly tribal and dismiss anything outside their sphere of understanding – such as, entrepreneurship, modern trade practices, money managing, rewards for merit rather than familial ties, etc.

Rameen has set up a beautiful gallery of arts, from exquisite calligraphy (a famous art of Afghanistan) to crafts, clothing and furniture. He already has money, so he is seeking out the best artists, buying their goods, getting them further training at his expense, and selling their artwork with negligible markup. This kind of support for the arts is rare though, and Rameen returned determined to bring back the arts and to encourage self-respect among fine artists and train them in entrepreneurship. He speaks strongly against turning Afghanistan into a “beggar nation.” All this money flowing into the country is hampering the people’s ability to solve problems and survive on their own. All this building of hospitals and schools but no trained doctors and teachers to fill them.

Okay this was Rameen’s rant but it fits right in with this lack of global coordination of aid.

From Joanna in Kabul.

Afghanistan Update:

2010-11-06T01:33:00.000-05:00

Sorry, since this is our fact-finding journey, so we have more news reportage than uplifting tales about the joys of working with the children. It has been very interesting hearing from each arts group and NGO about their trials and successes. But we are trying to locate the artists that are truly dedicated to the craft and recognize how rewarding and effective it can be, and see beyond the TV cameras and sheltered stages (where only the invited or intellectuals go) and are happy to go out into the rural provinces.

We were invited to give a presentation to the Theatre Program students. For the presentation, Professor Hussainzadah gave a nice opening about our place in new Afghan theatre history and we showed the students our "Theatre for Peace" video with Dari translation (well done by Sharif) for the narration. Then I described the point of the project – that you theatre students have an essential role in improving life in Afghanistan – beyond reviving the art of theatre, beyond being on TV or film – using theatre as a newspaper for the majority of Afghans that live in the provinces and can’t read and have no access to information and don’t know that they have no access to information. Most of the students were heartily in favor of this kind of theatre and ready to sign up then and there. They responded with genuine concern and idealism, not the lure of money.

And then, typically, I had to stir things up – I mentioned an idea I’ve had for awhile, an idea that upon mentioning to my hosts and others, was greeted with tremendous skepticism. The Theatre Program has almost 300 students, and only eight of them are women (and none of them are actors, only playwrights and directors). Here was my ultimate test – idealistic students – all of them male but one. My idea is that the University should create a “women’s theatre group” specifically to perform just for women, and especially for women in the provinces. And where would they gather the women to perform for them? Most villages have rudimentary community centers where the men hang out to smoke and chat, so why not have one night as “women-only night” and only women and their children are allowed. Then we can present our play by women, about women, and for women. I asked them: don’t they see how essential it is – if you have important information about breast-feeding or women’s hygiene or pregnancy, you can’t expect the men to relay this information to the women. You have to reach them directly! Well --- this caused quite a stir! Sharif said that the more prevalent response amid the ruckus was, yes, this may be possible. The others shook their head and said no way was this going to happen. The one woman at our presentation left amid the stir – perhaps she was embarrassed to be the object, even obliquely, of the discussion. (But maybe she just had to go to the loo.)

Rameen had told me a story when I mentioned the idea to him. He said he was advising a women’s group and they complained to him that they wanted to start a Women’s Forum but the men, who had a Men’s Forum, wouldn’t let them. So Rameen asked the men what the problem was. They thought this idea of a Women’s Forum could only mean trouble for them, that the women were going to gang up on them. He then asked the women what they intended to discuss at their Forum and, of course, it was just issues about health and family and the like. Now in Islamic tradition, mothers reign supreme – mothers are tops. So he asked the men if having a Mother’s Forum would be okay. The men said of course it would be fine! So the women established a Mother’s Forum with no problem. Recalling this story, I made sure in my presentation – and especially my question at the end – to refer to Mothers Night at the community center rather than Women-only Night so the men would be more apt to agree.

After the discussion, one group of students came up and informed me that they themselves were doing a show about women’s rights in the provinces – performing for the women. This is allowed: for women to see men perform. I told them that they should also take care to perform for the men too, so they have a better understanding about women’s rights. This group also thought that they could arrange a performance by a group of girls as I had suggested, and that girls would be willing to be on stage and perform if it were under these circumstances.

Interestingly, this student group was all Hazara and, for Americans this means nothing, but for Afghans, the Hazara are the most put-upon tribe/ethnicity. It’s quite comparable to being black – the prejudice is deep-seated, less noticeable in some arenas and huge in others. They are less represented in government, but widely appreciated for their arts; they were decimated during the mujahideen civil war (which was primarily inter-tribal) and are less often hired except among their own businesses. My hosts are all Hazara, and doing very well in business. So it was interesting for Sharif, who is also Hazara and very sensitive to the issue to see a Hazara group perform – they did a short comedy skit during the class – and then speak up about women’s rights. He was quite complimentary about the group’s performing even though he swears little interest in theatre. But he is always very attuned to anything accomplished by Hazara, and consequently Michael and I are now very sensitive to who’s behind the counter in a store, who’s sweeping up, who’s on the bus and who’s driving the bus. It seems things have become more polarized in Kabul – neighborhoods are more clearly defined by tribe and Sharif feels more comfortable driving in certain areas. Hazara are considered the descendants of Genghis Khan, an outside invader from centuries ago, because Hazara look slightly Chinese. It’s remarkable that this feature remains after all this time, I assume because there isn’t much inter-tribal marriage. Also, and maybe more important, prejudice is doubled because the Hazara are Shia and most of Afghanistan is Sunni.

From Joanna in Kabul

Afghan Update: The Role of Theatre

2010-11-02T12:56:00.002-05:00

Theatre is a good solution to the information problem. It really is effective in the few places it goes…. but it’s just not generally accepted. That's partly because it doesn’t sound proper, but mostly because people don’t know what it is! It’s as though they never had a tradition of theatre. In fact, Afghanistan enjoyed a long history of traveling actor-poet-comedians who roamed the country acting out stories from Islamic and mythical tales with one fellow acting all the parts with different voices and accoutrements. But a collective of actors on the stage didn’t emerge until the early 1900s and came into its own in the 50’s and 60’s. Even a women’s theatre was formed in 1958 for audiences of all women. Gradually the audiences for these plays were mixed men and women. Then, as we know, the best actors fled the country during the Russian invasion, then the civil war in the 90’s, and the Taliban finally put the theatre into the grave.

So you have a country of mostly deeply traditional, rural, uneducated people in the provinces, cities full of these country folk who come to the city for work, a huge expatriate population of the best Afghan actors and intellectuals scattered about the globe, and youngsters growing up today who have no knowledge of theatre or memory of any tradition of theatre. Even the students entering the Theatre program at the University, reports one of the Theatre instructors, actually do not know what "theatre" is. How would they know? What have they seen in their province? So why are they there? They are there because they have seen people on TV but they have no knowledge of live theatre and no idea that one might perform for a live audience. Really, Salahuddin, one of the teachers says he is amazed (he has the 1st and 2nd year students) that they have no knowledge of live performance whatsoever, having never encountered it.

He begs us please send DVDs of performances -- Shakespeare, Brecht, Ibsen -- anything from the Western tradition so they can see a play. We left a full version of "Beyond the Mirror" and small excerpts from four of our productions, but we are not classical theatre, we are symbolic, non-realistic, physical-visual theatre... which is good too. But they need exposure to everything so they will get a balanced view of theatre from many genres. The Germans sent in a puppetry teacher who taught the animation of objects, but he didn’t teach puppet-making, so they have a successful puppet theatre now sponsored by the Goethe Institute, but the puppets are rough and amateurish looking. However, the children love the puppets all the same.

Theatre is so unknown that it presents a problem to tackle right off when trying to go into the provinces. We have to find some forward-thinking village leader who will take a chance. Then when they see that this thing called theatre is funny and amusing and educational, they like it… mostly. Once, Parwaz Puppet Theatre told us, they did about half the show and had to quickly pack up and leave a village. Yet we saw photos of them in the mountains of Bamiyan, with the villagers carrying their gear up and up and up the mountain with them tagging along behind. Then, after all this lugging of gear, the villagers loved the show! They said this was one of their most rewarding performances because, really, these people so far up in the hills never dreamed of something like their puppet show (about children’s rights). We had the same experiences in Pakistan in one refugee camp where we had to leave in a big hurry, and the same completely rewarding experience taking our show to remote villages around Andkhoi (a small town) where people flocked from miles around to see the amazing show! Our experience is – and same with the theatre groups we spoke to – people may be very skeptical and disapproving to start, but almost always, when they see the funny-business and imaginative puppets or characters or antics and music, they just love it. And they see that it is not un-Islamic and actually carries a good message for their children. And everywhere, people love their children.

from Joanna in Kabul

Afghan Update: Meetings, NGOs, and International Aid

2010-11-01T11:28:00.003-05:00

We have had great meetings... with Kabul University, theatre groups, NGOs, old friends, cultural organizations, etc. and the Embassy. Everyone has been very happy to see us, interested in the project, hopeful for its success, and yes... they do see dollar signs when they look at us, but most have been genuinely helpful, interested and generous.

Prof. Hussainzadah, the head of the Theatre Department at Kabul University was our first stop – he knows everyone in the theatre business in all of Afghanistan, and has been introducing us to every director of note and the most promising students and inviting us to the important events. Fortunately there was a big Arts Festival at the famous Bagh-e Babur (Babur’s Garden) that attracted directors and artists from all the provinces. We met the Directors of the National Theatres in Herat, Mazar, Jalalabad and Jowzjan Provinces, and have gotten a good sense of what their needs are, who funds them, how they survive, and their hopes or doubts about the future. And we’ve met some of the smaller theatre groups and see how they survive. In a nutshell – foreign money.

The Goethe Institute is the big funder for arts here, and the Norwegians. There’s money flowing into Afghanistan from everywhere, for every purpose, for odd scraps of time… and it’s completely disorganized. No one seems to coordinate with anyone else. Wouldn’t it be great if the Norwegians, who are sending four actresses here to work with the girls at the University for one week (!) to coordinate with us who will be working for five months, and with the French who only seem to bring Afghans to France for extended study, with the Germans who fund this and that theatre group with no communication with anyone else?

It’s really a lesson for us to stay in touch with these groups so we can try to coordinate a plan to move theatre forward in some concerted way. For example, the theatre director from Herat said every foreign group that comes in a requests they do a play about HIV-AIDS. So you have dozens of plays about AIDS and the real issues of water use, agri-practices, anti-corruption, or whatnot are ignored. I get the gist – these are all fine ideas but it might be better to let the Afghans make some decisions about what is important to address. But the counter to that is – the Afghans only want to line their own personal pockets and aren’t looking at the big picture. And the government – that does look at the whole picture – is too corrupt to organize and implement anything. Sigh.

from Joanna in Kabul

On the Road in Afghanistan

2010-10-28T14:43:00.002-05:00

Hello from sunny Afghanistan!

We hit the ground running and have been running ever since! The days are packed and endlessly interesting. Although much time is spent being stuck in traffic which is always interesting to us -- a chance to see life as it dodges between the cars -- but pretty trying for our driver. Yes we have a driver just like those big NGOs do.

Where to begin? Things are really remarkably normal here in Kabul... that is, normal for Kabul. I have noticed lots of changes since last time: MANY more cars, fewer donkey carts in the city center, roads still not paved even in fancy neighborhoods, fewer huge piles of trash, shorter and more fitted dresses on the girls with skinny jeans underneath, fewer traffic lights and more traffic police, more checkpoints at night, fewer bikes, pretty consistent electricity, lots of new buildings and fancy houses, and remarkably few foreigners... unless they are all hiding. But life goes on here in a very daily way and people seem oblivious to any imminent dangers. I am thoroughly amazed to see how cars, donkey carts, bikes, sheep, goats, motorbikes and people cram the streets dodging every which way and somehow missing each other.

