Palestine: Telling Stories That Matter

 Finally getting to posting some highlights from 2023 so far… first up, Palestine 🇵🇸 

This spring I had the amazing opportunity to work in the city of Jenin in collaboration with @fragments_theatre and @bondstreettheatre, focusing on mental health, social media, and education. Fragments uses recycled materials from Jenin’s massive trash overflow as part of their architecture and scenes, using these and more figurative narrative “fragments” in commitment to Palestinian storytelling. You can find some of the amazing work done by Fragments Theatre participants on their Instagram page, but here are some behind-the-scenes shots of our work in the West Bank and additional travels, including seeing some old friends! 

    There are many more wonderful people that I met than are posted here, but here’s a snapshot of some of what was a very full month. Palestine and its resistance to military occupation influenced me and my commitment to socially impactful art both abroad and at home in the US. Brutalities committed to innocent Palestinians every day, and their fight to preserve their identity, parallel struggles in the US closely and help me better understand my identity and role on occupied land here. Working with the incredible actors, educators, and psychologists taught me how to show up under the worst of circumstances and still tell the stories that matter.

    Since I left, Jenin Refugee Camp, close to Fragments, has been a focal point of attack by the current right wing Israeli government, including a recent Apache (read, US supplied) helicopter attack and destruction of much of the UN-run camp, and raids are still frequent that affect virtually all Palestinian families. I encourage people to read news sources like @aljazeeraenglish that show alternate stories to the region than is often seen in US media, and to follow organizations like @eye.on.palestine and @jewishvoiceforpeace that advocate for change in US policy toward Israel and Palestine.

Thank you to all the amazing people I met for such an incredible journey! -- Tim Steckler

Artful Impact: Bridging Communities through Movement and Theatre

 

Q: Please tell me little bit more about yourself, where you're from, what you studied, anything you want people to know:

A: I’m Libby Wellington, a current Bond Street Intern and Program Facilitator. I am a 24 year old graduate student studying Public Policy at NYU and lifelong dancer. Although I am currently based in Brooklyn, I grew up in South Salem, NY, as one of three daughters to my Mother and Father. My parents were never artists or makers themselves but loving patrons of the arts who instilled that love in me and my sisters early on in our lives. The tots ballet class my parents put me quickly bloomed in dance classes everyday, theatre on weekends, and countless performances with my sisters. Growing up, arts spaces are where I found community and they were an integral way my family connected. However, it was not until I arrived at college did I start to understand dance, theatre, or performance in general as a means to a larger good. At Bates college I studied both dance and politics and was not only able to but encouraged to explore the ways these two areas served as lenses to better understand the other. It was during this time that I solidified that fact that I didn’t want to be a performer but wanted the arts - performance specifically- to be the method through which I leave an impact on the world - public, social, or political. 

After graduating and several random jobs later, I found myself at NYU Wagner as a public policy and nonprofit administration student focusing on social advocacy and political organizing. I went into this degree with the goal of developing methods through which the arts can act as policy development and implementation tools. In my quest to find opportunities to gain experience and learn from those who are doing this work I found Bond Street - an organization that has been relying on theatre and performance to discuss social issues, resolve conflict, and spark conversations since the 80’s. Since starting my internship at BST in late May of this year, I have been welcomed into the BST family and had the opportunity to try my hand at so many different tasks. From witnessing the grant writing process, helping with the creation of projects final reports, fundraising brainstorms, issue research, and writing problem statements, to the development of a program I helped see get off the ground. 

My summer with BST has solidified my desire to continue this line of work both in my studies and post graduation this coming spring. I am looking forward to staying connected with BST this fall as I work with Women for Afghan Women and help facilitate their seniors program!

Q: How did this collaboration come to be? What led to you working with Women for Afghan Women in NYC? 

