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Transcript of Yes Theatre Magazine English Edition
1
EDITORIAL
Everything has a start and as everything else we started, we start now filled with strength and determination to continue to provide meaningful theatrical and dramatic programs that serve the community, first with the help of God Almighty, and then with the support of our friends, our fans and those who love us wherever they are. Yes, just as Yes Theatre started like a little child who is bursting with energy, Yalla Masrah with its first edition starts energetically to reach a larger segment of theater-loving audiences, and to inform of the latest activi-ties, events, programs and plays that Yes Theatre produces for adults and children. With this edition, Yes Theatre inaugu-
rates a new project to add to its established program of drama
workshops for students and teachers: the Yes 4 Youth project,
which is implemented in cooperation with the German NGO WFD, offers training in theater-based tools to recent univer-sity graduates and young professionals working with children. Through this new training program, the Yes Theatre seeks to
equip those who are dealing with the most important and sensi-tive segments of Palestinian society with proven and creative techniques and games.
This newsletter, which will initially be published semi-annually,
will include posts by the staff of the Yes Theatre as well as
by its trainees and friends. In addition, your contributions are very welcome, whether they come in the form of poetry, prose,
thoughts, stories, or theatrical texts, pictures, cartoons, jokes, or more general information.
YALLA MASRAHSTAFF
EditorRaed Shyoukhi
Preparation byIhab Zahda, Muhammed Titi and Sevtap Oezkutlu
Coordinator
Mohammad Issa
TranslatorRuba Sunokrot and Anas Ashkar
Design and Printing
PIXEL Design (Shadi Abu Ajamieh)
2
WFD WORDS
WFD, the German World Peace Service (En: Weltfriedensdienst) is a non-governmental grassroots-organization which supports
grassroots projects in Africa, Latin America and Palestine through strong partnerships based on the concepts of solidarity. WFD
also provides consultancy to its partners at all technical, administrative and financial levels. At the same time, WFD works in-
tensely within Germany itself so as to raise awareness of the extremely unequal distribution of social and economical resources
and of the injustices these facilitate in the countries and regions which the WFD supports. Inside of Germany, WFD further lobbies
on various levels towards more equal distribution of power and resources in the world.
In Africa, Latin America, and Palestine, WFD supports partner organizations and initiatives that unite people who strive to improve
their own living standards and environmental conditions in an active and self-determined manner. Through its international partner
projects, WFD engages in the fields of civil conflict management, human rights, women’s rights and economic development, edu-
cation and training, and agricultural activities which preserve natural resources. WFD typically provides long-term consultancy to
projects that seek to encourage victims of injustices to find ways to express the suffering they experienced and thus move towards
healing and reconciliation.
WFD has a long-standing relationship of solidarity with Palestine, which started in 1968 when the organization started to support
a women’s embroidery collective in Kfar Na’me near the West Bank village of Bil’in. While this partnership still continues to date,
WFD now focuses on strengthening Palestinian civil society through supporting Palestinian NGO’s that provide arts-based and
psychosocial intervention.
3
WHO ARE WE?
Yes Theatre is a Palestinian non-governmental, non-profit or-
ganization, established at the end of 2007, by a group of Pales-
tinian playwrights who seek to raise the quality of Palestinian
theater and address topics on Palestinian culture and identity.
YT Vision:
Create a theatre that expresses the Palestinian's identity and
culture.
YT Mission:
YT is working on producing and developing a vital and dynamic
program of theatre, and other live performances and projects,
for all the people of Hebron and those living in the surrounding
areas.
NEWS
As promised to its fans and loved ones, Yes Theatre works
around the clock to offer the best to its audience. Recently, Yes Theatre completed a round of forty performances of its new play
“Bila A’inwan” (En: Untitled) for around 5000 students at forty
primary and secondary schools including UNRWA schools in
the entire Hebron district. “Untitled” was produced by Ihab Zah-
deh and performed by Raed Shyoukhi, Abdul Razzaq Abu Meiz-
er and Mohammad Titi. The play is about a father who is buried
under the rubble of his house after his village was shelled, and
his son who is trying in vain to get him out. The ensuing con-
versation covers love, community, hope and despair, and the
humanitarian side of the Palestinians’ daily experiences.