Just to fill y’all in on our immediate environment, we are staying in one of those fabulous houses that I usually make fun of – the “wedding cake” houses or “Pakistani” houses as people call them. Typical of all Afghan homes, the house is behind very tall walls to maintain privacy for the women and family. This house is very lovely inside with a spiral stairway and a foyer and 4 rooms, a kitchen, and two bathrooms on each floor. The first floor is for general cooking and dining, and the next two floors are offices or bedrooms. We have the entire third floor to ourselves, and Zahir, our host, has the second floor for his business as a contractor for supplies for the US military (yep – but no guns, other stuff from paper clips to furniture). The house has a nice roof patio and balconies on each floor done in the most lavish mosaic with mirrors and tile.
It would be quite grand except Kabul is immensely, amazingly dusty… and this is an understatement. The combination of unpaved streets, plethora of cars, arid climate and windy evenings makes for a layer of dust on everything and everyone. In this environment, a burqa isn’t a bad idea. Many men wear scarves over their heads and around their faces. Women cover their faces with their headscarves to keep out the dust more than modesty here. After a day out and about, my hair feels like straw and cannot possibly be combed.
Our hosts are the best! Zahir and his company are lovely and generous beyond belief. They take care for our every step and will not allow us to travel unattended despite our years of taxi-taking and casual walks around town. I appreciate their concern and, although this level of luxury is quite new for us after years of trudging the dusty streets on foot and taxi, it’s pretty great having a driver. We are staying in this fabulous house for free and their cook makes everyone lunch daily and makes us three meals a day! His vegetable curry is to die for and his spinach rocks (if spinach can rock). I have no idea of the spices he uses but it’s not like Indian curry, it’s very flavorful but not hot at all. Our escort/driver/translator, Sharif, takes us around to meetings in his big white Toyota SUV with some extra gears for those crazy hills (Kabul is mountainous too) and winding streets that are beyond bumpy into axle-breaking perilousness. This is terrain that actually needs an SUV…. and he in fact broke an axle going up one particularly windy route. Fortunately we have this particular journey on video!
Sharif is a bit macho and has no interest in the arts whatsoever (again, having no experience of WTF it is, how could he care), but translates to the best of his knowledge and asks for explanations as needed for words like “collaboration” or “improvisation,” and he understands the idea of what I am now calling “information theatre” or “informational theatre.” "Social theatre" or "Applied theatre" just doesn't make sense to anyone here where words are translated literally, directly from the dictionary.

I have many other stories to relay, and will have more to follow!

from Joanna in Kabul

Kadmus Arts Wants to Know How We Do What We Do

2010-08-31T13:35:00.000-05:00

Ana Maria Harkins called us recently on behalf of the podcast at KadmusArts.com. KadmusArts.com is a site for the festival community: the organizers, the sponsors, the artists, and most importantly, the audiences. They're familiar with our reputation performing in festivals all over the world and wanted to know more about how our International Artistic-Humanitarian programming worked.

"If you want to get information to an area of high illiteracy, you can't hand out a flyer," explains Joanna when asked about how the versatile application of theatre and the arts works in communities in crisis. "So you get together a theatre company, and they put together a show in a flash about polio vaccines. ... You have to dispel the mythology in a practical way, especially in a place like Afghanistan, so that when the medical team follows up, the town is prepared."

For more on what makes every kid in every country laugh and where we're going next with our Artistic-Humanitarian programming, listen to the podcast interview.

Thanks to KadmusArts.com and Ana Maria for chatting us up!

###

Myanmar in May! Part II

2010-06-07T08:59:00.010-05:00

Here is the continuation of our experiences in Myanmar in May:

It’s time to get this show on the road! May 15 we embark on a tour to the Mon and Karen States east of Yangon. We are going to perform for children in the monastic schools.

Monasteries run schools for poor children of the neighborhood who cannot afford regular public school (which charges tuition) and for children taken in by the monasteries because they have no parents or their parents are too poor to care for them. Sometimes these kids come from far away remote places and, therefore, live permanently at the monasteries, even those who still have parents. Many parents are away working at the border to Thailand where there is a lot of trade, and the children were living with relatives until they came to the monastery. So, essentially, these children are orphaned. They are “economic orphans” as some have termed it.

* * *

When we first arrived in Myanmar, we were told that our initial plan of doing a tour around Mon and Karen States was not going to be possible due to security concerns with the increasingly sensitive political situation. Just in the past month, the situation has gotten worse with several bombings in Yangon as well as Mon State. The upcoming elections have created a lot of tension.

We are eager to bring our work to as many places as we can, and our Burmese friends were gung-ho to go as well. They know the local authorities well in the particular areas where they had planned for us to travel to and are not worried about getting permissions. (In Myanmar, foreigners, and locals as well, are not able to go just anywhere; you need to receive permission from the authorities, and especially if you wish to do such a thing as perform! Officially, public assembly of more than five persons is prohibited.) The embassy tells us to wait and see until after May 6, which is the deadline for all opposition parties to register for the elections and which might trigger unrest. In the meantime, plan on doing a local tour around the Yangon area. In actuality, what appears to have been a concern is the U.S. State Department visit coinciding with our being here, which could possibly cause friction. But everything goes smoothly and things are calm, so in the end we are informed it is fine to resume our original plan. Yey!

* * *

Off we go in our hired van, all seven of us plus a driver. We leave early in the morning on the 15th and drive all day until finally we arrive in the late afternoon – at the beach! Wow. Nice. Our first stop is the small beach town of Setse (southern Mon State). The plan is to do a show in the early morning in the midst of the market. How fun! Unfortunately, the permission initially given is revoked and we are informed we must leave the area. Because our performance in Setse was nixed, it is deemed prudent to forego performing in the bigger town next door as well, Mawlamyine, because it’s the same regional authority presiding over both, and while we’re at it, it’s best to skip going to Kayin (Karen) state altogether, because of the checkpoint we have go through. Things look a little tense. So it is decided that we will head straight back up to Kyaiktho (pronounced ‘Chai-toe’) and see if we can still do some shows there. I sure hope so!

But first we take a dip in the ocean! Mmmm… it’s warm like bath water! After hot and dusty days in Yangon, and a long drive, it sure is refreshing to be by the sea. And how nice to wake up on the morning of May 16 in a quaint little seaside hotel (ok, a run-down rickety shack) right on the beach on what just happens to be my birthday! Good timing!

* * *

Upon arrival to Kyaiktho after about a four-hour drive, we luckily get the green light to perform. We make our way up a little red dirt road to a small monastery compound. Stories of Buddha on giant placards line part of the way. A monk blows a whistle and after a minute children emerge from all directions, amass and trot off to the performing area, which is on a small hillside under a giant tree. We perform for about 200 children or so and they are a great audience, curious and excited.

After the show, we chat with the Sayadaw (meaning senior monk, or abbot, in Burmese), and Joanna asks him what issues we ought to address in our show, what do the children need to learn? Going to the toilet, says the Sayadaw. Many of the children come from the jungle and just go in the bushes, they need to learn to use the toilet. Unfortunately, I remark to myself, the toilets they have, at least the one I used, are so filthy it would be more hygienic to just go in the bushes! The toilets need to be kept clean if they are to advance good hygiene.

On this note, at another monastery, the Sayadaw affirms the importance of teaching the children to wash their hands but informs us that the children often have no soap to use (and sometimes barely water). Well, not much use preaching hygiene if the elements to facilitate it aren’t provided. So, we are teaching the lesson of the importance of washing one’s hands to the kids, but we apparently also need to teach the lesson (to the adults) of obtaining soap and water! Is soap really that expensive that they cannot afford a few bars? Well, some of the people in these areas can barely afford rice, so I guess in the end they have to make a choice whether to eat or to wash. In the future, perhaps we had better bring soap with us and hand out to the kids as part of the show! But that soap will, of course, only last so long -- I wonder what an effective long-term solution could be for this hygiene dilemma. Something to think about. Any ideas?

Our second day (May 17) we drive to Kayin (Karen) state, after all. The monastery phoned and insisted we come. Apparently, the Sayadaw there is greatly respected and exerts a certain degree of authority. So we are able to perform without a problem. We had a little adventure getting through the checkpoint, which I will not elaborate upon here, except to say we made it safely through, not to worry! The monastery here is a huge compound containing several large school buildings. One of them has a mural on the wall with the Kayin national flag and an inscription in the Kayin language behind a small free-standing blackboard. Many students who come here only speak Kayin (as opposed to Burmese).

The Kayins are an ethnic group that has been embroiled in a fight for autonomy for over sixty years. Sporadic fighting continues and the ongoing insurgency has resulted in thousands of refugees and many orphaned children. Outside of the one main city, Hpa-an, where we are, there is very little infrastructure and limited educational opportunities. Thus, many children are sent to a monastery, such as this one, in order to receive schooling.

We visit another monastery (back in Mon state), very small and very much poorer, and upon arrival I notice a little girl standing in the doorway. I approach to say hello. The other couple of kids around us are curious and spontaneous and playful, as kids are, reacting to my goofiness as can be expected. She is very serious, and her expression does not change. She remains in the doorway, not moving, not reacting. I wonder what has happened to her that she is so sad? During the performance, I keep an eye on her, sitting in the front row, to see what effect the show might have on her, to see if she’ll laugh. Her face lights up in a smile for a moment. I am informed that she is newly arrived from a remote area of Kayin state. Many of the children here come from a mountainous jungle region, which is extremely difficult to access. In order to make their way here, the children have to walk for many hours just to get to the nearest road for transportation. Therefore, the children do not go back during school holiday, they stay here at the school year-round. These are the children we perform for today. (It happens to be summer in Myanmar, so school is out and many children have gone home – most to help their parents work in the rice fields or sell goods). This particular child’s mother had recently died and her father remarried a woman who apparently did not treat her kindly. They left to work at the border, as is quite common, leaving her behind. Finally, she was sent here. She does not speak Burmese, only Kayin. So sad to see her so sad! And I wish we could have stayed longer to play a little more. I hope that our visit lit a little bit of light inside her heart.

While in Kayin state we go to a second monastery as well, a smaller branch of the main one. This one is out in the countryside and we drive for quite a long time. I didn’t realize this when I jumped up in the back of the pick-up truck! It’s a long, bumpy ride in the hot sun. As we drive, I suddenly hear music playing and we come upon a group of kids in the middle of the road who surround our vehicle asking for donations. In return, we get a cold drink. Just what I needed! At the school, we perform inside with all the kids seated on the floor, dressed in sailor-style white and blue school uniforms. By the time we start the show, the room is packed. There are probably four hundred children and adults in attendance. As part of an improvised pre-show, I say hello to the kids and decide to demonstrate my newly acquired expertise in Burmese (How are you, my name is Anna, nice to meet you, etc.) But all I get back are blank stares. It turns out, they don’t speak Burmese! So much for that. Luckily, at lunch I had picked up a few Kayin phrases which I had written down in my little notebook. "Asso lassan!" (Hello! in Kayin, spelled phonetically). This goes over much better. How are you, I continue. Applause! Now we’re talking!

I have so many stories, but this will have to do for now. More may follow later.

All in all we perform at seven monasteries in Mon and Kayin states, one in Bago on the way back to Yangon, and four times in the Yangon area, for a total of almost 3,000 children.

* * *

Myanmar in May! Part I

2010-05-27T14:55:00.012-05:00

Bond Street Theatre is off on its new adventure as Cultural Envoys to Burma (Myanmar)! For three weeks, at the behest of the U.S. Dept. of State’s Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs, we will be working with local artists towards creating a theatrical piece together, as well as performing a clown-y show for children in the monastery schools. Traveling this time are Joanna & Michael and Yours Truly - who’s writing this blog entry - Anna Zastrow. I have known Bond Street for about a decade now and have been directly and actively involved with for the last two. If you saw The Mechanical, I played one of the Zannis – the two comedic sidekicks - together with Joanna.

(That's me on the left - Joanna Sherman on the right)

It’s so exciting to finally be joining forces with Joanna and Michael on one of their international outreach projects!

* * *

PART I

We took off on May 1, 2010 and arrived in Rangoon (Yangon) Sunday evening, May 2. We have had a very busy schedule so there has not been much time to take notes and to post updates on the blog! Internet access is very sketchy.

Myanmar, as the country now calls itself, is run by a military dictatorship. Any dissent is suppressed and only some internet sites are accessible. Usually Gmail is ok, but even that gets an "access denied" at times. Unfamiliar sites such as the Bond Street Blog are by default blocked. But sometimes there are ways around it.