A: It was evident from the moment I started working with BST that Afghanistan and specifically Afghan women were pivotal to the organization's makeup and fed the soul of its founders Joanna and Michael. Early on in my internship, I learned of how BST had to end their 20 year long work in Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 as the Taliban took over and how the company worked that summer to support their in-country artists and partners. Although this work was necessary, I could tell that the organization missed creating with this community. In meeting former interns Maihan and Rukshar and hearing about their ideas for programing that could reach women and girls in Afghanistan virtually that never quite got going, I started to work on figuring out a way for BST to still engage with the Afghan community. Due much to Maihan and Rushar’s brainstorming and guidance, I was able to connect with Women for Afghan Women, an organization that supports Afghan Women both in Afghanistan and here in the states. I hoped they would want to collaborate on a NY based program as a way for BST to continue our connection and support of the Afghan community. Thankfully, they were interested and excited about the incorporation of physical theater and the arts into their seniors program. Throughout the summer I have been working on developing program sessions in which dance and theatre are used to help build community and spark joy among the senior community of Women for Afghan Women. 

Q: Why movement therapy? Why theatre? 

A: Dance and theatre have always served important but very different roles in my life. I grew up dancing everyday and loved the physicality of it. Growing up it was the best way to express myself, work through my own emotions, and develop a very deep sense of self. Once in college, I realized how being a dancer had fundamentally altered my perception and understanding of the world and how I function in it. I believe I owe dance, in part, my sense of empathy, my desire for community and connectedness, and my continued curiosity in how the body plays a role in our social, political, and cultural lives. 

Doing theatre never gave me this same feeling. I was alway shy when it came to singing on stage, and awkward when interacting in a scene with others. Performing this type of storytelling did not click for me in the same way. However, watching theatre, witnessing people in real time tell a story this way, always packed an emotional punch. As much as I loved the act of dancing I’ve loved watching theatre. Seeing stories be told in real time in the codified space of a theatre has made me a more hopeful, emotional, and compassionate human. 

I have been lucky enough to experience both this doing and witnessing and understand how powerful a force both have been in my life. Performing as a way of communicating, understanding, and being in relationship with others has purpose and importance outside of the theatre and I hope workshops and training like the ones held by BST can help bring that purpose to manifest and it excites me to be a part of that process. 

Creativity in Action: Promoting Gender Equality In Cairo

 In October 2021, 6 BST members had the opportunity to conduct a theatre project in Cairo with a group of experts. Together with Noon Creative Enterprise, we conducted a three-week cultural exchange program promoting gender equality through the arts.

The artists we worked with were true artists – Luka, an incredibly talented musician and songwriter, Carol Ackad, a theatremaker and director, and Hany Taher, a social theatre artist and keen comedic deviser. We clicked in a heartbeat, and got talking very deeply at our first dinner together.

Dawar Arts, an arts and wellbeing organization, was our daily meeting spot - a beautiful rehearsal space in downtown Cairo. Post-COVID, working together in such energized space with other artists was a novelty. The rooms were large with ceiling to floor windows, essentially doing some of the lighting work for us! The team really appreciated the opportunity to work in-person so soon after lockdown, and because of this, you could sense the excitement and motivation from everyone to use our hearts, bodies, and mind to create.

One of the most memorable parts of the entire project was spending time at Dawar Kitchen, an extension of Dawar Arts, run by Syrian women refugees. The food was magnificent, some of our favourite dishes were the baba ganoush with walnuts, spinach sambusak, stuffed vine leaves (we LOVED these!), fried kibbeh and other glorious treats.

Eating together definitely helped us overcome language and cultural barriers, it was a way for both teams to get to know each other better and stimulate important discussions that we brought back to the workshops. We learned a great deal about their experiences living in Cairo and some of the social issues faced by women in that area and our final performance was informed 100% by these discussions. 

The project began by co-creating a play around gender roles in Cairo - it was an hour-long performance that promoted gender equality and the ideas from scenes came straight from conversations about the realities women face, the performance creation flowed quite seamlessly. We played theatre games as an ensemble and focused on improvisation, comedy, non-verbal storytelling, and image theatre. 

 A short description of the final play:

“We meet a heroic married couple, Superman and Superwoman, who save the world together, but are unfortunately held to different standards in their home life, as the woman is ALSO expected to cook and clean. We come to know a husband who angers his wife, forcing her to leave him to do the housework for himself, which turns out to be a massive disaster. We learn more from a father who wants the best for his daughter and supports her decision not to marry an aggressive and arrogant man. Our scenes are interdisciplinary in approach as the diverse team uses physical theatre, music, and dance to look into gender issues faced by women in Egypt today.”

