What an incredible year 2013 proved to be! Never in the history of The Freedom Theatre have we achieved more or pushed further.
This year, we introduced six new theatre productions, held hakawati (storytelling) workshops and performances, and invited other artists to perform in our theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp.
We led a Drama in Education course for teachers, graduated a group of psychodrama practitioners with an international certification, gave workshops in playback theatre both in the West Bank and Egypt – and we became registered as the only centre in the Middle East to certify playback theatre practitioners.
We held filmmaking workshops that resulted in six new short films, curated a photo exhibition and published new issues of our youth magazine, Voices.
We organized a Freedom Ride and several Solidarity Stays in marginalized communities in South Hebron Hills and the Jordan Valley, and toured all around the West Bank with the performance Our Sign is the Stone, based on testimonies gathered from the village of Nabi Saleh.
We received thousands of international guests and reached out to many more through our social media channels and presentations abroad. Two of our theatre productions, The Island and Suicide Note from Palestine, went on international tours to the US, Brazil, Italy and Sweden!
Throughout the year, we had a special focus on children and youth, improving our methods and our awareness of children’s perspectives, in order to become even better at empowering children and youth in the community.
None of this would have been possible without the contribution of individuals, organisations and foundations all over the world. To all of those who donated, fundraised, spread the word, volunteered their time: A heartfelt THANK YOU for being the best supporters anyone could wish for!
Join us in looking proudly upon some of the main highlights of 2013, as we plan for 2014:
THEATRE
This year, our Acting School students broke new ground as they dove deeper into the world of performing arts. Along with the theatre’s resident actors they participated in several large-scale productions such as Suicide Note from Palestine, Lost Land and The Island. Suicide Note from Palestine and The Island went on international tours, performing to wide acclaim in Italy, Brazil, Sweden and the US respectively.
“I did not want to come to see the show, my teacher was convincing me to come […], but after I saw the show, I am so happy and it was really amazing to see the guys who were acting, I felt they are real prisoners and I will be back for every show.” – Girl, school performance of The Island at The Freedom Theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp
Next year, we will work on several new productions; the children’s play Magic Note and a Commedia Dell’Arte performance, among others. We also want to give our current Acting School students the opportunity to work in their own communities, with drama initiatives that will serve as their graduation projects. We are also thrilled to welcome our new class of students in 2014, who will embark on their three-year educational program in the performing arts.
“I have learned many things in the Acting School – the most important one is that The Freedom Theatre is not just a theatre; it is a stage that can create revolution. Theatre is my whole life now. It gives me hope, and dreams. On stage I can do anything.” – Motaz, Acting School student
Donate and help make 2014 a magical year!
The Freedom Bus
In March 2013, we organized a Freedom Ride through Occupied Palestine that included interactive theatre performances, drama workshops, live music events, Hakawati (traditional storytelling), protective presence activity and volunteer work. Side by side, armed with mud-bricks and solidarity, people from all of Palestine and abroad came together to create art, share stories, build houses and build alliances. Next year, we want to get on the road again. The 2014 March Freedom Ride will join residents of the Jordan Valley and South Hebron Hills who are at risk of forced expulsion from their ancestral homelands. Next year we also want to produce a playback theatre inspired play that will grow out of stories from Attuwani in the South Hebron Hills.
“Israel controls us – our water and electricity – and every other aspect of our life. However, they don’t control our mind. Even though our lives are very hard, we don’t just sit here, being sad and doing nothing. We continue to live – we continue to resist. And even though they build walls between us, we find a way to go under the wall and over the wall. This was my message in the story – that we are all ready to connect and to work together.” – Sawsan, community participant in the 2013 March Freedom Ride
Every contribution will get us one step closer to overcoming walls and barriers between people – donate online now!
Stage Management
This year, we initiated a one-of-a-kind training program in stage management expected to continue for three years. Three participants study stage management in theory and practice, attending to the practical and logistical requirements of our theatre productions, specifically during the rehearsal and performance process. In 2014, we want to continue providing professional stage management training to current and new students.
Applied Theatre
Throughout 2013, we carried out a Drama in Education program, where educators were trained to use drama as a pedagogical tool. This project is a very important initiative as we follow in the footsteps of our foremost source of inspiration, Arna Mer Khamis, who always worked with teachers to introduce an alternative educational system. Ultimately our aim is the same as Arna’s: to turn the pyramid of hierarchy in society upside down. The introduction of alternative educational methods is an important step in order to achieve that goal. In 2014, we want to continue to expand the Drama in Education program.
Drama in Education has become very important in my class because before I had difficult children, both shy and aggressive, and my aim was only to teach them how to read and write. I still have the same children but now I have skills also to change their behaviour; I now see the whole child and have discovered a child has many creative languages.” – Rula Nazzal, teacher at Qabatia Girls school
By providing someone with the tools to help others, one donation will go a long way. Give the gift of giving today!
In the Arab and Mediterranean world, the hakawati (storyteller) has traditionally played a central role in a society’s culture, reflecting the importance placed on oral histories, improvisation and mythmaking. During 2013, our very own hakawati has spellbound the children of Jenin Refugee Camp and beyond with her stories. In 2014, we want to continue mesmerizing children with wondrous and engaging stories from their rich cultural heritage.
MULTIMEDIA
Filmmaking
In the spring of 2013, we launched a whole new Film Unit that offered eager filmmakers-to-be the chance to produce their own short films. These young women and men travelled all over the West Bank to record the humanity and truth of the Palestinian situation. At the end of 2013 we also ran an intensive training in film pedagogics that will further improve our trainees’ ability to work with children and youth in the community.
“In our society, there are many subjects we can’t discuss – and even if we could we wouldn’t be able to change the way people think. I want to make change and I want people to hear me.” – Suzan, filmmaking student
Donating means not only giving money, but giving a voice to those who need to be heard, as well as ears and eyes to the world that needs to see. It means enabling change; making history. Donate online now!
Photography
This year, our photography students engaged in a five-month course where they honed their technical and storytelling skills to produce Spectrum, an exhibition that documented the spectrum of their lived experiences. In 2014, we want to take on new photography students and produce new photo exhibitions.
Creative Writing
Throughout 2013, participants in our creative writing workshops learned how to compose articles, short stories and poems that were included in The Freedom Theatre’s youth magazine, Voices, that was published in two editions. Next year, we want to publish new issues of Voices and we also want to publish a book of novels by our talented students.
To realize our aims for 2014, we need your continued support. YOU can contribute to the creative oasis that is The Freedom Theatre, by making a one-off or recurring donation.
Your contribution will help The Freedom Theatre continue to reach thousands of children, youth and adults in Occupied Palestine and around the globe – creating cultural resistance and building solidarity worldwide. Through regular updates, pictures, video clips and stories we will make sure you know exactly just how far your contribution is going.
You can also make a contribution on behalf of a loved one! In the spirit of the season, now is the perfect time to make a gift in honour of the people who are the lights in your life. And if you choose to make them a monthly donor, you ensure that we can continue to foster the next generation of revolutionary artists in Palestine.
If you choose to make an honorary donation, once you have made it, send us an email with the name and email address of the person you would like to dedicate your contribution to, and we will send them a gift card!
Every recurring donation will be rewarded with an original Freedom Theatre t-shirt that will make any Christmas Jumper fade with envy!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Much love,
The Freedom Theatre team