Background on “Burma” vs. “Myanmar”: When the junta took over the regime, they decided that Burma would henceforth be called Myanmar, and the capital city of Rangoon would be referred to as Yangon. Burma and Rangoon were names ascribed by the British during their colonial rule. Burma actually refers to the Burmese people, a specific ethnic group in the country, whereas there are many other ethnicities as well, and of course they do not wish to be referred to as Burmese nor as living in "Burma". Thus, the name of Myanmar is a general name that includes all peoples of this country. It is the name that the people of this country prefer to use to refer to its nation and its language. However, because it was the military junta that chose to name it thus, and as its regime is not recognized by the U.S. and the West, the United States officially still refers to the country as Burma. Calling it Myanmar would be to legitimize the regime. For myself, I'm confused as to which name I ought to use. But since my Burmese friends -- or, rather, my Myanmar friends -- use the term Myanmar, I will use this term as well.

There is much to say about the political situation here, recent history, and the current circumstances of living affected by this, but I will delve further into that later.

Joanna, Michael & Anna with
Public Affairs Officer Richard Mei and family

* * *

Creating a Contemporary Theatre Scene
We are working with four local artists who are interested in exploring and developing further the state of theater in Myanmar. As Joanna mentioned in conjunction with Bond Street’s last trip, there is no real theater scene here. There used to be more theater, but with the oppressive regime, it has withered rather than flourished. Our Burmese friends wish to resurrect and develop a vibrant, active and contemporary theater scene that addresses the issues of the day and looks to the future.

At this point, I am not going to specify by name our Burmese artist friends for security reasons. This may change. Suffice it to say they have been hired as Theater Specialists by a local artist organization and have started a new theater company. They are all men ranging in age from 19 to 44. (Soon we hope some Myanmar women will join them!).

We are here to share our theater experience with the Burmese artists, to inspire them to develop new ideas and possibilities for Burmese theater. As they requested, we brought several books on theater that they might wish to read and draw from (such as Impro by Keith Johnstone, The Viewpoints Book by Anne Bogart,
Theater Games for the Classroom by Viola Spolin, and Tricks of the Trade by Dario Fo.
And on a further level, we are here to collaborate and develop a theatrical piece together.

At first, I was under the impression we would be holding workshops sharing theater techniques and approaches with them; that is, I thought we would be teaching more. But as it turns out, we jumped straight in to rehearsing and exploring how we can collaborate on putting together a theatrical piece, and we have been full up with this. The emphasis has been on developing a theatrical piece on a theme we decided to explore. And we have been hard at work everyday!

Building the Serious, Making the Funny
Our Myanmar colleagues suggested we build a piece around the theme of waiting. This is a big issue in Myanmar, and certainly something Westerners can relate to as well -- waiting for the bus, waiting at the doctor's office or the emergency room, waiting at the DMV, always having to wait in one way or another for something to be done or to get to do something or to be approved by the powers that be so one can go on with one's life and go about one's business. And then on a more philosophical and existential level, one might ponder life as one long wait for death to arrive…!

In Myanmar, this is magnified tenfold. The authority is a military dictatorship, so one has no choice but to be nice and comply - or else. You are at the mercy of whoever happens to be in authority - whether they feel like keeping you waiting or approving something, or not. One of the artists we're working with is currently trying to obtain a passport (and as a former political prisoner, he is especially at the mercy of the authorities’ whim), so this situation very much hits home for him at this time.

We explore various situations and scenarios on this theme and start to piece something together from improvisations. Our focus – the usual approach of Bond Street Theatre – is to use a physical theatrical language (rather than verbal) - that is, to find physical actions to express ourselves and the situation, and dynamic movements that will create compelling visual imagery. Little by little, something of substance begins to take shape. Eventually, as we continue our collaboration in the future, our exploration will develop into a full-fledged theatrical production to be performed in both Myanmar and the States.

We are having a great time working together. In our warm-up exercise, everyone is really well connected and in sync and creatively expressive. Our Burmese artist friends are starting to be a bit more assertive in rehearsal, offering ideas and suggestions, which is good. We want ideas to come from them! Especially as we are working on depicting Burmese life. They’re the experts on this - not us! We start to consider further what the theme is, really, that we are exploring. What do we want the show to be about ultimately? Beyond waiting, what is the reality and the experiences of Myanmar life that we may wish to explore? We discuss the history and current circumstances of Myanmar – and let possibilities ruminate.

Apart from this - our "serious" show - as we call it for want of a better word, we are also working on creating another show geared towards children that we can perform in the monasteries. This is our "funny" show to bring joy and laughter to the kids. We incorporate some of the classic slapstick of Bond Street’s repertoire together with several Burmese songs that our friends teach us. From this, a narrative theme develops based on an issue we are asked to address: washing your hands before you eat! The importance of this is something many children here do not yet understand. Washing your hands after you go to the toilet and washing your hands before you eat. As a result, kids may get stomach sickness and walk around with infected sores all over their bodies. It is possible that some children in poor neighborhoods are so used to dirt and garbage everywhere that they have developed an immune system against this from early on. Nonetheless, not washing is still a serious issue.

The first ten days, we spent workshopping and rehearsing: in the morning, our "serious" show, and in the afternoon, our "funny" show for the kids. Then it’s show time!

We first try our show out for the local neighborhood kids in an empty dirt lot, where the young men like to play soccer in the afternoons.

We perform in the morning to avoid the heat. Let me tell you, it is hot, hot, hot here! We sure picked a great time to come - the hottest time of year - and not only that, it is apparently the hottest summer in over 40 years!

By the time, we are finished with our performance, we are soaked with sweat. To gather the crowds, we parade through the neighborhood pre-show and make an announcement – our pals on megaphone and me in tow making a spectacle of myself as usual (on purpose this time). I try out my limited Burmese: (phonetically) “Mingala-ba! Ni kaun la shin?” [Hello! How are you?] And it works - yay! I get hello and responses back. There aren’t too many people out and about and I don’t see many children. But when it’s time to do the show and I walk onto the lot, there are already about 50 kids gathered to watch. Where did they all come from?! Word travels fast. From the time we start to the end of our show, the audience grew from 100 or 150. It’s a good first show. The kids laugh a lot, especially when we make mistakes – maybe we’ll keep them!

###

Keep an eye out for Myanmar in May! : Part II ...

Updates from Myanmar

2009-12-01T13:04:00.001-05:00

After two weeks’ time in Myanmar and working closely with the Gitameit Music Center, Artistic Director Joanna Sherman sent this detailed update of the work Michael McGuigan and she have been doing. Read on ….

From Myanmar, November 27, 2009:

So we have completed our workshops with Gitameit we did three shows and feel
very happy to have made this connection. The Gitameit people are
really nice and there is no doubt that there is a tremendous need here.
There is indeed no modern theatre. This was verified emphatically after our
talk at the American Center. One elderly gentlemen sitting in the front
started off the Q+A at the end with that statement -- "There is no modern
theatre here." Turns out he is the former Myanmar Ambassador to France and,
as I have now learned, the older generation remember a time when there was a
flourishing theatre here. Now nothing.

It's an interesting history -- and has a similarity to Afghanistan in a
way. All things cultural stopped in Afghanistan after the Soviets were
ousted. The Soviets had initiated many advances -- modern theatre, for
example, and women having a place on stage. When they left, the immediate
civil war put an end to everything and then the Taliban put a lid on
cultural expression. Here, culture thrived until the junta and the present government has eyes everywhere to see who is saying what... even
indirectly. They actually closed ALL universities several times as they
were deemed too outspoken -- they were closed for three years at one point.
And any theatre except the traditional is just too dangerous. A point I
just found out today.... they had three gov’t spies at our little show in the
empty lot across from Gitameit yesterday! They surrounded Moe Naing
(Gitameit Director) and asked who are these people, what are they doing
here, and what is this show about? Moe Naing said -- look at it -- they are
just entertaining the neighborhood children!

Other news we discovered, Thila Min, our great friend and fellow theatre
artist here at Gitameit spent four years of his young life in jail. Can you
imagine spending age 20-24 in jail.... in Burma?! He was attending the
Yangon Technical University studying engineering, and there was a student
action against the way the educational system was operating -- they wanted
improved education. Thirteen out of the 100 or so students were arrested
and sent to Insein Prison sentenced -- seven years in jail! He got out after four years but some of them are still there... in a bit better prison, not the infamous Insein Prison.

After he got out, he signed up to study English at the American Center and it essentially saved his life. They got him a scholarship to finish his
degree at Indiana University Online, and he also worked with their small
theatre program there, run by Phillip Houze through Open Society
Institute, I think. Phillip was his mentor in a way and now Thila Min is
hired by Gitameit to start up a good theatre program there. He has no
formal training but has just read everything he can. He said
that what we did was illuminate some of those terms he read but had no idea
what they really meant -- isolation, opposition, balance, etc. -- in the
theatrical sense -- the physical principles. We spent a lot of time on the
physical principles of theatre... and then some on the psychosocial work for
children. We packed as much as we could into those three days!

The show today was for really little kids -- 90% of them orphaned by
Nargis. The monks set up a small school for local children but, after Nargis, they went down and gathered children who were just lost with no parents and no home. The monk told us that some of the children are still very impaired and still ask when their parents are coming. It’s incredibly sad. And Nargis was in June 2008 so they were even younger then. When we came out on the stilts, however, I think we scared them. But then we made them laugh and all was well. Whew.

Tomorrow we go to Mandalay, the cultural capital of Myanmar, and find out
new stuff. We will see and meet the infamous Moustache Brothers who have been imprisoned many times but still come out and resume their satirical comedy which has become a tourist favorite (so perhaps the gov’t hesitates to really close them down for good). I will report on this
adventure!

~ Joanna & Michael

Week Five: Jaipur

2008-06-21T21:15:00.004-05:00

Our fifth and final week in India was for discussion and reflection about the entire Arts Exchange program. It was bittersweet, philosophical and concise.

After a one-night stopover in Delhi (Reena saw her family finally!) we got on a bus and took a 7-hour trip to Jaipur. It was such a long ride and the bus was jam-packed with both people and mosquitos, Reena’s mother sweetened the experience with some tasty desert she’d sent along with her daughter.

On Subhash’s recommendation we stayed at the Anuraag Villa Hotel in the Bani Park section of Jaipur. I can’t recommend it enough to anyone who is going to Jaipur. The rooms were cool and clean and the ceilings tall, painted with the same floral design as the Taj Mahal. It was a beautiful place and perfect for our closing evaluation retreat.

For our meetings, we sat out in the backyard to eat and talk about what we had learned.

For example, Joanna asked, what can we do to insure that this program continues? If it continues, what will it look like? What worked and what could we make even better?

We envisioned taking our “model” program on a tour of the three countries – to Afghanistan, to the US, and back to India. We wrote down the nuts and bolts of our workshop approach, including descriptions of 38 favorite exercises out of the many theater games we shared with each other. We also considered what sort of performance we would like to create next time and how a new show would be possible if we wrote it before the Exchange began, and how could it best reflect current affairs in each country rather than addressing a generic problem.

The sessions yielded 26 pages of notes and a deeper understanding of what it is the three companies have created together.

Aside from these intensely focused discussions, we spent time enjoying each other’s company knowing the end was near. This included tooling around Jaipur and taking one final outstanding trip together to see the Taj Mahal. Yep. It is beautiful.

It was a great surprise in the last days to meet a new extraordinary friend: Rajesh Chauhan, an associate of Ali and Shafiq at the BBC. He was quite simply the Idealest Host Ever. He helped us get our equipment to the airport, getting Ali’s flight back home, and sat and talked with us just cause he is a true believer in hospitality and making visitors welcome. The most touching thing he did was that once he heard about our Lucknow mission to go dancing, he devised a grand plan to take us out before we returned to New York.

Part one of the plan was to treat us to an amazing dinner – our last in India.
Part two was to visit a disco on the way to the airport so we could part ways dancing! Unfortunately, the timing didn’t work out and we ended up having to drop Ali, Jamil, and Rajesh off at the disco and speed directly on to the airport. But the gesture was unforgettable. On the way there, Ali and I sang through the one of our favorite songs once more. It translated, “Where ever I went, you were with me, my love.”

As we left I smiled knowing that sentiment will remain true for all of us on this Arts Exchange. Wherever we go, we will be in each other’s hearts.