Having Hany and Carol as the narrators allowed the audience to engage with the performance easily! They were a huge help in facilitating the post-performance discussions, especially with the challenging questions like: “Who decides what counts as news? What do we learn from witnessing these stories? And What role do women play in these stories?”

After each performance, the team hosted theatre training workshops that were focused on advocacy techniques. We worked mainly with refugee women from Syria living in Ezbet Khairallah, one of the largest and most densely populated informal communities in Egypt. We ran sessions for women and their daughters. Half of the team ran the children's sessions downstairs, and the other half ran the sessions for the women upstairs. We also invited the women who worked in Dawar Kitchen to join our workshops, and for the final session, we incorporated objects that they were familiar with into our activities. For example, “What are 100 things that you can do with a cooking spoon?” We were impressed with how imaginative everyone was!

This project was a true collaboration of artists and showcased the strength that is found in community spaces. We hope all of the wonderful people at Dawar Arts and Kitchen are well and thriving. Have a look at the artists we worked with and the work they are doing currently, I’m sure it will not disappoint. 

Intern spotlight: Rukhsar Balkhi

One of the best experiences of my life! This Summer of 2022, joining Bond Street Theater was one of the best opportunities and decisions I have ever made. The year of 2021 was a tough one for most of us and it somehow pressured us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But, spending two months with the Bond Street Theatre team was so healing for me. Maihan (my friend and fellow student) and I had an amazing time with the BST leadership team, and extremely understanding and supportive colleagues in the BST Youth Council. I am a senior student majoring in Human Rights in Bard College, I have been working in many NGOs, INGOs and at the US Embassy back in my home country, Afghanistan. I founded my own organization named Women Empowerment and Growth Organization. While applying for an internship at BST I was really excited to start my work because I had a deep relationship with NGOs and their work, especially NGOs working for women, children and youth. I believe that combining the arts and human rights will be a great idea for my senior project. I learned how useful theatre can be for conflict resolution, empathy, understanding, awareness, tolerance, trust building and mental health. I had the opportunity to do research on social justice issues related to my major Human Rights, in many countries like Kenya, Kazakhstan, Africa. I have got to know so many things about new countries I barely knew. It helped me to have a better understanding of different countries and how art can be a solution for many pains and issues. During my internship I saw many programs, pictures, videos which were taken in my home country Afghanistan and I can truly feel the connection and understood how much positive effect it had on those youths, women and children of a war and conflicted country. I believe BST implemented programs which feed the soul. I had an amazing time with Joanna and Micheal in the office. I met Tim and Sidonie from the BST Youth Council in person, and luckily in the first meeting we felt like we have known each other for years - that is what makes BST and our team different and unique because it makes you feel at home. I met the rest of the members online and am looking forward to meeting them in person soon. This will be a lifetime experience and a great network with who I want to and will be in contact forever. I hope to be a part of BST always and I feel a deep connection with the organization and its members. Working at BST as an intern was more than an internship for me, I learned a lot more than my expectations. I will try my best to be part of future projects which changes people’s lives for the better. I wish I had all of this knowledge and experience, gained in the past two months at BST, beforehand. That way, I would have been more successful in 2019 when I founded Women’s EGO… even with choosing the name of my organization! But, certainly it will help me in the future as I feel that the dream of working for Women and Youth in Afghanistan was put on hold - but it surely will come true here in the US through BST.

Intern Spotlight: Maihan Naimi

Hi there, my name is Maihan. I am in my third year at Bard College in New York, where I study Computer Science. I am an intern at the Bond Street Theater in Manhattan. In the meantime, I participated in Bard's globalization and international affairs program. I had been a student for three years at the American University in Afghanistan. After the government collapsed, I transferred to Bard College. At the Science Olympiad, I took home two silver medals in chemistry, and at the Amity International Olympiad, I got a bronze medal in biology. 