Overview of activities in 2009:
12 drama workshops for around 180 students at 12 schools •
and non-governmental organizations.
Four • Kids 4 Kids plays with 60 female and male students
from different schools. The resulting plays are the follow-ing:
Journey in the Sun1. – Produced and directed by Raed Shyoukhi.
The Yard2. and Reem’s Dreams – Produced and directed by Ihab Zahdeh.The Treasure3. – Produced and directed by Mohammed Titi.
20 performances of The Swing in cooperation with “Theatre • Day Productions”, performed by Raed Shyoukhi, Moham-med Titi and Ihab Zahdeh13 performances of In the Place in the framework of the in • celebration of Jerusalem as the Cultural Capital of the Arab World 2009.
Three performances of• In the Place in Algeria. (The same
play will be performed in the festival “Days of the Amman
International Theatre” in 2010 in Jordan.)Participation at the “Palestine Theatre Festival” with In the • Place
Hosting of performances by other Palestinian theatres, in-•
cluding: “Yousef Said -Shibr Hurr Theatre”, “Wonderland-Sanabel Theatre”, “Puppet Show-Tantura Theatre”, “Magic Show -George Hazina”, “On the Footsteps of Hamlet - Na-
tional Theater /Hakawati”.
Currently,• Yes Theatre is preparing for the year 2010 ac-
tivities, including three Kids 4 Kids plays, one Play 4 Kids,
a number of drama workshops, and a training of trainers (TOT) course for young adults working with children that
will equip trainees with innovative theater- and play-based
tools.
4
FICTIONMY FRIEND
He is my friend, my companion, keeper of my secrets, accompanies me everywhere, sees everything but doesn’t say or disclose
a secret. I trust him with everything I do, he eases my burden as I travel and gives me strength to overcome all obstacles that I
face in my way. I met him the first time imprisoned in a glass cage in one of the shoe shops, sitting melancholically in an elegant
place. I loved him at first sight, his color, design, the flowing lines on both sides ... I bought him and did not argue with the price ...
We have now been together for over a year, and he accompanied me to many places, cities and countries. I know now that after
all this time he feels tired, but it is difficult for me to set him aside or throw him in the garbage. I thought of getting him repaired but
I'm afraid his shape might change. I love my friend as he is without restoration, makeup or other changes neither to his appearance
nor to his essence.
By Raed Shyoukhi
LIFE AND I
She’s a normal, innocent and beautiful girl, she lived with her family but she was alone. ... Happiness and joy have abandoned her and allowed grief to nest inside her, you look at her and speak with her of happiness or sadness, but her facial expressions do not
change for the better. She doesn’t change. All you see when you look at her are tears that barely manage to squeeze out of the
eyeballs due to the severity of her crying over the miserable years. She used to think that all people were angels but her imagination was the cause of the death of her dreams.
A girl cannot find beautiful memories to extend her hand to and shake. She lives among human wolves who have lost compassion,
love, warmth, everything. All that is left to her is a pen and scattered paper, and a guitar that plays her sorrows. She is a diamond, though what is left from her glitter is a dim light that struggles to survive. But she will persist and stubbornly mock this mortal life
because she is too small to allow sadness to take over her face forever. This is me. Life challenged me early, and was harsh with me, seeking to break me eventually, but I laughed at life, and I lived against its will and I continue to live all over every day. This is
because I love life and I hate the dry branches when they become weak in the face of the wind.
Asalah Salhab
14 years, participant in the Yes Theatre’s Kids 4 Kids program
5
MY CELL IS MY GARDEN
He was in an Israeli prison. He loves nature and its charm, but strangely, he didn’t
miss it during his imprisonment. He imagined that his cell was a singing garden.
He was drew trees, roses, birds and a shining sun on its walls. He lived in the
warmth of this nature, spiting the coldness of the cell.
Though alone in the dark cell, he always saw it illuminated with the bright morning
sun of his imagination. He woke up every dawn so as not to miss the sunrise that
was never absent from his inner eye. He saw the birds and heard their voices, he
created them in order to listen to them in his imagination. He sat leaning against
his mural tree. He lived freely and solitarily alone in his cold, dark and small cell,
where he spent his most beautiful moments.