We have succeeded in all aspects of what the Arts Exchange set out to do – we have built intense international bonds, exchanged a wealth of artistic practices, proven that theatre crosses boundaries of language and culture with grace and ease, and used our craft to bring laughter and self-expression to thousands of people across India. And we helped to stimulate the minds and imaginations of some of India’s most impoverished populations!

As a very unlikely three-country team, I think we inspired people most through our easy rapport and mutual enjoyment of each other… despite differences in language, religion, world-view, gender, and nationality. Our work together for a greater good – making the world a little happier – allowed us to breathe as one, and be a true team.

Our deepest thanks to all our creative team members in this venture:
Afghans: Jamil Royesh, Shafiq Hakimi, Ahmad Ali Fakri, Zia Murad;
US: Joanna Sherman, Michael McGuigan, Jenny Romaine, Sarah Peters, Meghan Frank;
Indians: Subhash Rawat, Lokesh Jain, Reena Mishra, Shashanta and Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay.
And to our very own State Department (via the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs) to believe that theatre is a valuable means to cross-cultural understanding.

Week 4: Kashmir (click here for photos)

2008-03-26T08:41:00.006-05:00

Reena took her very first airplane trip with all of us to a place she’s only seen in movies Kashmir! She woke up a half hour before the alarm clock - at 4 in the morning – because she was so excited. It was exciting for us to watch her as the plane climbed into the sky.

Here’s a brief synopsis of our travel day:Load 12 bags into the car
Unload 12 bags out of the car onto carts
Load 12 bags onto x-ray machine
Unload 12 bags off the x-ray machine onto carts
Load the 12 bags at the ticket counter
Unload the 12 bags in Delhi onto a cart
Load 12 bags
Unload 12 bags
Load
Unload
Load
Unload into… THE UNIVERSAL HOTEL!

Joanna said that on every tour she’s been on, no matter how long, there’s a tough spot for the group just past the middle. Then everyone realizes their time together is running out and any troubles seem to be not such a big deal. The journey to the

state of Jammu and Kashmir as counted as that time for us, and it wasn’t too bad.

This week I could say we have certainly become friends. My proof is the story of “Green, Blue, Push!”

We had a ridiculous laugh moment together in the Srinagar airport when Ali was telling us about his colored contacts, and Reena plowed the luggage buggy into his ankle. (Reena was pushing a luggage buggy, yes, for the first time in her life.) Then she laughed about it maniacally “Green, blue, Push! Ha ha ha ha ha.” All the way into the town of Anantnag – “Green, blue,

Push! Ha ha ha ha ha.” She was like a demonic little sister, with Ali the resigned big brother.

So the Universal Hotel was not what any of us were expecting. We all stood with our arms crossed, breathing in the exhaust fumes from the repair garage that was in the lobby of the Universal Hotel, contemplating how the lack of lights and hot water would be through the cold Anantnag night, and wondering how it could be that this was the only hotel available in whole city. This was when Reena tried to get a laugh, by repeating “Green, Blue Push! Ha ha ha hah…” And everyone just looked at her. Not even a peep of laughter. Perfect awkwardness. What a grumpy moment! I thought, this is it for sure. The rough spot. Yep, this is it.

We bucked up. And the hotel was fine. Hot water worked in enough rooms, the blankets were warm, and we ate dinner laughing once again at “Green, blue, Push! Ha ha ha!”
Next day we did a demo performance, if you will, for the principal of the Government Degree College for Women, some of the college’s students, some students from a near-by elementary school and our hosts, Mr. Nabi and Mr. Shabir. They all had a truly enthusiastic reaction to our show. After, the teacher from the Froebel Elementary School gave a particularly inspiring speech about theater’s power to bring peace because it requires teamwork, and here we had people from such diverse countries working together! (I feel equally impressed by this f

act every day.)

But then, how do I describe “The explosion of Mr. Nabi?” I must begin by saying I wasn’t actually in the room when it happened. And in retrospect, everything ended up being totally fine. But I think it’s important to describe this moment of misunderstanding – a potential whenever several cultures come together, even for peaceful reasons.

Essentially Mr. Nabi wanted us to do another show at the college in order to interest the students in our workshop, but Joanna tried to explain we prefer to do shows for an audience that includes both adults and young children (as opposed to just a group of adults). There were a lot of raised voices from our hosts, and back and forth attempts at explanation on the topic until Mr. Nabi stormed out of the room in offense, leaving Joanna and Subhash in the room wondering what to do next. I believe Subhash worked as the peace-maker/interpreter with Joanna as the calmer/explainer when Mr. Nabi eventually came back into the room - we agreed to do the college show, they agreed to bring over more children, and it ended up be

ing a great success in sharing with these young women a show designed to target both children and adults together.

So I thought oh, that was it. That was the “challenging” moment. It wasn’t too bad.
We got a tip from a friend of Mr. Shabir: Go to Pahalgam. It is a beautiful town up in the mountains with many hotels. So we went! Like explorers, packed the car and headed to the mountains.
We followed the road along the rushing Lidder river, up and up into the cold, snow-capped mountains. In Pahalgam we were greeted by a crowd of running young men whose job it was to get newly arrived tourists into their hotels.

This was when I had my own personal breakdown. Our desire to get on the road, beat the sunset and find a new hotel meant that we didn’t get a chance to eat beyond the early morning meal, and I was unprepared with any packable snack. The result? As we carried our 12 bags into the Paradise Hotel at around 9 pm I cried. Like a baby. Hungry, tired, worn out by all the

debate, I broke. I felt totally embarrassed. And in this moment, Joanna came to my side and let me know it was ok and told me she was glad I had been a trooper. Ali also said, with tears juuust peaking out of his eyes, “Sarah you can’t cry. You have too many friends, and you are older. If you cry, what will I do?” This, and a plate of navratan korma, calmed me down.

And that was it. I can look back now and say, that was my most personally challenging mom

ent. And – not so bad!

Into the week of workshops - one at the Froebel School, and one at the Women’s College. It took an hour to come down from the mountain every day, which was a beautiful background for our daily workshop planning sessions.

Our workshops this week gave the college women a new format in which to express themselves, and we hope that both the teachers at the elementary school and the college students will consider theater an educational tool they can use in the future.

Our final performance of this week, and the final performance of the tour, was very special. We heard rumors of a town that had seen a terrible massacre in the year 2000 and though

t this might be a healing place to do our show. It turned out that in fact Mr. Nabi was from this area. So he took the steps to arrange a performance. By sheer chance we performed on the anniversary, March 20, of the massacre of 3 Sikh men by militants in the area. People often refer to Kashmir as “heaven on earth” because of its beautiful natural resourc

es. But it in this village after the show that Dr. Mohammad Amin Malik, the head of the political science department at the College for Women, explained that in fact Kashmir is heaven on earth because people with such diverse beliefs have lived in peace – for much longer then the recent conflicts. The people we met in Kashmir want this to be why their state is known around the world.

Other Bits: Many people pointed out that Ali and Jamil

could easily be mistaken

for Kashmiris.

The dogs of night – defending their dog territory, playing their dog games to stay warm, and then sleeping the day away.

Reena always says “No ‘thanks,’ no ‘sorry’ between friends.” The result of this viewpoint is that when I say thank you, she says, “Oooh no, no, no!” or “It’s NO problem!” One mo

rning she said to me, “Thank you, Ooh, sorry! OOOH!! NO ‘THANKS’ NO ‘SORRY’ BETWEEN FRIENDS!” Ha!

Every day the pashmina sales men met us at the car before we left.
I think of men in matching coats with beautiful faces when I think of Kashmir.Another first for Reena: snow! – the Delhi girl froze the week away and counted d

own the days until she’d be back in her warm home.

We left Anantnag on Friday - Eid! - which meant we drove through four parades on our way down the mountain. We even became a part of one of the parades, as the chanting, celebrating men jumped up on our slow-moving jeep.

Week Three: Lucknow (click here for photos)

2008-03-23T03:49:00.009-05:00

Before our week’s work of artistic ambassadorship began, Ali and I wanted to go dancing! The Sunday night air was filled with the sound of parties that we wished we were at. Instead we took a bicycle rickshaw to the only disco in Lucknow. Ali says in Kabul, everyone is indoors by 7 pm because of the situation there. So he was super-enjoying the 10 o’clock adventure where the disco was cheese and we were mice in a Hindi maze. One bicycle rickshaw, 1 auto rickshaw, and several dead ends later, we were on the top floor of a mall – coulda been New Jersey! – including walking through the door that said “members and couples only” into an overpriced and completely empty club. No matter. We danced like superstars in a music video. Despite his lack of nightlife, Ali is a fantastic dancer.

New week, new set of workshops, this time for girls age 7 to 14 at the Prerna School, a school for the poorest girls (the daughters of rickshaw drivers, beggars, ragpickers and the like) created five years ago by Urvashi Sahni, a woman whose capacity to inspire is reflected in the eyes of both her students and the teachers who work for her.

The Prerna school is housed within a private school for middle-class families called the Study Hall Foundation. The girls who attend Prerna pay a nominal fee because their education is subsidized by the families of the wealthier students: they give a bit more than the cost of their own child’s education to support Prerna. These young girls were an inspiration, many taking education into their own young hands and putting themselves into the school without any support from their families.

As for performances, we did four shows this week – one for the Prerna Foundation girls, a show for disabled children at SPARC, a performance in a Lucknow slum called Balu Adda, and another rural village performance in a place called Mishrapur. The most memorable was the performance in Balu Adda.

Not far at all from the Prerna Foundation, we turned into a vast landscape of dwellings constructed from tarps, hay, and pieces of plastic built amidst mounds of garbage and plastic bottles. How do people live here? How will they like our play? I wondered. What will it mean to them? There was a huge crowd. Somewhere around 450 people. As the show began, looks of curiosity became smiles and laughs, for the kids and adults alike. And when it was all done, I had a group of small-sized followers looking for more fun. One little girl in particular developed a new version of tag I guess you’d call “punch the pillow butt and run.” She’d laugh which would make me laugh and then the other kids would laugh. Amazement all around.

This was the dirtiest of all places I’ve ever been, and we rolled in and did a show and rolled out. This show is memorable to me for what we are able to do and what we are unable to do, both made visible in the extreme conditions of these people’s lives. What is it that we do? We give an hour of intrigue and laughter. Laughter! It improves the immune system, stimulates neural connection, and instigates smiles (the glue of humanity). But to see that, without fresh water and basic hygiene, simple cuts fester and easily treatable conditions worsen, made us all aware of our limits.

The unofficial theme of this week was the state of women in India, which kept coming up from many different people. If I ever identified myself as post-feminist, in India I have been quite clearly asked to question my assumptions about women’s level of equality. “Indian food is designed to torture the woman,” said one of the reporters who came to interview us. She spoke of how she is ready to change careers and location now that her daughter is going to college so she can have a life that doesn’t include tending a pot of food that cooks for hours. She was being funny about it – but it is true in the US I have food that can be made pretty quickly. What a simple luxury.

And then there was the night Urvashi gave accounts of 15 year-olds being married off to men in their 50s. It is more like buying a servant, and not what I have been raised to think of as marriage. The last day at Prerna, she invited the first graduating class to tell us about their opinions and experiences. The girls stood there and said they didn’t know anyone who has a happy marriage. “Many women are single women living on their own despite being married!” said Urvashi.

My friend and co-worker Reena later that night said, “my father hopes to get a lot of money for my sister and I. I don’t like marriage. I focus on what I can control, which is my profession.” She has a passion to work with disabled children and a hope for a good marriage, but not any control over whom she will marry. I imagined the unpleasant pressure of having to command a high price.

I made friends with the assistant manager of the hotel where we stayed and even she brought up the topic, saying for many, if a women doesn't do all the housework, the marriage is over.

Despite these realities, because of them, women here have astounding determination. The Prerna girls work 5+ jobs to support their families, AND put themselves into the school. The young women who have been there all five years said their parents definitely treat them differently as a result. Now that they have received education, the parents don’t dismiss their daughter’s comments and opinions as easily. They listen a bit more. This girl has been to school, she knows a bit more than before!