If I'm not at my desk, typing away on my aging Dell laptop, you can find me browsing the racks at the local mall or strolling the streets of the trendy district of Midtown. During my internship at Bond Street Theatre this summer of 2022, I learned how theater can shed light on issues of international relations, peacebuilding, and women's empowerment.

 

 

 

Over the course of my internship, Michael and Joanna have among other administrative work showed me how to stand and walk on stilts! At first, I thought that it would be challenging to walk on them; but, after trying it for myself, I discovered that it was not only easy but also incredibly fun. In addition to that, they shared with me their own experiences of juggling multiple responsibilities while standing on stilts, such as giving performances or playing musical instruments, which is truly fascinating. Also, they shared with me stories of Afghan women who walked on stilts, including how much they enjoyed doing it and how quickly they mastered the skill.

My sister and I always watched orphan girls on TV doing juggling and walking on stilts that NGOs like Bond Street Theatre in Afghanistan were working with. When I was younger, I always wanted to experience these two things, which, thanks to my internship, I did!

In addition, I’ve been under Casey's watchful eye throughout my time at Bond Street Theatre. Casey has not only been an excellent manager, but also a remarkable mentor for those under her guidance. She walked us through the process of applying for grants, writing proposals, showed us exactly where to seek funds, and provided us with extremely helpful writing advice for project development going forward. She has taught me a lot, which I am very grateful for. Since she’s in the South Africa office, I wish to meet her one day in person :)

 

Now that I am a member of the BST Youth Advisory Council, I have the opportunity to get to know all of the other young artists and educators who have worked here in the past. It is very thoughtful of the leadership of this company to maintain regular communication with the interns they’ve employed in the past. 

 

 

Summer 2022

A delectable treat from Bond Street. On the last day of our internship, Joanna and Michael  took us out to dinner. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal, the company, and the opportunity to hear Joanna and Michael's beautiful stories of my homeland. 

I'd want to thank BST, the company that gave me my first taste of the American working environment. as well as packing my summer with exciting and memorable experiences. 

Intern Spotlight: Molly Stone

 Finding Community in Social Distance

From the beginning, Bond Street Theatre excited me with their commitment to using theatre as a tool for change. I learned of the organization through a passion for empathy, conflict resolution and the power of theatre. During my final year at Grinnell College, I conducted a research project with my advisor, Dr. John Garrison, about the power of performance as a tool for peace. While researching All My Sons, the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace and “Give Peace a Chance,” I delved into non-profit organizations that utilize performance to explore social justice themes. I discovered Bond Street Theatre and, as I learned more about their incredible work, I decided to reach out to get involved. I am very thankful that I did. 

Although I initially expected to be in New York City with the team, the pandemic shaped my experience into a virtual summer internship. This, however, did not take away from the incredible relationships and essential skills I developed over the course of three months. I stepped into a community that welcomed me and my ideas, encouraging me to learn and grow. I researched countries for grant proposals, developed a new Twitter strategy, and conducted grant research. My biggest project grew out of my desire to build connection and accountability despite physical distance. Bond Street has an incredible network of past interns who share strong beliefs in the power of theatre and its place in changing the world. I wanted to bring together the youth members on a monthly basis to discuss current social issues, brainstorm ideas, and explore ways that the organization’s work could evolve. Our first meeting took place at the end of July, when we all came together to share anti-racism resources and explore our role as individuals and members of Bond Street in the fight for racial justice.

 

My internship may have ended in August, but my involvement with Bond Street is far from over. The Youth Group continues to meet monthly as new interns lead discussions on issues close to their heart. The Bond Street community is not a stranger to distance and the conducting of important projects across borders, so this group easily maintains an honest and open space for Bond Street-related brainstorming, personal project development, and essential conversations with like-minded artists. Tim Steckler, a fellow Bond Street Youth member, came to the group with a desire to create a space where theatre can be used as a tool to explore anti-racist allyship. Now, Theatre for Anti-Racist Allyship (TARA) meets weekly where we discuss important texts, learn together about our roles in working towards a more compassionate, just world, and develop theatre techniques that can be used to explore anti-racist allyship. Personally, I hope for more domestic Bond Street programming in the future and I continue to develop ideas that may one day be implemented into a project stateside. I am beyond grateful for the community I found in Bond Street, the amazing friendships that have developed out of the Youth Group, and the commitment we all have to develop projects that combine performance and social change. I look forward to seeing how Bond Street Theatre and all those who support it will continue to create projects that prove performance is a strong, essential tool for the peace-making we all wish to see in the world. 