The day of his release came. The day he had awaited for twenty years. He walked
out, eager to see the sun of his imagination in reality, and his heart was singing
with joy. The door of the prison opened, and the sun flashed his eyes and almost
blinded him. He closed his eyes for a moment, and opened it again. He looked
right and left, looked for trees and flowers. But all he saw was a huge build-
ing. Neighborhoods crowded with houses like matchboxes. He saws no trees, nor
flowers, nor innocent children playing and laughing among the trees. Instead, he
saw people rushing madly in the streets, he saw the narrow roads that the sunlight doesn’t reach. He saw cold and dirty alleyways, and people fighting each other without a sense of love for goodness or life. He wondered and said to himself: "I take one step out of prison and see this, what will happen if I continue? No... I’d rather take two steps back instead of another one forward…”
Shirin Ed'eis
14 years, participant in the Yes Theatre’s Kids 4 Kids program
Hassoun is not just a bird that twitters in a cage. When I saw him for the first time, I felt weakness and quietness living in his bones. I bought him from a street vendor in the city. The bird was weak, so
I made up its cage, and provided him with a swing and some green
branches. In this cage, he looked better than in the previous one. I approached him and promised to treat him with sympathy. In return, he delighted me with his twittering every morning. A few
months later, the bird had grown and his body was covered with
gorgeous feathers that reflected all colors of the spectrum. His voice was attractive and touching. The bird comforted me, relieved me from my grief lightly caressing my heart. He never tired. Every-
one who saw him loved him.
Because he sang lightly and few around energetically, I believed that the bird was happy in his cage. Every time he twittered, I felt my soul rises. I kept looking at him, and in turn, he never stopped
singing.
I think I was rather harsh on him. I brought him a larger and more beautiful cage so that I might take him to the park with me where he
would be able to see the big trees and breathe fresh air. I thought about getting another bird to live with him in the cage so that he’d
not feel lonely in my absence. But all that did not happen, I caged
him in my house and kept him only to myself! The bird got fed up
with the cage, the walls of the house tightened on him. He twittered and twittered until he gave up twittering. While he was looking for a new tune, he got lost in his research and forgot his old tune. Then, he’s left and left me alone.
His twittering was like a lighthouse in the middle of the sea
guiding me through time. His twittering in the morning was as clear as water.One morning I did not hear him singing. I thought he was play-
ing with me. I thought if I started twittering, he would respond
to me. But there was nothing but a terrible silence. I headed towards the cage to check on him and found him sleeping on a pile of straw. He seemed sad. Hassoun left. Left without
saying goodbye.
Oh Hassoun, I didn’t keep my promise to you. I locked you in a cold cage like the morning you left. I poked him and printed a kiss on his red head, I wiped his
golden feathers with my hands. I spread his white wings, and
I wished he would fly and continue twittering.
Norah Abdul-Mahdi Salah
Participant in the First School Theater Festival 2008 The use of drama in education
HASSOUN (THE NIGHTINGALE OR WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE BULBUL OF PALESTINE)
6
My name is Leena I am 13 years old and I am an ordinary girl. My family stick a lot to tradition and old ways of life. They
are overprotective of me since we live in a traditional society.
This has only made life difficult for me sometimes. In the sum-
mer vacation, I joined the activities organized by Yes Theatre.
It is like my second home. My trainers are like my friends. They
encourage me and build my confidence in myself. They also
help me deal with my problems. I always want to participate in
more activities.
My name is Rifqa and I am 14 years old. Before joining the
activities of Yes Theatre, I spent most of my time between home
and school because of local tradition which says that girls
should not go out a lot. At the theatre, I felt that I have more
space and freedom for myself. So the theatre is not only a place for training, but it is like another home. There, I feel that I am respected and receive attention. I also learn how to be humble and how to deal with others. I have made new friends too. When I act in front of my classmates and friends at school, I feel really proud of myself, and I feel that I have given something useful to my society. Thank you Yes Theatre!”
My name is Reem I am 13 years old. and I go to Tayseer Maswadeh Girls School in Hebron. The first time I learnt about drama was when I participated in a drama workshop organized by Yes Theatre at my school with Heyam Al Talbeeshi. Because of the exciting experience in the workshop, I decided to partici-pate in the Kids 4 Kids project at the Yes Theatre. In the proj-
ect workshops I have learnt how to face life problems and daily pressures, and so I have become happier in my life and more comfortable with myself."