And my favorite moment all week was when one of the older Prerna students bravely (it seemed brave to me) asked Jamil if he makes his wife and sisters cover their face in Afghanistan. He said it is their choice whether they do or not. Then Urvashi asked why is it that Muslim men can marry 4 wives, but women can’t have 4 husbands. He didn’t know and the girls swapped exasperated looks. As we left Jamil told Urvashi he would like to come back to Prerna Foundation and when he does, he said, “I will have an answer.” Because those young women will definitely be asking!

Other Bits: Over the course of two weeks of driving to workshops, we have developed “Ali’s favorite jump” and “Sarah’s favorite left turn;” Our driver, Raju, gamely would speed up the car to fly over “Ali’s favorite jump;” Ali has a secret sign for beer! (taboo in Afghanistan… but available). We haven’t met them yet, but Mr. Nabi and Mr. Shabir (our Kashmir hosts) have become a daily presence in our lives with the planning for next week’s trip. We made a visit to Waris Alisha, a memorial to a Sufi profit who symbolizes, says our friend Adyog, peace between religions. In this temple, both Muslims and Hindus – anyone – is welcome to pray; I can’t say precisely why but we all felt a deep bond with the young women of Dewa. We had a certificate presentation ceremony with singing and snacks that was emotional for everyone. I will miss them very much.

Week Two: Lucknow (click here for photos)

2008-03-09T03:33:00.009-05:00

The week began with a train ride from Delhi to our next destination: Lucknow.

None of us got any sleep the night before. Michael was up virtually all night arranging for a taxi that would pick up me and Ali, and then take us to pick up Reena 25 minutes outside the city, and then come all the way back to the train station by 5:15 am. In the US, this is not as much of an organizational event as it was here. When Michael wasn’t on the phone, he was wondering whether it would all work out. In the end, everything came together.

Everyone was up all night packing and being with friends or family one last time before our tour headed out for the rest of the month. And while Ali and I hardly slept with our 3:45 am departure, Ali softened the pre-dawn taxi ride by singing Afghan songs all the way to Reena’s.

A little bit about Reena: she is a volunteer at Gandhi Smriti (the place where Gandhi last lived and was assassinated). Just as this is my first trip to India, this is Reena’s first time leaving her parents for longer than a few days although she is over 21 years old – quite typical situation for girls. This is also only her second time performing in a play. Her parents were very concerned that she be well taken care of and I feel determined to live up to their expectations. Her mother cried in the early-morning darkness as Reena said goodbye and got into the taxi.

The train ride was a great idea. As it pulled out of the Delhi station, I had a keen sense of the adventure we were about to embark on together and I was flooded with precious memories from my past: first time riding a bicycle, first plane trip across the Atlantic, first day of class at Dell’Arte.

Ali and I wrote commemorative poems (in English - Thanks Ali!):

From a red shard of moon and a sleepless night,
God’s eye burns through the milky morning haze.
Together we fly faster than the birds,
protected by a mother’s tears.
Roses in our hair,
buttered bread in our bellies,
napping content as cats,
we head off to a land of new songs.
There is no other feeling like the beginning.
We wear fresh excitement for the beautiful future,
which stretches in front of us like the train tracks.
-- Sarah, Delhi to Lucknow, March 2, 2008

"A trip to my heart"
Let your beautiful eyes see all these beauties
Look at the romantic sun
It smiles on you
I love her golden hair
Around her beauty face
Let your soul feel all these joys
The trees outside the train
Want you to smile
To hug and to hold in their arms
Can you tell me why we can’t feel these natural happinesses
Yes. Because we don’t seek it around us.
Sarah, still I hear your voice and your violin’s voice
I feel your mixed in fogs
And your music too
Have this phrase in your mind forever
When we think beauty, when we see beauty and when we travel beauty so everything will be beauty for us.
-- Ali, Delhi to Lucknow, March 2, 2008

We saw the beautiful Indian countryside and got to spend some time together – arriving in Lucknow about six hours later, where members of Nisarg (Nature) Theater group – our hosts – helped us get all our many bags to the Executive Guest House where we are staying for the two-week visit.

Just a small bit about Lucknow: it’s known a City of Culture and I am told it is a center of the Hindi language. It was the home base of the Muslim kings of ancient history (Nawabs they were called). Many buildings are crumbling beauties, worn out from the heat and humidity. There are extremely modern, shiny glass buildings too. And then right near those, people live in tents and shacks and make fires every night to cook. The contrast sends me on a reverie on the adaptability and resilience of humanity.

We have had a jam-packed week and I very much look forward to further exploration next week.

Our first order of business was a performance in the village of Shram Vihar – a dusty slum area near the train station. Though we felt, as a cast, a bit shaky with new adjustments to the show, the community watching clearly had a very good time. Here is a first – in the middle of the show, a small herd of goats walked across the “stage” followed by a little old woman who looked a bit aggravated that we decided to play in her goat path. The goats were nonchalant. We stayed after to have chai with members of the village. It was pretty great to be there.

The next day we performed for and met the participants in our next workshop in a rural village of Dewa, about 45 minutes outside the city of Lucknow. In this community there is no electricity, and the people live in brick shelters.

The workshop was organized by Nisarg along with a group called Insaani Biradari and its leader named Adyog. The 30 or so girls came from different villages and Adyog told us that, of the girls there, only three had permission from their fathers. Their mothers knew about and supported their interest to learn about theater and how to use theater for education, but from their fathers and brothers it had to be hidden. The fathers want to preserve what they see as the only appropriate role for women: They must stay in the home and care for the family, far away from exposure to the outside world.

Despite all this - these girls are like smart girls anywhere. They are brave, silly, shy at times, and surprisingly not shy at others.

I ducked out of the workshop to peak at the village one afternoon. As I walked up the narrow dirt road between homes - one child up the way pointed and yelled to about 6 other children who came out to look at me, along with I think their mother. I took their picture and we all had a good laugh at it. These kids don’t see their own image frequently and digital cameras produce some amazement.

I also saw a group of men and women digging the red dirt out into a pile (I imagine for bricks). And several happy cows. And a man and woman puffing rice over a fire – the man shook and stirred this wok-type pan while the woman added grass to the fire, they moved the rice from two gigantic piles – from the raw pile to the puffed pile. They called me over and GAVE me a little bag of it! I couldn’t believe it! I ate it for breakfast all week.

It is such a beautiful place. The people are tough looking. A little on the gnarly side. In utter contrast are the girls of the workshop! The girls are beautiful and seeing the tough skin and thinness of the other villagers, it makes them seem even more astounding. I know they will take what they’ve learned in the workshop to enrich the lives of everyone around them. And what are they learning? How to express themselves freely with confidence, without shyly covering their mouth or putting their head down. To stand boldly and make a statement, or sing a song, or say their name out loud. To feel like a whole person.
This week I have come to love the car ride to Dewa and back, during which we plan for the workshops, discuss how workshops went, and communicate about upcoming events. It was during one of these rides that Shafiq laughingly pointed to one of the many brick kilns off in the distance and said, “You see that? That is a well that they are drying out. They take them out of the ground, and air them out for a while then put them back into the ground. It purifies the water!” Always joking! He also said when he reached for one grape and got a big bunch, “God loves me!” Ha! What a great spirit he has. We were all very sad that he had to return to Kabul for his work with the BBC.

I must mention that also this week we did evening workshops for members and affiliates of Nisarg. These were performers who work doing social theater, who will be able to directly apply what we taught to their own projects. Again the topic of the state of women came up! The first day, Joanna pointed out that of the 40 actors, only three were women. I guess I'm a bit of an American post-feminist. I want to assume men and women are equal and avoid making an issue of it, so I was nervous for how the group would react to the comment. Boy, they had great things to say. Families do not support a woman’s interest in theater. There are certainly many well-known female theater artists, but for most people, the idea is impossible to swallow. One young man said that there is a lot of lip service given to supporting women who want to be involved in theater, but then no one wants their own sisters or daughters to make that choice and that the men must start following through with what they say they believe, which is that there should be equality for women. And Joanna said they could also be more sensitive about making an environment where women feel comfortable to do something that is both new and socially unaccepted. I was grateful that Joanna brought up the topic. I am cracked open. I see these three women, and Reena, my excellent roommate and co-performer with even deeper appreciation.

I have also learned this week what it is like to be given the space and time to grow as a workshop facilitator. I led some workshop sessions that I wish had better transitions or more inspiring explanation, but no one criticized my work, and in fact all were very supportive. I appreciate the space and trust the team gives each other, especially to Ali and I as we step into leading workshops for people who do not share our native language.

Other bits: Shaheen from Dewa teaching me to write my name in both Urdu and Hindi, taking a 24 hour fast with Reena in celebration of Shivratre on Wednesday and getting applauded by the whole Nisarg workshop when they found out, learning about Rosa, the month-long Muslim fast, which will be in October this year, Sangeeta, the assistant manager of the Executive Guest House taking me on her moped to the mall! Having a dance party with Reena along with the Indian music video station on TV.

Week One: Delhi (click here for photos)

2008-03-09T02:55:00.008-05:00

I will begin by introducing myself. My name is Sarah Peters and I am finishing my graduate degree from Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theater in California. I came to New York to intern with Bond Street because like many, many people, I was impressed and inspired by their work in social humanitarian theater.

This is both my first tour with Bond Street and my first visit to India, so a

s you can imagine, my excitement level is pretty much through the roof.

This final installment of the International Arts Exchange (the culmination of this three-year project) began in the city of Delhi. This is where we would both rehearse our show and teach theater workshops.
The team includes me along with Artistic Director Joanna Sherman and Managing Director Michael McGuigan from Bond Street of the US. Then there is Jamil Royesh, Shafiq Hakimi, and Ahmad Ali Fakhr (he goes by Ali!) from Exile Theater in Kabul, Afghanistan. And finally, there is Reena Mishra and Founding Artistic Director Subash Rawat and from Purvabhyas Theater of Delhi, India.

We have all come together to collaborate artistically, to train teachers and other trainers in “social theatre” techniques, and to provide theatre-based programs to disadvantaged children and youth, as Joanna says, to “encourage self-expression, creative thinking, and teamwork.”
I am particularly proud to be a part of this international collaboration because it is funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State. Art exchange has the greatest potential of bringing peop

le together. Art is an act of love and it is with great joy that people share music, theater and educational practices. This funding of a creative exchange is an important counterbalance to more violent actions my government is taking elsewhere. So my job here is to perform and teach, but always with an eye toward building friendship and understanding between our three countries – US, Afghanistan, and India.

We leapt right into it with rehearsals and workshops. We did three days of workshops for a group that included young women from Janki Devi Memorial College and young men from Jamia Millia Islamia University. Our host at Janki Devi, Deepali Bhanot was very enthusiastic about what we taught the students, which ranged from physical expression to stilt-walking to image-

based theater techniques. The students were even more enthusiastic with their enjoyment and appreciation. We also did four days of training with young girls at an amazing organization called Project HOPE which aids children and families in the Nizamuddin neighborhood– a very poor Muslim community in Delhi.

As explained by Director Selvi Roy, many of the girls in this program are not allowed by their families to attend school outside the neighborhood, so HOPE has created education within the neighborhood. The program began as only a few hours of study a day which expanded to educate children and adults all day and even into the night. At night, HOPE provides food, shelter and education to young children who come to the Delhi to work and have no families. HOPE has even helped the children organize banking among themselves since normal banks won’t allow minors to open accounts.

The g

irls of HOPE were bright, smart, playful girls who over the course of four days bravely tried things they’d never done before.

Simultaneously, in the mornings, we rehearsed and updated our play “A Kite’s Tale” which was originally created with Exile Theater in 2005. Our Afghan collaborators had unexpected trouble getting a flight to Delhi and were not able to arrive until Wednesday night! But there was plenty to work

on until they arrived as both Reena and I were new to the show.
“A Kite’s Tale” is designed to bring laughs to children and families and it includes music, stilts and silliness to tell the story of 4 children trying to reclaim their playground from an underhanded developer. The message may be more about the idea of actors from three countries working together as much as it’s about the children teaming up to achieve their goal.

Our first performance was a great success! About 300 people from the Nizamuddin ne

ighborhood showed up to watch and laugh and be totally amazed that something so interesting and new should come to their part of Delhi.
It was especially exciting to get the show on its feet, since our short rehearsal time was unexpectedly cut even shorter. The Afghans, after struggling to get to Delhi, had to go register the morning of the performance with the foreign registry office. Turns out people from the US and Great Britain are the only visitors who don’t have to do this. I must applaud Ali, the newest member of the Afghan team, who did not have the comparative luxury of rehearsals that Reena and I did. He’s a pro for jumping right into a new show with virtually no rehearsal.

