📚 Summary and Analysis of The Freedom Theatre Annual Report 2013
🎭 Highlights and Achievements
2013 was an exceptionally productive and expansive year for The Freedom Theatre (TFT), marked by:
- 
5 new in-house theatre productions: Suicide Note from Palestine, Ouda – Courage, The Island, Lost Land, Our Sign is the Stone. 
- 
International Tours: The Island toured the US, Brazil, and Sweden; Suicide Note went to Italy. 
- 
5500+ theatre attendees in Palestine; 3000+ abroad. 
- 
Freedom Bus Project: Including Freedom Rides and Playback Theatre in over 30 Palestinian communities, especially Area C. 
- 
New film unit: Produced 5 short films; screened to 1000+ viewers. 
- 
Photography program: Culminated in the Spectrum exhibition seen by 4000+. 
- 
Two editions of Voices Magazine: Published with contributions from creative writing workshops. 
- 
Solid presence abroad: Playback, psychodrama, and theatre workshops in Egypt, Denmark, Norway. 
- 
Major community engagement: Through drama in education, psychodrama, storytelling (Hakawati), physical activities, and youth workshops. 
🧩 Programmatic Dimensions
1. Theatre School & Productions
- 
Students integrated into large-scale productions. 
- 
TFT continued blending professional training with social engagement, reflecting Arna Mer Khamis’s educational philosophy. 
- 
The acting school contributed to building capacity while maintaining artistic excellence. 
2. Applied Theatre & Psychodrama
- 
Trained educators and mental health professionals. 
- 
Offered tools for trauma healing and educational reform. 
- 
First long-term psychodrama training in the West Bank in partnership with the Therapeutic Spiral Institute (USA). 
3. Freedom Bus & Playback Theatre
- 
Unique combination of artistic expression and activism. 
- 
Connected isolated communities under threat from displacement. 
- 
Created a performative archive of lived experience and resistance. 
4. Multimedia Program
- 
- 
Grew significantly in 2013 with robust filmmaking, photography, and writing programs. 
- 
Content production (films, photos, articles) empowered youth and documented overlooked stories. 
- 
Spectrum and Voices platforms showcased young Palestinian perspectives. 
 
- 
🌍 Community & International Engagement
- 
- 
- 
12000+ audience members across Palestine and globally. 
- 
Hosted solidarity stays and overnight visits in marginalized communities. 
- 
Over 7000 visitors to the theatre, including workshops and international volunteers (34 in total). 
- 
Cultural collaborations with artists and organizations from Europe, North America, and the MENA region. 
 
- 
 
- 
🤝 Partnerships & Funders
TFT maintained strong partnerships locally and internationally:
- 
- 
- 
- 
Over 60 organizational partners across Palestine. 
- 
Support from major donors: Ford Foundation, Sida, AFAC, Medico International, European Commission, among others. 
- 
Solid Friends Associations in France, Sweden, UK, USA, Germany, Scotland, vital for outreach and fundraising. 
 
- 
 
- 
 
- 
👥 Governance & Structure
- 
Report includes names of core staff, board members, acting school students, volunteers, and partners. 
- 
Multidisciplinary staff structure included technicians, artists, educators, administrators, and media professionals. 
🔭 Strategic Outlook for 2014
- 
New theatre productions planned: Magic Note, Commedia Dell’Arte show. 
- 
Graduation of the current acting class and recruitment of a new one. 
- 
Continued Freedom Bus programming and new publications. 
- 
Growth in applied theatre and physical training offerings. 
🧠 Evaluation and Insights
✅ Strengths
- 
Exceptional integration of art, resistance, and community engagement. 
- 
Strong emphasis on capacity building, especially among youth. 
- 
Balance of local grounding and international visibility. 
- 
Clear articulation of TFT’s role as a hub for cultural resistance. 
⚠️ Areas to Strengthen
- 
While comprehensive, some sections (e.g., finances) could benefit from greater detail and transparency. 
- 
Long-term sustainability plans or challenges (e.g., funding stability, risk management under occupation) were not deeply analyzed. 
- 
Lack of disaggregated data on gender, age, or geographic reach may limit in-depth impact assessment. 
✨ Conclusion
The 2013 Annual Report reflects a vibrant, resilient, and forward-thinking institution. TFT not only staged impactful theatre but also transformed it into a tool for education, resistance, and solidarity. The report is rich in narrative and illustrative of TFT’s mission—cultural resistance through creative empowerment.
…
Read our Annual Report 2013 
…
 
															