My name is Asalah Salhab, I am 14 years old. From the first
day, and from the first word, I started, without knowing where
I am and what to do, praising myself, and I was nothing. But
over time, I became more aware, and my knowledge increased
about this fascinating place which helped me break the barri-
ers that used to object my pen. This place enhanced my self
confidence and gave me the biggest opportunity to express it
freely and boldly. It taught me to respect and listen to others and
it strengthened my values. In this place, I met many wonderful
and creative people who changed my life for the better. Some
of them were diplomatic, others were spontaneous and funny,
and yet others were rational and honest. I herewith bow down in
front of these people who have all my respect. One day, I hope
to become like them, to be creative as they are, and to follow in
their footsteps.
My name is Asalah Salhab, I am 14 years old. From the first day, and from the first word, I started, without knowing where I am and what to do, praising myself, and I was nothing. But over time, I became more aware, and my knowledge increased about this fascinating place which helped me break the barri-ers that used to object my pen. This place enhanced my self confidence and gave me the biggest opportunity to express it freely and boldly. It taught me to respect and listen to others and it strengthened my values. In this place, I met many wonderful and creative people who changed my life for the better. Some of them were diplomatic, others were spontaneous and funny, and yet others were rational and honest. I herewith bow down in front of these people who have all my respect. One day, I hope to become like them, to be creative as they are, and to follow in
their footsteps.
YES THEATRE AND I
7
Research reveals the positive impact of drama on a student's
Physical, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Development
Self-Confidence: Taking risks in class and performing for an •
audience teach students to trust their ideas and abilities. The
confidence gained in drama applies to school, career, and life.
Imagination: Making creative choices, thinking of new ideas, •
and interpreting familiar material in new ways are essential
to drama. Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than
knowledge".
Empathy: Acting roles from different situations, time periods, •
and cultures promotes compassion and tolerance of others'
feeling and viewpoints.
Cooperation/Collaboration: Theatre combines the creative •
ideas and abilities of its participants. This cooperative process
includes discussing, negotiating, rehearsing, and performing.
•Concentration: Playing, participating, and performing develop •
a sustained focus of mind, body, and voice, which also helps in
other school subjects and life.Communication Skills: Drama enhances verbal and nonverbal • expression of ideas. It improves voice projection, articulation of words, fluency with languages, and persuasive speech. Lis-tening and observation skills develop by playing drama games, being an audience, rehearsing and performing.Problem Solving: Students learn how to communicate the who, • what, where, and why to the audience. Improvisation fosters quick-thinking solutions, which leads to greater adaptability in life. Fun: Drama brings play, humor, and • laughter to learning; this improves
motivation and reduces stress.
Emotional Outlet: Pretend play and drama games allow •
students to express a range of emotions. Aggression
and tension are released in a safe, controlled environ-
ment, reducing antisocial behaviors.
Relaxation: Many drama activities reduce stress by re-•
leasing mental, physical, and emotional tension.
Self-Discipline: The process of moving from ideas to ac-•
tions to performances teaches the value of practice and
perseverance. Drama games and creative movement
improve self-control.
Trust: The social interaction and risk taking in drama •
develop trust in self, others, and the process.
Physical Fitness: Movement in drama improves flexibil-•
ity, coordination, balance, and control.
Memory: Rehearsing and performing words, move-•
ments, and cues strengthen this skill like a muscle.
Social Awareness: Legends, myths, poems, stories, and • plays used in drama teach students about social issues and conflicts form cultures, past and present, all over the world.Aesthetic Appreciation: Participating in and viewing • theatre raise appreciation for the art form. It is important to raise a generation that understands, values, and sup-ports theatre's place in society.
(from http://www.dramaed.net/benefits.pdf)
THE BENEFITS OF DRAMA EDUCATION
WISDOM OF THE DAY
One day, two brothers were fighting
over a piece of land. The first one shouted "This land is mine," and the
other shouted "This land is mine," and no one was able to help them come to
an agreement. After a long dispute, they decided to seek the advice of a wise
man who was known for his integrity in judgment matters. The wise man asked
the first brother: "Whose land is this?" “Mine”, replied he. The wise man asked the second brother: "Whose
land is?" “Mine, of course”, replied this one. “I asked both of you about the ownership of the land and now the land itself has the right to be asked."So he bend down and asked: "Oh land, who owns you?" He listened as
if he heard it whispering to him, and then he stood and said: "The land says: both of you are mine".