What I have learned this week is that Bond Street Theatre has admirable comfort with a complete change in plans, a sense of ease in chaos, and lots of patience. These qualities are shared by everyone on the team, which means that no matter what, we get through the day with grace.

Other Bits: A girl from HOPE introducing me to her mother. A goat wearing a sweater. Seeing Reena perform for the first time! She was pretty great. My teammates laughing at the big pillow butt I added to my “teacher” costume. Eating a meal as a whole team together for the first time on Thursday. Throwing lentils all over myself and the wall and the floor when I tried to do a plate flip with a plate of actual food. The sound of Ali’s voice singing so sweetly. Joanna and Michael telling tales of the Odin Theatre Anniversary. And tales of fiascoes from previous tours - with only one key for the eight of us, of course someone got locked out just once during the week. The gigantic crowd of laughing kids. The college students from Jamia Islamia being equally excited about who I thought should be president and our show. Being able to call it “our” show.

Bond Street in Afghanistan Video

2008-01-15T11:20:00.000-05:00

A mini-documentary that follows Bond Street Theatre's work in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2007, to collaborate and perform with Exile Theatre and to reach over 30,000 people in rural provinces.

From Afghanistan to India for Evaluation

2007-12-04T15:51:00.000-05:00

After our adventure in Afghanistan teaching theatre to a primarily all-girls theatre group in the small, conservative city of Kunduz (read below!), we traveled to India for the next two weeks to conduct an evaluation on the projects we had initiated last Spring. We were very pleased to find that many of the students, teachers and organizations we collaborated with had continued the work based on our models and techniques.

A few examples:

We re-visited the small villages of Chandipur and Shahid Matangini in West Bengal, home of the Patachitra painters. The Patachitras make their living by selling their artwork which they present to the public accompanied by singing. They have practiced this art for hundreds of years. A group of 20 Patachitras participated in our workshops last Spring aimed at expanding their performing abilities and thus improving the saleability of their artwork which has been diminishing over the years. We created two new shows with the Patachitras. Now, six months later, we visited them to see if the new techniques they learned are being used.

We were very happy to find that the villagers were so taken with the new presentation techniques and ideas we gave them that they have now created a new performance piece based on current village events that has gained them much-needed attention and has measurably added to each of the participant's income.

The Patachitra's new piece takes place under a painted canopy, inspired by our workshop. We encouraged participants to paint other items besides their traditional scroll form.

The performing group consisted of three members from our workshop program and four other villagers whom they taught. This is highly unusual since the Patachitras never work as a group, only as individual painters. About their new spirit of cooperation, Bablu, who organized the ensemble, said, "I told the others, if these people could come together from the United States and Afghanistan to work with us, we should be able to meet between our villages!"

We also found that our past work at Gandhi Smriti in Delhi has opened new doors to our team member and collaborator, Subhash Rawat. As a direct result of the initiative in February at Gandhi Smriti teaching their vocational students, 30 young people, ten from our original workshops, got together under Subhash's direction to make a play about Gandhi's childhood "Moniya - the child that Mahatma was." We were in town for the premiere and it was a huge success! Many of the children in the play had never acted before, or had their first experience in our workshops last Spring. Now Gandhi Smriti plans to tour the new play throughout India. Congrats Subhash!

Final Presentation Day Afghanistan!

2007-11-16T01:30:00.000-05:00

In a public ceremony on November 15th, we presented a demonstration of the techniques and skills learned in the workshops, and gave Certificates to each of the Mediothek Theatre students.

The presentation was the first time such a diverse display of theatrical techniques was ever seen in Kunduz, and it made quite an interesting performance and an amazing impression on the audience! The group did very well and we were proud of them. But there were a few surprises...

As the audience of invited guests, primarily male, arrived and took their seats, many of the girls' confidence slowly began to falter. It is profoundly difficult to be a female and present yourself publicly on stage in an environment where women are completely hidden. Although the girls were all eager and willing to display their new skills, when confronted with a live audience of men, many of whom they knew or were young men that they might marry, suddenly the situation became tough to face. We had made masks in previous workshops that were used in some parts of the show but, suddenly, all of the girls wanted to wear their masks! Many of the girls had performed several times before at the International Theatre Festivals in Kabul in front of far more critical audiences, but even seasoned performers can find an audience of family or friends a bit daunting.

I should add, the Mediothek staff were careful to invite only those people who have an active interest in theatre and its revitalization, and a willingness to accept women on the stage. And Bibimah, the Director, gave a fine talk prior to the show addressing the relevance of theatre in Afghan culture and why women's presence on the stage was not unIslamic.

In the end, the girls did perform with as much fervor as they could manage, and the response of the audience was superlative! They were very impressed to see the girls so competent on the stage, the quality of their acting, the beautiful mask work, maneuvering on the stilts, the range of techniques the young women and men had learned. If they noticed the girls' sudden timidity, they didn't mention it. And in the end, both girls and boys were very excited at what they had achieved and the wonderful response from the audience.

Our next challenge as teachers is to consider the best way to approach the issue. Can we encourage more women to join the audiences, and would that help? Most of these young women have aspirations to join the government, to become lawyers and politicians -- public roles indeed. Are there smaller steps we can take to empower the girls and, even more important, educate the audiences? Most of their sudden shyness was the fear of exposure, but the many of the physical techniques of stagecraft, such as martial arts and dance, are radical departures from accepted women's behavior in general.

Considering the obstacles, it is all the more remarkable that these young women have decided, completely on their own, to create theatre! We have a deeper appreciation for the very daring and outstanding choices they have made for themselves against all odds. Although these girls may not become actors in their adult lives, we know that the theatre training will give the girls poise, confidence and inspiration as they pursue their future careers.

We are really going to miss this energetic and fun loving group and we wish them luck as they continue in their work. We also hope to find funding to return and work again with the group: our plan is to create a piece together and to bring them to the US.

Dust Storm

2007-11-13T01:25:00.000-05:00

A dust storm kept us from performing at the orphanage today. We will have to try again tomorrow. It was like being in a white out—except a little dirtier. You could feel the grit in your teeth and on your tongue. All the day the sky was orange and then it began to snow sand!

(this is the actual color of the sky)

Workshops are Cookin'

2007-11-11T00:55:00.000-05:00

We have one week of workshops under out belt and we have all had a great time! We are giving them a little bit of everything we know... a crash course in physical theatre. We begin with a creative movement warm-up and concentration games, and follow with the essential of acting: body language, working with text, the symbolism in actions, etc. Then there are the other skills: mask-making and mask performance, making puppets out of everyday objects (thanks Theatre Tsvete!), martial arts (stick fighting from the Philippines), stilt-walking, commedia dell'arte, acrobatic balances, rhythm games, juggling, and many other important elements of a physical theatre vocabulary. They love the masks -- we make the masks directly on the students' faces, a soothing process that results in an exact replica of each student's countenance.

It is rewarding to talk and interact with the young females of Afghanistan over these weeks. We feel we are getting to know about their lives, aspirations and dreams, such as going to university to become astronauts, teachers, and politicians. We know this theatre training is a good preparation for their future careers, even if they don't become theatre artists. Their self-confidence grows daily with each achievement.

Each day we wave goodbye to our female participants, very outgoing and talented students who we have just worked with closely for three hours, as they put on their burqas and step through the compound door. The situation is a disconnect for me... to see them slip beneath the veil. You'd think that these girls would be the ones to change things and refuse to wear the burqa. They are willing to see change, but also patient.... "In a few years things will be different," says Bibimah (which means good moon), the Director of the theatre group, who is 17 and began wearing the burqa only two months ago. Their families are worried about their safety. “We wear it because the security situation is not good in Afghanistan,” says another theatre student. "We don't mind it, but it is too bad that it covers the whole face." I gather that there is a little feminine mystique to the burqa too, a right of passage into womanhood for Afghan girls, like getting to wear high heels for the first time.

We are teaching one class also for children and they are bright and very enthusiastic. I don’t think they get the opportunity to have structured play very often. In fact, there are almost no playgrounds in Afghanistan—we have seen only one in our time in Kunduz.

The power has been out for more than two days now. It comes on in spurts and unexpectedly, so after dark, we work feverishly when it's on, and go to sleep early when it's not. We were so impressed that Kunduz had 24 hour power, one of the only places in Afghanistan, apparently, and now that familiar sound of the generator is our friend again. Fortunately, the daily classes are all held outside in the dusty sunshine.

Living in Afghanistan

2007-11-06T00:31:00.000-05:00

The workshops have started well and we are more than busy: the theatre group in the morning, the ‘magic box’ children in the afternoon, and a class for older male students some evenings, as well as performances of “A Tale of Two Kites” at local schools and orphanages.

We were finally able to leave the Mediothek compound on foot today. It was an amazing experience to step outside the calm compound walls into the bustle of five o’clock commerce. The city is a sensory overload. The streets are busy with horse and donkey drawn carts heaving heavy loads of fruit and flour. The horses are decorated with colorful, decorative baubles and fake flowers adorn their harnesses. Bright blue, ornately decorated three wheeled rickshaws bear burqa clad women to work or to shopping, the rickshaw framing the half light of this very bright and dusty small city. The metal working shops are next to the fruit stands are next to the water pumps. Long quiet streets stretch away from the main drag, lined with trees. We achieve unisex roles when performing, but truth be told, there are not a lot of foreign women in Kunduz-- and the attention we get when we step out on the streets actually stops traffic. The scene is fascinating - we attempt to take everything in and yet somehow not create a stir.

At around the same time of our evening walk, there was what the news is calling a “major suicide attack” in the Baghlan Province, a neighboring district. The initial reports are that several important Parliamentarians as well as civilians and children have been killed, including Mostafa Kazemi, who was “a great man doing good things for Afghanistan” according to our friends here. We heard the news as we sat down to dinner. Everyone at Mediothek is shocked and saddened. Suicide attacks are a recent phenomenon in Afghanistan, giving a new edge to the violence here. “During the day we are smiling, but inside we are sad” Bibimah tells us of the Afghan sentiment about this attack.

Performances

2007-11-05T12:56:00.000-05:00

Today we went on a search to get flowers for our comedic non-verbal show for the children: A Tale of Two Kites. On the wall next to a door there was a hand painted sign that said ‘All types of Flowars and Plants for sale’. An old man, stooped and smiling, led us into the compound, a hidden treasure…. a nursery with lush yards and a greenhouse. Inside, the old man cut flowers off the vine for us, chatting in Dari about the different plants. The greenhouse and gardens were calm and quiet and green, a world away from the dusty streets. We got to meet his wife too, an extra treat for the females of Bond Street who get to slip into the house and visit with the women while Michael must wait outside.

The shows have been extraordinarily fun and worth getting completely dirty top to toe. It is so great to see the children laugh and participate! Most have never seen a performance in their lives and are amazed at every little thing.

Mediothek Theatre Group of Kunduz

2007-11-04T08:32:00.000-05:00

Today, we arrived in Kunduz. We got here in a prop plane! 10 seats-- we almost had more luggage than the plane. They had to weigh the gear and each passenger to see if we were too heavy to fly—but we made it and we have arrived! The flight was 45 minutes over ravenous mountains that twisted like rivers and tributaries of mud and sand.... we landed at the airport: a small building and landing strip that was surrounded by scrap metal, rusting planes and pieces of army tanks… sort of how I imagine the surface of the moon. The city does not have domestic flights yet, like some of the other major cities to the north. Kunduz is a small city, with no buildings above two stories, surrounded by farms and green landscape. There are many children here, at play and also at work—lugging wheelbarrows, stacking bricks, and working the fields.

We are staying with Mediothek, an NGO that sponsors the girl’s theatre company. Mediothek (Media Center) of Afghanistan publishes Kunduz's only magazine, once a month, with an insert made by the teenagers of the theatre group who design the spread and do the reporting. The Mediothek compound, located in the center of town, is also a community center. The NGO offers many cultural programs like the "Magic Box," a creative play and performance program for children, as well as an active youth program that promotes journalism, film making, and theatre as a way to engage youth (boys and girls together) to become active in their community. The artistic programs also develop creativity, presentation and leadership skills.

