A couple of days ago Ib came to me and said that her boyfriend came to ask for her hand but that he wants her to stop performing. Her father doesn’t want her to marry the guy…it seems to me that she is still continuing with this project until the end…she shows up. And today with a ring. But she shows up.
There are two women S and F that have spent a lot of time together and act like sisters—aggressive, mean, biting and insulting. My problem is that I don’t understand when they insult each other. All I hear is the raised voices and tears and crossed arms and stomping off. Yesterday we had a chat about respect. The sort of chat I typically have when I work with junior high students. These are young women between 20 and 26 and they behave like kids. Recently we spent an hour trying to create a scene that should’ve been focused on the acting but instead we got caught up in a fight between two women about how a tradition jar is used. Sometimes I run around making funny noises to distract them from each other. I am trying to find a calm tone of voice. In control.
Somehow we still manage to create. I asked So to write poems and songs that are interspersed throughout. Only a couple are really singers but music will be a good to way to break up the rhythm. Maybe there will be some dancing. Maybe with a bendir.
They are used to be told what to do. Are they having fun? Are they learning things? In a society where living and working and navigating within a community is of utmost importance, where the individual is secondary to the group—it is shocking these women have such a hard time working together. They don’t know how to really listen—to themselves and to each other.
In the middle of the lunch break today Sa called me and said "please come now." I turned around and went back to the theatre. I found 6 women glaring at each other and then one stomped out. Then Ib said the argument began about x subject and then the Kabyle version of the F word was used and then the screaming started and then the artistic director walked in. And I laid it out nice and clear like calmly and quietly. And by some miracle they apologized to each other and the rest of the day went by extremely well. Complete with two major newspaper interviews. Nevertheless I have a horrid headache.
There will be a couple of articles coming out this week in Algeria News and in La Depeche de Kabylie and hopefully next week in El Watan. A painter I’ve met through the Maison de la Culture is making the poster. And on we continue…
1 comment:
What a challenging task you've set yourself Taous and what fertile seeds you are sewing! As you've noted, the young women with whom you are working probably have little practice with developing and managing this type of activity. The creative support and direction you are offering are therefore likely to be inspiring and bewildering. I therefore feel I should remind you that there is a field of study and practice called applied theatre that explores various techniques that can be used to develop diverse community interests and stories through drama. While I suspect you already know of this field and are probably applying various ideas already, I also hope you'll feel free to get in touch with me if you'd like further support or suggestions while you're working. In the meantime, I'll look forward to finding those articles you mention (and hope you'll list any relevant web addresses on your blog). I also wish you and all those affiliated and interested in your project the very best of luck.
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