8
CHARACTER OF THE DAY
Saadallah Wannous
Saadallah Wannous (Arabic: سعد اهللا ونوس ), (1997-1941)
is a Syrian playwright. He was born in the village of Hus-
sein al-Bahr, near Tartous. Wannous received his educa-
tion in Latakia’s schools. Then he received a scholarship
to study journalism in Cairo, Egypt. He served as editor of
the art and cultural sections of the Syrian newspaper Al Thawra and Lebanese newspaper As-Safir. He headed the General Committee for Music and Theatre in Syria. In the
late sixties, he traveled to Paris where he studied theatre
and encountered different currents, trends, and schools
of European theater. His career as a playwright began
in the early sixties with several short plays which were
characterized by his fundamental theme: the relationship
between the individual, society and the authorities.
The Arab defeat in the 1967 war against Israel gave birth to political Arabic theatre. The defeat created a new level of awareness among artists and intellectuals, particularly of the government-controlled press and its infiltration of popular culture. In 1969, joined by a group of playwrights, Wannous called for an Arab Festival for Theatre Arts to be hosted in Damascus, which was later lead and attended by dramatists from all over the Arab world. In this festival, he introduced his new project, theater of politicization, to replace the traditional "political theatre" He intended theatre to play a more positive role in the process of social and political change. His powerful plays include Elephant: The King of All Times (1969), The King is the King (1977) and Hanthala's Journey from Slumber to Consciousness (1978).
In the late seventies, Wannous helped establish and later taught at The High Institute for Theatre Arts in Damascus. He also created the Theatre Life magazine, and ran it as editor-in-chief for several years. The shock of the Israeli invasion of Beirut in 1982 shocked Wannus deeply and left him unable to write for a decade. In the early nineties, Wannous began writing again and presented the Arabic theatre with a series of plays that were no less political than their predecessors, starting with The Rape (1990), a play about the Arab-Israeli conflict. Later, he wrote Fragments from History (1994), Rituals of Signs and Transformations (1994), Miserable Dreams (1995), A Day of Our Time (1995), and finally Mirage Epic (1996).
In 1996, he was selected by UNESCO and the International Institute of Theatre as key-note speaker at the celebrations of the Inter-
national Theatre Day on March 27. This was the first time an Arab writer was selected since the organization started this tradition
in 1963. On May 15, 1997, Wannus died of cancer, a disease he had resisted for 5 years.
Plays:• Elephant, the King of All Times, (1969).• The King is the King, (1977).• Hanthala’s Journey from Slumber to Consciousness, (1978).
• The Rape, (1990).
• Fragments from History, (1994).• Rituals of Signs and Transformations, (1994).• Miserable Dreams, (1995).
• A Day of Our Time, (1995).
• Mirage Epic, (1996).
The assistant staff of the Yes Theatre helped produce and performed in two of Saadallah Wannous’ plays: Glass Cafe – which was performed at the Amman International Theatre Festival 1998, and The King is the King in 2006.
9
WHY BRING THEATRE GAMES INTO THE CLASSROOM?
“Playing theater games with your students will bring refreshment,
vitality, and more. Theater-game workshops are designed not as di-
versions from the curriculum, but rather as supplements, increasing
student awareness of problems and ideas fundamental to their intel-
lectual development […]. Theater-game workshops are useful in im-
proving students’ ability to communicate through speech and writing
and in nonverbal ways as well. They are energy sources, helping stu-
dents develop skills in concentration, problem solving, and group in-
teraction.”
“ […] Many of the skills learned in playing are social skills. Most games
worth playing are highly social and have a problem that needs solving
within them – an objective point in which each individual must become
involved with others while attempting to reach a goal.
Outside of play there are few places where children can contribute
to the world in which they find themselves. Their world, controlled by
adults who tell them what to do and when to do it, offers them little opportunity to act or to accept community responsibility. The theater-game workshop is designed to offer students the opportunity for equal freedom, respect, and responsibility within their community of the schoolroom.”Exctracts from Spolin, Viola (1986). Theater Games For The Class-room. A Teacher’s Handbook. Illinois: Northwestern University Press.