We met the group today. They call themselves Mediothek Theatre Group, although they are considering a more descriptive name. They now have a few boys in the group, but the group is still primarily young women, ages 14-18 years old, directed by Bibimah, a lead actress in the group. The group was founded in 2004 by an enterprising young woman, Naseeba Holgar, who initiated the idea quite on her own and is now studying Law at Balkh University. Bibimah is heading to university next year. The group comes together for projects, but has a hard time meeting regularly since there are few performance opportunities for theatre groups in Kunduz. The annual Kabul Theatre Festival and a few Mediothek conferences provide the main outlet for their work.

We also shared our portfolio—it is always a great idea to bring tons of pictures to share as an introduction... now on to the fun (and tough) part of creating something together. We start workshops tomorrow... and continue through the next two weeks!

November in AFGHANISTAN - to Kunduz

2007-11-03T08:15:00.000-05:00

Three Bond Street Theatre members are in Afghanistan to work with an all-girls theatre company in the small city of Kunduz, located in the north of the country.

The flight out of Delhi was delayed 5 hours, so we did not arrive into Kabul until evening which is a hard time to arrive at the Kabul airport, with no lights in the parking lot and 7 large bags of theatrical supplies for only three people to lug, haggling for a taxi in the darkness. The Kabul Airport has improved greatly since the last time we came though - construction is underway! We are staying at the famed/infamous Mustafa Hotel in Kabul and there are a group of Aussies here on vacation, taking in the sights and traveling on local buses. Even the man at the front desk suggested that the drive to Kunduz, through the Salang Pass through the Hindu Kush mountain range, was safe. We hear about the beauty of the drive from everyone, but we do not want to take the risk. As for me, it is always difficult to come back to Afghanistan because of the worry of my family and all of the stories in the newspaper. But once I am here, in the everyday of a country that has everyday just like any other place in the world, I begin to relax. I am very excited about the project to come: working with an all girls theatre group in Kunduz!

Bond Street met the company at the International Theatre Festival of Kabul in 2005 while we were working on “Beyond the Mirror” with Exile Theatre. The girls had natural talent and with no formal training, they were better than many of the student groups from the theatre programs at the University. It is unusual and difficult for women to be on stage in Afghanistan and Bond Street was excited to see an all-girls group, especially from a more conservative area. We met the founder and former director of the company Nassiba in our last trip in May in Mazar-i-Sharif, but were unable to come to Kunduz. Now we are back in Afghanistan to work the young women. I look forward to meeting the group tomorrow and spending the weeks to come working together.

...and many happy returns.

2007-05-04T18:00:00.000-05:00

I can count the days left on my fingers as this very long journey begins to wind down. Currently, we are in Afghanistan, working with an organization called Aschiana that runs soup kitchens and day centers for street working children all over Afghanistan, as well as a vocational training facility for older youth.

We are in Mazar-i-Sharif, a city to the north that is famous for a very large and very blue mosque claiming to be the final resting place of Mohamed’s son-in-law Ali. The mosque is painted with ornate decoration while fake plastic palm trees in various florescent colors line the marble courtyard and surrounding park. At night the whole mosque, including plastic palm trees is lit up like the Vegas strip.

The scene is enhanced by the always striking image of women beneath white burqas huddled in the few places of shade. Mazar is famous for the white burqa, while Kabul for the sky blue. I must say, despite myself, that the burqa can be visually stunning against the subdued hues of brown cobbled streets and unpainted houses.

The streets in Mazar are paved in sections of bumpy roads and then smooth concrete. The streets are lined by walls and long passageways that lead to more walls and doors. Colors are sparse, and after being India, they look tastefully simple. We are in a tall building, so we can peak into the courtyards surrounding us. Otherwise, life here is lived behind closed doors for the most part.

We performed a cut down version of the show we were doing for children in INDIA, as our group has gone from nine to three. We are performing in schools, orphanages, the Aschiana centers, and on Saturday the kindergarten! The children seem to really respond here, although you can tell they do not really know how to watch a show. Audience participation like clapping, etc is just not part of their socialization. Neither are some of the most basic things we take for granted like forming a line. The basic education classes attempt to instill these ideas while also focusing on literacy. Because the children work on the street for the most part and do not go to school, they can only spare an hour for education class. The extra enticement of a hot meal everyday gets about 120 children in the classroom for even a limited amount of time, a great accomplishment in my eyes.

Teaching workshops has been particularly noteworthy here because, right away, you can see the value in theatre games for teaching and improving coordination and listening skills. If given the time, space and consistency of a long term program, games with rules like “when I say 1:touch the wall, 2: touch the floor, 3: get in a circle 4: dance with a friend”, can decidedly help the everyday development of these children. In addition, we taught some of the vocational kids the games before hand so they could be the trainers when working with the children. It was so rewarding to see one woman take the class over and teach a game I had forgotten I had shown them.

We hope that they will take this into their lives in some way and more importantly that we can come back here after some time away. What a gift it would be to come back and see our trainings incorporated into their curriculum. Even to come back just to give them a smile would be such a blessing.

Life here feels very every day, a concept that is so hard to convey through emails and blogs. It’s hard for many to believe that a place that we hear about so frequently in the news can be a place of such normalcy. Of course, I am in the north, and look out of my bedroom window in the mornings to a rose garden. This place is of infinite wonder and contradiction to me, a place I would like to return to and a place I will never fully understand. Nor they me.

Ultimately, we hope that our work and our presence here has given people an alternative view to that they see on the news or in their streets. That there are Americans coming with roses in hand, instead of guns. I imagine that is what cultural exchange is all about; connections and questions, uncertainties and optimism, beginnings and hopefully many happy returns.

Greetings from Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan.

2007-04-26T23:43:00.000-05:00

We are alive and well and holed up for a week with an organization called Ashiana (meaning "nest" in Dari) which specializes in basic education for working street children and vocational training for ages 14 - 20. We just had the grand tour today and met the staff; and are getting geared up to introduce the students to new and creative ways of thinking.

Though we feel secure and are sensibly conducting ourselves, there is no question that the general mood here is that the country has gotten less stable over the last 3 years. The perception is that Pakistan is stirring up the trouble and, despite the rhetoric, the US is doing nothing to stop them. The details of course are more complicated we’re just trying to keep our heads low and concentrating on working with the kids to make them more happy and confident.

The end is drawing near, but there is still work to be done. Another note or two before this is all said and done.

The last India chapter...

2007-04-17T23:45:00.000-05:00

The India part of this adventure is quickly drawing to a close and the Afghanistan part is about to begin.

I thought by now I would be ready to head home, but I’ve gotten my second wind and am excited for the adventures that await us.

All in all, things have been going very well. I know I have learned a lot and enjoyed doing the shows and the challenge of the workshops. Everyone has worked at 110% of their capacity and we’ve contiunted to engage audiences and workshop participants wherever we’ve gone. The feedback that we got was always positive and we too have taken a great deal from each of our programs.

I think that in the future Hyderabad and it's surroundings areas might be the best place to concentrate future projects. It is easier to reach Muslim youth populations there and the theatre group we worked with, Koshish, was not only enthusiastic but also had a handful of women working with them. Both this connection and the connection with Banglanatak in Kolkata are ones to keep and grow.

While UNICEF and Gandhi Darshan/Smriti may be possible parnters in the future as well. We are working with one UNICEF group in Darshan now which is a tribal group of 30 children that live in a refugee camp just south of here. They are a great group and excellent students willing to try everything.

Well, that's the news for the moment—next stop Kabul.

-Michael

coming full circle, back to Dehli

2007-04-17T23:40:00.000-05:00

In Hyderabad, we arrived on the scene-- an actual street with motor bikes scooting past and the clamor of people all around. Then halfway through the show the sky turned dark and storm came to cut the heat and get all 200 audience members running for anything with an overhang. After the storm, our stage had turned into a giant puddle and we could not continue. I was not ready to leave, but we forge ahead.

We are now back in Delhi at the same place where we began.. the Gandhi Smiriti-- the place where Gandhi was shot- this time working with 30 children who have been brought here by UNICEF. They are from a region of India called Bastar; a region notorious for tribal violence and all of the children have been taken from the their homes, either because of violence or the threat of violence, and placed in boarding houses or refugee camps. We were hoping to go there, but UNICEF decided the trip would be too dangerous and that such a trip was a fantastic chance for these children to see
Delhi.

We are working with them for a week, doing theatre games, teaching circus arts, making masks. It is so amazing to return to Delhi after all of this time away. I remember thinking what a huge crazy, congested place. Now is seems so tame and orderly!

On Friday, we head to Afghanistan for three weeks of workshops and performing in Kabul and Masar-i-Sharif.

More from there…

From the dust of Bihar to heart of Hyderabad...

2007-04-10T05:00:00.000-05:00

The Bihar workshops ended very well-- the theatre group we were working with was to give a small informal presentation to us to show their incorporation of workshop ideas (non-verbal communication, acrobatics, puppetry, etc) into their theatrical style. Before we knew it, the informal presentation turned into a crowd of 700 with street vendors selling peanuts and bikes parked in back like an official parking lot!

Our workshops are much more ephemeral – we do not know how our work is transferred, so the performance was a fantastic experience for us as we were able to see the direct application of our training on other theatre artists who work for social change.

The whole experience in Bihar left me wondering about the difference we are making here in such a short time. Is it possible to make an impact without knowing the language or spending time just getting to know a situation, a group, a set of circumstances? We are traveling here so much and doing so many things-- one never knows if a lot of little things add up in the end.

One particularly positive example: we were working outside and teaching an acrobatic move that requires four or more people to turn over at the same time so each person has their feet on the others back. We were working with the adults and before long there were around 200 kids and general onlookers. Not but 20 minutes later, all of the children were off in another field trying the move without us there at all, at least fifty kids working together to make it work. What a scene!!!

We are now in a new place, full of quirks and character. Hyderabad is a city of chadors and smog congested street corners and urban manifestations of rural life everywhere. The outside of Islamic buildings are so carefully constructed, with curvy organic shapes, arches and ornamentation you wouldn’t believe.

The Muslim women wear black burquas here, with only their eyes showing. The best part of this city is the juxtaposition everywhere; women wearing stylish sunglasses over their burquas, other women standing adjacent in a midriff sari of bright orange. The large British architecture of covered sidewalks stands in tandem with large Muslim influenced monuments and finally the huge lake that the city hugs with a statue of Buddha right in the middle.

We are working with COVA, a organization of many volunteer organizations that works for social progress in the city. They have an "in-house" theatre company that works to spread the message across about affordable housing. It’s really fantastic.

A few more workshops and performances- and then we’re back to Delhi before heading to Afghanistan. Every day another adventure in the making...

One month to go!

-meghan

On to Bihar

2007-04-02T23:38:00.000-05:00

We left Calcutta and are now in Bihar, known as one of the poorest and most lawless places in India.... and we are having a great time! We are in West Champaran in a town called Betiah. Every day we travel to a tiny and exquisitely beautiful village outside Betiah; poor but it is impeccably neat with tidy mud homes, thatched roofs and animals roaming everywhere. It's stunningly peaceful contrasted to the wet, nasty, crowded poverty of Kolkata.

Betiah is wild and noisy with tiny horses pulling carts, people, bicycles, cows, goats, dogs -- it's truly a zoo. The cows really do roam freely, wandering casually across traffic at their leisure.

We are working with women from the village who come to this small school for training in sewing. They are so modest and shy that they would hardly do the most simple of exercises. Thankfully they are beginning to open up, and they all came back after the break so we didn't completly scare them away.

We are working with a mask company that does a series of plays for UNICEF and their training is very simple. Our job is basically to teach them everything -- just "blow their minds" our UNICEF representative said. And so far they are loving it.

From here it’s off to Hyberdad, more to come!

New from India

2007-03-24T23:48:00.000-05:00

Things are going great here working with the Patachitra painters. They are truly fantastic artists and we have really improved their performance abilities a lot already! They’re singing, dancing, enhancing their expressivity, and developing characters... and then to boot, yesterday they went on stilts and it was completely transformative! Even the old man and his
Wife, the most shy of the women, were up there and just beaming!! We are now on the way to their village and can you imagine how their neighbors will react to seeing them on the stilts and performing with a new pizzazz!