Intern Sportlight: Nina Rosstalnyj

This month Nina Rosstalnyj, our new intern from the Central European University and participant of Bard College's BGIA program, writes about her connection to theatre and what brought her to Bond Street Theatre.

All my life I wanted to become an actress – not like many teenage girls who dream about Hollywood and life as a movie star. Rather, I wished to be a true artist who devotes her body and soul to expressing feelings and words that are not her own. I wanted to relay a message to the audience and make them feel something they didn’t expect, make them speak about something they didn’t even think of before, and change people’s view on the world for a slight moment when they are in the theatre.

I was part of theatre groups in high school, had the chance to accompany my dad who is an actor, and even played small roles in two movies myself. Two short internships with movie productions and countless theatre visits supposedly "prepared me for my mission to get into an acting school". After high school I started with the hearings at national academies which took me to eleven different schools in eight different cities in Austria and Germany within four months. Looking back this was an exciting time because I traveled alone so much - I could explore new cities, meet interesting new people that shared a dream with me and I felt so grown up after managing the whole process on my own. Luckily, I had great support from my family, and working together on the monologues brought me closer to my dad.

On the other hand, the pressure was immense. You only have a few moments to convince the jury, and the performance has to be perfect no matter how exhausted you are from hours of waiting until your name is called, and no matter how nervous you are after spending half of the day with other nervous people. After the performance, sometimes you see the jury sometimes you don’t, sometimes you choose which role to start with, sometimes they do, and the waiting begins anew. And then you get a simple ‘no’ without any further feedback; is it a ‘MY GOSH NOOOOO!’ or more a ‘no, but maybe next year’?

After too many ungraspable ‘no's’ I was so frustrated that I decided to do something totally different in my life, and to never even think about theatre again. It took me three years of studying political science in a new city, one internship at the German embassy in Ukraine and five months student's exchange in Romania to overcome my anger and unwillingness towards performing theatre myself. In my last undergraduate year, I participated in the University's theatre group and learned to appreciate it as a hobby, without all the pressure I put on myself before and, in the meantime, political activism and the theory behind it had become my new passion.

When planning my future and applying for a graduate degree, I didn't think of the possibility of combining the two worlds of theatre and the political, my two passions. You already guessed it: this is where Bond Street Theatre is showing me the perfect alliance between the arts and peacebuilding, acting and healing. Now, the naïve dreams of 'younger me' and the present 'political me' have come together.

I hope to be a valuable member of Bond Street Theatre as a communications associate focusing on Ukraine in that I will develop my own project in the country that I call my second home. I grew up in Germany with all the privileges that go with it. But in 2014 when the conflict in Ukraine broke out, and in 2015 many people fled war and sought refuge in Europe, I understood that these privileges only exist for a tiny fraction of people. Hopefully, I will have the chance to form part of a project that changes the situation of some individuals for the better, even if it is only small moments of joy, or confidence-building. After all, this is a wish I always had.

Intern Spotlight: Erin Eubanks

This week Erin Eubanks, our social media and documentary intern from the University of Texas, writes about her experience from the New York office.

Greetings, all. The above picture is a series of mirror selfies I took in the Bond Street office throughout my internship. As the social media intern, it only seemed fitting that I documented my experience as such. Apart from photographing myself on various days of the week, I found time to do some pretty cool work. I'll tell you about the work I did, but first, an introduction!

Hi. Howdy. Yeehaw. I'm Erin, and I'm from Texas. (Though I should note, Joanna did remark at my lack of a Texan accent. I know — a bummer.) I'm a Journalism and Philosophy student at the University of Texas, and found myself up in the chilly northern city of New York for what would have been a 5-month program if our good ol' pal Corona hadn't decided to pay us a visit and send me back down south. Alas! 