FOR KIDS ONLY
In this section, we welcome paintings and drawings from readers who are up to ١٠ years old and who love theater. In each issue,
the three winning paintings will be published with the names of its creator. For the next edition, we welcome paintings and drawings around the topic of “winter”.
• Puzzles- What carries tons of wood but doesn’t carry a nail?
- What screams when you touch it?- What eats everything, but dies if you water it? - If you see it, you don't buy it. If you buy it, you don't use it and if you use it, you don't see it. What is it?
- He is my uncle’s brother, but he is not my uncle. Who is he?
- Where is the oldest oak tree in history?
• Did you know?- A bat is a mammal.- A penguin is a bird that doesn’t fly.
- The highest peak in the world is Mount Everest peak.- Sea turtles live for over a hundred years.
- Glass is made from sand and paper is made from wood.
- The oldest and lowest city in history is the city of Jericho.The puzzle’s answers (upside down)
the sea, bell, fire, the coffin, my father, Ibrahim’s Oak in Hebron.
10
HEBRON
Hebron is a Palestinian city located 35 km south of Jerusalem in the West bank, and
is considered the largest Palestinian city in terms of population and area. The city’s
name (al-Khalil) comes from the prophet Abraham El Khalil, father of the prophets,
because it is believed that lived in Hebron in what became later known as the Sanc-
tuary of Abraham and in the area of where the “Tomb of the Patriarchs” are situ-
ated. Hebron is famous for its vineyards and limestone, pottery and glass and for its
commercial industries. Hebron used to be called the village of Arba’, referring to a
Canaanite king called Arba’. The city was then called before it became know as “Al-
khalil” in Arabic, which means “the friend”.
The population of Hebron city is 700,000. The inhabitants of Hebron speak their own
dialect of Arabic, which resembles the Syrian dialect, but remains unique. Hebron is
also famous for many local goods which are produced in large quantities and export-
ed abroad, especially to European markets. Examples of these products are glass,
pottery, garment and leather used in the shoe industry where it is largely exported to
several countries, such as: Italy, Spain, Jordan and the Gulf. Hebron is also famous
for its concrete products, saws, stones, marbles and tiles, which are exported to
most European and Arab states. In addition to that, Hebron is famous for producing nylon, old and new scales, dairy, and food products. Hebron hosts two of the most important dairy and food companies in the Middle East, Al - Jibrini and Al –Juneidi.
It is worth mentioning that the biggest hand-made Palestinian dress in the world is kept in the city of Hebron. Hebron district has more than 100 Palestinian villages and towns. It is stated that most residents of the city are Muslims. The vil-lages in Hebron district include: Dura, Yatta, Halhoul, Beit Kahil, Beit Omar, Dahriya, Edna, Surif, Bani Naim, Shoyyokh, Tafouh, Seir, Rihiya, Kharas, Samu, Deir Samit, Nuba, Tarqoumiya, Beit A’noun, Beit Ula, Beit A’wa, Edisia, and Ar-roub and Al Fawar refu-gee camps, and among others. The religious monuments and archaeological sites in the city include: the Sanctuary of Abraham, Haram Rama well, Masqubia Church, Balouta and Abraham Tikia (Shelter).
11
RIDDLE OF THE DAYYalla Masrah will always contain a riddle that we invite our
readers at the ages from 8-16 to solve. Please, send an-
swers per Email to [email protected]. Three winners will
be chosen from those who provide correct answers and re-
ceive gifts worth 100 NIS. The correct answer with the win-
ners’ names will be announced in the next edition.
The riddle is:We have ten bags of marble balls, containing each ten balls.
Each ball weighs 1 gram only, but one of these bags con-
tains ten balls that weigh 2 grams each. Using the scale only
once, how can we find out which bag contains the balls that
weigh 2 grams?
12
Statistics
2009Direct BeneficiariesNumber of projects and
performancesPrograms
48764Kids 4 kids
35412Drama Workshops
250020The Swing Play
156013In the Place Play
500042Untitled
1995External Activities
9959Hosted Activities
15444373Total
www.yestheatre.orgE-mail:[email protected] / [email protected]
فلسطني - اخلليل - تلفاكس: 2291559-02 جوال: 914613 0599