There’s going to be an exciting event at Columbia University on Sunday. Two actors from the Jenin Freedom Theatre in occupied Palestine will be speaking about how they manage to keep doing their work under the most difficult of circumstances, occupation, repression, arrest (and the murder of founder Juliano Mer-Khamis two years ago last week). These young actors are in our country for ten days on a whirlwind schedule, joined the theater’s artistic director, an American professor; I’m looking forward to meeting them myself this weekend.
Here’s the announcement for the event:
ART AS RESISTANCE APRIL 14, 2013,
Please join us for a panel discussion with videos and presentations by representatives from the Jenin Freedom Theatre in Palestine. The panelists will discuss the following: What is it like to make theater in Occupied Palestine and why is this work important? What is the relationship between theatre and politics in Palestine as practiced at The Freedom Theatre? How does the theatre continue its work under severe repression, murder and arrests? What are the similarities/differences in acting education between the U.S. and Palestine?
Panelists: Faisal Abu Alheja is 23-yr-old Palestinian actor trained at The Freedom Theatre in Jenin. He has performed in Animal Farm, Fragments of Palestine, Men in the Sun, Sho Kaman and is currently in rehearsal for The Island. Faisal was a member of the Playback Theatre troupe in 2012 and has toured in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Ahmad Al-Rokh is a 24-yr-old Palestinian actor trained at The Freedom Theatre in Jenin. He has performed in Animal Farm, Men in the Sun, Journey, Sho Kaman and is also currently in rehearsal for The Island. Ahmad was a member of the Playback Theatre troupe in 2012 and has toured in Luxembourg, France, and Belgium.
Gary English is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor, Professor of Theatre, of the University of Connecticut. He is also the Founding Artistic Director of Connecticut Repertory Theatre, as well as the current Artistic Director of The Freedom Theatre in Jenin.
This event is co-presented by the Friends of the Jenin Freedom Theatre (www.thefreedomtheatre.org) and the Center for Palestine Studies at Columbia University and co-sponsored by the Network of Arab American Professionals – NY (NAAP-NY), ArteEast, and Alwan for the Arts. Facebook:
Details:
5PM Room 501 Schermerhorn, Columbia University
Enter Gates on 116th Street & Amsterdam or Broadway This event is free and open to the public and on a first-come, first-seated basis. RSVP recommended to palestine@columbia.edu. https://www.facebook.com/events/441878539223779/ Friends of the Jenin Freedom Theatre PO Box 1125 New York, NY 10276 917 991 5653 www.thefreedomtheatre.org
A friend reminded me last night of a wonderful film by Julian Schnabel from 2000, Before Night Falls. Javier Bardem as poet Reinaldo Arenas is 60s Cuba is told:
People that make art are dangerous to any dictatorship. They create beauty, and beauty is the enemy. Artists are escapists. Artists are counter-revolutionary and so you are a counter-revolutionary, Reinaldo Arenas.
And do you know why?
Because there’s a man that cannot govern the terrain called beauty, so he wants to eliminate it.