During my time in the office, I had the privilege of scrounging through Bond Street's myriad of photos and videos they've collected throughout the decades of work to find good ones post on social media. (Roughly 160,000 photos, just to throw a number out there. I don't even have an estimate on the videos.) Nearly every photo sparked a story for Joanna and Michael, and through their stories and photos, I got to take a mental trip around the world without having to pay for a single airline ticket. I learned SO much about massive issues that currently affect women and children around the world that I hadn't even heard about before. I learned about the lack of education for girls in Afghanistan, domestic violence following the earthquake in Haiti, children in poverty in India, and so much more. 

Bond Street's theatre projects have addressed each of these issues, in addition to so so many more, and I had the opportunity to create one-minute documentary videos sharing their projects and the context of each issue addressed by the project in hopes of helping others understand the Bond Street team have done.

You know, I've always had an appreciation for theatre as a form of entertainment, as I myself act in a sketch comedy show at my university, but I've never known theatre to be a tool for education and social justice. From listening to Joanna and Michael's stories, I've gained such a profound appreciation for theatre as a method of improving the world. You may not know this, but not everyone speaks the same language across the globe. I know, I know — crazy right?!? The physical theatre that Bond Street has mastered breaks those linguistic barriers right down and creates this amazing mutual understanding between people of different backgrounds; an understanding that couldn't exist with a mere conversation. They're such truly incredible individuals, and what a astounding company they've created. Okay, okay, I'm done being all cheesy and what not. For the time being.

In addition to become much more globally aware, I also got to learn a bit of accordion, a few plate tricks, and being inspired by photos and videos of the Bond Street ensemble performing, I taught myself how to juggle upon returning to Texas. 

Although I only got to spend two months in New York working alongside Joanna, Michael, Tim, (the other intern and my now good friend) and through Skype with the oh-so-amazing communication director Casey, I feel so appreciative to have gained so much knowledge (and I mean so much... my brain is just permanently swollen with information now) and to have been able to create social media posts and mini docs for Bond Street. 

Welp, folks, that's all of my story. Thanks for reading! And as we say down here in Texas... 

Don't let the boot hit ya on the way out!

(okay, yes, that's the first time I've ever said that)

Border Stories: a US-India-Bangladesh collaborative adventure

     Performance in the No-Man's-Land between the India and Bangladesh borders.

"The harshest borders are created in the mind. If they didn't exist in the mind first, they wouldn't manifest on the ground." – a participant from India

Bond Street Theatre has a long history of working in areas in conflict, most of which are caused by perceived differences in ethnicity, religion or lifestyle… “otherness”.  Through theatre performance, we seek to break through the borders of the mind to create harmony on our beleaguered planet.  This belief in the power of theatre has brought us to work with Rohingya refugees dispelled from Myanmar, migrant workers in Russia and Malaysia, and with youth striving for peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Now we have returned from India where our dramatic performances created with Bangladeshi and Indian actors, musicians and dancers illuminated the tragedy of borders.  Tears streamed down the faces of those in our audiences old enough to remember the 1947 partitioning of India and Bangladesh, which tore apart families and friends. As Arts Envoys through the US Embassy, and with our longtime friends and collaborators, Banglanatak, we learned so much more than the history books reveal. 

Bangladesh and India share the fifth longest border in the world, dividing towns, farms, rivers, and even homes.  But where is the “otherness” here?  The people are the same on both sides, having lived side by side for years, eaten the same food, enjoyed the same livelihoods.  Our play illuminates such a situation: two families, one Hindu and one Muslim, close friends for years with youngsters growing up together, suddenly split apart and cast to different misfortunes.  In the end of the play, the women are the heroines, finding ways to keep their families intact despite the disruptions, although only able to visit each other through layers of barbed wire barriers. 

In our post-show discussions, I recall stating how ironic I felt it is that religion was the basis for tearing people apart when virtually every religion preaches love, compassion and generosity toward one’s neighbor.

We brought our show to border towns, including Petrapole, a major border checkpoint.  Through the play, we reminded audiences that people suffer on both sides of the divide. 