Love to all

A note from Kolkata

2007-03-16T23:36:00.000-05:00

We’re here in Kolkata, and again we are working harder than ever! It's crazy but fun. We have put together our India-Afghan-US collaborative show, which we are all very excited about. It’s grown now to a cast of ten!!

Amitava here at Banglanatok is so attentive to all details and making sure we are accommodated in every way. The one thing he cannot control is the political situation. The exact area of Bengal, where we were planning to go, is now under police control as riots have already killed many people. It's a major deal here in India thouhgh it’s likely had no press in the US. It indicates a real shift in the political climate from a left wing to right wing position.

The farmers are having their land seized by industrial companies and the police are taking the sides of the industry even though the government has ALWAYS been pro-farmer. Not long ago, the police actually fired into the crowd of peasants and killed 17 people. Needless to say, everyone here is pretty much in shock and our work in that particular area has temporarily been put on hold.

We'll keep you posted,

Joanna

a good day indeed

2007-02-26T21:00:00.000-05:00

We did a show for children today of stilts, water spitting, kazoos and funny pants, our signature brand of theatrical mayhem. The idea was to get the ball rolling and the response seemed very enthusiastic.

I am looking at this work with eyes open; for once from the place of a practitioner and leader and everyday brings new discoveries and a renewed excitement. I’m beginning to believe that you haven’t really lived until you've gotten dunked in water and rolled around in the mud. I could get used to this — I really could!

Holi, the Indian celebration of color, is right around the corner and we don’t know what to expect, but boy are we excited. From what we’ve been told, everyone runs around for an entire day, smearing each other with colored chalk – orange, green, pink and blue. Can you imagine a whole festival holiday devoted to color? All I say is hoorah for dirty living! how lucky, lucky, lucky I am to be here....

We are staying at a guesthouse across the street from Gandhi’s cremation site and the grounds are calm and wonderful. We will present a show with the students on the morning of March 9th and then off to Kolkata.

-meghan

Alive and Well in Delhi

2007-02-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

Well it took us three days to get here, but we are alive and well here in India. We’ve settled into our rooms at Gandi Darshan and were put right to work at the center, in exchange for the food and lodging they are providing us. Already it’s a lot harder work than we anticipated. We have about 35 really good young adult students here at the Gandhi Center, and they are very enthusiastic and seem to enjoy the work.

We'll be here another week, and then we plan to head to Kolkata to begin our work with Banglanatak.

The team is tight and getting along well. It’s so exciting to have so much energy in one place like this.

More to come…

...and a Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T15:08:00.000-05:00

We're back! Coming back to New York has been like getting on a fast-moving train. We were immediately caught up in company activities not to mention the frenzy of the holiday season!

As we enter into the New Year things are looking quite promising for us here at Bond Street. Our planning trip to India was more enlightening then we anticipated. We met with several individuals and NGOs that are going to be fantastic resources and collaborators when we return in February. Everyone is very excited about our work and we expect a very positive response.

(PICTURE: children in a village outside Kolkata watched us work in an open theatre studio)

A partnership is also in the works with UNICEF to initiate a South Asian Social Theatre Institute (SASTI) at the Gandhi Center in Delhi. It will be a tremendous benefit to the field of social theatre and a great opportunity for us to share our knowledge and experience to make this program a reality.

(Picture : Ghandi Center performance pavillion, New Delhi)

We hope to design a full range of programming, and identify practitioners who will continue programs at the Center once we’ve returned to the US.

We will put together a team of 8 including a few of our Afghan partner and some new Indian artist as well. The initial phase of SASTI will involve direct collaboration with theatre artists and stakeholders, both in studio settings, at the Center, and in the field in conjunction with community programs. We hope the future of SASTI we include an expanded network of participants from other countries throughout South Asia including our some of our Afghan collaborators.

Our team will also work throughout Delhi to present performances and workshops with some of the following groups that have especially requested our assistance:

*Salaam Baalak Trust – to work with poor children living in the railroad station and to train and direct the young actors at their Center.
*Pravah – to help them develop their Theatre for Development program, and accompany their actors on some of their community work in Delhi and outside.
*Jagran NGO (Alanar) – to give workshops to their actors and perhaps join them on some of their work in the villages around Delhi.
*Jamia Millia Islamia University – to give guest lectures, presentations and workshops for their students in their new Development Communications program (part of the Mass Communications Department).
*God Graces School – to work with their teachers and students.

(PICTURE: Salaam Balak Trust youth theatre group performs play about abuse )

In addition to the work in Dehli, we will also be working in Kolkata and West Bengal with Banglanatak, a well-established social theatre organization. They have asked that we spend some time training the local theatre groups that they work with in the villages. Most of these groups follow very traditional performance techniques and we will have a great opportunity to learn from each other.

We are brimming with excitement here about the year to come. Keep checking the blog, throughout our trip, to hear the latest news from India. As always, we hope our family and friends, throughout the world, are enjoying a very happy new year!

from Kabul

2006-11-16T14:52:00.000-05:00

email from Michael 11 November 2006:

Things went really well with Exile Theatre in Kabul. We met with Shafiq, Zia, and Jamil and they were very interested in our description of the India project so far. We also met with the Indian Embassy here in hopes of easing Exile Theatre's future visa application. We visited our friends at Kabul University (they really need more faculty) , and had a very good chat with the Aga Kahn Foundation.

We got a lot of great advice and we may have laid some important groundwork for the months to come.

Less than a week to go!! Now it's back to INDIA!

back to Afghanistan...briefly

2006-11-16T14:21:00.000-05:00

From an email from Joanna 8 November 2006:

We have been meeting amazing people and organizations and seeing such great programs. Spent six days with Banglanatak in Calcutta and they are really fantastic! We are coming back with a lot of DVDs of their work! We had a great meeting of a a director and his students in his country side studio. It was this cool little space with 360 degree view to the farm fields beyond. No electric but a nifty space to work during the days. We hope to use this space when we return.

We were unable to secure visas for the Exile Theatre team, who need an official letter of invitation to join us in India. So far it has proved too hard to successfully traverse all of the official nuances that involve official papers, willing hosting organizations, and speed. So, we have decided to make a quick trip to Kabul to meet with Exile, and to solidify our plans and intentions with Kabul University. We have to tell the University that we will most certainly repay their kindness over the last four years and come back to work with their actors, but in the meantime we hope one of their actors will want to join us on this India project. We will also meet with Gul Makeshah of the Kabul National Theatre while we are there, and the FCCS (the French cultural organization).

All the groups we've met with are totally into our coming. Pravah wants us to help them setup their Theatre In Development Program, the salaam baalak trust is doing this amazing work with the street kids by the RR station, and we will be visiting the Islamic universities (Jamia Millia and Aligargh) in the next two weeks. Maybe one of their students will join our team too!

We must continue to write for support for going to Afghanistan. A few letters showed dismay and a belief that we were giving up on Afghanistan. I had to write them right away and say - No! We are going to come back! We're just doing something in India TOO!

We're excited about doing tandem programs in both neighboring countries, and hope that we can take what we learn in India and bring it to Afghanistan. How perfect would that be !?!

Holy Cow! BST in INDIA

2006-11-16T13:54:00.000-05:00

From an email from Michael 7 November 2006
Greetings my many friends from Delhi, India. I have some time in the internet cafe so I have composed some thoughtson our trip thus far. I realize some of you may be surprised to hear from us in Delhi, India, but I suspect you have come to suspect this kind of thing of us by now.

My expectations of India were totally informed by my 4th grade social studies class, so all this time I am expecting Maharajahs riding elephants, thousands of beggars roaming the streets, and slinky Bollywood starlets going in and out of technicolor temples to gods with 16 arms and legs. But as our plane lands and we taxi into Delhi I find:New York City, with no blonds. No elephants, no starlets, no beggars-- a few, but not so bad. What a let down. But it is Delhi, and we were hanging in the biz sections, buying a cellphone and meeting Embassy and NGO types.

But Calcutta-- or Kolkatta as it is now spelled-- that is more likeIndia! Still no elephants, but they got some cows. They are quick to say that they are Bengalies (like New Yorkers saying we are New Yorkers-- its not to be confused with American!). So this is going to be home for the project.

There is one NGO, Banglanatak, promoting street theatre for social good. It is, get this, run almost entirely by university trained engineers. The leader gave up a profitable software career in Silicone Valley to return to native Kolkatta to set up an organization that gets contracts from NGO's that want to reach the masses, say with an AIDS awareness campaign. They go into the town or district, identify the issues and the environment, and hire the local theatre company to do short theatre pieces on the topic. If there is no local company they form one.The idea is that the positive message comes from artists that live in the community. And if they can also mix in local theatrical traditions all the better.

It's hard to believe, but in one district in one province of West Bengal alone, Amitava claims there are 640 street theatre companies . Just street theatre. And they've been forming more. The idea is that the local organizations can continue to use the local groups and their techniques to get more information to the masses. And it becomes a job. Mind you, this is what we are told, but I am pretty interested in getting more of the story when we return next year.

There are some NGO's we could partner with in Delhi as well, working with street children around the train station. In addition to basic literacy programs and health attention they teach the kids theatre techniques to build self esteem and also perform social issues. Their theatre director is a former street kid himself.

These are some of the findings so far. Still have a bit more time to go. Will be back in NY on the 19th. God, this is exhausting work, and we haven't even touched our toes yet.

Hope all is well with you all in your worlds.
Much love, Michael and Joanna

Performing Artist for Balkan Peace: Mostar 2006:

2006-09-14T17:15:00.000-05:00

Mostar, BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA: August 2006: As many of you know we have recently returned from the second meeting of Performing Artist for Balkan Peace. Once again we came together with artists from across the Balkans and Eastern Europe to share our artistry, vision, frustrations, and hopes. The experience was, in a word, inspirational.

Our original idea was to create a sustainable and expandable network of performing artists devoted to cross-border collaboration, social progress and peace. In 2005, we met in Bulgaria and worked closely together, sharing techniques, discussing the issues facing the Balkans, improvising on these themes, and collaborating in crafting the final production of Honey and Blood. Through the process of co-creation we had all given birth to the same child and we had now returned to see it grow. It was with the greatest pleasure and camaraderie that we began our second collaboration.

We had seven days to reconstruct Honey and Blood as the opening performance of Mostar Youth Theatre’s Festival of Authorial Poetics, an annual festival that attracts students and professionals from around the world for an intensive series of workshops and performances. Our plan was that this environment would offer the best opportunity to introduce the PABP to an international community. Through that first week, we were amazed at our creative ease as a group as we re-discovered our way of working together. Honey and Blood opened the Festival with a positive response from an eager crowd and many stayed afterwards to discuss our collaboration in more detail. We encouraged the artists to join the PABP over the next week for the second phase of our project: creating a site-specific work which would transform destroyed sites around the city into performance spaces, celebrate the city of Mostar, and reflect on local issues and those facing the region.

The City of Mostar is a dramatic and inspiring backdrop for site-specific work, a place of visual contradictions. ten years after the war, the scars of war are still highly visible to locals and strangers alike. Exoskeletons of bombed buildings riddled with bullet holes and broken glass still stand in central locations throughout the town next door to renovated modern buildings. We used the destruction to draw our creative impulses. With the help of Mostar Youth Theatre, we picked three sites and the directors decided to work in pairs to heighten the collaborative experience for them. We decided to connect the three performances with a pageant or parade from one site to another which would gather passers-by and involve the town even more directly.

We had five days to complete this work, a hurried but fruitful process. The three groups worked separately during the day and re-convened in the evenings to share daily discoveries. Each group immediately found their distinct style of working, influenced by the unique choice of actors and theatrical backgrounds, but mostly inspired by the space that they had chosen. We all used resources found on location and little else. The groups realized that this site-specific work was very useful in that it mimicked the conditions we find in our outreach work in refugee camps, prisons, orphanages – that is, few resources.

We decided that annual meetings are desirable even if the entire membership is not present, and that this will provide the opportunity to introduce new groups into the mix. We also plan to include a community outreach component as a commitment to our shared mission of social progress. Our plan for 2007 is to meet in the newly renovated Theatre Dodona in Pristina, Kosovo, a heroic theatre during the war, and also to work with a youth center in the still-volatile town of Mitrovica.