"A border is not just a physical fence.  These shared communities, shared experiences, shared families, shared food... the border is in our heads." – participant from Bangladesh

The process of creating the production was a joy.  We began with a series of exercises to bring the group together into a cohesive team, and explore the full range of issues attached to the partitioning.  What was truly inspiring to us was the diversity of skills in the group: filmmakers, journalists, actors, dancers, athletes, visual artists, and media experts. With such a talented team, I knew we would create a dynamic play with a message of value.

Over the first three days, we created a selection of short stories or vignettes that covered, not only the major issue of separation, but the nuances of family life, occupations, economics, religious rituals, local foods, politics, and the like. On day four, we put our stories together and created the outline of our play, and day five was our first run-through.  Now the exciting part: the musicians, singers, dancers, puppeteers, mask-makers and set designers embellished every moment of the play with the flavor and dynamics of the Bengali people, all borders aside.

The final play was rich with dance and music, visual excitement, and the tragedy and drama that brought the audiences to tears in some parts and to laughter in others.  When presenting a tragic theme, a comedic balance is essential.  Most important, our presentations brought home the idea that, although hate and fear makes mending borders so difficult, theatre breaks down the borders of the mind and reminds us that we are all the same.

"This theatre work has helped me really understand the feeling of a refugee... now I know the pain of refugees and I will count them as humans, not just refugees. Refugee is just a name."

- participant from Bangladesh

     "Border Stories" performance at the Kolkata College of Music

Intern Spotlight: Rania

Sitting in my Drama of Social Change class my senior year of college, my professor told us that the organization we select for the community service portion of the class must be important and personal to us. What is personal to me? I pondered this.

After 4 years in New York City I had found a new voice of the modern American woman, though the voice of my childhood and teenage years felt unresolved. I am a Saudi-American and I spent most of my life living in Bahrain. I considered the issues that had hindered me most in my life…perhaps the civil unrest that defined my final years in Bahrain? The inner conflict of embodying two opposing cultures? Or was it simply being a Saudi woman with a loud voice and a lot to say? I meditated on these questions and the next week I approached my professor asking for suggestions. As if premeditated, she shouted ‘Bond Street Theatre!’

Immediately captivated by their purpose, I contacted them right after class to find that they were working in Afghanistan. The very fact that they were working on peace building in a world so close to my own, physically there and committed to resolving conflict, enraptured me. I subscribed to Bond Street Theatre’s newsletters, followed their blog and stayed updated on the important work that they do. Following my graduation in May 2017, with a degree in Directing for Theatre, the Bond Street Theatre team was back in New York City and I applied for an internship.

Being from a mixed family, I have seen how a certain type of sensitivity can help bridge cultural boundaries, and Bond Street Theatre does that on a large scale. They generate important conversations between those who disagree, and allow each side to physically express their argument, enabling people to find common grounds.

I am very fortunate to have been exposed to theatre at a young age, and have found it to be my catharsis. Bond Street Theatre introduces theatre to communities where artistic platforms aren’t readily available, and in doing so they are giving people all over the world the freedom to use theatre to tell their stories. From undocumented refugees such as the Rohingya women Bond Street works with, to those incarcerated in literal prisons, Bond Street Theatre is committed to this beautiful type of artistic healing.

Bond Street Theatre has given me the freedom to hone in on my own interests and I narrowed my professional focus towards grant writing. As an emerging theatre artist, learning to write grants is crucial. This involves historical research and close attention to minor and major conflicts, studying them with a sensitivity and reporting them with accuracy. The research necessary for these grants has cultured me and given me knowledge of conflicts mainstream news sources don’t cover, conflicts I thought my Middle Eastern upbringing had exposed me to, but in many ways it shielded me from. In addition, I have written blog posts and found partnerships for the organization. Bond Street Theatre is helping me with my personal endeavors and teaching me how to make theatre for change. I have learnt here that anything is possible.

Joanna and Michael, our Artistic and Managing Director (otherwise known as the dynamic duo), have shown me the type of life a non-commercial theatre artist can lead. I admit that getting an artist degree was extremely scary for me; I didn’t know if that kind of life was realistic. Joanna and Michael literally live their art and have shown me that it is entirely possible to run a company, travel the world and help people. Though one theatre can’t change the world all on its own, it has certainly changed parts of it.